Congress calls for results of study on truck weight, size

Washington – Congress wants the Department of Transportation to pick up speed with regard to the MAP-21 Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Limits Study.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee member Rep. Reid J. Ribble (R-WI) sent a letter May 12 to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx asking for an update on the project. Ribble asked for study results “as soon as possible” to help inform lawmakers on their decisions regarding the upcoming highway reauthorization bill.

The study will analyze the potential effects of increasing federal limits on truck size and weight. Congress initially required the study to be completed by 2014, but DOT pushed back the completion date to 2015, citing the wide scope of the project.

Ribble asked whether the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration could verify whether the stopping distance of a five-axle truck loaded to 80,000 pounds is the same as the stopping distance of a six-axle truck loaded to 97,000 pounds, a calculation used by lawmakers when creating the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2013.

“With the initial deadlines for the results already behind us, it is imperative that DOT release any completed study results, including these findings, in real time,” Ribble wrote.