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ATA now supports longer and/or heavier trucks

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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Leon Silverman The idea that longer or larger trucks will reduce highway conjestion is ludicrous. Fast, smoothe roads always attract traffic and quickly become conjested. [/quote] Your logic is flawed, because your statement makes the assumption that total tonnage moved by truck would increase multifold due to new regs. Even if the economy grows at 7%, you're not going to see truck tonnage increase 25%, 50%, etc. with the new proposed regs Increasing truck load factor may draw some traffic from rails, but not so much as to affect the highway system as you allege. Follow these two assumptions: Let's say for the sake of argument that trucks moved 100 million tons this year via 4 million trucks at 25 tons average each, and are projected to move 110 million tons next year (2007) under the same regs e.g. 25 tons average haul via 4.4 million trucks. Now say the new upgraded regs are implemented to start in 2007, and they allow for 50 tons per truck average. If projected total tonnage holds steady, that 110 million tons will now move by only 2.2 million trucks aka half the total number of rigs on the roads! Even if we assume the new 50 ton average haul to effectively sluce off 40 million more tons of traffic from the rails, that total of 150 million tons is still only moving in 3 million rigs, over 25% less total rigs that what would occur under keeping current regs in place and no shift in traffic from rail to truck. The reverse (e.g. reducing current GVW regs) would also be true, in that reducing GVW would result in more rigs on the road to move the same given amount of freight, and even if some of that traffic shifted to rail. More rigs = more congestion Less rigs = less congestion Thus, it is irrefutable that the lunacy lies with those who think keeping or reducing current GVW regs would result in less congestion on the roads.
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