OPPOSING TRUCK SIZE OR WEIGHT INCREASES

            WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors is concerned with the welfare of motorists and the cost, quality and reliability of our nation’s infrastructure; and

            WHEREAS, on average 4,000 people are killed in truck crashes each year in the United States and 100,000 more are injured; and

            WHEREAS, large trucks have a fatal crash involvement rate 40 percent higher than that of passenger vehicles, according to the National Highway Safety Administration; and

            WHEREAS, every crash imposes both human and economic costs as well as a significant clean-up burden that can require many hours and impede other traffic; and

            WHEREAS, the estimated costs to society for each fatality is $7.24 million and the cost for each injury crash is $321,000 per injury; and

            WHEREAS, allowing heavier or longer trucks would threaten the safety of other motorists as well as law enforcement officers because heavier and longer trucks would be more difficult to control, take longer to stop, and increase crash severity; and

            WHEREAS, nearly 20 per cent of commercial vehicles inspected are taken out of service for mechanical problems, which are most commonly brake issues, and trucks with out-of-service braking conditions are 1.8 times more likely to be assigned crash responsibility; and

            WHEREAS, government studies have raised questions about the safety of equipment modified to haul heavier loads; and

            WHEREAS, the trucking industry is an important part of the nation’s economy and safely sized and weighted trucks are a needed tool to enable truck drivers to conduct their essential work in a safe and responsible manner; and

            WHEREAS, more than half the bridges on the National Highway System are more than 40 years old and nearly 25 percent are rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete; and

            WHEREAS, trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds also raise concerns related to the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure because they are likely to accelerate the deterioration of road surfaces and bridges; and

.           WHEREAS, government highway cost allocation studies have shown that the damage done to our roads and bridges by heavy trucks in legal operation today is not covered by their payments; and

            WHEREAS, the federal government, municipalities and counties effectively subsidize the operation of heavy trucks in legal operation today; and

            WHEREAS, government highway cost allocation studies show that increases in truck size and weight would exacerbate the existing underpayment of heavy trucks and increase their subsidization by municipalities and counties, amounting to an unfunded mandate,

            NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S. Conference of Mayors opposes any increase in truck size or weight by Congress.