Florida Injury Attorney Blog

Tractor trailer, semi or 18 wheeler drivers, as they are often called, and the trucking industry are asking Congress for authorization to drive bigger, heavier trucks on the roads in the United States.  Congress is working on a Congressional highway reauthorization bill as the current law expires in September of next year.  Supporters of the proposed bill argue that bigger, heavier trucks will allow big trucks to ship more cargo, making them more efficient.  They point to similar laws in Canada and Mexico and say that U.S. big truck drivers are at an economic disadvantage when competing with those foreign trucking companies that can haul more cargo per shipment, particularly in border states. 

However, from a safety standpoint, critics argue that it is too dangerous to increase the size limit of tractor trailers/semi trucks/18 wheelers as the potential to cause serious injuries and death as a result of an accident will be greater than it currently is.  A recent survey by the Truck Safety Coalition found that most people in the US who were polled are overwhelmingly against bigger, heavier trucks on the roads.  The article from the Truck Safety Coalition's website also points out that each year, about 5,000 people are killed and more than 100,000 people are injured in crashes involving these big trucks. 

Safety experts also note that the bigger and heavier trucks get, the more difficult they are to control, steer and stop.  As a result, the extra weight may likely increase the number of injury accidents as well as the potential for damage, injuries and death once an accident does occur. 

Additionally, critics argue that the roads and bridges in the US are already over-stressed and increasing the size of big trucks on the road will only cause more damage to the country's infrastructure.  The article about the survey notes that one tractor trailer/semi truck (which often weighs in the 80,000 pound range) does as much damage to roads and bridges as 9,600 cars.