Springfield police chief speaks out against raising truck weight limits

Springfield Police Chief Doug Johnston visited the nation’s capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to discuss the dangers of loosening regulation on tractor-trailer truck weights.

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2017-05-27 / Front Page Springfield police chief speaks out against raising truck weight limits By KELSEY CHRISTENSEN kchristensen@eagletimes.com SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Springfield Police Chief Doug Johnston visited the nation’s capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to discuss the dangers of loosening regulation on tractor-trailer truck weights. Johnston first became an opponent of increasing truck weights after the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks (CABT) contacted him and the Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police. Johnston says they brought his attention to the issue, and now he’s been educating senators and representatives on why they shouldn’t increase weight limits. Johnston worries about the infrastructure costs at the local level. The state of Vermont assisted Springfield with the revitalization of the Desert Storm Veterans Bridge on Clinton Street, and Springfield completed a $2 million paving project last year. After these efforts, Johnston says he hates to see these larger trucks on the road. “I would recommend to anyone that you stand on a bridge when one of these bigger trucks is traveling on it,” Johnston said. “You can feel the motion of the bridge under your feet.” According to the CABT, a grassroots nonprofit organization, lobbyists in Washington are urging congress to approve truck weight increases that would allow 91,000-pound and 97,000-pound trucks on the nation’s highways. Currently, the weight limit is 88,000 pounds. In 2015, corporations such as Fed-Ex and UPS successfully lobbied for the allowance of double-trailer trucks, which take 252 feet longer to stop than single-trailer trucks. “Double-33s,” as they are known, were removed from the transportation reauthorization bill in the U.S. Senate in November 2015 by a 56-31 vote. The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) conducted a study as part of the The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) bill, which found that larger trucks like the 91,000 and 97,000 pound trucks proposed by truck lobbies would create financial, infrastructural, and safety problems. The study, which was reported to congress in 2016, found that crash rates in states that allow higher weight limits, like Idaho and Michigan, experience a 99 percent and 400 percent increase in crash rates, respectively. Washington, which allows 91,000 pound trucks, experiences 47 percent higher crash rates than states with tighter weight regulations. The study also suggests that trucks weighing over 80,000 pounds had an 80 percent higher break violation rate than those below 80,000 pounds. In 2014, there were 147,098 large-truck crashes, which resulted in 4,171 fatalities. USDOT also concluded the infrastructural cost brought on by larger truck weights to be significant — limits of 91,000 pounds would cost $1.1 billion in additional bridge costs nationally, with 97,000 pound limits adding $2.2 billion. According to The Federal Highway Administration, the government subsidizes heavy-truck operations nearly $2 billion every year. Johnston said the companies that use larger tractor trailers claim that bigger trailers will result in fewer of them on the road. “The number of trucks have increased,” said Johnston. “So right now, that’s a myth.” In Springfield, trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds are limited to U.S. Interstate 91, and two miles off the highway at the Irving truck stop directly off of exit 7 according to Johnston. However, special permits are issued when road work makes the routes designated for large trucks impassable. “Big trucks will come through town, and our roads take a beating,” Johnston said, adding that 42 percent of Vermont roads are in poor shape. Johnston worries about consequences for smaller businesses as well as the safety and financial concerns involved. Vehicle maintenance and increased workman’s compensation claims resulting from the weight increases are additional concerns Johnston wonders about. “I think they [the larger truck companies] have too much on their plate as it is,” he said. Additionally, Johnston points out the challenges in enforcing weight limits even at their current weight. Weighing a truck can take up to an hour of law enforcement's time. “There are more trucks than people weighing them,” he said. “Some of them are going to be overloaded, and we just don't have the manpower.” Ultimately, Johnston’s stance on larger trucks is rooted in his concern for safety. “Our first concern is the motorists safety,” Johnston said. “And our second concern is the maintenance of our roads.” Springfield police chief goes to Washington, opposes bigger trucks The police chief of Springfield, Vermont, made a trip to Capitol Hill to voice his public safety concerns. WPTZ | Updated: 9:21 PM EDT May 24, 2017 Advertisement Share Helena Battipaglia NBC5 Reporter SHOW TRANSCRIPT SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The police chief of Springfield, Vermont, made a trip to Capitol Hill to voice his public safety concerns. Chief Douglas Johnston joined the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks to oppose efforts that would potentially allow heavier and larger trucks on the roads. One proposal would increase the length of double-tractor trucks by 10 feet. The other would increase national truck weights from the standard 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds. “It's a concern for safety reasons. That's number one,” Johnston said. He met with several members of Congress, including Vermont's Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Peter Welch. Johnston added that heavier trucks moving through town is not only a safety concern, but something the current infrastructure isn’t equipped to handle. “Obviously with the heavier the trucks, the roads take a beating, the bridges are going to take a beating,” Johnston said. He believes most small towns in New England would suffer from the increases.