ACTION ALERT ME AND VT PERMANENT WEIGHT EXEMPTION - AZ,CA,IA,KY,MA,OH,VA,WA
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ACTION NEEDED FROM VOLUNTEERS IN: AZ, CA, IA, KY, MA, OH, VA, WA
TO STOP ME/VT PERMANENT WEIGHT EXEMPTION
Yesterday the Senate passed a permanent exemption to the current federal 80,000 lb. truck weight limit for Maine and Vermont. The exemption was included in HR 2112, the "Minibus" (small Omnibus) Appropriations FY12 bill which includes Transportation allocations.
The bill now goes back to the House of Representatives for their consideration. At this point the House has not included a ME/VT exemption in their version of the bill. We need to make sure this exemption does not get included in the final Minibus bill. If Maine and Vermont are given exemptions, their neighboring states will be next in line to claim they are at an unfair competitive business disadvantage, and this exemption will spread from state to state until the whole country has an 100,000 lb. limit.
Please call the Representative from your state and urge them to continue to keep a special exemption from federal truck weight limits for Maine and Vermont out of HR2112. Urge them to pass a "clean" appropriations bill without any anti-safety policy issues slipped in through the backdoor.
TALKING POINTS: (You can cut and paste these into an email but please personalize your email as well.)
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The one-year Maine and Vermont Pilot Programs resulted in more trucks, more deaths and more infrastructure damage.
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Not only will this exemption endanger motorists, it will also negatively impact state and federal budgets.
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Funding for this exemption has not been addressed at all which is stunning considering the Highway Trust Fund continues to lose money and leadership in House continues to state that they are opposed to any unfunded mandates.
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This policy change does not belong in an Appropriations bill.
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The trucking industry will be getting a windfall at the expense of taxpayers.
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In Vermont the commercial motor vehicle fatal crash rate tripled and the change in permits for 99,000 lb. 6-axle trucks more than doubled from 1,500 to over 3,000.
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Trucking interests claimed that allowing heavier trucks on Interstates would get them off local roads, but this did not happen. According to a Report from Vermont, "Because the decrease in VMT (vehicle miles traveled) on the non-Interstates was relatively small (1.5%), the pilot might have provided only limited relief to some communities that complained of heavy trucks using their local thoroughfares, passing close to schools and town centers."
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In Maine the number of fatalities in 6-axle large truck crashes almost doubled (4 to 7 deaths). During the 5 years before the pilot project (2005-2009), there were 0 fatalities on local roads and 0 fatalities on Non-Turnpike Interstates involving 6-axle large truck crashes. During the 1-year pilot project, there were 3 fatalities on local roads and 2 on Non-Turnpike Interstates involving 6-axle large truck crashes.
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36% of Maine's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 29% of its major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. 39% of Vermont's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 40% of its major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. These are some of the worst in the country and these percentages were calculated before the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene.
Heavier Trucks Mean Bigger Safety Problems
For More Information, contact the Truck Safety Coalition, 703-294-6404
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Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Thanks,
John Lannen
Executive Director
Truck Safety Coalition
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
703.294.6404
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