States keep messing with truck weight rules – and some of these changes are turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
Lawmakers are zeroing in on a single type of load. Commodities include construction materials, agricultural products or milk.
Supporters say heavier trucks could mean fewer trips, less traffic and lower emission. But the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association isn’t buying it.
OOIDA cites studies from the Transportation Research Board and the U.S. Department of Transportation that back concerns about heavier trucks rather than easing them.
Despite concerns, states across the country are moving forward with changes to truck weight limits for certain types of trucks.
Maryland
Maryland just rewrote the rules for heavy-weight port corridor permits.
Back in 2019, the state gave the Maryland Department of Transportation the green light to set up a permit program.
That program lets overweight trucks hauling international freight roll on certain roads tied to port routes.
Under the rules, a truck – or a combo of vehicles – hauling manifested international freight as its only load, sealed in a seagoing container on a semitrailer, can be treated as carrying an indivisible load, if it has the right permit.
There’s still a hard stop: these trucks can’t go over 100,000 pounds.
Now the new truck weight law shakes things up.
It drops the rule that required official routes to be set through regulation. It also scraps the idea of naming specific heavy-weight port corridors.
Instead, trucks with permits must stick to state or county highways listed on the permit. Those routes run between the Seagirt Marine Terminal and destinations approved by MDOT.
One thing didn’t change: these new rules do not override any existing truck route limits or bans.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is back at it. The state is allowing certain loads to become heavier.
Over the past two years, lawmakers authorized heavier loads for pig iron, milk, liquid whey and other fluid milk products.
Now, Gov. Tony Evers has signed off on another tweak to the truck weight rule. The change applies to grain, commercial feed or bulk fertilizer.
The new law, AB679, lets the state DOT issue permits for trucks with six or more axles to haul up to 91,000 pounds on certain highways. The old cap was 90,000 pounds.
A $325 permit fee is included.
Drivers also need written approval from a local highway department before using local roads.
And there’s a catch: these permits are only good for trips to places like rail yards, ports, ethanol plants, factories, grain elevators or feed mills.
The DOT can also hit pause on these permits during the spring thaw season.
Rep. Brent Jacobson, R-Mosinee, said the changes allow agricultural producers to move key commodities more efficiently.
The new truck weight rule takes effect this summer.
Virginia
In Virginia, a bill on the governor’s desk zeroes in on coal haulers.
Right now, the law says either the truck owner, the operator or both can be on the hook for weight violations.
Fines start at $250 and can climb to $1,000 for repeat offenses.
HB1457 makes it clear: if a truck qualifies for a coal permit but doesn’t have one, the owner is responsible.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger wants to go a step further. She’s asked lawmakers to expand that rule to include lessees.
Now, it’s up to lawmakers. They can accept the change, reject it or override it.
Oregon
Oregon is pushing things even further with milk haulers.
A new truck weight law orders the Oregon DOT to run a five-year pilot program.
Right now, milk trucks can haul up to 105,500 pounds with the right permit.
The new rule blows past that. Trucks hauling milk will be allowed up to 129,000 pounds – but only on approved routes.
The state will track what that does to roads and bridges. Lawmakers will get a full report by fall 2032.
Iowa
Iowa lawmakers could be next to make a rule revision for milk haulers.
Current rules allow permits for trucks hauling fluid milk products. Permits can be used for moving to or from a milk plant, receiving station or transfer station, provided the gross weight exceeds the weight limitation.
Truck weights cannot exceed 20,000 pounds per axle and 96,000 pounds gross weight on primary roads and primary road extensions in cities.
The permit costs $400.
SF2429 would crank the total weight up to 136,000 pounds. The revision would not change the 20,000-pound-per-axle cap.
It would also remove the rule limiting travel to primary roads and their extensions.
The DOT would set minimum distance rules for axle setups.
House lawmakers also signed off. Now it’s the Senate’s move. LL
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