Safe and Efficient Transportation Act Update
Here’s a quick link to click on http://mercertownblog.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/safe-and-efficient-transportation-act-of-2009/.
Now that you are caught up on the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act, and what it means, check this link out: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bipartisan-senate-bill-gives-states-option-to-raise-interstate-weight-limits-100035029.html.
Looks like they are going to get away with passing this bill, and if you read that first link…you know how I feel about it. Please share your concerns in the comment section.
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Categories: All Mercertown Blog Posts, Industry Changes, Safety
here we go more weight and lower pay drivers ask yourself how many company personal give up 5hrs a day just to have a job just do the math and wake up
we need a link so we can properly bend over an grab our ankles so as not to injure our backs an also a link to the govt site that tells how much we are gonna enjoy this
Here comes the 40000 lbs partial load.
Fifty year old infrastructure won’t take it. More people will be driving off a bridge that has collapsed.
All for corprate and company greed.
Sounds to me like another excuse to retire.
it’s too late guys. we’ve let them create their own voting base, and there are too many “takers” and not enough producers.
I hadn’t been on for several days and hadn’t seen this until Danny (#6326) called me to talk about it. He brought up the excellent point that you can’t just throw another axle under the wagon and go on with it……the load rating on the main beams won’t handle the additional weight in most cases. Scott is dead on about the infrastructure. I wonder if the states will magically void all of the overweight tickets that will now not be overweight on the same roadway?
Braking is another issue. The industry is decades behind on available technology. We should have gone to discs years ago and eliminated all of this cracked brakeshoe and slack adjuster out of adjustment nonsense that not only costs the industry money and time, but does the same to law enforcement. If you run 97,000 pounds, or 100,000 pounds or whatever, you ought to have the best available technology to stop it.
Greater weight means less fuel economy which is opposed to what the EPA’s SmartWay program is trying to accomplish. To stay in that program (which is a requirement of many of our shippers), Mercer has to post improvement in fleet fuel mileage every year. Exactly what trumps what here? The argument is that more weight equals less trucks therefore less pollution. I’ve looked at a lot of scenerios and I’m not so sure that is how it will play out.
What I do know, being an old codger in training, is the history of putting more weight on the wagons. Frankly, in my opinion, we started giving it away as an industry when we went from 73,280 to 80,000 and when we started pulling trailers longer than 42 feet. Unfortunately, that’s where the market took everyone and we’ve had to deal with it. I think before we start loading 97,000, the powers that be in this great country of ours should spend some quality time with all the states and make all of the weight, length and overdimensional laws UNIFORM. Quit talking about fixing infrastructure and do it. Quit doing stupid little stimulus projects to get press and get our highways into the 21st century.
You know, I think OOIDA has got this one right. If I was an owner-operator, leased to Mercer or anybody else, I would be a member. Keep your speed down, log legal, be safe.
I am from Washington state, and spent almost 10 years hauling 100,000 lbs. loads.
To answer the question of fuel economy, it will depend on the way your truck is set up. Most highway trucks are not geared for heavy loads. Average mileage will be lowered .5-1.5 mpg at a max weight of 97,000 lbs.
If this does pass, it will take years to impliment as bridges will have to be inspected and certified for the weight. Heavy weight routes will have to be planned.
On the plus side, maybe this will force California to fix the freeway system.
I have already checked. It will run $5,000 to $7000 to install a drop axle on a flatbed.
Does anyone know if they are planning on the 3rd axle between a spread axle or a second spread farther forward like they run in Michigan?
In response to Patrick.. Michigan and all it’s multi-axle heavy steel haulers have done nothing for MI but keep the roads in a constant tattered mess! No governor of MI has ever been able to deliver on their promises to aquire the needed funds to even come close to maintaining the roads.
The other thing that has come to mind is the Jake Brake. All these towns that have decided you can’t use them, some of which have a downhill at their entrance, will they reconsider after that 97,000 lb load comes into town And can’t stop at their traffic light or stop sign and hits that school bus, ect. This poor economy has already hit drivers to where many are neglecting maintenance despite CSA2010; I doubt many of those drivers could even come close to being able to handle a load that heavy, and all the extra maint a truck needs after working that hard. Also, it Seems like you used to have to have exp in order to get hired to handle loads that heavy.