A federal study recommends making semi-trucks longer and heavier so more cargo can be carried by fewer trucks. Scott Weiser, president of the Iowa Motor Truck Association, has read the report and sees good and bad in the proposal. Weiser says those 18-wheelers on Iowa’s interstates would grow proportionately. Weiser says a new truck configuration should be adopted nationwide that would include more axles and a larger payload, weighing 96-thousand pounds, instead of the current 80-thousand. He says supporters of the study’s recommendations say bigger, heavier trucks make good financial sense and could relieve traffic congestion in cities nationwide. “When you can eliminate additional trucks, it’s the best thing you can do from a safety standpoint and certainly to address the efficiency question, having that truck and that fuel and that driver carry more product and become more efficient is good for the economy.” One huge drawback, Weiser says, is creating a fleet of these new super-trucks would be very expensive.us for that” He says the size and weight of trucks has been a big political issue for years. Weiser says the Iowa Motor Truck Association’s board of directors does -not- support the proposal to change the current 18-wheeler set-up and “would have to be convinced” that upgrading makes the best economic sense.
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