Truckers push efficiency in case for longer trailers

WASHINGTON – Drivers nationwide could find themselves sharing the roads with longer double-trailer trucks under a proposal making its way through Congress.

Large trucking companies and a national industry group are urging lawmakers to allow longer trailers, arguing that doing so would increase efficiency and move more goods with fewer trucks.

Republicans in both chambers of Congress strongly support the truckers’ effort, but it has sparked outrage among safety advocates.

Double trailers could stretch to 33 feet instead of the current 28 feet under a provision in a transportation spending package awaiting consideration by the full Senate. The House has passed a spending bill that also includes the provision.

The trailer debate comes as forecasters see major increases on the nation’s transportation network in the coming decades – with few signs of a dramatic increase in infrastructure spending or major change in the way the country moves goods.

Highway safety advocates don’t see truck length as an efficiency issue. They’re calling for Congress to apply the brakes, saying safety questions are still unanswered.