A group comprised of some of the nation’s largest trucking companies is once again asking lawmakers to allow twin 33s in all 50 states.
Earlier this month, the group Americans for Modern Transportation wrote a letter to Representatives Peter DeFazio and Sam Graves asking for a “modest five foot increase to twin 28′ trailers.”
The group argues that twin 33s will, “at no cost to tax payers,” reduce traffic congestion by taking trucks off the road, help to protect the environment and preserve U.S. infrastructure, all while saving consumers and businesses $2.6 billion per year in shipping costs.
Several other attempts have been made in recent years to convince lawmakers to allow twin 33s in all 50 states. The Americans for Modern Transportation group sent a similar letter to lawmakers in June of 2018, but their request for twin 33s was not successful.
Other trucking industry groups have long been opposed to twin 33s.
In May of 2018, one of the those groups, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), sent letters to lawmakers opposing twin 33s because they fear that they could decrease highway safety and hurt smaller trucking companies.
OOIDA wrote:
Increasing the size and weight of commercial motor vehicles would reduce margins of safety and adversely impact small trucking businesses, which constitute a large and critical segment of the American trucking industry
They also argue that twin 33s could open the door for a higher gross vehicle weight, which they believe could be dangerous as well as financially crippling to smaller trucking companies:
Permitting trucks to operate at higher gross vehicle weight would have immediate economic implications for hundreds of thousands of small trucking businesses, who would be pressured to increase their hauling capacity just to stay competitive. Unlike large carriers, who could transition their fleets over time while maintaining business, smaller truck companies and owner-operators would be forced to immediately modify their equipment at great cost just to remain viable. Unfortunately, weight increases have demonstrated heavier trucks don’t lead to higher paychecks for professional drivers as some proponents have inaccurately claimed.
It isn’t clear how yet how lawmakers will respond to the request.