Proposed bill may increase weight limit on federal highways

A recent push from The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP) has urged federal legislators to reintroduce the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (SETA) into the House of Representatives. If the bill is passed, federal weight limits on interstate highways will increase, Trucking Info reports.

Currently, the federal weight limit is set at 80,000 pounds, which forces shippers that meet this limit and have space left in their trailers to use more trucks and fuel than necessary. However, officials told the news source that the goal of this bill is to make truck transportation safer by giving states the ability to adjust limits on highways within their borders.

"SETA provides a critical opportunity for Congress to enact a Highway Reauthorization proposal that modernizes American truck shipping standards in order to protect motorists and the environment, and give U.S. manufacturers and producers a competitive edge," John Runyan, CTP Executive Director, told the news source.

Safety directors can enroll their newest employees into online safety training courses to learn the current laws and regulations that pertain their industry as well as other legislation that may affect the field.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job opportunities in the trucking industry is expected to increase by nearly 9 percent over the next seven years.

By Mark Priest

Proposed bill may increase weight limit on federal highways

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011