State Senate votes to allow bigger trucks

The state Senate on Tuesday passed and sent to the House a far-reaching measure to put longer trucks, wider boats and some heavier farm commodity trucks on North Carolina roads.

Trucking and business interests have pushed for the Senate proposal to let 53-foot tractor-trailers use all primary highways -- replacing a 48-foot limit on most roads.

"The 53-foot-trailers are more productive than the antiquated 48-foot trailers, and using them means we can put fewer trucks on the road," said Charlie Diehl, president of the N.C. Trucking Association. "And that's good for congestion issues and air-quality issues."

Fishermen and other boaters have lobbied for the legislation to let them haul boats and trailers as wide as 10 feet on state roads, day or night, without a permit. A House committee today will review a similar bill to ease limits on towing wide boats.

The State Highway Patrol has warned that the changes could lead to nighttime collisions involving wide boat trailers that straddle the center line on narrow roads. The patrol also contends that 53-foot trucks are not safe on some highways -- particularly narrow, winding mountain roads in Western North Carolina.

"It amazes me that they can dismiss the Highway Patrol's concerns about safety," Jennifer Tierney of Forsyth County, a board member for a national safety group called Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, said after the Senate vote.

Tierney lost her father in a 1983 crash that involved a tractor-trailer.

"They're just going to wait until crashes happen and bodies pile up before they recognize it was a mistake," she said.

The legislation would allow state transportation safety experts to propose marking some roads off-limits to long trucks. The final decision would rest with a legislative oversight committee. Its co-chairman is Sen. Clark Jenkins of Edgecombe County, sponsor of the Senate bill.

Diehl said there was work to be done in the House to improve safeguards that would keep long trucks from using specific roads where they aren't safe. He said longer trucks would benefit consumers.

Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling said Tuesday that a telephone survey this week of 507 likely voters across the state found that only 15 percent of North Carolinians favor letting 53-foot tractor-trailers travel on most state roads.

Longer, wider, heavier

The House will consider a Senate proposal to relax safety restrictions on the lengths of trucks, the widths of boats and the weights of some trucks allowed on state highways.

TRACTOR-TRAILERS

NOW: 48 feet is the length limit on most roads. Tractor-trailers 53 feet long are allowed on about 5,600 miles -- mostly interstates and other major U.S. highways -- and on connecting roads for three miles in each direction. Local governments can ban the long trucks on major highways that pass through towns.

PROPOSED: 53-footers would be allowed on more than 20,000 miles of primary highways -- all interstates and highways labeled "U.S." or "N.C." -- and on connecting roads for 3 miles in each direction. This covers about 90 percent of the state's road network, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Local governments and the DOT would lose their power to bar long trucks. DOT officials could propose banning 53-foot trucks from certain highways where studies "clearly show" they do not belong -- but legislators would make the decision.

RECREATIONAL BOATS AND TRAILERS

NOW: Permits are required for boaters who pull boat-trailer combinations more than 8.5 feet wide. Wide boats cannot be hauled on Sundays, holidays or at night.

PROPOSED: Boats wider than 8.5 feet would need special lights if they were hauled at night. Permits would be required only for widths of 10 feet or more. Boats more than 10 feet wide could not be hauled at night. Sunday and holiday bans would be eliminated.

OTHER PROVISIONS

* Any licensed driver 18 or older could drive any noncommercial vehicle-trailer combination weighing as much as 13 tons.

* Farmers could drive combines as wide as 25 feet on some roads where the current limit is 18 feet.

* Log truckers would benefit from relaxed weight limits now enjoyed by haulers of wood chips.

* Weight limits for two-axle trucks hauling raw cotton from field to gin would be increased to 25 tons from the current 22 tons.