Citation

Walker HK. Proc. Int. Tech. Conf. Enhanced Safety Vehicles 1992; 1992: 448-451.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, In public domain, Publisher National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article briefly presents suggestions for policy makers as regards the freight industry and the conflict between the economics of increasing lorry size and weight limits and the corresponding increase in damage such vehicles do to pavements and the environment. Any policy limiting truck size and weight should provide minimum standards which must be recognized by all jurisdictions within a trading area. Environmental impacts of any increases in truck size or weight must be addressed in terms that are both factual and easily understood by both the general public and by politicians. Resulting costs and benefits both to the trucking industry and to the population as a whole (as regards pollution, pavement damage, accident rate, etc) should be examined as an integral part of any proposal to revise truck regulations. Every effort should be made to improve vehicle design, especially in the areas of suspensions, tyres, and performance. Policy makers should adopt the development of truck regulations based on performance measures as a goal, but must remember that a policy based on a less complete set of such measures will be unsatisfactory. Agreement must be reached on methods of predicting the increase in pavement wear and its cost caused by increased axle weight allowances.