Bigger, heavier ‘Twin 33’ trucks would make Kansas highways more dangerous

Anybody who commutes to work or regularly travels on Interstate Highway 35 knows that it’s already difficult driving out there with the sheer volume of semitrucks on our roads. They’re big, they’re heavy, they’re tough for truck drivers to control — and their length often causes problems for passenger vehicles whose drivers are trying to accelerate onto an interstate or pass them.

But can you imagine this situation being even worse?

A few players in the shipping industry have been lobbying Congress to allow so-called “Twin 33” trucks — even heavier vehicles that weigh up to 91,000 pounds or more. To put this into perspective, that’s 5.5 tons more than what’s allowed today. But that’s not all: Another proposal being pushed hard by bigger truck lobbyists is for longer trucks. You’ve probably seen these twin-trailer trucks on the road while driving on I-35 or one of our major highways. This proposed legislation would make each of these trailers five feet longer, creating a super-long 91-foot truck.

I’ve personally reached out to our congressional representatives about this subject before. I am convinced that bigger trucks on our roads are a bad idea for public safety. What would heavier trucks mean for us? It means that we would share the road with trucks that are much more likely to flip over if they are in an accident. It means we would share the road with trucks that have been found to have braking violation rates of up to 18% higher than those at the weight allowed today. Where there are problems with brakes, there are obviously problems with being able to stop, especially in emergency situations.

Heavier trucks would also mean that we would be mingling passenger cars with commercial vehicles that have been proven to have crash rates anywhere from 47% to a shocking 400% higher than current weights, according to a 2015 study by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This legislation would bring that heightened risk to every state in the union, including Kansas.

The study found a number of other issues with the proposed Twin 33s, but one data point that sticks out in my mind is their longer stopping distance: Tt would require another 22 feet for one of these longer trucks to come to a complete stop, compared with the “Double 28s” that are allowed today. We all know that 22 additional feet could be the difference between a near miss and a devastating rear-end collision.

Throughout Johnson County and the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, we have witnessed some horrific accidents over the past few years, unfortunately many of them with multiple fatalities. As the sheer number of trucks on our roads increases because of the rise of the ship-to-home and delivery economy, my concerns are amplified.

It’s important to remember that aside from the greater danger to public safety and wear and tear on our infrastructure that these bigger trucks would bring, more accidents on the road would also mean more resources expended by local law enforcement departments that frequently act as first responders. What this boils down to is fewer law enforcement personnel devoted to other pressing public safety issues off our roads.

This lobbying campaign for bigger trucks is flying quietly under the radar, and most everyday people have no clue that it’s something that is being considered. The push is being composed and funded by just a handful of major companies — not the trucking industry as a whole — and these bigger trucks would likely only benefit just this small cadre of businesses.

The National Sheriffs’ Association has expressed its disapproval of legislation for bigger trucks for many years, and I am joining them to speak up and make people aware of how this could negatively impact public safety. I encourage all residents of Johnson County to reach out to our congressional representatives and ask them to oppose any legislation allowing bigger trucks on our roads.

Calvin Hayden is Johnson County Sheriff.

This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Bigger, heavier ‘Twin 33’ trucks would make Kansas highways more dangerous."