Bigger trucks would pose potential safety hazard, risks to roads and bridges
The safety of Illinois citizens is the top priority for law enforcement professionals throughout the state. But a proposed law in Congress that is gaining traction threatens to undermine highway safety and make road travel in the state far more dangerous for everyone.
At issue is a proposed law recently adopted by a House committee in Congress and making its way to the House floor and then onto the Senate that will bring nothing but more traffic snarls, collisions and damage to our roads and bridges. The measure, which is included as part of the highway funding bill, would allow states to raise the weight limit on tractor trailers from 80,000 pounds to 91,000 pounds as part of a so-called “pilot project.”
Heavier trucks will mean greater damage to our roads and bridges along with greater threats to road safety for everyday motorists. This especially is an issue in a village like Algonquin, where I am chief of police and where so many of our residents are commuters — many of them sharing the highway with big semi-trucks on a daily basis.
In Algonquin, we do not have to imagine what heavy truck traffic looks like. We see it every day. Local data shows that one major thoroughfare, Route 62, carries nearly 42,000 vehicles daily in the downtown area — including nearly 4,000 trucks. These aren’t primarily freight routes — they are roads shared by families, commuters, cyclists, pedestrians and emergency responders.
Our officers and firefighters have seen firsthand what happens when large commercial vehicles lose control. This past March, a car-hauler truck and trailer rolled over in the village after its load apparently shifted, sending two vehicles on the trailer onto their sides and partially blocking the roadway. In 2023, a semi-truck rolled over near Main Street, spilling a load of asphalt shavings and closing the busy roadway for hours.
The government already has hard data demonstrating that increasing truck weight is dangerous. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) in 2016 completed a comprehensive report on the effects of heavier and longer commercial trucks — to date, the most thorough report on this issue undertaken at the federal level. What they found comes as no surprise to law enforcement and first responders — a crash rate of 47% higher with the 91,000-pound trucks (in states that were tested), 18% higher braking violations and significantly more damage to bridges.
This is not an argument against trucking. We all know the trucking industry is essential to our economy, and I have tremendous respect for the professional drivers who safely move goods through our community. Even many trucking groups, including the Teamsters, have come out against the 91,000-pound weight limit proposal.
Congress has an opportunity to make a responsible choice as it considers transportation legislation. That is why I urge every member of the Illinois congressional delegation to oppose efforts to allow heavier and longer trucks on our nation’s highways, and I implore everyone to call their member of Congress and ask them to do the same.
From a law enforcement and first responder perspective, the answer is clear: Congress should hold the line on truck size and weight limits and look for solutions to improve the current state of safety on our roads.
Our residents deserve nothing less.
• Dennis Walker is police chief for the village of Algonquin.