97-Foot 'Monster' Trucks May Be Allowed On Highways

Coming to a highway near you: "saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations" -- 97-foot-long big-rig trucks with four trailers -- are on the verge of being approved to travel on the nation's highway system.

1 minute read

December 26, 2006, 8:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


"The FHA, which oversees our nation's highway system, is about to issue a regulation allowing 97-foot-long multi-truck monstrosities to roar up and down our highways. These vehicle combinations, called ''saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations,'' or simply ''four-ways,'' consist of four trucks all linked together with only the first truck having both its front and rear wheels on the ground. On the other three trucks, only the rear wheels touch the ground, the front resting on the truck preceding it. From the side, the four-ways look like elephants holding each others' tails with their trunks - only much, much larger, and more dangerous."

"Under current federal regulations states are allowed to impose an overall length limit of 75 feet on four-ways, and almost every state has imposed such limits. But for the trucking companies, longer truck combinations mean fewer trips and fewer drivers, which cuts their costs and increases profits. The American Trucking Association, National Automobile Dealers Association and other industry trade associations have all pushed hard to overturn these limits."

Thanks to Brian MCGuire

Sunday, December 17, 2006 in McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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