Georgia Committee Approves Higher Weight Limits for Trucks, Raising Safety Concerns

A bill that would significantly raise the weight limit for trucks on Georgia highways appears to be gaining steam after it was approved by a state House committee.

The House Transportation Committee voted 18-11 to raise the maximum gross vehicle weight from 80,000 to 90,000, a limit that opponents said would mean more wear and tear for state roads and for trucks, and would increase accidents and the cost of vehicle insurance.

The president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said passage of the bill would prove to be bad public policy and any perceived economic benefit would be eroded by higher fuel and maintenance costs, according to the association’s newsletter.

Federal highways and most state highways have a gross weight limit of 80,000 pounds, with higher limits for some roads, the Federal Highway Administration notes. Florida, for example, allows as much as 147,000 but only on the Florida Turnpike.

Georgia has a limit of 80,000 pounds on most roads, with slightly higher limits for logging and some agricultural products. Gov. Brian Kemp temporarily raised the limit for some vehicles to 95,000 pounds, through an executive order he said was needed during the COVID-19 pandemic to help alleviate supply chain issues. That order expires next month but could be extended.

House Bill 189, sponsored by state Rep. Steven Meeks, R-Screven, and others, would require that trucks be certified as capable of carrying the heavier loads. The heavier loads would aid shippers, manufacturers and agribusinesses, allowing more goods to be shipped with fewer trips, supporters have said.

But the state Department of Transportation, local officials and the Truck Safety Coalition have said the higher weights will prove to be extremely dangerous, adding to the steady rise in highway accidents in recent years, according to reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and on Local 3 TV News. Some bridges in state won’t be able handle the greater weights, the Georgia Department of Transportation has said.

The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee. If approved there, it would go to the House floor for a vote.

Topics Georgia