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<br /> <br />Minnesota Alliance for Safe Highways <br />A Program of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, LLC <br />888-222-8123 . info@cabt.org . www.cabt.org <br /> <br />Bigger Trucks Threaten Minnesota <br /> <br />Double-trailertrucks longer than a Boeing 737 and as heavy as 26 SUVs could soon be operating state-wide in <br />Minnesota. Over % of Minnesota citizens oppose weakening our truck length and weight limits, but a special task <br />force led by the Minnesota DOT and dominated by big shipping companies is pushing hard, behind closed doors, to <br />allow longer combination vehicles ("LCVs") on Minnesota roads. <br /> <br />The MN DOT task force wants to legalize LCVs weighing up to 129,000 pounds. The task force also wants to <br />increase the weight of conventional single tractor-trailers to 98,000 pounds, g tons over the current limit. <br /> <br />Longer, heavier trucks will threaten the safety of Minnesota highway users, damage Minnesota roads and bridges, <br />and cost Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars. Legalizing long, heavy doubles will also set a precedent for <br />allowing other multi-trailer combinations, like triple-trailer trucks. Neighboring states and Canada already allow <br />triples on their roads. Once Minnesota allows one form of LCV, the pressure will increase to "harmonize" with <br />neighboring states and Canada and allow triples as well. <br /> <br />BiggerTrucks are Dangerous <br />More Fatal Accidents <br />. LCVs, like the 129,000 pound doubles being considered by the task force, are likely to have fatal accident <br />involvement rates at least 11 % higher that today's single-trailer trucks, accordin~ to the most recent <br />authoritative federal study. (Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study, USDOT, ;;;;;;~;;;;; III, Scenario Analysis, 2000, <br />p. VIII-5) <br /> <br />--I <br />