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� .� �" NMM�I#54i� ��Eta� Minnesota Alliance for �afe Highways A Program of the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks, LLC 888-222-8123 . info@cabt.org . www.cabt.org Bigger Trucks Threaten Minnesota Double-trailertrucks longer than a Boeing 737 and as heavy as 26 SUVs could soon be operating state-wide in Minnesota. Over'/4 of Minnesota citizens oppose weakening our truck length and weight limits, but a special task force led by the Minnesota DOT and dominated by big shipping companies is pushing hard, behind closed doors, to allow longer combination vehicles ("LCVs") on Minnesota roads. The MN DOT task force wants to legalize LCVs weighing up to 129,000 pounds. The task force also wants to increase the weight of conventional single tractor-trailers to 98,000 pounds, 9 tons over the current limit. Longer, heavier trucks will threaten the safety of Minnesota highway users, damage Minnesota roads and bridges, and cost Minnesota taxpayers millions of dollars. Legalizing long, heavy doubles will also set a precedent for allowing other multi-trailer combinations, like triple-trailer trucks. Neighboring states and Canada already allow triples on their roads. Once Minnesota allows one form of LCV, the pressure will increase to "harmonize" with neighboring states and Canada and allow triples as well. BiggerTrucks are Dangerous More Fatal Accidents • LCVs, like the 129,000 pound doubles being considered by the task force, are likely to have fatal accident involvement rates at least 11% higher that today's single-trailer trucks, accordin� to the most recent authoritative federal study. (Comprehensrve Truck 5ize and Weight Study, USDO�, 5��fT ti III, Scenario Analysis, 2000, p. Vf{E-5}