March 2, 2005

Mineral-hauling bill a weighty issue

Critics say raising limit may hurt roads

By Alan Maimon and Elisabeth J. Beardsley
The Courier-Journal

SHELBY GAP, Ky. -- Every time Helen Price backs out of her driveway, she worries that a 40-ton gravel truck might be coming around the curve.

"There's so many of them that fly through here," said Price, 53. "I worry they won't be able to slow down in time if they need to."

Price said she opposes House Bill 8, which would allow trucks carrying rocks, gravel and other minerals to be 60 tons, or the weight allowed for coal trucks.

The bill's sponsor said the heavier trucks would be limited to specially built roads already designated for overweight vehicles. Critics claim the bill is loose enough to allow such trucks on other roads.

Supporters say the legislature should treat all coal- and mineral-hauling trucks the same, or the courts could lower the weight for all payloads, disrupting the coal industry.

They also contend the trucks can carry the new proposed weight safely.

But opponents say heavier trucks would tear up roads and be less safe.

Senate leaders from both parties say they support the bill, which the House passed Feb. 22 on a 55-32 vote following a spirited debate.

The bill is now in the Senate, where President David Williams said he supports it for "fairness."

"I believe it's unconstitutional to allow one mineral to haul on that road and the same weight of another mineral not to haul on it," Williams, R-Burkesville, said.

Charles Lovorn, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors, said the bill would result in heavier -- but fewer -- trucks on the road.

"That's a positive safety factor," Lovorn said.Experts disagree on whether heavier trucks take longer to brake to a stop.

The state Department of Vehicle Enforcement, which polices truck weights, provided information to at least one lawmaker that indicates heavier loads lengthen stopping distances, Justice Cabinet spokeswoman Lisa Lamb said. Rep. Ancel Smith, who received that information, said an 80,000-pound truck moving at 55 mph takes about 300 feet to stop, versus 600 feet for a 126,000-pound truck traveling at the same speed.

Chris Gilligan, a cabinet spokesman, said he could not comment further on Smith's information, adding that "the numbers will have to speak for themselves."

A former coal-hauling truck driver himself, Smith said he's worried the bill will create trucks that are too heavy to stop in time for school buses just out of sight around the curves of Eastern Kentucky's roads.

"It's going to cost lives," Smith, D-Leburn, said.

But Kentucky Transportation Center traffic experts said a truck's ability to stop safely depends on whether it's operating within the manufacturer's recommended weight limits.

The center, housed at the University of Kentucky, conducted braking tests for a 1998 report on heavy vehicle accidents, research engineer Jerry Pigman said.

The tests found no appreciable difference in stopping distances for well-maintained heavier trucks that stayed within manufacturer-recommended weight limits, Pigman said.

At 40 mph, an eight-axle truck carrying 80,000 pounds took 108 feet to stop, he said. A truck with a 120,000-pound load took 114 feet to stop at that speed, while a truck with a 150,000-pound load took 110 feet, he said.