WASHINGTON- At a recent news conference U.S. Senator’s Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., talked about their opposition to a federal mandate that would allow large trucks to now pull double 33-foot long trailers on highways.
At the news conference the senators were accompanied by representatives from the trucking industry, Teamsters, other law enforcement and safety advocate groups.
Earlier this year the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment that would allow funding for a bill to require states to allow trucks with two 33-foot trailers on the highway. The current federal law permits double 28-foot trailers.
“We stand united in our efforts to oppose a federal mandate forcing long twin-33 trucks on our nation’s highways,” Wicker said. “Thirty-eight states, including Mississippi, have considered this issue and have chosen not to allow these trucks on their roads. Why should Washington, D.C., tell these states that we know better about safety decisions than they do at the local level? I will continue to fight to ensure that every Senator has the opportunity to vote up or down on this issue before it is allowed to proceed.”
AAA, or American Automobile Association, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, The National Troopers Coalition and other law enforcement associations throughout the country oppose this new mandate.
