Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act.

SHIPA (H.R. 1618 & S. 779) would protect our roads and bridges by capping the length of single truck trailers, freezing the weights of trucks using the National Highway System (NHS), and extending the freeze on double and triple trailer trucks to the entire NHS.

Regulates Length
Today, there is no federal limit on the length of truck trailers. Eleven states allow trailers over 53 feet and Wyoming even allows 60-foot-long trailers to operate. SHIPA will cap the length of truck trailers at 53 feet, but allow existing use of trailers that exceed 53 feet to continue.

Regulates Weight
Congress set the maximum truck weight at 80,000 lbs on Interstate highways. Many trucks on Interstates and other highways are over this limit because of loopholes. SHIPA would close these loopholes and extend the 80,000 lb limit to all 161,000 miles of the NHS.

Regulates LCVs
In 1991, Congress froze the operation of longer combination vehicles (LCVs) - long double and triple trailer trucks - on Interstates and stopped LCVs from spreading onto a larger share of the Interstate system. These bills extend this freeze to the entire NHS.

Saves Us Money
The profits from hauling extra weight often exceed the fines levied by the states for overweight operations. SHIPA calls for a model fine schedule designed to recover the infrastructure, enforcement, and administrative costs of overweight operations and to act as an effective deterrent.

See a list of House cosponsors. See a list of Senate cosponsors.

Read the PDF of what Congress has to say about the need for SHIPA.

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