II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3059 

To permit commercial trucks to use certain highways of the Interstate System 

to provide significant savings in the transportation of goods throughout 

the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2008 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To permit commercial trucks to use certain highways of 

the Interstate System to provide significant savings in 

the transportation of goods throughout the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Truck 

5 Fuel Savings Demonstration Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) diesel fuel prices have increased more than 

2 50 percent during the 1-year period between May 

3 2007 and May 2008; 

4 (2) laws governing Federal highway funding ef5 fectively impose a limit of 80,000 pounds on the 

6 weight of vehicles permitted to use highways on the 

7 Interstate System; 

8 (3) the administration of that provision in 

9 many States has forced heavy tractor-trailer and 

10 tractor-semitrailer combination vehicles traveling in 

11 those States to divert onto small State and local 

12 roads on which higher vehicle weight limits apply 

13 under State law; 

14 (4) the diversion of those vehicles onto those 

15 roads increases fuel costs because of increased idling 

16 time and total travel time along those roads; and 

17 (5) permitting heavy commercial vehicles, in18 cluding tanker trucks carrying hazardous material 

19 and fuel oil, to travel on Interstate System highways 

20 when fuel prices are high would provide significant 

21 savings in the transportation of goods throughout 

22 the United States. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis2 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Transportation 

3 of a State. 

4 (2) COVERED INTERSTATE SYSTEM HIGH5 WAY.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 Interstate System highway’’ means a highway 

8 designated as a route on the Interstate System. 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 Interstate System highway’’ does not include 

11 any portion of a highway that, as of the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, is exempt from 

13 the requirements of subsection (a) of section 

14 127 of title 23, United States Code, pursuant 

15 to a waiver under that subsection. 

16 (3) INTERSTATE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Inter17 state System’’ has the meaning given the term in 

18 section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code. 

19 SEC. 4. WAIVER OF HIGHWAY FUNDING REDUCTION RELAT20 ING TO WEIGHT OF VEHICLES USING INTER21 STATE SYSTEM HIGHWAYS. 

22 (a) PROHIBITION RELATING TO CERTAIN VEHI23 CLES.—Notwithstanding section 127(a) of title 23, United 

24 States Code, the total amount of funds apportioned to a 

25 State under section 104(b)(1) of that title for any period 


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1 may not be reduced under section 127(a) of that title if 

2 a State permits a vehicle described in subsection (b) to 

3 use a covered Interstate System highway in the State in 

4 accordance with the conditions described in subsection (c). 

5 (b) COMBINATION VEHICLES IN EXCESS OF 80,000 

6 POUNDS.—A vehicle described in this subsection is a vehi7 cle having a weight in excess of 80,000 pounds that— 

8 (1) consists of a 3-axle tractor unit hauling a 

9 single trailer or semitrailer; and 

10 (2) does not exceed any vehicle weight limita11 tion that is applicable under the laws of a State to 

12 the operation of the vehicle on highways in the State 

13 that are not part of the Interstate System, as those 

14 laws are in effect on the date of enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 (c) CONDITIONS.—This section shall apply at any 

17 time at which the weighted average price of retail number 

18 2 diesel in the United States is $3.50 or more per gallon. 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION.—This sec20 tion shall not remain in effect— 

21 (1) after the date that is 2 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act; or 

23 (2) before the end of that 2-year period, after 

24 any date on which the Secretary of Transpor25 tation— 


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1 (A) determines that— 

2 (i) operation of vehicles described in 

3 subsection (b) on covered Interstate Sys4 tem highways has adversely affected safety 

5 on the overall highway network; or 

6 (ii) a Commissioner has failed faith7 fully to use the highway safety committee 

8 as described in section 6(2)(A) or to collect 

9 the data described in section 6(3); and 

10 (B) publishes the determination, together 

11 with the date of termination of this section, in 

12 the Federal Register. 

13 (e) CONSULTATION REGARDING TERMINATION FOR

14 SAFETY.—In making a determination under subsection 

15 (d)(2)(A)(i), the Secretary of Transportation shall consult 

16 with the highway safety committee established by a Com17 missioner in accordance with section 6. 

18 SEC. 5. GAO TRUCK SAFETY DEMONSTRATION REPORT. 

19 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

20 carry out a study of the effects of participation in the pro21 gram under section 4 on the safety of the overall highway 

22 network in States participating in that program. 


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1 SEC. 6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATES. 

2 For the purpose of section 4, a State shall be consid3 ered to meet the conditions under this section if the Com4 missioner of the State— 

5 (1) submits to the Secretary of Transportation 

6 a plan for use in meeting the conditions described in 

7 paragraphs (2) and (3); 

8 (2) establishes and chairs a highway safety 

9 committee that— 

10 (A) the Commissioner uses to review the 

11 data collected pursuant to paragraph (3); and 

12 (B) consists of representatives of— 

13 (i) agencies of the State that have re14 sponsibilities relating to highway safety; 

15 (ii) municipalities of the State; 

16 (iii) organizations that have evalua17 tion or promotion of highway safety among 

18 the principal purposes of the organizations; 

19 and 

20 (iv) the commercial trucking industry; 

21 and 

22 (3) collects data on the net effects that the op23 eration of vehicles described in section 4(b) on cov24 ered Interstate System highways have on the safety 

25 of the overall highway network, including the net efVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:42 May 24, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3059.IS S3059

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1 fects on single-vehicle and multiple-vehicle collision 

2 rates for those vehicles. 

Æ 


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