II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1388 

To establish a commercial truck highway safety demonstration program in 

the State of Maine, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2007 

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

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

Works 

A BILL 

To establish a commercial truck highway safety demonstration program in the State of Maine, 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 Highway Safety Demonstration Program Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Public safety on the highways of the United 

9 States is a paramount concern of all who use the 


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1 highways and all who prescribe public policy for the 

2 use of those highways, including public policy on the 

3 operation of heavy commercial trucks on highways. 

4 (2) Federal highway funding law effectively im5 poses a limit of 80,000 pounds on the weight of ve6 hicles permitted to use Interstate System highways. 

7 (3) The administration of this law in Maine has 

8 forced heavy tractor-trailer and tractor-semitrailer 

9 combination vehicles traveling into Maine from 

10 neighboring States and Canada to divert onto small 

11 State and local roads where higher vehicle weight 

12 limits apply under Maine law. 

13 (4) The diversion of those vehicles onto such 

14 roads causes significant economic hardships and 

15 safety challenges for small communities located 

16 along those roads. 

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

19 and fuel oil, to travel on Interstate System highways 

20 in Maine— 

21 (A) would enhance public safety by reduc22 ing— 

23 (i) the number of heavy vehicles that 

24 use town and city streets in Maine; and 


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1 (ii) as a result, the number of dan2 gerous interactions between those heavy 

3 vehicles and such other vehicles as school 

4 buses and private vehicles; and 

5 (B) would reduce the net highway mainte6 nance costs in Maine because the Interstate 

7 System highways, unlike the secondary roads of 

8 Maine, are built to accommodate heavy vehicles 

9 and are, therefore, more durable. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) COVERED INTERSTATE SYSTEM HIGH13 WAY.—The term ‘‘covered Interstate System high14 way’’— 

15 (A) means, except as provided under sub16 paragraph (B), a highway within the State of 

17 Maine that is designated as a route on the 

18 Interstate System; and 

19 (B) does not include any portion of high20 way that, as of the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, is exempted from the requirements of 

22 subsection (a) of section 127 of title 23, United 

23 States Code, by the last sentence of such sub24 section. 


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1 (2) INTERSTATE SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Inter2 state System’’ has the meaning given that term in 

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

4 SEC. 4. MAINE TRUCK SAFETY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

5 The Secretary of Transportation shall carry out a 

6 program to demonstrate the effects on the safety of the 

7 overall highway network in the State of Maine that would 

8 result from permitting vehicles described in section 5(b) 

9 to be operated on Interstate System highways within the 

10 State. 

11 SEC. 5. WAIVER OF HIGHWAY FUNDING REDUCTION RELAT12 ING TO WEIGHT OF VEHICLES USING INTER13 STATE SYSTEM HIGHWAYS. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION RELATING TO CERTAIN VEHI15 CLES.—Notwithstanding section 127(a) of title 23, United 

16 States Code, the total amount of funds apportioned to the 

17 State of Maine under section 104(b)(1) of such title for 

18 any period may not be reduced under such section 127(a) 

19 on the basis that the State of Maine permits a vehicle de20 scribed in subsection (b) to use a covered Interstate Sys21 tem highway. 

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

23 POUNDS.—A vehicle described in this subsection is a vehi24 cle having a weight in excess of 80,000 pounds that— 


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

2 single trailer or semitrailer; and 

3 (2) does not exceed any vehicle weight limita4 tion that is applicable under the laws of the State 

5 of Maine to the operation of such vehicle on high6 ways in Maine not in the Interstate System, as such 

7 laws are in effect on the date of the enactment of 

8 this Act. 

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TERMINATION.— 

10 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

11 (A) DATE OF SATISFACTION OF ADMINIS12 TRATIVE CONDITIONS BY MAINE.—Subsection 

13 (a) shall take effect on the date on which the 

14 Secretary of Transportation notifies the Com15 missioner of Transportation of the State of 

16 Maine in writing that— 

17 (i) the Secretary has received the plan 

18 described in section 6(1); and 

19 (ii) the Commissioner has established 

20 a highway safety committee described in 

21 section 6(2) and has promulgated rules 

22 and procedures for the collection of high23 way safety data as described in section 

24 6(3). 


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1 (B) PERMANENT EFFECT.—After taking 

2 effect, subsection (a) shall remain in effect un3 less terminated under paragraph (2). 

4 (2) CONTINGENT TERMINATION.—Subsection 

5 (a) shall not remain in effect beyond the date that 

6 is 3 years after the effective date applicable under 

7 paragraph (1) if, before the end of such 3-year pe8 riod, the Secretary of Transportation— 

9 (A) determines that— 

10 (i) operation of vehicles described in 

11 subsection (b) on covered Interstate Sys12 tem highways in Maine has adversely af13 fected safety on the overall highway net14 work in Maine; or 

15 (ii) the Commissioner of Transpor16 tation of the State of Maine has failed 

17 faithfully to use the highway safety com18 mittee as described in section 6(2)(A) or to 

19 collect the data described in section 6(3); 

20 and 

21 (B) publishes the determination, together 

22 with the date of the termination of the prohibi23 tion, in the Federal Register. 

24 (d) CONSULTATION REGARDING TERMINATION FOR

25 SAFETY.—In making a determination under subsection 


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1 (c)(2)(A)(i), the Secretary of Transportation shall consult 

2 with the highway safety committee established by the 

3 Commissioner in accordance with section 6. 

4 SEC. 6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE OF MAINE. 

5 For the purposes of section 5, the State of Maine sat6 isfies the conditions under this section if the Commis7 sioner of Transportation of the State of Maine— 

8 (1) submits to the Secretary of Transportation 

9 a plan for satisfying the conditions set forth in para10 graphs (2) and (3); 

11 (2) establishes and chairs a highway safety 

12 committee that— 

13 (A) the Commissioner uses to review the 

14 data collected pursuant to paragraph (3); and 

15 (B) consists of representatives of— 

16 (i) agencies of the State of Maine that 

17 have responsibilities related to highway 

18 safety; 

19 (ii) municipalities of the State of 

20 Maine; 

21 (iii) organizations that have evalua22 tion or promotion of highway safety among 

23 their principal purposes; and 

24 (iv) the commercial trucking industry; 

25 and 


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1 (3) collects data on the net effects that the op2 eration of vehicles described in section 5(b) on cov3 ered Interstate System highways have on the safety 

4 of the overall highway network in Maine, including 

5 the net effects on single-vehicle and multiple-vehicle 

6 collision rates for such vehicles. 

Æ 


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