II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 488 

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 

MARCH 1, 2005 

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

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

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 2005’’. 

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 
2

•S 488 IS

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 
3

•S 488 IS

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.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 Interstate System highway’’ means a highway 

16 within the State of Maine that is designated as 

17 a route on the Interstate System, except as pro18 vided in subparagraph (B). 

19 (B) EXCEPTION.—The term does not in20 clude any portion of highway that, as of the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, is exempted 

22 from the requirements of subsection (a) of sec23 tion 127 of title 23, United States Code, by the 

24 last sentence of such subsection. 
4

•S 488 IS

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, in the administration of this Act, to demonstrate 

7 the effects on the safety of the overall highway network 

8 in the State of Maine that would result from permitting 

9 vehicles described in section 5(b) to be operated on the 

10 Interstate System highways within the 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 referred to in subsection (a) is a vehi24 cle having a weight in excess of 80,000 pounds that— 
5

•S 488 IS

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.—The prohibi13 tion in subsection (a) shall take effect on the 

14 date on which the Secretary of Transportation 

15 notifies the Commissioner of Transportation of 

16 the State of Maine in writing that— 

17 (i) the Secretary has received the plan 

18 described in paragraph (1) of section 6; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the Commissioner has established 

21 a highway safety committee as described in 

22 paragraph (2) of such section and has pro23 mulgated rules and procedures for the col24 lection of highway safety data as described 

25 in paragraph (3) of such section. 
6

•S 488 IS

1 (B) PERMANENT EFFECT.—After taking 

2 effect, the prohibition in subsection (a) shall re3 main in effect unless terminated under para4 graph (2). 

5 (2) CONTINGENT TERMINATION.—The prohibi6 tion in subsection (a) shall terminate three years 

7 after the effective date applicable under paragraph 

8 (1) if, before the end of such 3-year period, the Sec9 retary of Transportation— 

10 (A) determines that— 

11 (i) operation of vehicles described in 

12 subsection (b) on covered Interstate Sys13 tem highways in Maine has adversely af14 fected safety on the overall highway net15 work in Maine; or 

16 (ii) the Commissioner of Transpor17 tation of the State of Maine has failed 

18 faithfully to use the highway safety com19 mittee as described in paragraph (2)(A) of 

20 section 6 or to collect data as described in 

21 paragraph (3) of such section; and 

22 (B) publishes the determination, together 

23 with the date of the termination of the prohibi24 tion, in the Federal Register. 
7

•S 488 IS

1 (d) CONSULTATION REGARDING TERMINATION FOR

2 SAFETY.—In making a determination under subsection 

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

4 with the highway safety committee established by the 

5 Commissioner in accordance with section 6. 

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

7 For the purposes of section 5, the State of Maine sat8 isfies the conditions of this section if the Commissioner 

9 of Transportation of the State of Maine— 

10 (1) submits to the Secretary of Transportation 

11 a plan for satisfying the conditions set forth in para12 graphs (2) and (3); 

13 (2) establishes and chairs a highway safety 

14 committee that— 

15 (A) the Commissioner uses to review the 

16 data collected pursuant to paragraph (3); and 

17 (B) consists of representatives of— 

18 (i) agencies of the State of Maine that 

19 have responsibilities related to highway 

20 safety; 

21 (ii) municipalities of the State of 

22 Maine; 

23 (iii) organizations that have evalua24 tion or promotion of highway safety among 

25 their principal purposes; and 
8

•S 488 IS

1 (iv) the commercial trucking industry; 

2 and 

3 (3) collects data on the net effects that the op4 eration of vehicles described in section 5(b) on cov5 ered Interstate System highways have on the safety 

6 of the overall highway network in Maine, including 

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

8 collision rates for such vehicles.

Æ