Trucks have gotten longer and heavier in the past two decades. The 1982 federal highway bill permitted trucks of 80,000 lb. In 1995, the Virginia state legislature increased maximum truck length from 60 to 65 feet. Commercial trucks underpay by seven to 23 percent. According to VDOT, there were 11,221 gross weight violations cited at VDOT weigh stations in 1995.
Automobiles are extrememly vulnerable when they collide with a large tuck.
98 percent of people killed in two-vehicle crashes involving a car and a large truck are the auto occupants. Heavy trucks are much less safe on local rural roads than on rural interstates.