I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3488 
To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to vehicle weight 
limitations applicable to the Interstate System, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 
Mr. RIBBLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to 
vehicle weight limitations applicable to the Interstate 
System, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe, Flexible, and Ef-
ficient Trucking Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. MODERNIZED WEIGHT LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN 
VEHICLES. 
Section 127 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(m) ADDITIONAL EXCEPTION
TO WEIGHT RE-
QUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection 
(a), a State may authorize a vehicle with a max-
imum gross weight, including all enforcement toler-
ances, that exceeds the maximum gross weight oth-
erwise applicable under subsection (a) to operate on 
Interstate System routes in the State, if— 
‘‘(A) the vehicle is equipped with at least 
6 axles; 
‘‘(B) the weight of any single axle on the 
vehicle does not exceed 20,000 pounds, includ-
ing enforcement tolerances; 
‘‘(C) the weight of any tandem axle on the 
vehicle does not exceed 34,000 pounds, includ-
ing enforcement tolerances; 
‘‘(D) the weight of any group of 3 or more 
axles on the vehicle does not exceed 51,000 
pounds, including enforcement tolerances; 
‘‘(E) the gross weight of the vehicle does 
not exceed 91,000 pounds, including enforce-
ment tolerances; and 
‘‘(F) the vehicle complies with the bridge 
formula in subsection (a)(2) of this section. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) 
OTHER
EXCEPTIONS
NOT
AF-
FECTED.—This subsection shall not restrict— 
‘‘(i) a vehicle that may operate under 
any other provision of this section or an-
other Federal law; or 
‘‘(ii) a State’s authority with respect 
to a vehicle that may operate under any 
other provision of this section or another 
Federal law. 
‘‘(B) MEANS
OF
IMPLEMENTATION.—A 
State may implement this subsection by any 
means, including statute or rule of general ap-
plicability, by special permit, or otherwise. 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
issue such regulations as are necessary to re-
quire a vehicle operating pursuant to this sub-
section to include 1 item of additional equip-
ment not otherwise required by law. The Sec-
retary may issue such regulations only if the 
equipment item to be required is available at 
the time a rule is proposed. 
‘‘(B) COMMENT.—In issuing regulations 
pursuant to this paragraph, the Secretary shall 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
invite comment on the effective date of any pro-
posed equipment requirement. 
‘‘(C) LIMITED AUTHORITY.—The authority 
to issue regulations pursuant to this paragraph 
applies only to a rule that is published as a 
final rule in the Federal Register not later than 
the date that is 6 months after the date of en-
actment of this subsection. 
‘‘(4) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) TRIENNIAL
REPORT.—If a State, 
pursuant to paragraph (1), authorizes vehicles 
described in such paragraph to operate on 
Interstate System routes in the State, the State 
shall submit to the Secretary a triennial report 
containing— 
‘‘(i) an identification of highway 
routes in the State, including routes not on 
the Interstate System, on which the State 
so authorizes such vehicles to operate; 
‘‘(ii) a description of any gross vehicle 
weight limit applicable to such vehicles so 
authorized and of any operating require-
ments applicable to such vehicles that are 
in addition to requirements applicable to 
all commercial motor vehicles; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(iii) the number of crashes that oc-
curred in the State involving such vehicles 
so authorized on the Interstate System, the 
number of such crashes involving fatalities, 
and the number of such crashes involving 
non-fatal injuries; 
‘‘(iv) estimated vehicle miles traveled 
on the Interstate System in the State by 
such vehicles so authorized; and 
‘‘(v) other information, such as the 
gross vehicle weight of a vehicle operating 
pursuant to the authority of this sub-
section at the time of a crash, as the Sec-
retary and the State jointly determine nec-
essary. 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The Sec-
retary shall make all information required 
under subparagraph (A) available to the public. 
‘‘(5) TERMINATION AS TO ROUTE SEGMENT.— 
The Secretary may terminate the operation of vehi-
cles authorized by a State under this subsection on 
a specific Interstate System route segment if, after 
the effective date of a decision of a State to allow 
vehicles to operate pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Secretary determines that such operation poses an 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
unreasonable safety risk based on an engineering 
analysis of the route segment or an analysis of safe-
ty or other applicable data from the route segment. 
‘‘(6) WAIVER OF HIGHWAY FUNDING REDUC-
TION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the total 
amount of funds apportioned to a State under sec-
tion 104(b)(1) for any period may not be reduced 
under subsection (a) if the State authorizes a vehicle 
described in paragraph (1) to operate on the Inter-
state System in the State in accordance with this 
subsection. 
‘‘(7) PRESERVING STATE AND LOCAL AUTHOR-
ITY
REGARDING
NON-INTERSTATE
SYSTEM
HIGH-
WAYS.—Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply 
to motor vehicles operating on the Interstate System 
solely under the authority provided by this sub-
section.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:45 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H3488.IH
H3488
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS