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Potential Use of Longer Combination Vehicles in Texas: Second-Year Report

Trucking remains the only major freight mode not to benefit from increases in size and weight regulations since 1982. The need for more productive trucks—both longer (LTL) and heavier (TL)—is growing with economic activity, rising fuel costs and concerns over environmental impacts from emissions. This study covers the first-year activities of a two-year TxDOT-sponsored study into potential LCV use in Texas. It describes current U.S. LCV operations and regulations, operational characteristics of various LCV types, safety issues, and environmental and energy impacts, together with pavement and bridge consumption associated with LCVs. Methods to measure both pavement and bridge impacts on a route basis are described. A survey of current U.S. LCV operators provides an insight into business characteristics, vehicles, drivers, performance, and safety. The overall study benefited from three sources of direction: an advisory panel from TxDOT, an industry panel comprising heavy truck and LCV operators, and finally an academic team from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. In the second year of the study, a series of routes and LCV types will be evaluated in Texas using methods developed in the first year and approved at a study workshop.