FRED DENT: Increased weight for logging trucks dangerous proposition

The timber industry contributes greatly to our south Georgia economy, and our community supports policies that will help our agribusinesses to thrive and create good-paying jobs. The logging trucks crisscrossing our region take much-needed timber to points across the world and support families right here at home.

It is with those very same families in mind that I must ask Georgia legislators to reject legislative proposals that would dramatically increase weight limits for logging trucks. Like any business, the industry understandably wants to boost efficiency and cut costs, but as elected officials we must balance that desire with the need to protect innocent lives and tax dollars.

With so many trucks on the road here in our region, this policy change would affect us more than most, and not for the better. Heavier trucks are harder to handle and take longer to stop. Statistically, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that heavier trucks would lead to more road deaths. Even under current regulations, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has reported that accidents involving logging trucks are 69% more likely to cause a fatality than a semi-truck wreck.

Road maintenance places a particular burden on rural counties. With a smaller population, it costs more per capita to keep up our extensive network of highways, and rural counties receive less state and federal funding than more densely populated areas. Heavier trucks would accelerate wear and tear on our highways, and many of our bridges simply are not designed to carry such a load. The U.S. Department of Transportation found that heavier trucks would require billions in new investment in bridges on interstate highways. Retrofitting our own bridges poses a cost beyond our means.

Worth County’s road management program is already very expensive. Many of our roads were last paved 20 to 30 years ago, and they were designed to haul very light commercial vehicles, such as peanut and corn wagons.

The cost for repaving our roads has almost doubled to $8 per square yard over the past few years due to rising material and labor costs. We do not have the funds to upgrade our roads to a 6-inch base, which is the minimum thickness of the roadbed on most interstates. This is generally what would be required in order to handle 80,000-pound trucks. Many county-maintained roads are not able to absorb the damage from trucks at the 80,000-pound maximum allowed today, much less trucks carrying loads of 90,000 pounds or more, as this legislation would allow.

Our residents take notice when the roads are in bad shape, but frankly we can only do so much with the budget that we have without having to discuss new taxes and fees. Sledge Road, Liberty Hill Road, and Porters Corner Road are all examples of roads in Worth County that have been degraded by truck traffic. Heavier trucks would speed up the deterioration.

We know that this effort is merely an opening salvo. If one industry is allowed heavier trucks, others will demand equal treatment. There are many reasons the federal government has steadfastly refused demands to increase weight limits on trucks, and the Georgia General Assembly should follow suit.

Heavier trucks are bad for public safety and bad for taxpayers. That’s why I have joined with county commissioners throughout Georgia in opposing this legislation. I encourage our local legislators to stop this deadly proposal from becoming law, and I ask my fellow residents of Worth County to do the same.