1.This Act may be cited as the
Commercial Truck Highway Safety
Demonstration Program Act of 2009
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Public safety on
the highways of the United States is a paramount concern of all who use the
highways and all who prescribe public policy for the use of those highways,
including public policy on the operation of heavy commercial trucks on
highways.
(2)Federal highway
funding law effectively imposes a limit of 80,000 pounds on the weight of
vehicles permitted to use Interstate System highways.
(3)The
administration of this law in Maine has forced heavy tractor-trailer and
tractor-semitrailer combination vehicles traveling into Maine from neighboring
States and Canada to divert onto small State and local roads where higher
vehicle weight limits apply under Maine law.
(4)The diversion of
those vehicles onto such roads causes significant economic hardships and safety
challenges for small communities located along those roads.
(5)Permitting heavy
commercial vehicles, including tanker trucks carrying hazardous material and
fuel oil, to travel on Interstate System highways in Maine—
(A)would enhance
public safety by reducing—
(i)the
number of heavy vehicles that use town and city streets in Maine; and
(ii)as
a result, the number of dangerous interactions between those heavy vehicles and
such other vehicles as school buses and private vehicles; and
(B)would reduce the
net highway maintenance costs in Maine because the Interstate System highways,
unlike the secondary roads of Maine, are built to accommodate heavy vehicles
and are, therefore, more durable.
3.In this Act:
(1)Covered
interstate system highwayThe term covered Interstate
System highway—
(A)means, except as
provided under subparagraph (B), a highway within the State of Maine that is
designated as a route on the Interstate System; and
(B)does not include
any portion of highway that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is
exempted from the requirements of subsection (a) of section 127 of title 23,
United States Code, by the last sentence of such subsection.
(2)The term Interstate System has the meaning
given that term in section 101(a) of title 23, United States Code.
4.Maine truck
safety demonstration programThe Secretary of Transportation shall carry
out a program to demonstrate the effects on the safety of the overall highway
network in the State of Maine that would result from permitting vehicles
described in section 5(b) to be operated on Interstate System highways within
the State.
5.Waiver of
highway funding reduction relating to weight of vehicles using Interstate
System highways
(a)Prohibition
relating to certain vehiclesNotwithstanding section 127(a) of
title 23, United States Code, the total amount of funds apportioned to the
State of Maine under section 104(b)(1) of such title for any period may not be
reduced under such section 127(a) on the basis that the State of Maine permits
a vehicle described in subsection (b) to use a covered Interstate System
highway.
(b)Combination
vehicles in excess of 80,000 poundsA vehicle described in this
subsection is a vehicle having a weight in excess of 80,000 pounds that—
(1)consists of a
3-axle tractor unit hauling a single trailer or semitrailer; and
(2)does not exceed
any vehicle weight limitation that is applicable under the laws of the State of
Maine to the operation of such vehicle on highways in Maine not in the
Interstate System, as such laws are in effect on the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(c)Effective date
and termination
(1)
(A)Date of
satisfaction of administrative conditions by MaineSubsection (a)
shall take effect on the date on which the Secretary of Transportation notifies
the Commissioner of Transportation of the State of Maine in writing
that—
(i)the
Secretary has received the plan described in section 6(1); and
(ii)the Commissioner
has established a highway safety committee described in section 6(2) and has
promulgated rules and procedures for the collection of highway safety data as
described in section 6(3).
(B)After taking effect, subsection (a) shall remain in effect
unless terminated under paragraph (2).
(2)Subsection (a) shall not remain in effect beyond the
date that is 3 years after the effective date applicable under paragraph (1)
if, before the end of such 3-year period, the Secretary of
Transportation—
(A)determines
that—
(i)operation of
vehicles described in subsection (b) on covered Interstate System highways in
Maine has adversely affected safety on the overall highway network in Maine;
or
(ii)the Commissioner
of Transportation of the State of Maine has failed faithfully to use the
highway safety committee as described in section 6(2)(A) or to collect the data
described in section 6(3); and
(B)publishes the
determination, together with the date of the termination of the prohibition, in
the Federal Register.
(d)Consultation
regarding termination for safetyIn making a determination under
subsection (c)(2)(A)(i), the Secretary of Transportation shall consult with the
highway safety committee established by the Commissioner in accordance with
section 6.
6.Responsibilities
of the State of MaineFor the
purposes of section 5, the State of Maine satisfies the conditions under this
section if the Commissioner of Transportation of the State of Maine—
(1)submits to the
Secretary of Transportation a plan for satisfying the conditions set forth in
paragraphs (2) and (3);
(2)establishes and
chairs a highway safety committee that—
(A)the Commissioner
uses to review the data collected pursuant to paragraph (3); and
(B)consists of
representatives of—
(i)agencies of the
State of Maine that have responsibilities related to highway safety;
(ii)municipalities
of the State of Maine;
(iii)organizations
that have evaluation or promotion of highway safety among their principal
purposes; and
(iv)the commercial
trucking industry; and
(3)collects data on
the net effects that the operation of vehicles described in section 5(b) on
covered Interstate System highways have on the safety of the overall highway
network in Maine, including the net effects on single-vehicle and
multiple-vehicle collision rates for such vehicles.