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News & Analysis | REG•WATCH Blog | Press Room
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Big Rigs and Big Government
TomPaine.com has an interesting opinion piece on a proposed regulation that would deem 97 foot long rigs safe for highway use. These rigs have four separate trucks behind the cab, and are longer than an NBA basketball court. What's really galling is that the law being implemented would violate the principles of federalism by overriding current state statutes:
Under current federal regulations, states are allowed to impose an overall length limit of 75 feet on four-ways. Almost every state has imposed such limits… [T]his federal law is likely to be interpreted as actually prohibiting any state from protecting its residents by passing a law restricting four-ways to less than the 97-foot federal standard.
As a native Pennsylvanian, I wonder how these trucks will be able to navigate the obstacle course that is the PA turnpike. I hope the Bush administration does not make me find out.
Posted by Matt Madia
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