In 1975 when the Utah Transportation Commission adopted a pilot program to allow triple trailers on certain Utah highways there was criticism over the rigs for being too big and fraught with possible dangers.
After the test period was over, the commission adopted a plan that allowed triples on some Utah highways and to run under certain conditions, making the rigs the most regulated vehicles running on Utah roads.In the intervening period, triples have come under close scrutiny and still are the subject of criticism from some organizations.
Five years ago, with money from various trucking companies, the Traffic Safety Alliance was formed and the organization, based in Burlingame, Calif., is trying to overcome what officials call misinformation and "downright lies" about the safety of triples.
Nick DeLuca, communications director for TSA, was in Salt Lake City recently visiting Larry V. Buck, safety supervisor in the Western Division of Roadway Express Inc., spreading the word on the safety of the triples.
DeLuca said unfamiliarity with the triples is the main reason why people object to them and there are always the stories about truck drivers bearing down on innocent motorists, scaring them half to death with their rigs. DeLuca said those stories are infrequent and more often than not involved independent truck drivers and not those connected to large trucking companies.
Using 1993 figures (the latest available) from the Utah Department of Transportation, DeLuca said triple trailers had 0.406 accidents per million miles traveled compared with 1.074 accidents for other commercial trucks and 5.205 accidents for personal automobiles and trucks.
A similar rate of accidents is evident in the other 15 states where triples are allowed, DeLuca said. TSA has endorsements from many people in all 16 states, including Glenn Goodrich, director of UDOT's Motor Carrier Division, who said, "Triple trailer combinations just happen to be the safest combination on the road. Utah has been operating them well over 20 years, and they have consistently produced the best safety statistics."
At 105 feet compared to 70 feet for double trailers, the triples are allowed on double-lane roads only and cannot operate in bad weather, said Buck, who drove triples in Oregon for 13 years and has 24 total years in all types of commercial trucks.
Buck said there is a command center established in Utah and when bad weather hits, everyone operating triples gets a call and is told to keep them in the terminal until the bad weather has passed.
In addition to the excellent safety record, being the most regulated vehicles on the highways and being restricted for use during good weather only, DeLuca said triples are driven by the most experienced drivers at slower speeds.
Another factor in favor of triples is the reduction of wear to the highway and bridges because the load is distributed over more axles. DeLuca said a triple does the job of two or three trucks, limiting the amount of fuel needed to run the other vehicles and triples consume less fuel and emit less exhaust.
Most of the opposition to triples comes from Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, San Francisco. Michael Scippa, executive director, said the group's main focus is keeping the number of states allowing triples at 16.
"Our reasoning is that there is a sharp increase in truck fatality rates with each extra ton placed on a truck. Triples operate with 120,000 pounds, where the federal cap on weight in single trailers is 80,000 pounds, and as more triples are allowed on the highways we'll see an increase in fatalities and damage to the highways," Scippa said.