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EVs Are Too Heavy for Current Road Weight Limits, Car Haulers Say
The Drive ^ | October 5, 2022 | Chris Tsui

Posted on 10/05/2022 6:56:57 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom

Per a standard set in 1975, haulers are restricted to 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. The industry wants that upped to 88,000 pounds.


The car hauling industry is lobbying various departments of the federal government to increase weight limits on U.S. highways in order to accommodate the transportation of electric vehicles.

...the industry says current weight limits on trucks roaming around U.S. roads are outdated and not equipped for the imminent pivot to battery-heavy EVs. Currently, federal highway safety standards restrict trailers to 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. This standard was set back in 1975, back when a Honda Civic weighed 1,570 pounds, or roughly half what one weighs now.

...the average car or truck on U.S. roads has swollen from 3,200 to 4,200 pounds over the last 40 years. EVs carrying very heavy batteries—the 9,000-pound GMC Hummer EV attributes almost one-third of its weight to just its cells—stand to raise that figure even higher. And while electric cars are a relative minority today, the government aims to have half of all new vehicle sales be of electric vehicles by 2030.

If truck weight limits remain at the current level, transport firms will have no choice but to spread EV deliveries out across more trucks, which they say will lead to delays in orders as well as increased costs. Opposing this movement, however, are safety advocates who say heavier individual trucks on the road are harder to stop, easier to roll, and at higher risk of causing fatalities. The rail industry, meanwhile, is also not a fan for unspecified but arguably obvious reasons.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: electricvehicle; elonmusk; ev; putinlovertrollsonfr; putinsbuttboys; putinworshippers; spacex; starlink; tesla; unexpected; unintended; zottherussiantrolls
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EVs...the gift that keeps on giving. This is just another of many "unintended consequences" of switching to EVs that nobody thought of.

Heavy EVs are going to destroy roads quicker, fill the air with lots more toxic tire dust, and a full EV load weighs too much for today's hauler road weight regulations.

Doesn't anybody understand F=MA anymore? The "M" is a LOT bigger with EVs and it takes a lot of energy to accelerate those beasts.

What's not to like?

1 posted on 10/05/2022 6:56:57 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

2 posted on 10/05/2022 6:57:34 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“I used to be nothing but a Deplorable Clinger, but I've been promoted to Brigadier Ultra-MAGA”)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Ship them by rail.

Tax the kr@p out of them when they hit the road.


3 posted on 10/05/2022 6:59:23 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

How much does a Tesla Plaid weigh?


4 posted on 10/05/2022 7:00:57 PM PDT by Delta 21 (MAGA Republican is my pronoun.)
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My BMW i3s Rex is 800 pounds lighter than my Mercury
Mariner.


5 posted on 10/05/2022 7:01:16 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance the flag of the U S of A, and to the REPUBLIC for which stands.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

It is unfair that they can drive such big behemoths and get involved in accidents. Children, minorities, and trannies hurt the worst. Film at 10:00.


6 posted on 10/05/2022 7:02:36 PM PDT by crusty old prospector
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

It is absolutely insane to up the limits of semis but 10%


7 posted on 10/05/2022 7:04:33 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Out here in the country we have a lot of bridges that are off limits to OTR trucks.

Wonder what would happen when one of the collapses under the weight of someone's oversized golf cart?

8 posted on 10/05/2022 7:04:45 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear (The nation of france was named after a hedgehog... The hedgehog's name was Kevin... Don't ask)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I don’t even think they pay any fuel taxes at the battery charging stations to maintain the roads.


9 posted on 10/05/2022 7:07:43 PM PDT by KittyKares
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To: crusty old prospector

They should be careful about bringing up the plight of truckers due to aging restrictions. The gumint ain’t gonna let them jus bump up the weight without a whole slew of new standards that will cause car haulers to have to buy newer equipment just to be on the road. Yeah progress!


10 posted on 10/05/2022 7:08:24 PM PDT by Delta 21 (MAGA Republican is my pronoun.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

It doesn’t really matter. The trucks hauling the EVs will also be electric, which means they will only travel about 10 miles before stopping to recharge.


11 posted on 10/05/2022 7:12:34 PM PDT by EastTexasTraveler
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

EV makers say “Now you tell us!”


12 posted on 10/05/2022 7:14:11 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Charge by the pound/mile.


13 posted on 10/05/2022 7:14:45 PM PDT by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
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To: DoughtyOne
It had been a while since I looked up that weight
comparison.

Not sure what I found last time, but this time I find that
the BMW i3x Rex is only 511 pounds lighter.

i3s: LINK

Mariner: LINK

14 posted on 10/05/2022 7:16:43 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (I pledge allegiance the flag of the U S of A, and to the REPUBLIC for which stands.)
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To: DoughtyOne

i3 is also a smaller of a car compared to a Mariner/Escape.


15 posted on 10/05/2022 7:20:43 PM PDT by SPDSHDW (Buy JHP ammo, Level 3/4 armor and rifles. Won’t be able to for much longer, and we’re gonna need em)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Can't you call Scotty in Engineering to transport the EV from one place to another?

Or maybe 3D print an EV at the destination.

Or have Johnny Cab shuttle the vehicle.

Or have an illegal shuttle new EV's instead of buying plane tickets.

C'mon man; use your imagination!

16 posted on 10/05/2022 7:21:09 PM PDT by Bernard (“the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God." JFK 1-20-61)
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To: HamiltonJay

Not a problem. Anything over 80k pays a surcharge of 10 bucks a pound. Load’em up boys.


17 posted on 10/05/2022 7:25:34 PM PDT by technically right
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To: DoughtyOne

A 175” length SUV is heavier than a <160” subcompact ‘city car’?

Who’d a thunk it?


18 posted on 10/05/2022 7:28:02 PM PDT by jjotto ( Blessed are You LORD, who crushes enemies and subdues the wicked.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I wonder how much an electric tractor-trailer will weigh.


19 posted on 10/05/2022 7:29:09 PM PDT by seowulf (Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos...Will Durant)
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To: technically right

Sorry it’s insane…

Seems nough right accidents to say let’s let them be 10% heavier


20 posted on 10/05/2022 7:29:23 PM PDT by HamiltonJay
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