Petition on Axle Weight Balance, Braking Strategies and Fair Pay for Drivers

Petition on axle weight balance, the development of braking strategies for American trucks and fair compensation for drivers for professional load control.

To the US Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and the US Department of Labor,

we professional truck drivers, motor carriers, and the Mouse Scale trademark ask federal agencies to give greater attention to load balance between the axles of tractors and trailers.

Drivers independently adjust the positions of trailer tandems and fifth wheels. In most cases, this is done without specialized equipment and without clear methods for calculating changes in axle loads resulting from adjustments to the tandem or fifth wheel position.

We can offer our tested scientifically grounded solutions. We therefore ask you to conduct research on how load distribution affects road traction, braking, vehicle stability, jackknife risk, fuel economy, and other performance factors, and based on this research, develop recommendations for safe and economical load distribution under different weather conditions.

We also ask you to review existing steer axle weight limits in different states and evaluate whether excessively low limits should be reconsidered where the technical specifications of modern tractors, front axles, and tires allow them to safely carry greater loads without increasing the federal gross vehicle weight limit of eighty thousand pounds. This is particularly important for safe load balancing and the installation of deer guards.

Separate attention should be given to developing braking strategies for American tractors and semi-trailers that take into account the actual loads on the steer axle, drive axles, and trailer axles.

It may also be important to consider fifth wheel position when calculating braking forces for each axle. We seek to reduce the risk of winter jackknifes and shorten the braking distances of American trucks through research and development of a new adaptive braking system, UABS. We therefore ask for support for the digitalization of load control through the use of new mathematical solutions, modernization of certified scales, and monitoring of data from air suspension systems and onboard electronics.

We ask the US Department of Labor to recognize professional load control and load balancing as an important part of a driver's work and to consider fair additional compensation from motor carriers for this professional work.

Professionals should not work for free.