I had a flood of thoughts regarding this exact thing on the way home tonight. I wondered how we could lure Trucker Bob back to see if he had anything brilliant to add. I was hearing all of the figures today about hundreds of thousands of bridges reportedly in need of upgrade or replacement. Maybe the dolts in D.C. might be reaping (finally) what they have sewed over the years with steadily increasing the legal weights limits (after being $uce$$fully convinced by lobbyists for the trucking industry). I looked around me on the 3-mile freeway portion of my commute and noticed all of the trucks. I noticed all of the retired folks with their big RV rigs. I also noticed all of the soccer moms in their big Suburbans, Explorers, and Expeditions. I remembered when I put my own wife into an SUV for 12 years while the kids were growing up. I remembered why I did it too--it was SAFETY. I wanted her to have some protection against the increasing legions of big trucks that she had to share the roads with. I even looked at the little cars (which are looking like a good deal again). The NHTSA has steadily been pushing for tougher safety ratings for automobiles--by doing what???? By adding weight to the average auto by making tougher side, front, and rear impact standards--with extra "stuff". Why????? because they obviously now have to compete with the heavier trucks (plus the fact that our litigious society has mandated that "Thou shalt not be injured, lest ye find somebody with deep pockets to sue".

Summary:
1. Truck weights increase and they pound the crap out of the highways and bridges.
2. Society responds by demanding bigger vehicles for safety reasons.
3. Government responds by adding weight to little cars so that that can also compete.

Now, Government is threatening to increase CAFE standards. The auto industry responds by saying that it is government safety regulations that has decreased mileages. Congress (in their infinite wisdom) will step in and "DO SOMETHING" to make us all think that they are solving the problem. The bottom line is that we better watch our wallets. They will be upping the gas taxes and license fees to make us fix what the trucks have caused (or have at least sped up). If they increase fees for trucks, that cost will only be passed along in the pricing of what they carry--and the railroads will fix their own physical plants with their own funds (and the truckers will whine when some government entity puts some dollars towards rail shortlines in danger of being abandoned).

John Stossel says it best--"Give me a break".