Weight limits for certain trucks are the subject of a new California law

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that includes allowable weight limits for battery-powered trucks powered by natural gas and electric power.

State Law authorized zero and near-zero emissions trucks to operate up to an 82,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating and above 2,000-pound weight limits on the power unit. The rule is designed to account for the added weight of batteries, fuel cells and tanks.

The five-year rule follows a 2015 congressional law to raise the weight limit for natural gas and electric battery tractor-trailers to 82,000 pounds. The federal law, states increasing the load on interstate roads within its borders.

Explanation of the rule

California state legislators this year unanimously approved legislation clarifying that a zero-emissions or near-zero-emissions vehicle’s powerplant is allowed to exceed the allowable gross weight limits by up to 2,000 pounds.

Sponsored by the California Trucking Association, EU1953 explains that the maximum gross vehicle weight limit for a zero-emission or near-zero-emission vehicle is 82,000 pounds. Specifically, the added weight is allowed on both the power unit and the gross vehicle weight rating of the tractor-trailer combination.

“AB1953 seeks to clarify existing law regarding fleets operating zero and near-zero emission vehicles,” Rep. Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton) wrote in an analysis of the bill.

Supporters said there was a subtle difference in the wording of the federal weight limit exemption and the state exemption, and they said commercial vehicle companies were concerned that the difference could mean the weight exemption would apply only to the vehicle itself and not to the entire tractor-trailer-cargo combination.

As one bill analysis noted, “the purpose of the state and federal exemption is to allow for heavier loads, so this bill rewrites existing law to clarify that (zero-emissions) and (near-zero-emissions) vehicle powertrains may weigh up to 2,000 pounds more than otherwise allowed, up to a maximum of 82,000 pounds.”

Report findings

From a report University of California Institute of Transportation Studies A study of the effects of alternative-fuel trucks’ increased weight on pavement and bridges estimated that long-haul battery-electric trucks are 5,328 pounds heavier than their diesel counterparts. Hydrogen fuel cell long-haul trucks are expected to weigh 2,267 pounds more than their diesel counterparts, while natural gas trucks are estimated to weigh 500 to 2,000 pounds more than their diesel counterparts.

Despite the extra weight, “pavement damage analyses of sample state highway pavements and county roads and urban arteries suggest that projected changes to implement alternative-fuel trucks in 2030 and 2050 would increase life expectancy by between 0% and about 1% in all cases,” the report said.

The bill analysis highlighted that zero-emission and near-zero-emission trucks would have to carry lighter loads to comply with vehicle weight limits, therefore reducing the amount of money that could be made from a single trip. LL

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