The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

Every day, first responders witness the dangers that come with traveling throughout Wisconsin. Whether it’s ice and snow-covered roads in the winter or the surge of people traveling for summer vacation, law enforcement officers, EMTs, and firefighters are the ones who are called in when those dangers lead to tragedy.

One thing that has become clear to me, after many years of responding to crashes, is that when accidents involve large, heavy trucks, the threat of serious injuries and fatalities become significantly worse. That is why it is so distressing to see congressional efforts to increase the federal weight limits for commercial trucks.

In 2022 alone, Wisconsin saw nearly 7,000 crashes involving large trucks, resulting in 73 fatalities and 1,846 injuries. That means more than 18 large truck accidents per day across the state, or roughly one every 80 minutes.

The sad reality is these statistics represent family members, friends, and the first responders who put their lives on the line to help. Heavier trucks on Wisconsin’s highways would only make these roadside emergencies worse.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a fully loaded tractor trailer may need 20-40 percent more stopping distance than passenger vehicles, especially on wet or slippery surfaces. It is also an unfortunate fact that many truck drivers are forced to drive for many hours to meet delivery times and often suffer from fatigue. In fact, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) estimates that fatigue is involved in approximately 13 percent of all large truck crashes. 

Beyond the physics of large, heavy trucks and driver fatigue, commercial trucks often take to our roads with severe maintenance issues. When you combine all of these factors with weather-related travel conditions and increased traffic on the road, it is clear that making trucks even bigger would increase dangers for every driver who might have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Not only do first responders put ourselves in increased danger when we respond to roadside accidents, that danger is increased when a truck carrying hazardous materials is involved. Even when a truck isn’t transporting hazardous materials, truck crashes often involve large diesel fuel spills that make accident response and clean up significantly more dangerous.

In 2023, a semi jackknifed on the I-43 Leo Frigo Bridge in Green Bay, spilling large amounts of diesel onto the bridge. This required closing the southbound lanes of the bridge for several hours to clean up the spill. Why would we want to make these situations worse by increasing the amount of dangerous substances carried by these trucks?

Unfortunately, there are some in Congress who want to test out the impact of increasing commercial truck weight limits. Some want to create loopholes for trucks carrying other vehicles or for logging trucks. Others propose creating a pilot program that would put drivers at risk, in order to collect data on how much more dangerous it would be to raise these limits.

Currently, Congress putting together the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill. While some lawmakers are expected to push to include some of these dangerous proposals in the bill. It is my hope that sanity will prevail and enough Members of Congress will put safety first.

My colleagues all across the country are sounding the alarm. Retired Police Chief Steve Casstevens, a former president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, points out that trucks weighing 91,000 pounds are 47 percent more likely to be involved in a crash compared to the current 80,000-pound limit—and he warns that heavier trucks overtax braking and suspension systems.

As a sheriff, my oath is to protect life and preserve public safety on our roads. Increasing truck size and weight not only threatens motorists, it imperils every deputy, EMS technician, and firefighter who responds to traffic accidents every day and night.

We don’t need pilot programs. We need safeguards. Instead of loading more weight onto fragile bridges, let’s invest in road safety technology, truck maintenance, driver training, and better enforcement of current weight laws.

Now is not the time for Congress to gamble with lives and infrastructure in Wisconsin and across the country. Let common sense prevail, before our roads become a danger too heavy to bear.

Sheriff Brad Cole serves on the Board of Directors of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), chairs NSA’s Traffic Safety Committee, and is past president of the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association. Sheriff Cole has served 31 years in law enforcement, the last 10 of which as Sheriff of Christian County, Missouri. Sheriff Cole is passionate about reducing traffic fatalities and saving more lives on our roads and protecting the people he serves every day.