U.S. court voids emissions rules for heavy-duty truck trailers

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Friday tossed out greenhouse gas emissions rules for heavy-duty truck trailers, ruling two government agencies had exceeded their authority.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2016 set rules for the first time requiring trailer manufacturers to adopt fuel-saving technologies like side skirts and automatic tire pressure systems. An industry group challenged the rule, which was put on hold by the court pending the review.

The administration of then-President Barack Obama said it was important to regulate the fuel efficiency of the trailer portion of commercial tractor-trailers "because large tractor-trailers account for 60% of the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles."

The court ruled that if it allowed the trailer regulations, then "NHTSA could regulate bike racks, rooftop cargo carriers, or anything similar that would impact the fuel efficiency of a vehicle." The court added: "NHTSA can regulate tractors based on the trailers they pull, as can the EPA. But neither NHTSA nor the EPA can regulate trailers themselves."

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-court-voids-emissions-rules-155809792.html

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[Crazyleftie]

1. this ruling makes no sense

It sounds like a grade school argument. Some please help me out on this.

[Mawspam2]

2. While the government regulations may be voided...

...the fuel savings warrant trucking companies keep the side skirts and tire pressure systems. The government mandates only speeded up industry acceptance.

The court is both right and wrong. It is right that fuel economy is not a safety issue that NHTSA has jurisdiction over. Fuel economy is the jurisdiction of the EPA. However side skirts help in preventing auto "submarining" crashes and tire monitors also help prevent tire disintegration which ARE NHTSA safety concerns.

An easy fix is to put these regulations under the DOT which covers vehicle construction specifications.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. One would think the tractor and trailer would be evaluated as a unit....

however, those are mostly owned by separate entities and rarely would a tractor pull the same trailer.

Very difficult to regulate, I suppose.

KY........

[uncle ray]

4. fine, have the friggin DEA regulate them.

some gov't agency has the authority.

[denbot]

5. The company I work for whether reefer or van, has auto air and skirts.

Both features save money, and are standard on every single trailer we pull.

[msfiddlestix]

6. hmm

Wonder which Appeals Court made this decision.