The Road Information Program, a nonprofit transportation research organization based in Washington, DC, recently found that commercial trucking is expected to increase by 49 percent by 2020.

TRIP's study, "America's Rolling Warehouses: The impact of increased trucking on economic development, congestion and traffic safety," found that the nation's current transportation network is inadequate to safely and efficiently accommodate the projected increase in U.S. freight movement unless needed improvements to the transportation system are made.

William M. Wilkins, executive director of TRIP, said, "At this time, Congress has the opportunity to develop a national freight policy that will boost our nation's economic health and provide for the safety of motorists when it reauthorizes the current federal surface transportation legislation."

Among the report’s findings:

• The long-term reauthorization of federal transportation legislation offers an opportunity for a significant increase in funding for improvements that would help safely accommodate the anticipated growth in trucking. The current bill in the U.S. House includes additional funding for freight capacity movements as well as guidance for national freight policy. The current federal transportation legislation expires on Feb. 29.

• According to the report, the five states with the greatest volume of trucking are California, Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Among highly populated states, the largest increases in trucking by 2020 are expected in Georgia, Washington state, North Carolina, Florida and Texas.

• There were 26,065 people killed in crashes involving large trucks in the United States from 1998 to 2002, including 3,647 occupants of large trucks and 22,418 people who were occupants of passenger vehicles or non-motorists.

Approximately three-quarters (77 percent) of traffic fatalities involving large trucks from 1998 to 2002 occurred on roads with two lanes. Fifteen percent occurred on roads with at least four lanes.