Tony, you are all wet.......
And it will really make you think about that whilst in Michigan, where the max tractor trailer weight is 150,000lbs!
Those wonderful lobbyists managed to persuade the state reps in Lansing that it would reduce the amount of tractor trailers on the roads!
It has only resulted in the majority of the roads being in an abysmal condition and have you, at times, wondering if you are riding in the USA or some (very poor) third world country
Tony, I know you are a little bigger than I am, younger and undoubtly stronger but seeing as you aren't home and not within striking distance I'm going to disagree with you on all counts.
First off, the maximum allowable weight on Michigan Roads is 163,000 pounds distributed across 11 axles not 150,000.
Secondly, it wasn't the wonderful lobbyists that brought that about, it was the auto companies many years ago. They wanted their steel coils in bulk at their stamping operations throughout Michigan and went to the legislature and petitioned them for the weight gross weight increase and you probably don't know it but there a quite a few other states with very lienient weight limits just like Michigan. Our neighbors to the south, Ohio is one of them and there are a few out west that also allow quite a bit over 80K. The key word is
permitted. In those states, just like in Michigan, you have to be
permitted by that state to haul the weight. Michigan only recognizes 80,000 on 5 axles just like any other state governed by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
It's a scientifically proven fact that the per square inch of tire loading on a fully loaded 80,000 pound gross vehicle (5 axles, 18 wheels total) is actually less than a Honda Accord. The same holds true for a fully loaded Michigan 11 axle at 163,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (11 axles 42 tires total). The other thing about a Michigan special (and I've driven a lot of miles in them) is that there are brakes on each of those 11 axles so they will literally stop on a dime and give you change and that's loaded or empty.
Finally, the Interstate Highway system was conceived and built for the transportation of Military personel and equipment in case of national emergency and not for your convenience. All Interstate highways and secondary roads (if they are built to Federal specifications) are built to withstand in the excess of 200,000 pounds of loading on bridges and 200K of loading on the surface of the highway so long as it's evenly distributed.
When you get into the area of transportation don't forget what I teach. Besides, I have 37 years of experience under my belt.