The Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the League of Municipalities have filed separate friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the State’s appeal of a U.S. District Court opinion striking down New Jersey regulations that prohibit some large trucks from using smaller state highways. The lawsuit against the truck rules had been filed by the American Trucking Associations. The State has also filed its appeal. According to the Trenton Times, the state can also cite a letter by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta to Congressman Rush Holt, expressing USDOT's support for the New Jersey law. The American Trucking Associations, Inc., is expected to file its brief this week.

In March, the federal court struck down New Jersey highway safety regulations that require large trucks to use the State’s major highways unless they have an origin or destination within the state. The regulations prohibit 102-inch-wide standard trucks and double-trailer truck combinations from using local and rural roads. The court has allowed the regulations to remain in effect pending the appeal.

In the days following the decision, Governor McGreevey vowed to defend the regulations and called an emergency meeting of municipal and transportation officials and advocacy groups, including the Tri-State Campaign, to discuss the state’s strategy and garner support.

District Court Judge Stanley R. Chesler held that the rules discriminate against interstate commerce and violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution because trucks with no origin or destination in New Jersey may be required to take longer trips and pay tolls. The regulations permit large trucks with an origin or destination in New Jersey to use local and secondary roads. However, Judge Chesler also found that the regulations in question have led to fewer truck accidents in the State since their enactment.

The Campaign argues that, following Supreme Court precedent, the court should have given more weight to the actual safety benefits of the regulation, rather than focus on the minor impacts on interstate commerce caused by the regulations. Judge Chesler held the state to an extremely high standard that allows no impact on commerce whatsoever.

A recent Trenton Times editorial agreed the regulations should be continued because they improve safety: "It’s essential that New Jersey win the case. If it loses, one thing is certain: More innocent lives will be lost."

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