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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTruckers were unable to swerve around the higher fees charged on the Indiana Toll Road after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked their argument that the increased rates violated the Commerce Clause.
The owners and operators of heavy trucks sued Indiana when the state allowed tolls in the Indiana Toll Road to be raised by 35% on trucks with three or more axles. Pointing out 50% of the heavy trucks using the Toll Road transit the state and 90% of the heavy-truck traffic crosses the state’s borders at one time or another, the truckers argued the higher tools discriminated against interstate commerce.
In Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc., et al. v. Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana, et al., 20-1445, the 7th Circuit affirmed the dismissal by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
“The tolls are neutral with respect to the origin and destination of the trucks,” Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote for the appellate panel. “They are neutral with respect to the trucks’ ownership too. Citizens of Indiana who use the Toll Road to haul freight from Elkhart to Gary pay the same rate per mile, per axle, as do citizens of Wisconsin who haul freight from Ohio through Indiana to Illinois and beyond.”
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