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EicherDiesel t1_jch3hl2 wrote

Reply to comment by zap_p25 in Kenworth K100 working for 30 years. by Sloth_rockets

That's quite a bit more, over here (Germany) a semi still tops out at 16.5m or 51ft while a truck+trailer combo can be a good bit longer at 18.75m or 61.5ft. No individual part of that combo must be longer than 12m/ 39ft though. There are some experiments with a semi plus another extra trailer that can be much longer but those are the general restrictions.
From personal experience driving such a ~18.5m truck+trailer combo already massively sucks if you're driving on twisty single lane roads or through old villages so even as I really like their looks i don't think we'll ever change laws to bring back standard cab semis.

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zap_p25 t1_jckvkf1 wrote

So North America...our roads are typically straighter, many cities and communities are specifically built around automobiles and gradients are much more strictly managed (one of the reason most long haul truck sit around 500 hp, more power simply isn't needed for the majority of our loads).

Now you do see tandems in use here in the US but they are 28.5 feet long each. Canada allows what are called B-trains where they haul tandem 53 footers. Australia on the other hand has what are called road trains...which can be three to five full length vans.

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