And a major reason for this deterioration is the impact of heavy trucks. An off-quoted federal study once found that road damage from one 18-wheeler is equivalent to the impact of 9,600 cars. ... “Increasing a truck's weight to 90,000 pounds results in a 42 percent increase in road wear.

Do heavy trucks cause potholes?

From this we can broadly conclude that vehicle weight – not frequency of traffic – has a deleterious effect on pavement. This does not definitively say, however, that a difference between 80,000 pounds and 97,000 pounds will noticeably matter. But the more weight = more potholes equation seems logical.

What causes the most damage to roads?

Vehicle weight leads to road damage, which leads to vehicle damage, which leads to accidents, injuries, and sometimes death. 18-wheelers, especially when fully loaded with cargo, cause more road damage than passenger vehicles due to their much greater weight.