Americans are frightened by heavy and big trucks on our nation’s highway. We don’t need a poll to tell us that, but a poll exists anyway.
Taken by Lake Research Partners, it finds that 66 percent of drivers oppose a proposal to allow bigger trucks carrying heavier loads on the highways. The American people have to share the roads and they find that two or three-trailers are even more frightning than a single-trailer. That sentiment crossed race, income, sex, age and region.
The poll was released to coordinate with a demonstration project being proposed by shippers and lobbyists for trucking companies that would allow trucks weighing as much as 100,000 pounds on the roads in six states.
Public Citizen is one organization that is fighting heavier and larger trucks on our highways. At a news conference Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen calls it a “demolition derby” since that increases the weight allowed by about 20,000 pounds.
According to Public Citizen, in 2006, big-rig crashes killed 5,000 people and injured 106,000. And while large trucks make up about 3 percent of registered vehicles, they are responsible for a disproportionate number of accidents-9 percent resulted in fatal crashes.
Besides death and injury, our roads were not made to hold heavier trucks and an aging infrastructure does not need added weight to add to stress.
It’s estimated that one 80,000 truck does the same damage to the highways as 9,600 cars.
The Safe Truck Operations and Preservation Act of 2008 would preserve that limit to most of the roads on the nation’s interstate highway system as well as limit the truck length to 53-foot.
Introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, it attempts to stop the lobbying effort by shippers and truckers to allow the trucks in six states, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
Don’t believe the hype that bigger trucks will translate to fewer trucks. That has historically not been true.
Congress will need to hear from you and soon to let them know just how you feel about even bigger-rigs riding alongside you.
At Farah and Farah, we are experienced in life after an accident with a big-rig. An attorney must know how to check records to determine if the driver was following the rules of the road in terms of service and safety.
The advice of an experienced attorney is invaluable to accident victims or their survivors.
