The state Senate can't be accused of pandering to public opinion on at least one issue -- longer and wider truck trailer loads on state primary highways. The Senate overwhelmingly passed Sen. Clark Jenkins' bill allowing 53 foot rigs on up to 20,000 miles of roads, longer rigs than the current 48-footers, as well as 10-foot-wide boat/trailer rigs (instead of 8 1/2 feet) at any hour of the day. The State Highway Patrol has warned that the 53-foot rigs will cause a lot of problems for motorists especially in the mountain-road sections of Western North Carolina. The bill will be good for truckers, but it's hard to see how it will do anything but make life harder for car drivers.
But the Senate approved the bill, S 1695,
on a 47-0 vote despite low public support for the bigger rigs.
As Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling notes, only 15 percent of North Carolinians support longer rigs. He sent out an email Tuesday noting, "A new PPP survey finds that just 15% of North Carolinians support a bill that would allow large trucks to travel on a wider variety of state roads.
"The poll found that opposition to the bill is steady across all demographic categories." Click here for more.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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5 comments:
wvhmiexvThe Democrats were probably bought by the truckers. The party of corruption.
Just whom were our elected representatives representing when they passed this bill?
What good does it do to vote, when the people whom you elect go represent somebody else instead?
iJack, Whether the people, or you, realize it or not, this bill did represent the people.
While some roads may not be good for longer trucks, the fact is trucks have to go on many roads they are not legal for, simply because the manufacturers have shipping points or destinations on those roads.
For an example there are 7 Lowes stores which it has been illegal to serve with longer trucks.
The law also causes excess driving to avoid these roads. This increases congestion on major thoroughfares and wastes fuel and, if you're concerned about CO2 in the atmosphere, adds unnecessarily to that.
The bill will make the industry more efficient and will have little effect on cars. SO in the long run, the consumers, those petty drivers of cars, who believe roads are only for cars, will benefit, even while they whine.
Lewis Guignard
The blanket (blind) approval of all US and NC routes with absolutely no minimal safety, road condition, bridge condition, or design criteria simply transfers the incident liability from the carriers (for being "off route") back to the Department of Transportation (the taxpayers)for having not prohibited trucks from obviously dangerous roads. SB 1695 simply endorses/forgives the industry's willful behavior and disregard for existing regulations that were established to comply with Federal Law.
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