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Citing highway safety concerns, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey says he wants to “put the brakes” on a proposal that potentially would open up Pennsylvania roads to mega-long tractor-trailers.
Our only complaint with the Scranton Democrat’s assessment is that, in typical Casey fashion, he was understated. He should have declared: Bring this big-rig proposal to a screeching halt! And don’t dare let it move until questions involving motorists’ safety and lawmakers’ motivations can be answered.
Among the most pressing areas to explore:
• Can the the nearly 85-foot-long trucks – known as “twin 33s” because of the dual 33-foot trailers being towed – possibly be safer than certain shorter rigs, as claimed by proponents of the change?
• Should drivers as young as 18 be permitted, as also has been proposed recently, to pilot tractor-trailers across state lines?
• And, who is steering the law-making process in Washington in regard to the cross-country movement of freight?
It seems the trucking industry’s fingerprints are all over a proposed transportation appropriations bill that moved this month to the House and Senate.
Casey and others, including U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-New York, objected to a provision in the bill that they say essentially would strip states of the authority to limit truck size. “It’s a smack in the face to state sovereignty,” said Schumer in a news article in the Evening Tribune of Hornell, New York.
Today, nearly 40 states ban or limit the larger twin trailers, said Casey, who noted variations in terrain and climate across the United States should factor into where the biggest trucks can go. That logic no doubt resonates with many area drivers familiar with Interstates 80, 81 and 84, all of which include mountainous stretches here prone to slick conditions and fog. Plus, Interstate 81 in portions of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties can be particularly congested.
Casey also was quoted in a Huffington Post article about possible pilot programs allowing teen truck drivers to take rigs over state lines. Critics contend that young drivers are the most accident-prone and therefore shouldn’t be saddled with interstate commerce duties.
Freight carriers including the mighty FedEx reportedly have been spending plenty to lobby Congress. Trucking firms rightly point out that they’re being squeezed by persistent driver shortages as well as government pressure to be more fuel-efficient. Larger rigs, they argue, can get the job done without undue risk and with less impact on the environment.
In the long run, part of the solution might involve self-driving trucks, according to an article this month in the Journal Star, of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Until then, however, federal lawmakers must ensure safety isn’t run over in the rush to ensure a smooth flow of America’s delivery of goods.