On the other end of the telephone line, Daphne Izer was ecstatic.
“The Boozman amendment was withdrawn today,” the Lisbon woman was saying. “We’re thrilled.”
Chalk up one for a mother’s undying love.
Izer had joined in a press conference in Washington on Tuesday condemning a proposal by Rep. John Boozman, an Republican from Arkansas, that would have extended the workday for truck drivers from 14 hours now to 16 hours.
Izer’s son Jeff was 17 in 1993 when he was killed by a Wal-Mart truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into his car in the breakdown lane of the Maine Turnpike in Falmouth.
The Wal-Mart-owned big rig also took the lives of Angie Dubuc, 16; Dawn Marie Welding, 15; and Katie Leighton, 14. Linda Tardif, then 15, lived but was seriously injured.
Boozman’s amendment was backed by Wal-Mart, whose employees were among his major campaign contributors. His district includes Wal-Mart’s world headquarters.
That Wal-Mart wanted to extend the hours its truckers could drive infuriated Izer, who founded the safety advocacy group Parents Against Tired Truckers after her son was killed.
“It’s outrageous,” she said Tuesday. “It’s all about greed and the almighty dollar.”
Before Boozman withdrew his measure Wednesday – it faced a vote weighted heavily in the favor of opponents – Izer had circulated on the House floor a letter she drafted that recalled the deaths of her son and his friends.
“Too many parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors and school friends suffered unimaginable losses,” she told the members of Congress.
“Truck driver fatigue has been identified as the No. 1 safety problem confronting the trucking industry,” she continued.
Boozman’s amendment “will make the problem worse and will cause other parents to suffer as we have suffered,” she wrote.
“Congress should be doing more to address truck driver fatigue instead of enacting legislation granting Wal-Mart and other special interests exceptions to the truck safety rules.”
Izer’s efforts were lauded by the Teamsters union, which also opposed the measure.
Teamsters President James P. Hoffa said in a statement Wednesday: “I would like to commend Daphne Izer, Ann and Rick Curl, and all those who have lost loved ones as a result of driver fatigue and now lead the fight for highway safety. With dignity and determination they have shared their stories of personal tragedy to expose the consequences of making our roads less safe in order to make big business more profitable.”
“We’re very pleased,” Izer said Wednesday evening after learning Boozman had withdrawn the proposal.
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