Heavier trucks mean more crashes, deterioration of Maine’s highways
Recent actions by Gov. John Baldacci and other state elected leaders are more than discouraging. In fact, Maine residents and users of the roadways should be greatly concerned over the fact that truck weights have increased for a certain segment of the trucking industry – the forest products industry.
Despite the dangers of overweight trucks and the potential for a catastrophic bridge collapse similar to the Minneapolis, Minn. bridge failure and the tragic loss of lives last summer, even bigger and heavier trucks will now be allowed to share Maine highways with all vehicles.
The legislation that got pushed through is about profits. The federal truck weight limit is 80,000 pounds. The new legislation increases the allowable weight from an already dangerous 100,000 pounds to 105,000 pounds.
This increase is supposed to be a temporary measure until April 1, 2008, but the public should be aware that the trucking industry has attempted for years to get heavier and bigger trucks, and I feel this is just another angle to get that accomplished.
Safety, without a doubt, must always be first and foremost; however, Gov. Baldacci and our elected officials have, in this case, put safety on the back burner. Profit has become first. That is very wrong.
Furthermore, state politicians are always complaining about not having adequate funds for road repairs. If they were truly good stewards of public funds, they would be decreasing truck weights, not increasing them. Roads have huge potholes already, and it will only get worse with the heavier trucks.
The second action in this one-two deadly punch is a request by federal elected officials. Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe have made a request to the federal government to grant none other than a special interest exemption for the state to permit overweight trucks to travel on the portion of I-95 from Augusta north to the Canadian border, and on I-395 near Bangor.
The argument to get them off local roads doesn’t cut it. How will goods get delivered to the local communities? Still by those overweight trucks.
Trucking lobbyists, without any doubt at all, want bigger, longer, heavier trucks in neighboring states, throughout the Northeast and across the country. This is no secret.
The public needs to know Maine is the essential link in that strategy. The slogan “As Maine goes, so goes the nation” would be very true, but most certainly not in a good way. The motoring public would be put at an even higher risk, day in and day out, if this were to happen.
What are Collins and Snowe thinking?
The public should make sure the two senators are aware of concerns on this critical issue.
The state of Maine, the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Maine Better Transportation Association and the federal government have done countless studies which conclusively show that Maine highways are continuing to deteriorate, numerous bridges are badly stressed, and not enough money is being spent to repair the infrastructure.
What are the priorities of elected officials?
They are putting the profits of trucking interests before public safety; they are accelerating the structural deterioration of roads and bridges by increasing truck weights; they are continuing to allow Maine families to subsidize the enormous costs of bridge and road damage caused by overweight trucks; and last, but certainly not least, innocent lives are put in danger day in and day out.
Fifteen years ago, I lost my son in a preventable truck crash on the Maine Turnpike. His three young friends were killed with him. It sems every year, innocent lives are wiped out on our highways in crashes involving heavy trucks.
Enough is enough.
Federal and state elected officials must put the brakes on those irresponsible and ill-advised policies. The public needs to speak up and be heard, sooner rather than later.
Daphne Izer is the co-founder and cochair of Parents Against Tired Truckers. She lives in Lisbon Falls.
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