Trucker lobby wins with 70 mph limit

Hardly a week goes by without families being crushed to death or burned alive by semitrailers ramming them while stopped or slowing. Truck drivers are lulled into a daze or sleep by boredom, monotony, lack of sleep, distractions of radios and phones, illegally driving too many hours without a break, speeding in reduced visibility and icy conditions, to name a few.

The Herald recently published an incident where a family of four stopped by a traffic jam were crushed to death by a train of four semis which all plunged into the rear of a line of cars. Also, disabled car and a police car on the shoulder were plowed into by a semi, a family of five burned alive as they were seen writhing around inside the flaming vehicle.

Electronic devices are readily available to accurately detect lane departures, weaving and going too fast to stop before ramming the car in front of them. The only thing that prevents trucks from using these devices (sold as standard or optional equipment on cars for about $900) is greed and the powerful trucking lobby. The insurance companies don't require it, arguing that in a few cases cars may cause accidents and in any case the trucks (40 tons) are usually only slightly damaged as compared to the car (2 tons). I guess its just cheaper to them to pay off the victim's survivors.

The Illinois General Assembly recently increased the speed limit for all vehicles to 70 mph with no protection for ordinary citizens. Increasing the speed of trucks to 70 mph more than quadruples the damages to the car, since the truck is only slightly slowed compared to the virtually instantaneous acceleration of the (rear of) the car being crushed, So much for representative governing, and another win for lobbyists.

Leonard Tafel

Mount Prospect