Our very own newspaper reported that double-trailer transport trucks will be allowed on Ontario's 400-series highways starting this summer.
As if negotiating around 20-metre 35,000 kg trucks isn't tough enough - now we'll have to deal with 40-metre 70,000 kg rigs.
Keen.
Supporters of the proposal state, with some justification, that the scheme will reduce transportation costs, fuel usage and emissions.
The proposal also brings Ontario into line with western Provinces, Quebec, and as many as twenty US states.
Detractors, predictably, worry about safety.
As do I.
This article from the New York Times is quite old, but the conclusions probably still hold true.
(Wow - TWO Hot Links in a single post!)
Generally, truckers are among the best drivers on the road. Trucking associations can (and do) quote statistics chapter and verse to support that contention.
Truckers also point out that truck crashes are almost universally caused by car drivers (derisively referred to in the trucking world as 'four-wheelers'), which is also surely true.
The problem is - the consequence of a single mistake can be devastating. And the penalty for a small error shouldn't be death.
Memo to all 'four-wheelers' - when you encounter any transport truck, single- or double-trailer, remember the advice someone like your Granddad probably told you: don't poke at sun-bathing rattlesnakes; don't whack wasps' nests with sticks; or, as Jim Croce sang (you KNEW this was coming), don't tug on Superman's cape.
Just, um, steer clear.
Don't tailgate them.
Don't block them.
Don't brake-test them.
If they're going to have a crash, make sure they have it with somebody else.
Oh, and the 'pilot project' aspect of this proposal?
Reminds me of another 'temporary measure' our federal government introduced back in, oh, must have been 1917.
It is called Income Tax.
Now, if they could only "pilot project" speed limits on 400 highways.
Like maybe, raise them to 160km/h (knowing fully well most drive at 130 anyways). At least setting them a bit higher than the speed most people drive, word "maximum" would have a proper meaning.
...not holding my breath.
Posted by: Nick B. | April 18, 2009 at 02:22 PM
Jim: You talked just a couple of weeks ago about proposals regarding adding speed limits to large trucks. I said then, limiting the speed of large (articulated) trucks was a good idea, as a tractor trailer has two parts - the tractor, which, in an accident situation, can be controlled (and controlled well by an experienced driver); and a trailer, which by definition, cannot be controlled once its wheels lose traction, no matter how good the driver. ONE trailer is bad enough in the congested highways in and around Toronto. TWO trailers is surely a (very large) accident waiting to happen. For once, pure economics must give way to some common sense and a view of the big picture.
Posted by: John Frewen-Lord | April 20, 2009 at 09:58 AM
Just wait until the snow falls!
David
Posted by: David White | April 21, 2009 at 06:12 PM