Mexican Trucks

DOBBS: One Democratic senator is demanding a federal investigation into whether the Transportation Department broke the law by spending federal money to go ahead, despite congressional opposition and absolute scriptures against a pilot program that allows Mexican trucks on our roads. That pilot program is part of NAFTA.

It allows Mexican trucks, at the discretion of the Bush administration, to travel anywhere in the United States. And at a hearing this week, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota simply blasted the secretary of the Department of Transportation for her absolute defiance of Congress and starting that program, even though Congress cut its funding in December.

SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: I think that there's an arrogance here with respect to federal agencies. There would not be a hearing if the Department of Transportation had complied with congressional intent. Congress has explicitly said you may not proceed with the pilot program.

DOBBS: Senator Dorgan went on to say continuing that program is straightforwardly a slap in the face of Congress, not to mention the American people.

CNN: Lou Dobbs Tonight; Thursday, March 13, 2008

Big Rigs Rolling

Then change the law. There are the watchwords for North Carolina legislators, and if necessary, for members of the state's congressional delegation, when it comes to allowing longer truck trailers on hundreds of miles of highways in the state. The state Attorney General's Office has ruled that length limits from the Department of Transportation are more restrictive than those allowed by state and federal law. The result: DOT now is drawing up new maps showing where 53-foot trailers will be allowed. The old limit on the trailers was 48 feet, and many of the longer trailers have been drawing tickets. That has made haulers and the companies for whom they deliver unhappy.

If the laws trump DOT regulations, then it's the laws that need to be changed, not the regulations. Highway safety advocates, including the State Highway Patrol, are adamant in their belief that longer trailers will be more hazardous on more roads. To make some turns, especially on narrow roads, trucks (at 48 feet) already have to go across center lines. Those North Carolinians who've traveled much in the mountains can attest to the hazards, and Lt. Everett Clendenin of the Patrol says, "So a 53-foot trailer is really going to present a problem up there, in our opinion."

Those who support longer trailers say that more capacity for deliveries will mean fewer vehicles hauling more stuff. Maybe so, but what about that balanced against greater hazards for average motorists dwarfed by huge trucks? A safety advocate in Washington put it this way: "These guys are going to be on roads with lots of vertical and horizontal curves and short sight distances. It will increase the risk of crashes, absolutely."

It's true that North Carolina's rules have been more strict than most other states'. Guess what? That's a good thing. So let's hope the General Assembly and, if need be, the state's representatives in Congress will not go along to get along, but will act to protect stronger rules, and the citizens who share our highways with the big rigs.

The News & Observer; Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Hog Tractor Trailer Crash Shuts Down I-40 in North Carolina

A tractor trailer carrying 95 hogs on it's way to a sausage factory in Tennessee got into an accident and overturned killing 38 hogs.

The accident caused a three-mile close on the westbound stretch of I-40 near Clyde for 11 hours while crews cleared the grisly scene. Of the 38 hogs that were killed, three of them were euthanized at the scene with a gun due to extensive injuries.

The surviving hogs were loaded into trailers and taken to a private farm until their owner could arrive from the Tabor City area.

According to information released by Haywood County Public Information Coordinator David Teague: The crash took place about 1:15 a.m. when the tractor-trailer, driven by Stuart Small of Tabor City, collided with a car as both vehicles were traveling westbound near the 26-mile marker.

The tractor-trailer struck the back of the car and the tractor-trailer lost control, striking the guardrail on the right side of the road.

The truck continued for 450 feet before it overturned on its right side and came to a rest.

Small, who owns his own trucking company, said he saw something black lying in the middle of the road moments before the collision.

“I hit it. It cleared my truck and it shot me over to the shoulder of the road. I came back on and I went back to the shoulder, and when I came back out, I hit that car,” Small said. “I don’t know what it was, but I know it cleared the truck.”

He has been charged with reckless driving.

Small said he was taking the hogs from Tabor City to the Jimmy Dean Foods factory in Newbern, Tenn.

In his 30-plus years of driving tractor-trailers, Small said he’s been in an accident while carrying livestock before, but not where so many of his load was killed.

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