Highway mix of cars, semis still lethal [Separation of road and road]

Capital Times ^ | 8-21-06 | Dave Zweifel

[SJackson]

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation trumpeted it as good news.

Accidents involving big trucks on our state's roads and highways declined in 2005.

In fact, the State Patrol's Bureau of Transportation Safety said that the 7,762 truck crashes during the last year represented the lowest number in 16 years. Just 10 years ago, large truck crashes totaled more than 9,400, it said.

The number of people killed in crashes involving semis and other large trucks in 2005 was 94, the fewest since 1992, when 90 people perished in such collisions.

State Patrol Capt. Chuck Teasdale credited the better numbers to the patrol's "extensive safety inspections" and "close monitoring of drivers."

"Traffic law enforcement is another key component because it focuses on truck drivers' decisions and behaviors that often cause crashes," he said. "We also are working with trucking companies and organizations to educate drivers about safety issues."

Frankly, we could all use some good news about the growing dangerous mix of passenger cars and ever-more-powerful semis on the roads. Only a few days ago, another tractor-trailer rammed into the rear of stopped traffic on the Beltline, the driver unable to bring its heavy load to a stop. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries, although traffic was stopped dead on the busy Beltline for most of the morning.

Drivers on the Jersey Turnpike last week weren't as fortunate. Four people were killed and four more injured when a flatbed truck loaded with bricks slammed into stopped traffic. The truck wasn't able to stop. It pushed one car under the trailer of another truck, killing three of the four people in it. It then careered over a guard rail and overturned, spilling the bricks onto a second car, killing the woman who was driving it.

Now it's true that trucks don't always run into the rear of passenger cars and it's also true that many of the accidents are more the fault of the car drivers than of the truck drivers. Trouble is, the car drivers don't stand much of a chance in an encounter between the two.

And it's also true that the lethal mix of the two is becoming more volatile as the increase in the number of cars and the growth of the trucking industry continue unabated. We may have had a good year in 2005, but that's bound to change as the unhealthy mix of the two gets more severe.

The time will come when passenger cars and trucks will have to be separated, either through a redesign of our national highway system or encouraging even more use of railroad rights of way.

Congratulations to the State Patrol for a good year, but don't hold your breath for the future.

[B4Ranch]

I'm a couple of miles off of I-80. He wouldn't see it. He does call once in a while though.

[Blue Jays]

Hi TonyRo76-

It has long been my position that we should ELIMINATE short-haul flights like New York to Boston and Los Angeles to San Francisco. Those routes should be well-serviced by passenger trains and buses. This would return trains to a more viable method of networked transportation and would vastly reduce the number of vehicles on the road because many companies would be able to take advantage of the improved railway service along existing lines.

~ Blue Jays ~

[Blue Jays]

Hi TonyRo76-

We're in 100% agreement.

Getting a short-haul commuter flight for a business meeting is a kneejerk reaction for many. We need a more "systemic" approach to transportation. There are enormous numbers of people crowding very predictable and well-worn paths to large cities...which is where expanded and modernized train service would shine. Why have a small plane with 45 people on board when you can load a luxurious, quiet, train with more than a 1000 riders and get there just as fast?

You're absolutely correct in your suggestion that reducing the airport traffic would lighten the load on TSA, baggage handling, and air traffic control headaches. Economies of scale would arrange themselves and it should be cheaper for an individual to reach their destination via mass transit. With less traffic, goods and services traveling by truck would arrive more quickly and at less cost.

~ Blue Jays ~