Speeding trucks must be brought under control
Living in the north county, I well remember the tragic accident on 270/170 (before the new interchange) in which several people were killed. Inattentive? I think not. It was simply a matter of a speeding truck which couldn’t stop. Driving recently on 270 in the center lane, at 3-4 MPH above the legal speed limit, I was passed on BOTH sides by trucks. Does anyone seriously think that “variable speed limits” will slow down trucks with absolutely no regard for speed limits? Since I work in Alton, I drive on 367 several times per week. Two or three times, southbound trucks have failed to negotiate the curve at 367 and 94, and went off the road, blocking all southbound traffic for hours. Inattentive? I think not….just another speeding truck that lost control. I was so sorry to read in this morning’s paper about the third person to die in the recent accident on 64. How many more deaths will it take before speeding trucks are brought under control by huge fines, or whatever means necessary. This problem needs to be addressed, and the sooner the better.
Ken Rueter
Florissant
Mr. Rueter makes some good points about speeding truck drivers. The same applies to all other speeders by whatever means they are using to violate tha speed limits.
My wife and I drove through Illinois to attend my daughter’s wedding a few months ago. The maximum speed limit for trucks was 10 MPH slower than for cars and the trucks were obeying the speed limit. Everyone of them. It was the most relaxing part of the trip. Maybe this was just a fluke, but I wonder if there are more severe fines for truck speeding in Illinois?
I don’t think we can single out trucks as the single bad apple on our highways. For every bad truck driver, there are tens of thousands of bad car drivers. Not a day goes by that I don’t see cars flying down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic. The problem with those folks is that they are usually just causing accidents, not involved in them themselves.
Illinois has control because of 1) the lower limit and 2) the desire to enforce it. Evenly applied enforcement of existing speed limit laws will make the roads safer. If people know they can/will get a ticket for going at dangerous speeds, they will think twice before engaging in such risky behaviors.
suzyjax - Thanks, that makes sense. If I’m remembering correctly, we thought we also saw several cameras on overpasses and light fixtures on the Illinois side. That might explain some of the difference also.