The one quote that defines the entire issue is from Gerald Donaldson, Senior Research Director of the Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety: "Joe Blow is terrified. There is a greater proportion of trucks in the traffic stream than 10 years ago...We have more older drivers than we've ever had, and they do not like being next to large trucks."
Yep, there's a greater proportion of trucks in the traffic stream, and there's a greater proportion of traffic, and congestion, too. (There's a concurrently greater proportion of taxes & fees derived from the trucks, as well, but they left that out of this article, based as it is on emotions, rather than facts) The officials who were handsomely paid by the taxpayers to plan our infrastructure, including future trends and needs, were clearly incompetent, resulting in the huge increases in congestion that we live with every day. All vehicular traffic has increased, with the increase in population, but that seems to have been a surprise to the officials.
Knowing that older folks are afraid to drive next to trucks, they've turned that irrational fear to their advantage, placing the blame for the congestion on the trucks themselves - nifty bit of twisted logic, eh? Not only do they escape accountability, but they curry favor with the largest group of voters, in one fell swoop.
'Truck only' TOLL lanes are adding insult to injury, IMO, as trucks already pay a tremendous amount to use the public roads. Truck only lanes sound doable- to people who've never been behind a heavy truck, going uphill at 15 mph, forcing everyone following to maintain the same speed, when we're not permitted to pass. (Which is the current status in many places, I 40 in NC being just one place that comes to mind.)
This is another example of blaming the victim: trucks didn't cause the problem, and congestion causes more problems for truck drivers, (particularly expediters) than it does for Joe Blow. It's also a case of officials pandering to the unfounded fears of a huge group of voters, at the expense of the rest of society.
The ATA and other interested parties may not be opposed to truck only lanes now, but just wait until they start seeing what the delay costs them, when ALL trucks on mountain roads are averaging 15 mph...
