Military helicopter lands at Perry School in Erie for Truck Day 2024
As part of the school’s Truck Day, a military helicopter landed in the parking lot next to the playground behind Perry Elementary School, 955 W. 29th St., on May 23, 2024. Students were able to get a close look at the helicopter, as well as a fire truck, ambulance, trolley bus and other vehicles.
Pennsylvania police chiefs and their departments witness every day the dangers that semi-trucks pose to motorists and our communities, large and small.
Our collective experience as first responders to accidents has led us to the very rational conclusion that heavier trucks are more dangerous to motorists. That’s why we have fought efforts by lawmakers in Congress over the years to allow heavier trucks on our highways.
But now some members of Congress are back on the march, considering a new effort that would allow trucks to operate at 91,000 pounds, a significant increase of 11,000 pounds.
As trucks become heavier, these already dangerous vehicles become even more dangerous. It’s only logical that larger trucks pose a greater risk on the road and are involved in more accidents than lighter trucks. With an additional 5.5 tonnes, accidents become even more serious, resulting in more injuries and deaths.
Pennsylvania is no stranger to truck traffic, especially since we have major roadways like I-95, I-80, and I-79, all of which already have high levels of commercial truck traffic. And Pennsylvania police departments are already overwhelmed when it comes to responding to crashes involving trucks weighing less than 91,000 pounds.
As semi-trucks carry more weight, police departments can expect an increase in crashes and injuries. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) found that heavier trucks had 18% more braking violations and out-of-service violations. And in a separate study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that trucks with out-of-service violations were 362% more likely to be involved in a crash.
It’s simple physics – a heavier truck is harder to control, and the force of the impact is determined by the weight of the truck multiplied by the speed. This will inevitably lead to more deaths, injuries, and damage to roads across the state.
Truck crashes are already deadly across the state. The Federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), considered the most comprehensive and accurate crash dataset, reports a total of 7,652 crashes involving large trucks in Pennsylvania for 2022, the latest year with available data. Unfortunately, 185 people lost their lives in those crashes, representing a 14.2% increase in fatalities compared to the previous year.
If the data shows that these vehicles are especially dangerous at higher weights, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has recommended not changing the weights for trucks, why is there now an attempt to make our roads more dangerous?
The answer lies with the rich trucking companies with the deepest pockets on Capitol Hill. And since this issue isn’t immediately making national media front pages, advocates of bigger trucks believe they can just quietly pass legislation without the people most affected by this change noticing.
As leaders of local law enforcement, our duty is to serve and protect the people of Pennsylvania. That’s why we cannot remain silent when bills like HR 3372 pass, which threatens the safety of our citizens and visitors to our great state by creating a 10-year pilot project to allow 91,000-pound trucks.
One of the most important responsibilities of our elected officials is public safety. We urge our elected officials across the state to oppose this measure and vote against any bills that would increase the size and weight of trucks.
The lives of our citizens, police officers and first responders are not worth this additional risk in the name of corporate profits.
Scott L. Bohn is executive director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, which includes more than 1,200 command-level law enforcement officers, including police chiefs, superintendents and commissioners, as well as commanders of federal, state and industry agencies throughout Pennsylvania.
