I've always hated 18-wheel trucks. They are dangerous, especially when the driver has been awake for 24 hours and still has two hundred miles to go on a trip. Once I was in Michigan, driving in the fast lane, when all of a sudden a trucker in the middle lane next to me decided that traffic wasn't going fast enough for him. He swerved over into the fast lane (it is illegal for semis to be in the far left lane on a three lane highway) and pushed me over onto the median. I was lucky that there was plenty of room, otherwise I could have ended up crashing into a concrete embankment. With that said, this is no surprise to me.
The Ohio Turnpike has become a faster and more dangerous place to drive.Accidents involving all types of vehicles have increased 27 percent since the truck speed limit was raised last fall from 55 mph to 65 mph. And wrecks in which a truck was involved are up even more - at 36 percent, State Highway Patrol statistics show.
"It's cause for concern," said Brian Newbacher, spokesman for the AAA Ohio Motorists Association, which opposed the turnpike's decision to increase the speed limit. It remains 55 mph on other interstate highways in Ohio.
Of course the piece goes on to say more study is needed, and conclusions are premature, blah, blah, blah. This is one of those common sense situations where studies are not needed. Yeah, I know, without trucks, America stops.
Whatever, that's why I like trains.