Full Text of SR0233 99th General Assembly
SR0233 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to protecting | 3 | | the safety of motorists on its roads and highways and to | 4 | | protecting taxpayers' investment in our highway | 5 | | infrastructure; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Truck crashes are a serious, deadly, and costly | 7 | | problem to Illinois families, our State's health care system, | 8 | | and the economy; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, there were 10,397 crashes involving | 10 | | tractor-trailers in Illinois; fatalities resulting from | 11 | | tractor-trailer crashes increased by 13% from 2012 to 2013, and | 12 | | the number of fatal crashes involving tractor-trailers also | 13 | | increased by 16%; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, From 2009 to 2013, there were 586 fatalities | 15 | | resulting from crashes involving large trucks; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Annual truck crash fatalities nationwide are | 17 | | equivalent to a major airplane crash every other week of the | 18 | | year; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In fatal 2-vehicle crashes between a large truck | 20 | | and a passenger motor vehicle, 96% of the fatalities were |
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| 1 | | occupants of the passenger vehicle; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Driving a truck is one of the most dangerous | 3 | | occupations in the United States; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, An April 2014 survey found that 73% of Illinois | 5 | | residents oppose increasing the current federal truck weight | 6 | | limit of 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Increases to truck size and weight limits would | 8 | | have a tremendous impact on Illinois' infrastructure; Illinois | 9 | | has the third largest interstate system in the United States | 10 | | and the third largest bridge inventory in the United States, | 11 | | and more than 7,200 trucking establishments within Illinois use | 12 | | the extensive network of highways; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, At present, nearly 16% of the bridges in Illinois | 14 | | are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 15% of | 15 | | the major roads are considered to be in poor condition; | 16 | | increasing the weight of a heavy truck by only l0% increases | 17 | | bridge damage by 33%; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Driving on roads in need of repair costs Illinois | 19 | | motorists $3.7 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and | 20 | | operating costs, which amounts to nearly $450 per motorist; | 21 | | therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we oppose an increase | 3 | | in current truck size and weight limits on all roads in the | 4 | | State of Illinois in order to ensure the safety of all Illinois | 5 | | motorists on our streets and highways; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That we affirm our opposition to removing or | 7 | | weakening the federal freeze on Longer Combination Vehicles | 8 | | contained in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency | 9 | | Act of 1991, which restricts the use of extra-long double and | 10 | | triple trailers trucks on Illinois highways because of the | 11 | | adverse impact on highway safety and infrastructure; and be it | 12 | | further | 13 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 | | delivered to the President and Vice President of the United | 15 | | States, the Speaker of the United States House of | 16 | | Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States | 17 | | Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional | 18 | | delegation.
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