Frank Lautenberg: “as co-sponsor of this amendment and author of the original freeze on longer combination vehicles in the first ISTEA in…”

“as co-sponsor of this amendment and author of the original freeze on longer combination vehicles in the first ISTEA in 1991, I strongly support maintaining this freeze. By adopting this amendment, the Senate will declare loudly and clearly, that the freeze should not be weakened with more exemptions. Six years ago, Congress recognized the need to stop the growing presence of big rig trucks on our roads. We included in ISTEA a provision I authored that froze the lawful operation of LCVs to only those routes where they had been operating up until that time. It was the right thing to do then and it's the right thing to do now. We, as Members of Congress, have a duty to actively ensure the safety of all our Nation's roads, not just the roads in our individual States. By allowing monster trucks to terrorize our highways are we not failing to fulfill that duty? LCVs can be as long as 123 feet (that's longer than a 737 jetliner) and can weigh up to 164 tons. If it's raining when one of these trucks passes you, the spray from its 32 sets of wheels can blind you for over a minute. That's a long time when you're driving at 55 miles an hour. It means you can't see anything for over a mile. LCVs pose extraordinary safety risks to other motorists.”