Full Text of SR0233 99th General Assembly
SR0233enr 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 09900SR0233 Enrolled | | LRB099 11495 GRL 32630 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 233
| 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, All vehicle crashes are a serious, deadly, and | 7 | | costly problem to Illinois families, our State's health care | 8 | | system, and the economy; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois trucking industry employs 278,920 | 10 | | men and women in Illinois; it is responsible for delivering | 11 | | food to our grocery stores, supplying medicine and medical | 12 | | supplies to serve our healthcare system, and transporting 78% | 13 | | of the total manufactured freight in Illinois; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In 2013, there were 10,397 crashes involving | 15 | | tractor-trailers out of 285,477 total crashes in Illinois; | 16 | | fatalities resulting from tractor-trailer crashes increased by | 17 | | 13% from 2012 to 2013, and the number of fatal crashes | 18 | | involving tractor-trailers also increased by 16%; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, From 2009 to 2013, there were 586 fatalities | 20 | | resulting from crashes involving large trucks; and
|
| | | 09900SR0233 Enrolled | - 2 - | LRB099 11495 GRL 32630 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Annual truck crash fatalities nationwide are | 2 | | equivalent to a major airplane crash every other week of the | 3 | | year; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In fatal 2-vehicle crashes between a large truck | 5 | | and a passenger motor vehicle, 96% of the fatalities were | 6 | | occupants of the passenger vehicle; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Driving a truck is one of the most dangerous | 8 | | occupations in the United States; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, An April 2014 survey found that 73% of Illinois | 10 | | residents oppose increasing the current federal truck weight | 11 | | limit of 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Increases to truck size and weight limits would | 13 | | have a tremendous impact on Illinois' infrastructure; Illinois | 14 | | has the third-largest interstate system in the United States | 15 | | and the third-largest bridge inventory in the United States, | 16 | | and more than 7,200 trucking establishments within Illinois use | 17 | | the extensive network of highways; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, At present, nearly 16% of the bridges in Illinois | 19 | | are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 15% of | 20 | | the major roads are considered to be in poor condition; | 21 | | increasing the weight of a heavy truck by only l0% increases |
| | | 09900SR0233 Enrolled | - 3 - | LRB099 11495 GRL 32630 r |
|
| 1 | | bridge damage by 33%; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Driving on roads in need of repair costs Illinois | 3 | | motorists $3.7 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and | 4 | | operating costs, which amounts to nearly $450 per motorist; | 5 | | therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we oppose an increase | 8 | | in current truck size and weight limits on all roads in the | 9 | | State of Illinois in order to ensure the safety of all Illinois | 10 | | motorists on our streets and highways; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That we affirm our opposition to removing or | 12 | | weakening the federal freeze on Longer Combination Vehicles | 13 | | contained in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency | 14 | | Act of 1991, which restricts the use of extra-long double and | 15 | | triple trailer trucks on Illinois highways because of the | 16 | | adverse impact on highway safety and infrastructure; and be it | 17 | | further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 19 | | delivered to the President and Vice President of the United | 20 | | States, the Speaker of the United States House of | 21 | | Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States | 22 | | Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional |
| | | 09900SR0233 Enrolled | - 4 - | LRB099 11495 GRL 32630 r |
|
| 1 | | delegation.
|
|