Local residents take sides on truck safety summit
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After two local politicians proposed Marcellus Shale companies revisit their safety policies for truck drivers, opinions surfaced online.
Some readers took the opportunity to defend the industry and drivers. Jason Smith said he is a truck driver.
“I’ve had more close calls with people in passenger cars on their phones,” he wrote on the Observer-Reporter‘s Facebook page. “I’d also like to say the guy in the photo ain’t exactly a member of MENSA,” he said, referring to a photo of a truck that partially collapsed a historic Greene County bridge Sept. 28.
State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said complaints of reckless truck drivers escalated after the bridge incident. She and state Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, proposed the summit.
Snyder said complaints involve speeding, failure to obey traffic signs and driving in the middle of the road.
Another Facebook user, who goes by the name Jason Honey Badger Dhans, said the drilling industry is being unfairly targeted. He said he hauls water.
Others said while reckless driving is a problem, truck drivers aren’t the only culprits.
“I think it’s unfair to blame truck drivers. There’s bad drivers everywhere,” wrote Nicole Newberry. “I almost got run over while I was walking my dog, by a state policeman because he was texting and driving. Yeah. And let’s not even get into the granny in her Lincoln that nearly T-boned my pickup yesterday.”
Others agreed with the politicians drilling companies need a safety check for their truck drivers.
“Most definitely!” wrote Ron Ramsey on Twitter. “Most rural communities have no police presence, and these truckers know that.”
Resident Danielle White said her family was personally affected by a truck driver’s recklessness.
“We have a lot of reckless driving in our area from the truck drivers,” she wrote on Facebook. “I’m not saying everyone is that way, but my brother and his family were run off the road by a water truck, and the man never stopped to ask if they were OK. I think everyone needs a recap on safety.”