Lawmaker Wants SUV Restrictions (truck routes only)

[stevedeshazer]

<snip>

Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette (NY) wants to require heavy SUVs to travel along truck routes, saying their girth makes them subject to the same weight-based safety standards as their commercial cousins.

``Where does a passenger vehicle end and a truck begin?'' Lafayette asked. ``Is a 10,000-pound Hummer a truck?''

<snip>

If Lafayette's idea becomes law, the SUVs would have to travel interstate highways or other truck routes--some of them toll roads _ with wider lanes and long stretches between exits. Now, large SUVs routinely travel meandering commuter roads with free access to residential areas.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration already classifies most sport utility vehicles as light trucks when gauging fuel efficiency.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/National/AP.V7674.AP-Whats-a-Truck.html

[slackmaster]

1. Yeah, some of those SUVs are getting pretty damn big

[stevedeshazer]

3. Nice pic

I personally don't hate SUVs but it's getting ridiculous. When gas prices go up to three bucks a gallon this summer, there will be major SUV angst.

I drive an 85 Honda Accord. Not that I wouldn't want my country to invade Kazakhstan so I could afford my new Kenworth Pilgrimage, though.

[oostevo]

2. New York has lots of SUVs, right?

If so, suggesting the above seems like political suicide, even if it is appropriate.

[yellowcanine]

4. Actually this makes a lot of sense

One of the major reasons trucks are separated from cars on some roads is the extra space they take up and the huge weight/momentum differential which can be a death sentence for car passengers in a collision. The same argument could be used for segregating SUVs from lighter cars and small pickups. Also, rewuire SUVs to obey the truck speed limits where there is a difference from car speed limits. The car manufacturers keep insisting that SUVs are trucks (for gas mileage requirements) so let's treat them like trucks. We could also require that drivers have a commercial driver's license to drive them as well.

[alwynsw]

5. If that passes, I guess I'll spend my tourist dollars elsewwhere

I didn'tsee anything about exemptions for specially equipped handicap accessible vans and trucks. It's tough getting a motorized scooter or wheelchair lift on a Camry.

[yankeeinlouisiana]

6. My sister-in-law uses a handicap van

It's no where near the size of a Hummer. Just a regular van with a lift gate on the side and no middle seats. She doesn't go out much because it's very difficult to get her in her wheelchair. Also, her bones are very fragil and break very, very easily.

I don't see how this would affect her.

[alwynsw]

7. Ours is a full size to accomodate the lift and a cot

We rarely use it because it's for my mom. After and outing, she usually needs to lie down for a bit, hence the need for the cot.

Tried a Villager - too small. We're using a Ford F-250, long version.
It's bigger than aour Escalade by far.

Yes, I drive an Escalade. Flame away.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. Sweet!

This is the most progesssive thing I have seen all year! The Hummer is somewhat like the locust of biblical times.

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. Assemblyman Lafayette strikes me as someone who hasn't read the DOT..

and FHWA regulations and is unfamiliar with the rules of the road in his own state. The statement "interstate highways or other truck routes--some of them toll roads _ with wider lanes and long stretches between exits. Now, large SUVs routinely travel meandering commuter roads with free access to residential areas" sounds all well and good but is completely absurd. In most states and cities these days, heavy trucks are restricted to the 2 right lanes of multi lane interstates and in only a few place, separate Truck/bus lanes (The northern sections of the New Jersey Turnpike is one of the FEW examples of this)

All interstate highways have a standard lane width and it isn't any different for "Truck routes". Secondary roads, however differ widely but trunk routes, ie. most US and state numbered highways are considered truck routes because of the need for trucks to bring goods to your town. There are many routes that restrict trucks exceeding certain height, length and/or weight measurements but these are almost always clearly marked by signage. Expecting a Hummer H2 to get from the neighborhood to the grocery store using only "Truck Routes" is absurd and impractical.

This would never work.

How do i know this?
I have held a commercial drivers license for 26 years, i have been an interstate Tractor Trailer operator since 1987 and i have logged over 1.3 million accident free miles in all of the lower 48 states and 3 Canadian Provinces.

Assemblyman Lafayette is blowing smoke. Nothing else.