Truckers are just trying to make a living

I have listened to Mr. Herman Lenz rant for years and it is time to answer him. First, I will admit there are a few truck drivers who speed, but there are far more speeders in cars. I drove for four years from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City in heavy a.m. and p.m. traffic and the cars far out-sped the trucks.

I have driven a large tractor-trailer with my husband for eight years and will tell you that truck drivers largely are very good kind people just trying to make a living.

Also, Mr. Lenz was incorrect (Dec. 31 letter) about the weight; a fully loaded truck weighs 80,000 pounds, not 30,000. At 70 miles per hour, a car can stop in 233 feet. It takes a loaded truck 465 feet, the length of one and a half football fields, so think about that next time you cut in front of a truck.

Mr. Lenz, I wish for you that for one week there would not be a truck involved in your life. The shelves in Sumner and every other town around would be bare. No groceries, no clothing and no toilet paper!

Kathy Walker

Cedar Rapids