Large trucks do more damage in a crash

There's a bill in the Iowa Legislature to limit the amount of damages at $1 million when a large truck is to blame for a fatal crash, even if there are multiple fatalities. This gives favoritism to Big Trucking. Lawmakers know where their election funding comes from.

I'd have to be an idiot to believe an 80,000 pound vehicle won’t do more damage in a crash than a 3,000 pound one. Iowa always makes the dirty top five states in the U.S. for having an above average number of fatal crashes where large trucks are involved. Do a Google search for “Large trucks involved in fatal crashes by state,” In 2020, Iowa did 14.3 percent, while the national average was 8.9 percent. There has not been an increase in the numbers of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement personnel to keep up with the exploded numbers of big rigs that have come on in recent years.

Herman Lenz

Sumner

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to editorial@thegazette.com