Semi trucks need closer policing

I asked several professional newspeople and news departments to investigate into local sheriff departments (including Fayette County) to find out how many charges they give to big-rig truckers for speeding within any length of time, but none would do it.

I tried myself, but only get no answers or evasive ones, which I'll take to mean they aren't doing any.

Seat-belt Iowa always makes the dirty top five states for having an above average of its fatal crashes in which large trucks are involved. This is another fact you're not supposed to know about.

In 2010, Iowa had 16.5 percent of its fatal crashes in which large trucks were involved, while the national average was 7.8 percent (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data). The lowest was Rhode Island with 2.4 percent. But you're supposed to be so safe in seat-belt Iowa because of a 93 percent compliance with that nanny seat-belt law.

Most victims of those big-rig crashes were seat-belted and politically correct even though dead and the “speed” of the big rigs is never brought into question.

The commercial vehicle enforcement personnel are enforcing the speed of large trucks, but they're so few they're almost non-existent, and now there's a behind-closed-doors plan at state level to divert them into a different department, which will get rid of what little speed enforcement there still is. Big money/big business make things happen in the political system.

Herman Lenz

Sumner