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AMENDMENT TO SENATE RESOLUTION 233

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend Senate Resolution 233 by replacing
3everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to protecting
5the safety of motorists on its roads and highways and to
6protecting taxpayers' investment in our highway
7infrastructure; and
 
8    WHEREAS, All vehicle crashes are a serious, deadly, and
9costly problem to Illinois families, our State's health care
10system, and the economy; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Illinois trucking industry employs 278,920
12men and women in Illinois; it is responsible for delivering
13food to our grocery stores, supplying medicine and medical
14supplies to serve our healthcare system, and transporting 78%
15of the total manufactured freight in Illinois; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 2013, there were 10,397 crashes involving
2tractor-trailers out of 285,477 total crashes in Illinois;
3fatalities resulting from tractor-trailer crashes increased by
413% from 2012 to 2013, and the number of fatal crashes
5involving tractor-trailers also increased by 16%; and
 
6    WHEREAS, From 2009 to 2013, there were 586 fatalities
7resulting from crashes involving large trucks; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Annual truck crash fatalities nationwide are
9equivalent to a major airplane crash every other week of the
10year; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In fatal 2-vehicle crashes between a large truck
12and a passenger motor vehicle, 96% of the fatalities were
13occupants of the passenger vehicle; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Driving a truck is one of the most dangerous
15occupations in the United States; and
 
16    WHEREAS, An April 2014 survey found that 73% of Illinois
17residents oppose increasing the current federal truck weight
18limit of 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Increases to truck size and weight limits would

 

 

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1have a tremendous impact on Illinois' infrastructure; Illinois
2has the third largest interstate system in the United States
3and the third largest bridge inventory in the United States,
4and more than 7,200 trucking establishments within Illinois use
5the extensive network of highways; and
 
6    WHEREAS, At present, nearly 16% of the bridges in Illinois
7are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 15% of
8the major roads are considered to be in poor condition;
9increasing the weight of a heavy truck by only l0% increases
10bridge damage by 33%; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Driving on roads in need of repair costs Illinois
12motorists $3.7 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and
13operating costs, which amounts to nearly $450 per motorist;
14therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
16ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we oppose an increase
17in current truck size and weight limits on all roads in the
18State of Illinois in order to ensure the safety of all Illinois
19motorists on our streets and highways; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That we affirm our opposition to removing or
21weakening the federal freeze on Longer Combination Vehicles
22contained in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency

 

 

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1Act of 1991, which restricts the use of extra-long double and
2triple trailers trucks on Illinois highways because of the
3adverse impact on highway safety and infrastructure; and be it
4further
 
5    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
6delivered to the President and Vice President of the United
7States, the Speaker of the United States House of
8Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States
9Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional
10delegation.".