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1		SENATE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is committed to protecting
3		the safety of motorists on its roads and highways and to
4		protecting taxpayers' investment in our highway
5		infrastructure; and
6		WHEREAS, Truck crashes are a serious, deadly, and costly
7		problem to Illinois families, our State's health care system,
8		and the economy; and
9		WHEREAS, In 2013, there were 10,397 crashes involving
10		tractor-trailers in Illinois; fatalities resulting from
11		tractor-trailer crashes increased by 13% from 2012 to 2013, and
12		the number of fatal crashes involving tractor-trailers also
13		increased by 16%; and
14		WHEREAS, From 2009 to 2013, there were 586 fatalities
15		resulting from crashes involving large trucks; and
16		WHEREAS, Annual truck crash fatalities nationwide are
17		equivalent to a major airplane crash every other week of the
18		year; and
19		WHEREAS, In fatal 2-vehicle crashes between a large truck
20		and a passenger motor vehicle, 96% of the fatalities were

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1		occupants of the passenger vehicle; and
2		WHEREAS, Driving a truck is one of the most dangerous
3		occupations in the United States; and
4		WHEREAS, An April 2014 survey found that 73% of Illinois
5		residents oppose increasing the current federal truck weight
6		limit of 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds; and
7		WHEREAS, Increases to truck size and weight limits would
8		have a tremendous impact on Illinois' infrastructure; Illinois
9		has the third largest interstate system in the United States
10		and the third largest bridge inventory in the United States,
11		and more than 7,200 trucking establishments within Illinois use
12		the extensive network of highways; and
13		WHEREAS, At present, nearly 16% of the bridges in Illinois
14		are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 15% of
15		the major roads are considered to be in poor condition;
16		increasing the weight of a heavy truck by only l0% increases
17		bridge damage by 33%; and
18		WHEREAS, Driving on roads in need of repair costs Illinois
19		motorists $3.7 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and
20		operating costs, which amounts to nearly $450 per motorist;
21		therefore, be it

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1		RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
2		ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we oppose an increase
3		in current truck size and weight limits on all roads in the
4		State of Illinois in order to ensure the safety of all Illinois
5		motorists on our streets and highways; and be it further
6		RESOLVED, That we affirm our opposition to removing or
7		weakening the federal freeze on Longer Combination Vehicles
8		contained in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
9		Act of 1991, which restricts the use of extra-long double and
10		triple trailers trucks on Illinois highways because of the
11		adverse impact on highway safety and infrastructure; and be it
12		further
13		RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
14		delivered to the President and Vice President of the United
15		States, the Speaker of the United States House of
16		Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States
17		Senate, and the members of the Illinois congressional
18		delegation.