61,000 POUND NASCAR TRUCKS
Er, I mean, beet season is here. Get the women and children off the streets! Every year, we put civilians into overloaded beet trucks, change their sleep patterns, and then tell everyone else to be careful of mud on the road. What's wrong with this scenario?
Most of these drivers spend 50 weeks of the year driving cars and pickups that don't weigh a tenth of what these trucks do, and then have to learn the dynamics of stopping a loaded juggernaut of a truck. And if they're lucky enough to be driving a farm truck licensed in North Dakota, there are no annual safety inspections required- nope, none. Whatever bald or recapped tires you want, no problem! Brakes shot? Still no problem. But hey, look at that $3000 paint job, and we have the farm name on the door!
And in the name of excitement, run those trucks down south Washington, onto DeMers, and through downtown! Boy, that'll piss off those city folk! The kids at Sacred Heart can pick the beets off the road along the curve in front. Watch for traffic kids!
I know the response: Beets bring umpty buctillion dollars into our communities, yada yada yada. I tell you what- that don't mean a thing to the families of those people killed or maimed in an accident involving one of these things.
Here endeth the sermon for today. In the name of American Crystal, Ag subsidies, and the Family farms. Go forth and vote for the Democrats who perpetuate this insanity. Amen.
UPDATE: Some have taken exception to my views, citing everything from me being a subscriber to the NIMBY principle, to being a city slicker, to a *gasp* liberal! That last one hurt, let me tell ya.
Look, folks, its all about safety- we have established a uniform set of laws that govern the operation and behaviour of professional freight haulers in this country, based on science and practical experience. Those laws govern the condition of the equipment, safe loading practices, the hours of operation, the qualifications, background, physical condition, and knowledge of the operators, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting.
Why, in the name of misty-eyed nostalgia, are those engaged in raising one of the most lucrative of all crops, exempt from all this? Are the laws of physics suspended for the month of October so this particular crop can be harvested? Why aren't potato farmers clamboring to dig all night? I'm sure the argument could be made that their "window of opportunity" to harvest is narrow also, maybe more so.
I await your answers.
Most of these drivers spend 50 weeks of the year driving cars and pickups that don't weigh a tenth of what these trucks do, and then have to learn the dynamics of stopping a loaded juggernaut of a truck. And if they're lucky enough to be driving a farm truck licensed in North Dakota, there are no annual safety inspections required- nope, none. Whatever bald or recapped tires you want, no problem! Brakes shot? Still no problem. But hey, look at that $3000 paint job, and we have the farm name on the door!
And in the name of excitement, run those trucks down south Washington, onto DeMers, and through downtown! Boy, that'll piss off those city folk! The kids at Sacred Heart can pick the beets off the road along the curve in front. Watch for traffic kids!
I know the response: Beets bring umpty buctillion dollars into our communities, yada yada yada. I tell you what- that don't mean a thing to the families of those people killed or maimed in an accident involving one of these things.
Here endeth the sermon for today. In the name of American Crystal, Ag subsidies, and the Family farms. Go forth and vote for the Democrats who perpetuate this insanity. Amen.
UPDATE: Some have taken exception to my views, citing everything from me being a subscriber to the NIMBY principle, to being a city slicker, to a *gasp* liberal! That last one hurt, let me tell ya.
Look, folks, its all about safety- we have established a uniform set of laws that govern the operation and behaviour of professional freight haulers in this country, based on science and practical experience. Those laws govern the condition of the equipment, safe loading practices, the hours of operation, the qualifications, background, physical condition, and knowledge of the operators, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting.
Why, in the name of misty-eyed nostalgia, are those engaged in raising one of the most lucrative of all crops, exempt from all this? Are the laws of physics suspended for the month of October so this particular crop can be harvested? Why aren't potato farmers clamboring to dig all night? I'm sure the argument could be made that their "window of opportunity" to harvest is narrow also, maybe more so.
I await your answers.
posted by Good Ol' Boy at 12:27 PM
10 Comments:
And who suffers? The friends of the people who drive beets who are now responsible for getting up before 7am and letting out their friend's dog.
Amen.
I'm sick of all the beet trucks on city streets. Major roadways are quickly becoming littered with beets that have fallen out of over-filled trucks. Oh well...I'm sure the beet farmers are coming back to pick them up, huh? Yeah right.
Just like they do such a great job of cleaning mud off the roads sometimes....
Know what, I'm sick and tired of city folks driving on my country roads like they own them. They come up to stop signs thinking they can stop on gravel like an airplane landing on an aircraftcarrier. Add a little blowing snow and they think their cell phone will come tow them out no matter where they are or what the visibility is (or isn't).
And then they actually move out into the country and can't understand why their road isn't bladed as smooth as a city street. (okay smooth streets is debatable) They also don't understand why the snow isn't removed during the night while they sleep.
And when they move out here, they either think that since they aren't in the city any more, nobody will care about the noise they make all night long, or they think the neighbor's cow should shut up after 10pm.
We could even talk about all the coutry roads the city folks ruin testing their big 4x4 trucks whenever it rains.
Most of this goes on all year long, not just for a couple of weeks each fall.
Should we continue? There's landfills and more we could discuss
Ain't this fun?
Whoa whoa CY- take a powder. I lived in the country for forty years, was on a township board for ten years, fought all the battles you speak of and more. Every deer season, a little snow, a little sun, and the roads were churned into slop that froze up and left ruts we had to live with all winter. And the starry-eyed idiots that move to the country with no idea of what they're getting into? Lived it all, dude.
What I'm speaking of is the safety factor that goes unaddressed in our rush to get beet campaign over. Re-read what I wrote, then tell us what can be done to address the issue.
Peace, brother.
I wonder how many accidents involve beet trucks?
I wonder how many accidents involving beet trucks were the fault of the beet truck driver?
NASCAR rules but hitting beats on the road sucks.
Any deputies or highway patrolmen out there want to weigh in...?
http://www.dot.nd.gov/docs/driverslicense/crashfacts.pdf
gives stats for 2005
trucks are involved 1.1%
I didn't see any stats on vehicle type causation
Sit and watch the Gateway/Demers intersection one afternoon when the trucks are hauling. If you are headed out to Home of Economy, and your light turns green, two more beet trucks will go through their red lights. Why can't police monitor that intersection and throw some tickets at them?
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