As if you didn’t know, dump trucks have been overloading the highways of St. Charles Parish in recent months.
One can’t drive three blocks along U. S. 90 on the West Bank without being passed up by a truck bringing dirt to the sites of new levees under construction in Jefferson and St. Charles parishes east of the Davis Fresh Water Diversion Project. One of them will connect the west bank hurricane protection levee in Jefferson Parish to the Mississippi River levee at the diversion.
Police have noticed too and issued 384 tickets to the trucks drivers, mostly for speeding, running red lights and dangerous loads since October.
It is beneficial to have roadways that can accommodate heavier than usual truck traffic at times. But it is important that the truck drivers observe rules of the road to ease the burden on other motorists.
After all, it is more difficult for a person driving a car to maneuver through heavy truck traffic than the usual car traffic he usually encounters. And obviously the truck drivers are in a hurry to unload their dirt so they can pick up another load.
Perhaps signs warning the truck drivers and other motorists of the heavy traffic and need to keep a moderate speed would help prevent accidents. And extra police along the more crowded routes would let the people know there is law enforcement going on. But many prevention efforts have already been put in place by the sheriff.
Someday, the highways of St. Charles may be back to normal after the levees are finished. But that time has not arrived yet.
And extra care is needed by truck drivers and other members of the motoring public to keep our roadways safe.
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