| Bill O'Rights |
09-23-2004 10:38 AM |
One big-assed truck
Quote:
This thing is big. The newly unveiled, $95,000 International CXT is a mammoth pickup truck. It's twice as heavy and more than 5 feet longer than a Hummer H2.
It even has air brakes like a semi.
Yet anyone with a regular driver's license will be allowed to get behind the wheel. That concerns some safety experts.
If the CXT weighed a couple of pounds more, drivers would need a commercial license - and the extra training and testing that go with it.
Safety experts say the truck is an example of why government should review the license requirements for large vehicles, which are growing in popularity.
National studies show that the accident risk increases when a driver changes from a smaller vehicle to a large truck or sport utility vehicle, particularly in the first few months of driving, said Fred Zwonechek, administrator of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.
Large SUVs, he said, are trickier to turn, back up and maneuver on the highway than a sedan.
Sara O'Rourke, driver's license administrator for the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, agreed that licensing regulations need a review.
But to be effective, the changes would have to come at the federal level, she said. Licensing requirements are based on federal regulations.
O'Rourke said the review should include other large vehicles, such as certain large passenger vans, that are exempt from commercial licenses.
Officials with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates commercial vehicles, could not be reached for comment.
Roy Wiley, spokesman for the Illinois company that makes the CXT, said potential buyers probably will have had previous experience driving big vehicles or will seek training.
He said, for example, that the truck is aimed at buyers who might own a construction company or a similar business where a big vehicle would be useful. Those drivers probably would know how to handle the truck's size, he said.
People who buy it for personal use will be smart enough to make sure they know how to maneuver the truck before they drive it, Wiley said.
"Buyers will be smart and savvy," he said. "They were certainly smart enough to make the money to afford (it)."
International Truck and Engine Corp., which manufactures school buses, dump trucks and other large commercial vehicles, plans initially to produce 50 to 100 CXTs, Wiley said.
Production could grow significantly if there is demand, he said.
An Omaha dealer already has one on order.
"It is eye-popping," said Mark Plagman, vice president of sales at Cornhusker International Trucks Inc. in Omaha. "We think there will be a demand."
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I have long been of the opinion that drivers of 4 wheel drive vehicles should have that as a seperate endorsement on their driver's license. I've seen too many drivers of 4x4s that think that they can drive 60mph on sheet ice, simply because they have 4 wheel drive. They were never trained on what it can or cannot do. Dumb.
Now, we have this...behemouth. Ok...I've always been of the opinion that people should be allowed to drive whatever they want. But, for crying out loud. This thing's a chopped up semi, with an oversized pickup truck bed on it. Does anyone really need that? In any case, I do feel that this thing should also have its own seperate drivers license endorsment. For my safety, if nothing else. What do you guys think. Is it worth a little extra training to learn how to drive one of these monsters? |
