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TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Ellen Karcher and Nicholas P. Scutari which would allow municipalities to increase fines on trucks that deviate from established truck routes and travel more dangerous shortcuts was approved by the Senate yesterday by a vote of 37-0.

“A successful trucking industry relies on the proper infrastructure to allow trucks to operate safely,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. “However, in some instances, truckers are cutting corners and using shortcuts that were neither designed to nor can handle traffic from large trucks, and the result is a higher incidence of traffic accidents, some of which can be fatal. We need to allow municipalities to apply strict penalties, to keep trucks on designated routes and away from unsafe roadways.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Ellen Karcher and Nicholas P. Scutari which would allow municipalities to increase fines on trucks that deviate from established truck routes and travel more dangerous shortcuts was unanimously approved by the Senate Transportation Committee today.

“The trucking industry is one that is constantly concerned with the bottom-line, but truckers cannot put public safety aside for a quicker, more cost-effective route,” said Senator Karcher, D-Monmouth and Mercer. “In municipalities that provide for safe, established truck routes, the intent is for trucks to abide by those routes, but some times, truckers will eschew common sense for the quicker, unsafe route. We need provisions in place to deter truck drivers from leaving the assigned route and endangering themselves and others.”