Politics & Government
After I-95 Shutdown, Senate Committee Approves Restrictions On Truckers During Wintry Weather
The bill includes outlawing compression-release engine brakes as well as cruise control in wintry weather, and requires staying right.
February 11, 2022
The Senate Transportation Committee advanced a bill Thursday requiring truckers driving in wintry weather to stay in the right lane of any highway and making it illegal to use cruise control or compression release engine brakes.
Find out what's happening in Across Virginiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Senate Bill 706 — which requires that truckers, “if reasonably possible and conditions safely permit, drive the vehicle in the right-most lane of any highway” during snow, sleet and freezing rain — cleared the committee on a 10-5 vote. That came after an amendment that prevents police from stopping drivers to enforce other portions of the bill prohibiting the use of cruise control or the compression release engine brakes (also called “Jake brakes“) during winter weather.
The chair of the committee, Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, introduced the bill following the I-95 shutdown caused in part by tractor-trailer wrecks during a snowstorm at the beginning of the year.
Find out what's happening in Across Virginiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Outside firm to investigate Virginia’s I-95 response
“We’re just trying to tighten up to the degree that we can,” Marsden said. “We still have to wait for the autopsy on what happened that day and who’s involved.”
Marsden said the bill is an attempt to prevent truck drivers from doing “foolish” things such as attempting to pass other drivers in snowy and icy conditions. The bill only applies to trucks and trailers or semitrailers, not pick-up trucks or panel trucks.
Dale Bennett, president of the Virginia Trucking Association, said the bill would help send a message to truck drivers and lower the risk of accidents in the future.
Given that there is no timeline for the multi-agency after-action review to examine the state’s response to the shutdown that left hundreds of people stranded on the highway, Marsden wanted to introduce a bill to address part of the problem before the session ended, he said. He expects the bill to pass the Senate with a narrow margin.
“That’s as far as we can go, and we had five people uncomfortable with even doing that much,” he said.
This story was originally published by the Virginia Mercury. For more stories from the Virginia Mercury, visit Virginia Mercury.com.
