But there have been signs since the election of an abatement of the hysteria that reigned in the press from January through October. Since the attention given the Lewinsky story is the most disproportionate I've seen in the press in my lifetime, it's good to see that at least some of my colleagues are regaining their senses. If so, your fears are well-founded. More than half of the 42,256 trucks inspected by Virginia State Police during 1997 were defective, reports The Washington Post' s Alice Reid. And if you're thinking Virginia may be unusual, nationwide 22 percent of all trucks inspected must be taken off the road.
Defective vehicles are only part of the problem.
Of course, a lot of drivers escape inspection and continue to operate their trucks despite bad safety records. One of them recently slammed his dump truck loaded with gravel into a school bus, injuring the bus driver and 17 children, one of them critically. The truck driver's record included an arrest for drunk driving and drug possession. In addition to the threat they pose to people traveling on the highways, big trucks pose a danger to the highways themselves. These mammoth trucks pulverize roads and endanger other drivers.