In a letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the head of the Midwest Truckers Association is accusing police of ticketing unsuspecting truck drivers on a section of Manhattan-Monee Road from U.S. Route 52 east to U.S. 45 in Will County, issuing tickets for thousands of dollars for overweight trucks.
MTA Says Police Are Taking Advantage of Truckers
The letter claimed that the local police had made $2.5 million off of ticketing truckers on this section of the road. The MTA says that police are using truckers as a source of revenue. “County police have figured out if they just sit at that road, they can make some money,” wrote Matt Wells, MTA associate director.
Confusing Signage Blamed
The MTA says that ticketing is unfair not only because of excessive enforcement but also because of confusing signage. When a truck turns onto U.S. 45, the first sign that they see says that there is a 15-ton weight limit. This is because of a culvert west of U.S. 45 with a 15-ton weight limit. However, there is a sign in the same line of sight that says the road is a truck route. Said Wells, “Who in the world would [limit] a structure to 15 tons on a road that has a sign that says truck route? So everyone has logically assumed that the culvert 5 miles ahead is just past [U.S. 45] because the sign says it’s a truck route and they can access U.S. 45 this way.”
Police say that the current signage is sufficiently clear.
Fines Called Excessive, IDOT to Investigate Signage
Truck driver Martin Lohse, was fined $22,870 last fall for driving over the culvert in a truck weighing 90,500 pounds. Lohse’s attorney says this fine could put his client out of business and that it is extremely excessive, considering the offense.
IDOT said in an email statement that they are investigating the signage complaints.
Source:
The Herald News