100th District State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer’s legislation for regulations for tanker trucks carrying hazardous materials has been given committee approval.
Davidsmeyer’s bill stems from a crash involving a young driver in a car and an anhydrous ammonia tanker on September 29th of last year in Teutopolis that spilled the chemical and caused an evacuation along with multiple injuries and casualties.
Davidsmeyer says it gives more information to drivers and helps protect tanker truck drivers: “What this bill proposes is to require the Illinois Rules of the Road book to include information about hazardous materials and the placards, so that when the traveling public see these [placards], they know to be more careful than they normally would to ensure crashes like the one in Teutopolis don’t happen. It’s not to the extent of receiving your hazardous materials license but it just allows, in particular, younger drivers to recognize the hazards that may be around them on the road.”
The bill was given approval in the House Transportation Committee and how heads to the full Illinois House for consideration. The bill previously passed out of the Illinois Senate on a unanimous vote.