Truck-Off
April 16, 2008 on 3:02 pm | In Local |
After sitting through that marathon informational meeting on the proposed new transfer station Saturday in Salisbury and listening to all the complaining about truck traffic, I decided to conduct an experiment.
At 2 p.m. today, I opted to spend an hour sitting in my car in front of the Scoville Library and counting the number of trucks that passed me on Route 44. By “trucks,” I don’t mean panel trucks, UPS delivery vehicles, noisy Harleys or pick-ups. We’re talking heavy equipment here: industrial-sized dump trucks or semi-tractor trailers.
I tried this experiment once when I was editor of The Millerton News during an era when there was so much traffic on the narrow Main Street of that village that elderly people and the young were afraid the cross Route 44 in front of my office (now Irving Farm) and others were known to have had their car doors ripped off the hinges by the lorries passing in front of Phil Terni’s store.
The results of that survey were surprising. If you had to guess, how many heavy-duty dump trucks and tractor trailers would you say pass by my selected Salisbury location in a hour during mid afternoon on a weekday?
I’ll post the results tomorrow. You might be surprised by the number here, too. I’ll also tell you the single worst stretch of road in these parts for truck traffic, hands down.
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One hour? My guess is 17, which is a lot for that kind of road.
Comment by Terrence McCarthy — April 16, 2008 #
I’ll say 10.
I spend a fair amount of time on route 44 these days, and frankly there just doesn’t seem to be an overwhelming number of trucks on the road at present. Most visibly absent these days are the modular home carriers, the cement trucks, and the big dump trucks.
Comment by Geoff Brown — April 16, 2008 #
4
Comment by Jake — April 16, 2008 #
Next time you do this, get a Richard Shindell CD, the one on which he has all those trucker songs. Listen to it as you’re counting. Preferably the one on which is ” Transit. ” An eerie tune about what happens when manic motorists don’t stop to help a nun change a tire.
Jake’s guess concerns me. But I’m sticking with 17.
Comment by Terrence McCarthy — April 16, 2008 #
I’ll guess a round dozen. It is spring, and there are more landscaping trucks on the road at the moment.
Comment by Amy — April 16, 2008 #
Depending on what day, and what time of day….
5-10
Comment by Marshall Miles — April 17, 2008 #
41 and 44? I’d say 20-25.
Comment by Tim Abbott — April 17, 2008 #
Those estimates seem low to me. I’m inclined to think more along the lines of ,,,,, say 43!
Comment by Mark Niedhammer — April 17, 2008 #
As Richard Dawson would say, “THE SURVEY SAID!:”
22 semi-tractor trailers
11 heavy-duty dump- or concrete trucks.
The survey is, of course, unscientific. A more precise measurement would require multiple visits at different times of the day.
Still, it’s more than most people thought. In Millerton in 1999, it was fewer than most people thought. Go figure …
Comment by Terry — April 17, 2008 #
your number is pretty spot on.
I can see them out of the front window here all day.
and they are loud!
Comment by fred — April 17, 2008 #
I’m not surprised at that figure. In fact, I think it may be a bit low. You should go out on some more days and and different times.
When I was working, I drove down Smith Hill each afternoon on my way home. I always checked to see if a big truck was on the road behind me before I started down the hill. I would park to the side and let it go first as I didn’t want to have an out-of-control truck (maybe) coming down the hill after me! This was particularly true in winter when control could be lost on the slippery road.
Comment by Carolyn McDonough — April 19, 2008 #