Bill to Control Rocks Off Trucks Weakened

Under siege by the powerful trucking industry, a legislative committee Tuesday substantially weakened a bill designed to reduce a multimillion-dollar problem of broken windshields caused by gravel flying off rock-laden trucks.

By a 6-0 vote, the Senate Transportation Committee approved the measure by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), but only after removing its key element--a requirement that trucks cover their cargo sections with tarpaulins or other covers.

Katz, shortly before the vote, accused the industry of “nit-picking (the bill) to death” but appeared pleased that the measure, even in its weakened form, remained alive.

The bill, which still requires such measures as mud flaps on rear wheels and seals on dump truck beds, was approved by the Assembly in January after nearly a decade of unsuccessful legislative efforts to hold truckers responsible for damage caused by their cargo. It now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“We require every other industry in the state to operate in a clean and safe manner,” Katz told the committee. “We don’t allow toxic polluters to contaminate our drinking water. We don’t allow individuals to drink and drive. We don’t allow people and industries to be irresponsible in how they conduct their business in this state.

“The material transporters, however, cause traffic hazards, break windshields and operate with impunity.”

Claims Called Exaggerated

Nearly a dozen trucking industry lobbyists argued, however, that covering trucks would be too costly and that the problem of cracked windshields has been grossly exaggerated.

“If you kill this bill, we will come back with our own bill that will solve many of these problems,” Taylor Reid, a sand and gravel industry representative, promised the committee. He said the industry’s proposal would contain strong sanctions against errant truckers but added that the measure would have “teeth that we can live with.”

Based on estimates by the California State Automobile Assn., California motorists suffer at least $17 million in damage to windshields each year as the result of gravel sailing off uncovered trucks. Other estimates have ranged as high as $60 million annually.

Trucking industry officials, however, said they believe they are responsible for no more than $3 million in damage each year.

The legislation, which Katz has dubbed the “Stop the Rocks” bill, originally contained as its chief feature the requirement that cargo areas of trucks be covered by tarps. Katz later added requirements for mud flaps and seals after trucking industry lobbyists said rocks are more likely to fall off the bottom of trucks than fly off the top.

Katz had enlisted the support of insurance companies and motorcycle clubs in a “grass-roots campaign” and had received more than 25,000 letters and post cards from people backing his bill. One Los Angeles-area resident, Everett Amundson, told the committee that he was a “three-time loser,” having spent $1,000 to repair damage to windshields over the last four years.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Dwight Helmick testified before the committee that the CHP initially favored the bill but was forced to pull its support on orders from the Deukmejian Administration.