To the editor:

The news article in the Oct. 9 J-W about the tractor-trailer on K-10 that critically injured two students should remind citizens how dangerous our highways have become and how little effort has been made to correct these problems.

The undersherriff said they didn’t know how the truck got in the wrong side of the road. He said it is going to take awhile to gather details because there are a lot of things to look at.

I have read many news reports over the past 10 years that told me that truck driver fatigue is the cause of many truck accidents. Federal law requires truckers to take an 8-hour break after no more than 10 hours on the road. Many truckers are paid by the mile and they are required to carry a log book showing their hours on the road each day.

I have read a report in the paper that tells me those log books are routinely falsified and some drivers call them comic books. They carry two books, one for personal use (pay check), the other for highway inspectors. If those drivers are spending too much time on the road, we could switch to intermodal transport system where the railroads handle the long hauls and the trucks the short hauls, which would also improve energy efficiency. As long as we have two oil barons at the head of government, I doubt if this solution will become a reality.

Lester Marsh,

Lawrence