No to Prop 2

In spite of comments by supporters, if Spokane Proposition 2 is passed, it will make us less safe. Rather than transporting oil and coal by rail, we would see a dramatic increase in the number of semi-trailer or tanker trucks that would be needed to transport these products. Safety is a concern to all of us. Sharing freeways and trying to pass huge trucks going 60 mph or more, especially in bad weather, is already a daunting experience. We currently have enough trucks on the road.

According to research by Washington Policy Center, 99.99 percent of rail cars safely reach their destination. Trucks, on the other hand, have a significantly higher rate of accidents per ton-miles traveled. Moreover, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, IIHS, reports that almost 10 percent of highway traffic deaths involve large trucks with most of the victims in the passenger vehicles.

There are several strong reasons to vote no on Prop 2, but keeping citizen’s safe and preventing spills is probably the most important one. Earlier this year, our Spokane City Council decided against a measure to regulate trains. Now it is our turn to reject such a seriously flawed proposal.

Gretchen McDevitt

Spokane