New York State Scraps Truck Rural-Route Restrictions

The New York State Department of Transportation told a transportation task force that it will no longer pursue efforts to restrict trucks from using certain rural routes in the Finger Lakes area, American Trucking Associations said.

The announcement came after the department determined that the restrictions are unlikely to impact the seven routes under consideration because 94% of the truck traffic is local and most trucks would simply shift to other local routes instead of the Interstate system.

ATA and the New York State Motor Truck Association had opposed the restrictions, arguing that they would unnecessarily burden carriers and local businesses, with no apparent safety benefits.

Farmers said the proposal would cost them money by forcing them to re-route deliveries and the New York Farm Bureau said it was pleased that the state DOT reconsidered, the Associated Press reported.