PICKUP TRUCK HITS SIX CYCLISTS IN WALLER CO.
Several cyclists were hospitalized after they were struck by a pickup truck in Waller County Saturday morning.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office says six cyclists were hit while traveling on Business 290, west of Waller, around 10:30 a.m.
According to a report from FOX 26 News of Houston, the cyclists were hit after the driver of the truck, identified as a 16-year-old male, accelerated to blow diesel-fuel smoke on them.
Four of the cyclists were taken to area hospitals, including two by helicopter. Two cyclists refused treatment at the scene. None of the injuries are considered to be life-threatening.
The driver of the truck reportedly stayed on scene and cooperated with authorities. As of Saturday evening, he had not been arrested.
A GoFundMe to assist the cyclists is available through the link here.
No. There are no emission regulations in Washington County. Thank God!
If you like that sort of Govermental Overreach, California is calling.
I believe Houston has some type of regulations on exhaust, drive there more if you like.
With that being said, it is a Deisel Truck, (they blow smoke), driven by a young, reckless, and inexperienced person, who thinks that is cool.
It is not.
Maybe they should regulate the Driver better, and leave the exhaust alone.
[…] the cyclists were hit after the driver of the truck, identified as a 16-year-old male, accelerated to blow diesel-fuel smoke on them.”. While this would seemingly be true, since the driver did stay on the scene to assist authorities in investigating the accident, it reveals, to me, the unmitigated smart aleckness of a novice driver attempting to intimidate persons on the roadway. I know that bike riders on farm to market roads and the like do create slowdowns and obstructions, sometimes for miles; however, a bicycle is a vehicle that has the same rights to be on the road as a pickup truck. If law enforcement and the district attorney do not feel there’s enough evidence for criminal charges, I certainly hope that all of those injured file civil suits against the driver; it may be the cheapest lesson he ever learns.
The kid is obviously stupid if that is what he did. But along that line, why are vehicles like that allowed to have exhaust systems that will blow out smoke and loud noise anyway? Trucks fly down my road everyday doing that…with young people driving them. Way, way too loud. They think it’s cool. And, I suppose their parents think it’s cool too…kind of the same with a lot of issues these days.
Because America
Why are they allowed to have exhaust systems designed to blow out smoke like that? Well, they aren’t. It’s an illegal modification.
You are exactly right. CAA Title II, Subpart A, 42 U.S.C. §§ 7521- 7554 relates that any vehicle used to transport persons or products on the highways in the United States must meet the EPA’s emissions standards for that vehicle. As well, if the vehicle’s emission system has been modified so that it is louder than it originally was, certain localities may have a noise threshold and if the t
vehicle exceeds that, the owner might be cited. The problem is that law enforcement officers and entities do not feel that any of this is a major problem, and they will tell you that they have other things to worry about. There are no EPA police driving the streets to enforce emissions and noise violations; however, any law enforcement agency could do so if they chose. Many people will rail against enforcement of emissions and noise standards and claim that it’s no one else’s business except their own what they do with their property. This is a blatant, ignorant, falsehood, for the emissions that are created by the vehicle can affect persons’ health, and the noise creates undue stress on people. My guess is that if somebody with a very loud, “coal rolling” diesel truck drove up and down the streets in Walnut Hill or in other expensive residential areas of Brenham, something would be done.