Safety a worry as potato haulers roll

ABERDEEN, Idaho – Officials in this southeastern Idaho town say they are concerned for the safety of the town’s residents, especially schoolchildren, because of the large number of trucks loaded with potatoes that drive through this time of year on the way to processing plants.

“People don’t realize how much they weigh,” police Chief Ray Dalling told the Idaho State Journal. “Those things don’t stop on a dime.”

He said he’s concerned that drivers don’t need a professional license to operate the trucks that can weigh 80,000 pounds.

Mayor Morgan Anderson said more than 15,000 trucks drive on Main Street between September and January. “Being a rural community, we can’t be against truck traffic that sustains our community,” he said. “Like anyplace else, you just drive a little safer between September and January.”

The Idaho Department of Transportation gave the city $45,000 to consider ways to improve streets and traffic control, Anderson said.

“We tell our drivers to be very careful during harvest, and they’re used to dealing with it,” said Chad Struhs, superintendent of Aberdeen School District 58. “The safety of kids waiting for the bus is a bigger concern.”

Simplot, Pleasant Valley, Sun River and Idaho Select are the four processing plants in the town. Mikki Duffin, a grower accountant, said about 100 trucks use weigh scales each day during harvest season.