I’m back from the “continent” and I’m sure most of you would have very little interest in reading a rambling essay about my latest trip to Italy; however, I must share with you a couple of interesting if not unique observations relating to my driving experience on the autostrada. 



We all have heard about the “no speed is too high” rule, and true to form, Italian drivers look at traffic signals only as suggestive nuisances. Although one feature was very apparent to me driving the highways over in Itay- I did not encounter one unraveled truck tire casing on any of the roads, anywhere. 



If you have ever driven our freeways I will guarantee you that you have had to dodge at least one of these menacing tire recap fragments that have broken off of a truck tire. Like our freeways in California, the autostrada has thousands of trucks plying the roadways and yet there wasn’t’t one truck casing on the side or middle of the road. 



Another interesting observation was the way European truck trailers are built there, with 3 rear tires in a row on each side, could this be why I didn’t’t observe or read about any jack-knifed trucks accidents? I’m not a traffic or truck engineer nor do I claim to be one, however, these rigs with the 3 rear trailer tire configurations sure looked more stable and appeared to handle the road a lot better.



You can count me in on all of our efforts going into clean vehicle air programs, but I’m suggesting that we not forget the safety of all drivers on our network of highways as well. My last experience in encountering a truck recap on the Interstate 710 was a harrowing experience; I wonder how a trucker handles the same situation.



We in America seem to have a penchant to reacting slowly in achieving necessary changes for the common good. We’re gradually moving toward smaller cars and cleaner more fuel efficient trucks, but I believe the “Old World” has one up on us when it comes to their highway safety standards.