Newhouse: Poll Finds Favorable View of Trucking Industry
PHILADELPHIA — A majority of Americans have a favorable view of the trucking industry and say that, in car-truck accidents, the motorist is at fault most of the time.
Those were the findings compiled by Republican pollster Neil Newhouse, whose results were unveiled here at American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition Oct. 20.
The poll also found there’s strong support from people for federal investment in highway infrastructure. Newhouse, of the Alexandria, Virginia-based firm Public Opinion Strategies, surveyed 800 registered voters between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. The margin of error was about 3%.
Newhouse, who shared his findings with industry executives, added that a consensus among respondents was not reached on how to pay for infrastructure programs.
Additionally, the poll found, by a 64% to 60% margin, that infrastructure spending was second only to education on where money needed to be spent. Also, 40% of people surveyed thought infrastructure should be a top priority for federal spending, 63% said they believed the nation's roads and bridges are not being properly maintained, and 53% said it's necessary to raise taxes to properly maintain roads and bridges.
The poll was an update from one Newhouse unveiled last year.
“This poll tells us the American people now believe what we’ve been saying for some time: Our roads and bridges are in need of repair, and we need to raise revenue to do it,” ATA President Bill Graves said.
“This poll should be yet another in a series of wake-up calls for our elected leaders to take decisive action on a long-term, robustly-funded highway bill,” added incoming ATA Chairman Pat Thomas, who is senior vice president of state government affairs for UPS.
