Friday, August 8, 2008

Oregon truckers don't want to waste time to properly dispose of their waste ... so they are bottling it and chucking it out the window. I don't know which is funnier, though, the fact that Oregon truckers are doing this or that the State of Oregon has a law that prohibits throwing human waste from a moving vehicle, which leads me to think this is not the first time this problem has occured. I doubt the link will remain active, so here is the story in full.

Interstate messes draw ire State police report bottles of urine littering highway
By JESSICA KELLER ARGUS OBSERVER Friday, August 8, 2008 10:32 AM PDT ONTARIO—
High gas prices may be influencing the Oregon State Police in an unanticipated way locally, as the department reports an increase in the number of bottles filled with urine scattered along Interstate 84.

OSP Sgt. Jason Reese said in the past month the department has received notice of a large quantity of urine-filled bottles sitting along the shoulder of the interstate between Ontario and Farewell Bend. Reese said the Oregon Department of Transportation litter crew has picked up between 200 and 300 urine-filled bottles in a 16-mile stretch.

“And just going up Three-Mile Hill, they collected 100 bottles,” he said.

The suspected culprits: truckdrivers who are driving slower because of rising gas prices and bypassing stops at rest areas or truck stops, thus drawing out a trip, by storing their urine in containers and then dumping them. 

Reese said he has spoken with truckdrivers over the CB radio and learned some drivers will collect their urine in a bottle while driving and then toss the capped containers out the window while driving on an upgrade because they are driving at slower speeds and the truckdrivers can maintain control of their semis.

“Which is pretty disgusting,” Reese said. It is against the law in Oregon to throw human waste from a moving vehicle, Reese said, and OSP is trying to find a way to inform truckdrivers who may do such things they could face a misdemeanor charge and a fine of $250 if caught.