Winona County officials see practicality in mini trucks
PATRICK B. ANDERSON, Winona Daily News
WINONA, Minn. (AP) -- Becky Brommerich grabbed the shifter with her left hand and pulled it into reverse, playing with the clutch. The engine revved quickly and died. The 54-year-old Winona County mail clerk restarted the engine, and -- catching the gear this time -- drove the light blue micro-sized van out of the Law Enforcement Center parking lot.
The county's 1998 Daihatsu Atrai took some getting used to, Brommerich said. She pointed at the dash as she drove.
"That was the first thing," she said. "I get in, and I go: 'It's not in miles per hour.'"
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The speedometer uses the metric system, the steering wheel is on the right, and the body is smaller than almost anything else on the road.
The toaster-shaped Daihatsu is one of two mini trucks the county uses for mail delivery and maintenance work. Each cost about $6,500, but the all-wheel drive Japanese imports didn't come without some pushing.
County officials needed approval from the state and the city before the little haulers could hit the road. Mini trucks don't meet federal regulations and can't access public roads unless by sanctioned state law. The county's two trucks were parked for about a year, as 2009 state legislation opened the way for their use.
Dan Skogen, a former state senator from Hewitt, Minn., helped craft a bill to make mini trucks legal on Minnesota roads, but state public safety officials felt the change was risky because the vehicles aren't crash tested. By the time it passed, the law gave municipalities the ability to permit mini trucks on local roads, but not state highways.
"People have found them to be useful and economical and affordable," he said.
Farmers often use them for hauling, but can be stopped and ticketed if they drive onto state roads, Skogen said. He wasn't aware of any other Minnesota county or city that allowed the vehicles.
Brommerich's tiny van runs on a 650-cubic-centimeter engine, and like most mini trucks it eats up about 40 miles of roadway for each gallon of gas.
"I call it the loaf of bread," Brommerich said, laughing. "Everybody looks at me and they laugh and they point."
Fuel efficiency was one of the biggest draws a few years back, when the county started looking at ways it could become more sustainable, said Mike Krage, the county's building superintendent. The Daihatsu is on the road five days a week, looping between all of the county government buildings, but mail department staffers have only filled the gas tank five times since June.
"We were just looking for something that fit our campus needs," Krage said. "And we've been really pleased with them."
Driving can get creative, Brommerich said. She does her best to avoid state Highway 43, which cuts through town. It took about four lessons and a month of practice to get comfortable driving from the right seat, fighting a natural urge to drift left, toward the median, she said.
Now, she worries more about the manual transmission, Brommerich said.
This is her first experience with a stick shift.
Like an American transmission, first gear is closest to her, making it configured for a right-side driver.
The pedals and the clutch are in the same order.
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Information from: Winona Daily News
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
