Bill Hall’s True Blue was renovated as a tribute to the Dallas Cowboys football team.

“Cool looking… However, a 379 Pete, if driven 120,000 miles per year at legal interstate speeds, will consume over an additional $25,000 to $28,000 in fuel compared to an aero dyne style cab and chassis. And there is no way, so far, to get the fuel consumption down to profitable levels. If fuel continues to climb in price, these numbers increase dramatically.”

— Mike Dyster, of Chandler, Ariz., commenting on Bill Hall Jr. Trucking’s renovated 2011 Peterbilt on YouTube at http://www.bit.ly/z2Gnwz.

Fatigued? Send a text, for the record

By following a few guidelines, drivers who are harassed by zealous dispatchers in the era of electronic onboard recorders can still get a good night’s sleep. I’ve spoken to truckers who were fatigued because of dispatchers’ calls requesting that the trucker drive another 50 miles. Others have told me that Qualcomm drives them crazy with messages requesting their whereabouts.

If you don’t have a Qualcomm system tracking you, send text messages to dispatch via cell phone, which keeps a permanent record, instead of voice messages. If you’re tired, text your dispatcher that it’s dangerous to drive until you feel better. Also, federal law requires parking until you feel safe to drive.

Carriers that push their drivers beyond the point of safety are ones to avoid. They may threaten to take away your load, but unless it’s for just-in-time delivery, that threat often goes unenforced.

Carriers interested only in the bottom line are also the ones that don’t maintain their equipment. Such practices are even more important with CSA 2010 now in effect and penalizing the driver for poorly maintained trucks.

Use of EOBRs won’t prevent truckers from bad driving practices. But if U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood or someone from the American Trucking Associations can tell me how EOBRs will make highways safer, I’m listening.

GORDON ALKIRE | Riley, Kan.

How will the new hours of service rule requiring two 1 – 5 a.m. rest periods during the 34-hour restart affect you?

“They do cause problems for oversized carriers because of certain rules we have to follow, like driving during daylight.”

ROBERT CURTIS | Owner-operator leased to Lone Star Transportation

Grand Prairie, Texas

“They are trying to cut us down to the point where we can’t make any money because of the hours.”

CARLOS WALKER | Blair Logistics Inc. company driver | West Point, Miss.

“It doesn’t bother me; safety is important. The brokers will cut back our time, but that will make the freight go up, so I don’t think it will hurt us too badly.”

JOHN GREENE | Owner-operator leased to General Transport

Columbia, S.C.

“The regulations are horrible, as is anything to do with the government. They make it impossible for owner-operators.”

Jim Williams | Owner-operator leased to Williams Farms | Geraldine, Ala.

“It’s going to hurt drivers. I drive Monday through Friday, but now I can’t work the same hours, so I won’t get paid as much.”

Steve Mullins | Owner-operator leased to Tryon Trucking | Hillsboro, Ohio

“The regulations are going to hurt the industry as a whole. Drivers will be stranded in different areas because they have to abide by the regulations’ rest periods.”

Kevin Merrick | Volume Transportation company driver | Atlanta

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E-mail your letter to the editor to Lucinda Coulter at LCoulter@rrpub.com or mail it to Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403.

Find us at Overdrive Magazine on FACEBOOK

twitter.com/overdriveupdate

Having recently retired after being a food service manager for 40 years, I discovered some cost-saving menus for my husband, a long-haul trucker.

For a recipe I call Route 66 Country Ribs, get a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker that you can plug into your truck, 2 to 3 pounds of country ribs, a slice of onion, salt, pepper, hickory-smoked salt, barbecue spice and barbecue sauce. Cover the cooker with the lid and put on low heat. Place the cooker on the floor on a metal sheet pan to prevent it from tipping over. Drive 4 to 5 hours. Then enjoy the ribs with a deli cup of coleslaw and a roll. Or later have pulled pork on a roll with chips and a pickle.

I have helped my husband’s friends make a few in-cab dinners that they’ve enjoyed when they’re waiting to get loaded or unloaded for six to eight hours. The meals give a better value alternative to being stuck eating at restaurants.

KATHY MELLENDORF | Harrison, Mich.

Division on cross-border trucking

On Overdrive’s Facebook page

“I say instead of letting one state dictate to the rest of us how we should run our lives and businesses, we should just drop their stuff at the border and they can pick it up there.”

— Michael Fortney

Grand Rapids, Mich.

“They are human also. They have families to feed. Maybe if we stand by our fellow truckers, Mexican and Canadian, we may be able to work together … I am willing to give them the chance. Which is the same that I would ask for if roles were reversed.”

— Sam Tate

SHARE WITH OVERDRIVE

E-mail your letter to the editor to Lucinda Coulter at LCoulter@rrpub.com or mail it to Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403.

What do you think of the ban on truckers using a handheld phone while driving?

“You should use a headset. That includes car drivers. I see them swerving and going on and off the road because they’re using their phone.”

DWIGHT ROBINSON

Clinton, N.C.

Owner-operator leased to Meadowland

“You need both hands to drive, either both for the steering wheel or one for the wheel and one for the shifter. They need to extend it to four-wheelers — especially four-wheelers.”

EDWARD HANN

Aiken, S.C.

Superior Carriers company driver

“It’s good. It will prevent accidents.”

JOSE LUGO

Birmingham, Ala.

Penn Tank Lines company driver

“You shouldn’t be using your phone handheld anyway. You should use a headset. If everybody used a headset, it’d be a lot safer. Using a handheld isn’t safe at all.”

MICHAEL ROY

Burleson, Tenn.

WTI lease-purchase operator

“We need our phones on the road. So they shouldn’t be banned entirely. As long as we’re allowed to use a headset, then it’s good.”

DAVID MORALES

Laredo, Texas

Owner-operator leased to

R&A Carriers

“Glad to hear they only want to ban holding the phone. You spend a lot of time focusing on holding the phone just right to hear the best and you’re not paying attention to the road.”

RICK RICHARDS

Sacramento, Calif.

J.B. Hunt company driver

I’d like to know where the courtesy went in trucking. Are we drivers so caught up in selfish concerns that we ignore other people’s needs? On our team drives to Miami, my husband and I see so much disrespect, and we no longer listen to the radio because of the profanity. With all the challenges of driving among four-wheelers, you’d think that truckers would cooperate with and respect one another.

It saddens me because I’m old enough to remember when drivers stopped to help a fellow driver, and we talked on the radio to keep each other awake. Several drivers have told me how much it meant just to talk them to safety. I’m glad I came up when I did or I could be like these drivers today.

JULIE COPELAND | Copeland Trucking | Jacksonville, Fla.

“I have been accused of looking just like Santa.”

— KKW Trucking driver Dan Barton, speaking to the Tri-City Herald (Wash.) after rescuing a lost 4-year-old boy who, ignoring other onlookers, ran up to him on Highway 395.

Hours plan would thwart normal business patterns

My husband and I, who are independent owner-operators, are worried that our livelihood will be drastically altered if the proposed hours-of-service plan is approved. We have built our business over many years of hard and dedicated service to our customers.

If the proposed hours go into effect, we will be forced to give up accounts because we would miss the delivery by a mere few hours. My husband would be required to sit in his truck for two days, unable to deliver on time or come home to be with his family.

Also, food and refrigerated products could be stuck for two extra days in a truck because a driver ran out of hours. And loads sitting in trucks are at greater risk of being stolen or hijacked, the net result of which would be higher costs for consumers due to insurance coverage.

Instead of creating jobs, as the federal government has promised to work on, the hours of service as outlined could weaken product demand and reduce manufacturing jobs because of spiraling costs.

These regulations seem like socialist practices instead of a democracy for the people. Truckers need help to keep their jobs in this once-great nation.

DIANE MARCHAND | H&D America | Williston, Fla.

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E-mail your letter to

the editor to Lucinda Coulter at LCoulter@rrpub.com or mail it to Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403.

How has the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program affected you?

“A lot of detection devices [focus] on your speed. With CSA my company uses [the tracking system] OnGuard.”

CHRIS LANNING

U.S. Xpress company driver

Chino Hills, Calif.

“You already have enough stress worrying about doing your job and it gives you something else to worry about.”

FRANK CATO

D&C Trucking company driver

Chester, S.C.

“I got a warning ticket plus the points for a headlight that had been out after I checked it that morning and before I crossed the scales. I didn’t agree with that.”

JAMES MORGAN

Owner-operator

Leased to Dart Transit

Franklin, Ky.

“It keeps you more aware of how you perform and makes you more accountable as a professional driver. It will help to eventually ‘clean up’ the trucking industry.”

JENNI REYNOLDS-KEBLER

Quest Global company driver

Battle Ground, Wash.

Household goods miles route truckers on roads that are not safe for today’s trucks and longer trailers.

Better routes may exist now, but older ones are still used and the driver paid as such. An example is Atlanta to Asheville, N.C. The HHG miles route you up U.S. Highway 25 out of Greenville, S.C., to Interstate 26 in Hendersonville, N.C. The more efficient route is to stay on I-85 to I-26 in Spartanburg, S.C., and then go north.

Highway 25 is a narrow, winding two-lane road and is treacherous. A total of 34 miles is lost on that route, but to the owner-operator, the loss is more significant.

If we want our roads safer, then we should actually do something to make them that way instead of wasting millions of dollars on frivolous studies that are meant only to please a special interest group.

DOUG NORTON | Owner, Norton Transport | Augusta, Ga.

“If there’s nothing good on, I sing to myself.”

— Ed Manninga, 71, in the Park Rapids Enterprise (Minn.) newspaper, about listening to the radio while logging 1.1 million accident-free miles with R.D. Offutt Co.

Some truck stops need more security

In August, my husband parked at the back of a Nevada truck stop because all the front parking was filled. That stop had no camera in back, no security and no lights in the parking lot.

After my husband had gone inside and was returning to his truck, two men pulled him from his truck door and held a gun to his head and a knife to his back. They took all of his money, and he suffered a mild concussion.

Large truck stop chains, like the one where my husband stopped, profit greatly from truckers’ fuel purchases. The least they could do is provide adequate security to thwart criminals.

DEBRA WELLS

Wells Expediting Services

Rockford, Ill.

SHARE WITH OVERDRIVE

E-mail your letter to the editor to Lucinda Coulter at LCoulter@rrpub.com or mail it to Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403.

What do you think of the federal proposal to ban all cell phone use while driving except in emergencies?

“I think it’s pretty good. I see a lot of young people out there today going down the road talking on the phone instead of using hands-free.”

JOHN AERICKO

Sun Belt Transport company driver | Woodville, Ala.

“I agree with that because I’ve seen some that really don’t know what they’re doing. It’s too dangerous.”

CLIFF MATHEWS

Coastal Carriers | St. Louis

“II need to use my phone for GPS. If they’re banned in trucks, they should be banned in cars, too.”

ANTHONY HOWARD

J&G Global Transport company driver | Houston

“Just driving and using a cell phone — you shouldn’t be allowed to do that. It’s distracting.”

ANDY GARDEA

EWO Transport company driver

El Paso, Texas

“I think it should be banned unless you have a hands-free set. It distracts you.”

RAYMOND SANIMOCENCIO

Lease-purchase owner-operator for PGT Trucking | New York

CLARIFICATION: Owner-operator Terry Kennedy, leased to N-Motion, says his response in the October SpeakOut to a question about driver demand and changing carriers should have included: “I’m very happy where I’m at, home weekly and making good money.”

The proposed bill to fight broker fraud in Congress (“Broker regulatory bill reintroduced,” August) has major weaknesses. First, for the U.S. Department of Transportation to institute even modest enforcement would entail phenomenal expenditures. The benefit to only a modest number of carriers would be insignificant.

Most importantly, carriers can check the viability and payment practices of any broker in a few seconds through two excellent credit-reporting entities with exhaustive information on every licensed broker. If a broker has no license, customers should avoid them. Truckers and carriers who have chosen brokers with poor ratings and payment practices are the ones now wanting the government to add another layer of protection to insulate them from their own poor business practices.

Nearly 60 percent of carriers use factors, whose major benefit is that they scrutinize credit. For carriers that do not use factors, the credit reporting services are modestly priced. And to trump that, the leading industry load boards note brokers’ creditworthiness when posting the load. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

Bigger brokerage firms would have little problem obtaining the larger bond should the proposed bill become law. But small brokers would be forced to close, and the larger ones would get more of the business and dictate reduced rates to carriers.

If you think that is not going to happen, spend time in the office of either a broker or carrier. It is amazing to see how the two sides are constantly cognizant of the balance or imbalance to and from certain areas in the nation.

Reduce the number of brokers in the marketplace, and in no time you will hear carriers whispering to themselves, “Please bring back the good old days.”

JACKSON SALASKY | Owner, Jackson Express Inc. | Dallas

“Obama and his liberal minions are hell bent on destroying the capitalist system. I’m already looking for two draught horses and a wagon.”

— Trucker Paul Nicolay of Woodbury, Tenn., in response to the OverdriveOnline.com story “DOT updates rules timetable.”

With driver demand heating up, what are your thoughts about changing carriers?

“I think about changing carriers all the time.”

TERRY KENNEDY

Owner-operator, N-Motion Logistics | Charlotte, N.C.

“I’m going to stay with who I’m with.”

LESTER ENGLAND

Averitt Express company driver | Sparta, Tenn.

“I’m leased to Mercer. I just don’t see the need.”

DENNIS SHACKELFORD

Owner-operator,

Mercer Transportation

Missoula, Mont.

“I’ve been with these people nine months now, and I like them. There’s no use in jumping around.”

SHAUNN DAVIS

Dynamic Transit company driver | Dothan, Ala.

“It depends if they are paying good. Some of them don’t pay much. I haven’t got any hesitation. I go for the company that pays the best.”

SUNDAY NCHEKWUBE

Poly Trucking company driver | Dallas

Sleep apnea a bigger problem

“I think a much larger problem is sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with it three years ago, got treatment and now I sleep well every night. One large fleet estimates that 30 percent of its drivers have the condition. It that’s true, then 30 percent of those drivers will still be fatigued, no matter what hours of service regulations get implemented… Change the direction of the proposed rule to allow and encourage drivers with a sleep problem to get help.”

GARY FRAGODT

Sadieville, Ky.

Consider other safety measures

“We have operated under the same rule since it was changed in 2004. The amazing thing is that the safety numbers are better than they have ever been. If safety is important to federal regulators, they should assess automobile motorists, many of whom don’t know basic rules of the road; require that new drivers go through more training; and assess time wasted at shippers and receivers.”

RANDALL LEE HART

Cedar Spring, Mich.

Economic balance would suffer

“Changing the hours of service regulations would be a very bad idea for these reasons: A reduction in driving time and working hours would result in more inexperienced drivers on the road, and as a result highway safety would suffer. The proposed changes would be hard on the economy. Since the industry would have less capacity to haul freight, rates would rise. My family needs more income, not less.

“Critical parts of the nation’s distribution network would be disrupted because current routes and distribution centers are placed for the current hours of service rules. Fewer driving and working hours amounts to a pay cut at a time when drivers’ families are struggling to make ends meet.”

CHRIS RHODES

Fortville, Ind.

Distracted driving has become a hotly contested issue and understandably so. In my 40 years of trucking, communication technology has seen dramatic development.

Many proposals have been made in defense of hands-free cell phones, but the real issue is overconfidence: It can be a killer. Whether you’re driving an 18-wheel truck or a four-wheel car doesn’t really matter. It is a driver’s overconfidence in trying to make a left turn while eating a sandwich and talking on a cell phone at the same time – or reading a map and reaching for something else while driving – or any other activity that takes his attention away from driving that creates accidents.

In reality, none of us is capable of doing two or three things at once while driving. Anything else short of just driving is a distraction. I owe it to myself as a professional driver and to my family, my company and the motoring public to give 100 percent to the driving.

STEVE BAUER | Tallmadge, Ohio

“Someone owes me a keyboard as I’ve filled mine with drool from this fine piece of iron.”

— Bradley Acht, on YouTube.com

in response to watching a video of “The Gambler,” Doug Fisher’s 2007 Peterbilt 379

What impact did 9/11 have on you or your trucking business?

“Scared me to death… It made me watch out for my fellow drivers.”

RODNEY ROBINSON

Calex Express

Lincoln, Del.

“It made me come out of retirement, actually.”

MARK SAFLEY

Simon Trucking

Iowa City, Iowa

Responses from Overdrive’s Facebook page: facebook.com/OverdriveTrucking

“I was in real estate then. You couldn’t give away a house or property. I came into trucking because of that and have been an owner-operator since July 2003. I feel for all the owner-operators who lost business during that time.”

MARK W. ARNOLD

Owner, All Ways Trucking | Bells, Texas

“I was pulling a food grade tanker. A lot changed and the cops were looking hard at the tanks. I had to always watch my back to make sure no one was following me or trying to steal my truck. Then I was a company driver in Battle Creek, Mich., which was scary because a federal building is there. Now I pull a hazmat tanker and it is just as bad if not more trouble.”

HELEN McILVAINE JOHNSTON

Owner-operator leased to Dana Transport

Freeport, Pa.

Sleep apnea a bigger problem

“I think a much larger problem is sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with it three years ago, got treatment and now I sleep well every night. One large fleet estimates that 30 percent of its drivers have the condition. It that’s true, then 30 percent of those drivers will still be fatigued, no matter what hours of service regulations get implemented… Change the direction of the proposed rule to allow and encourage drivers with a sleep problem to get help.”

GARY FRAGODT

Sadieville, Ky.

Consider other safety measures

“We have operated under the same rule since it was changed in 2004. The amazing thing is that the safety numbers are better than they have ever been. If safety is important to federal regulators, they should assess automobile motorists, many of whom don’t know basic rules of the road; require that new drivers go through more training; and assess time wasted at shippers and receivers.”

RANDALL LEE HART

Cedar Spring, Mich.

Economic balance would suffer

“Changing the hours of service regulations would be a very bad idea for these reasons: A reduction in driving time and working hours would result in more inexperienced drivers on the road, and as a result highway safety would suffer. The proposed changes would be hard on the economy. Since the industry would have less capacity to haul freight, rates would rise. My family needs more income, not less.

“Critical parts of the nation’s distribution network would be disrupted because current routes and distribution centers are placed for the current hours of service rules. Fewer driving and working hours amounts to a pay cut at a time when drivers’ families are struggling to make ends meet.”

CHRIS RHODES

Fortville, Ind.

I found “The Bulk Buy” [June], about purchasing engine oil and changing it yourself, to be an insult to my intelligence and that of other truck owners. We are capable of changing oil with our eyes closed and one hand tied behind our back. 

I have yet to see a truck engine that needs 1-1⁄2” and 1-3⁄4” sockets to change the oil and a 3⁄4” ratchet with a 1-1⁄2” diameter pipe “cheater handle.” Second, only a fool would use a cheater handle on a ratchet and risk stripping the gears in the ratchet head. Third, we don’t need a $250 torque wrench to tighten the drain plug. 

I have never seen anyone puncture an oil filter with a punch to drain it. Simply set it on end and the oil will drain out. And a Rubbermaid pan is not heavy enough to handle seven to eight gallons. 

As far as “payback time” goes, needing to buy tools to do the job is a joke. We all have far more tools than that. 

Why spend $40 on a container for transporting used oil when all you have to do is pour it into empty five-gallon pails that are always around the shop? 

Why spend upwards of $6,000 for a waste oil furnace? I generate about 400 gallons of waste oil a year. Where do I get the other 600 gallons it is going to take to heat my shop?

GREG L. U’REN | Dane West, Inc. | Mt. Horeb, Wis.

Bulk oil buying works

Great article on bulk oil and changing your own [“The Bulk Buy,” June] oil. I have been buying oil in 55-gallon drums from my local supplier for a few years with better than 30 percent savings.

Oil is delivered for free. I put used oil in another drum and it is hauled away when they deliver a new drum. I installed a Fumoto drain valve for $30 in place of the oil pan drain plug. Now I have good drain flow control, and it’s easy getting an oil sample in the process. I need only a filter wrench for the simple, no-mess process.

CLIFF DOWNING | Kellogg, Iowa

Truckers sound off on hours

These comments are excerpted from posts on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s docket regarding a proposed revision to the hours of service regulations. Find it via docket ID FMCSA-2004-19608 at www.regulations.gov. The comment deadline closed June 8.

Fix Pay Model

“The reduction in crashes and lower truck-related fatalities show that the current rules are effective, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance supports their effectiveness as well. I have driven commercially for more than 20 years. The current rules promote more time to maintain my health and to get needed rest.

“If you really want to promote safety, it’s time to work on revocation of the current FLSA [Fair Labor Standards Act, which exempts drivers from overtime pay] exemption on the transportation industry. Doing so would give shippers, receivers and carriers the incentive to make the other needed changes for an even safer work environment.”

JOE AMMONS

Ellensburg, Wash.

Sleep apnea a bigger problem

“I think a much larger problem is sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with it three years ago, got treatment and now I sleep well every night. One large fleet estimates that 30 percent of its drivers have the condition. It that’s true, then 30 percent of those drivers will still be fatigued, no matter what hours of service regulations get implemented… Change the direction of the proposed rule to allow and encourage drivers with a sleep problem to get help.”

GARY FRAGODT

Sadieville, Ky.

Consider other safety measures

“We have operated under the same rule since it was changed in 2004. The amazing thing is that the safety numbers are better than they have ever been. If safety is important to federal regulators, they should assess automobile motorists, many of whom don’t know basic rules of the road; require that new drivers go through more training; and assess time wasted at shippers and receivers.”

RANDALL LEE HART

Cedar Spring, Mich.

Economic balance would suffer

“Changing the hours of service regulations would be a very bad idea for these reasons: A reduction in driving time and working hours would result in more inexperienced drivers on the road, and as a result highway safety would suffer. The proposed changes would be hard on the economy. Since the industry would have less capacity to haul freight, rates would rise. My family needs more income, not less.

“Critical parts of the nation’s distribution network would be disrupted because current routes and distribution centers are placed for the current hours of service rules. Fewer driving and working hours amounts to a pay cut at a time when drivers’ families are struggling to make ends meet.”

CHRIS RHODES

Fortville, Ind.

My prayers go out to victims of the Joplin, Mo., tornado and others this spring. I empathize especially with truckers because of my own close call in the early 1970s. I was caught in the twister on Illinois’ section of Interstate 57 as I drove my GMC Astro south. My truck was equipped with a 318 Detroit pulling a dry van loaded with 73,280 pounds gross weight.

That afternoon, the sky turned pitch black, and the wind was so strong I could go only about 30 mph. Of five tornado tails I could see, one got bigger, black and closer. Buildings and storage bins were exploding in clouds of rain, dirt and mayhem. I saw a farm tractor and wagon flying among the debris. No matter how hard I pushed the pedal, the truck was still barely moving.

I went inside the Bobber Truck Stop with another driver right before the tornado hit the stop. We, along with motorists, huddled in a corner. A large grain elevator thwarted the storm’s path, but it left trucks leaned over one another like a stack of dominoes, trucks scooted as far as 20 feet, windows torn out. Luckily, no one was injured.

I think the damage and death tolls from severe weather are greater than in the past because urban sprawl and farm land put under concrete may have heightened the effects of bad weather.

Truckers should seriously consider taking a first aid course to help in weather emergencies. You might save your own or someone else’s family by doing so.

GORDON ALKIRE

Owner-operator leased to Landstar Ranger | Riley, Kan.

READERS RESPOND

“North America? How many inspections will be done in Mexico? Get ready for the influx of junk from south of the Border.”

— RICK SCOTT, commenting on an Overdriveonline.com story on CVSA’s June Roadcheck.

“Being a trucker took me to 40 states. I was a paid tourist. What other job lets you get paid to see the country?”

— Tri Area Driving School instructor Dale Covert told The Saginaw News (Flint, Mich.).

What truck maintenance job do you dread the most?

“All of it.”

VICTOR STOLIARCHUK

Los Angeles

Patterson Transportation

“Engine rebuild. It gets expensive.”

BILL HOUSER

Spokane, Wash.

AADA Systems, Inc.

“Fixing flats. It’s a pain to get new tires.”

VICTOR GUZMAN

McAllen, Texas

Rapid Transport

“Diesel tank leaks.”

KUMAR PARVINDER

Sacramento, Calif.

BD Brothers Trucking

I have been an owner-operator for 12 years, but I recently had the scare of my professional driving career. While I was driving on I-675 in Atlanta, I was passed by about 12 sport motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. The group cut right in front of me going, I’m sure, faster than 100 miles per hour. It happened so fast that I jumped. It could have made me lose control, but I didn’t. I ride a Harley motorcycle myself and enjoy a good ride, but something should be done about that kind of reckless behavior on the Interstate.

Along with motorcyclists, I’ve seen a lot of tour bus drivers exceeding the speed limit by a large margin on the highways. I have never seen one of them pulled over and given a summons for any reason. To me, that is total disregard for the public driving on roads shared by both private motorists and commercial drivers.

While many truckers are complaining about all the work being done on our highways, the repairs are crucial for maintaining a good, working truck. Let’s look forward to more road repairs being completed.

DONALD BROMILEY | Port Orange, Fla.

“People have been good to us down there, and we’ve made a living hauling their stuff.”

— Buddy Allen, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, explaining to WKYC television his plan to haul tornado relief supplies to the South.

Self-defense

What do you carry in your truck for protection?

Pet — 4%

Mace — 3%

Nothing — 27%

Firearm — 31%

Tire thumper — 35%

Would you recognize your boss, dispatcher or fleet president if he or she went undercover, as on the “Undercover Boss” TV show?

“My company is fairly big — I’d say it’s about a medium-sized trucking company. I’d recognize him right away, though.”

SUDS SUDINA

Canton, Mich. | A.D. Transport

“My immediate boss, yes. The CEO? Heck, no. Nobody knows who he is. This is a big company. I barely even remember his name.”

DALE CLAYBON

Dallas | TruBlu Logistics

“Oh yeah. Our company’s pretty small, so I’d recognize him.”

JOHN BARBARISI

Largo, Fla. | TLI Freight Services

“I’ve seen him before. I think I’d recognize him.”

BILL MAYNARD

Cumming, Ga.

Owner-operator leased to Dart Transit

“I’d recognize my dispatcher and my manager, but I wouldn’t recognize the big boss.”

JERRY RAGSDALE

Sharpsburg, Ga.

Owner-operator leased to Quality Drive-Away

“If it was someone I worked with daily, yes. If it was a person from corporate that we saw once a quarter or once a year…probably not.”

— on Overdrive Facebook

ANDREA SITLER

Bedias, Texas | R & A Trucking

With truckers being more regulated and having to pay more and more taxes, it’s important to educate the public about freight’s importance. Truckers need to vote in every election and, for those who have time, seek elected office. For example, I am running for county commissioner at my neighbors’ encouragement.

Truckers learn where everything comes from, where it goes and who made money on it: Few people have access to that valuable knowledge. And today’s political climate favors the citizen representative, like me and other owner-operators.

It’s important to be politically aware and involved to help move our nation in the right direction. If you are in long haul, vote absentee. Read about candidates’ agendas. Attend local forums. Write letters to your local newspaper to support candidates and campaign for them. Contribute to campaign funds, even if in modest amounts.

Several elected offices are within your reach, if you try. Let’s roll! 

KEITH STANLEY | Owner of Ironhorse Transport | Gettysburg, Pa.

Why pay for Mexicans’ EOBRs?

It’s ludicrous that taxpayers are paying for the purchase and installation of electronic onboard recorders for Mexican truckers in the cross-border program. If Mexican drivers want to enter the United States, they should pay for the required equipment. The government is not paying for U.S. drivers’ recorders.

This will not change Mexican truckers’ practice of operating with shoddy equipment and sub-standard procedures. Are the Mexican drivers going to be fluent enough in English, or is that basic requirement for safety and business also going to be set aside?

EOBRs will not make our highways safer. They will not stop tailgaters, speeders or drivers who don’t use turn signals. But, they will greatly enhance revenue. They will remove safe and experienced drivers from the road due to the bogus ticket system implemented by many less-than-professional law enforcement officers, especially in California, or due to the refusal of drivers to work in this challenging environment.

Remember what Ross Perot said about that hissing sound – it’s your jobs moving south. Listen close, and you can hear it now.

GORDON ALKIRE | Riley, Kan.

“If we’d been a little earlier, we might have ended up in the Pacific Ocean.”

— Trucker Cliff Turner told The Monterey County Herald newspaper of being rerouted from a section of Highway 1 shortly after a section of the road crumbled away.

How are you planning to cope with rising diesel prices?

“Drill, Baby, drill! I’m getting my fuel mileage up as much as I can. It’s bad that the national average the fuel surcharge is based on is claiming $3.79 … and the East Coast price is more than $4.”

MICHAEL STAFFORD

Carthage, Mo.

O&S Trucking

“Retiring. Partly because of the fuel prices and partly because I’m fed up with FMCSA and all of the new regulations.”

DON OLSON

Colfax, Wis. | Leased to Dart Transit

“The fuel surcharges I receive help quite a bit. I receive upwards of 60 cents or more per mile. I have older equipment and small payments and can ride it out better than most. My breaking point is about $5.50 to $6 a gallon.”

RANDAL BOUWENS

Newark, N.Y. | Independent (R.O.B. Transport)

“I don’t really have to deal with the prices directly, because I drive for the company, but we’re having a company-wide meeting soon… I assume we might hear something about what it means for our paychecks.”

ED LEBKOSKY

Niagara Falls, N.Y. | Company driver, BFC Transportation

“We’re getting robbed hardcore by the country we work hard to serve.”

LAWRENCE LAMSON

Lafayette, La. | Acme Truck Lines