Lawmakers Know Nothing of Industry
First, what makes the hours-of-service subject so irritating is that next to nothing is being done to educate four-wheelers about driving around big trucks, and they are overwhelmingly the cause of most car-truck accidents.
Second, it is so obvious from the proposals that these people have little to no knowledge of the trucking industry. They don’t know! Right from the beginning when logbooks started they had only two categories — local (driving in a 165-mile range from the terminal) and the rest of us. This is nonsense. For example, the rationale given for 14 hours on and 10 off was circadian rhythms. Talk to me about circadian rhythms when I drive through three time zones! They don’t know! Of course, one of the big problems with the current rules is that inflexible 14-hour window. If I’m tired, but due to various circumstances I need to drive, say, two more hours but my 14-hour window will close in two hours, I have to keep driving! Unfortunately, I have done just that. They just don’t know! I could go on and on, but when it comes to these rule makers, it falls on deaf ears. They ask for our input, but from the proposed changes, they obviously ignore it. Which is too bad because they don’t know.
I have well over a million miles of accident free driving since I started about 12 years ago. I will be eligible to retire later this year. I love the road, but if they continue to make it harder and harder to do the job, like many others I have spoken to who are my age and older, I will retire. The industry is going to lose a lot of experienced drivers. Too bad they don’t know that they don’t know.
Thanks for putting out a great magazine.
Bob Hearns
Brossard, Quebec, Canada
Don’t be deterred from running legal
I just got finished reading Mr. Burnett’s letter indicating the trouble he has gotten from different companies for running legal.Even to the point of being labeled a “job hopper” and thus becoming unemployable.
Running legal is admirable. Impractical, but admirable. I want to say to everyone that if you expose yourself to recrimination because you choose to run legal, do not just quit or allow yourself to be fired on account of it. Report it. Or else you’ll wind up unemployable and living in a van.
Paul R. Wood
Panama City Beach, Fla.
EOBRs not that useful
In respect to your February 2011 cover article on EOBRs, it appears to me that the federal government has simply found another way to eradicate common sense and good judgment.
Case in point: Each and every plane that crashed on 9/11 had an EOBR on board, and it prevented what?
It has always been my contention that no one ever cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
Sincerely,
Albert Hemerson
Gilmore City, Iowa
Not stealing your loads
It is wrong to say either Canadian (me) or Mexican drivers are taking work away from U.S. drivers. We can only move loads back and forward over our respective borders. We can’t move loads between U.S. points, so we take no work from drivers here. It is the choice of many U.S. drivers and/or their employers not to enter Canada (and I presume Mexico is no different), but those loads are available to compete for if they want them.
David Galbraith
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
“What is your favorite truckstop, and why?”
“I like Love’s, because our company has a lot of points and fuels there. They have killer coffee.”
— Tony Partin, Raleigh, N.C.,
company driver for Super Service
“The Petro in Kolby, Kan., on Interstate 70 has top of the line showers. You can flip the showerheads up to the ceiling to make the water feel like a waterfall.”
— Windle Donald,
Athens, Ala., company driver for RTR Transportation
“The TA truckstops in every state are pretty awesome. They’re clean and they have excellent service. More important than anything else, they have game and TV rooms for when I have some time to kill.”
— Erasmo Garza, Joya, Texas,
company driver for Logicorp Enterprise
“The Walcott truckstop on I-80 is huge, clean and has everything I need.”
— Ricardo Alcazar, Houston, Texas, owner-operator for Logistics Express
How do you feel about the U.S. paying for electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) for participating Mexican carriers in the proposed cross-border trucking program?
VIA FACEBOOK
Now that seems fair (tongue in cheek)!
— Jana H.
The way the news is looking the government can’t afford to pay for the devices.
— Linzy M.
It’s wrong. Why should the American Taxpayer have to foot the bill to put EOBRs on Mexican trucks? Then turn around and tell the American trucker he also has to pay for his own EOBR. This would be using tax dollars to take jobs away from taxpayers.
— Dennis S.
Makes no sense. I say no EOBRs for anyone.
— Camajtli T.
We’re officially [screwed]. This is gonna put the nail in the coffin of the trucking industry.
— Josh L.
Sounds like the government wants more U.S.A. workers out of work.
— Johnny L.
We shouldn’t even be having this discussion in the first place. There never should have been the idea to let Mexican trucks in here from the start. NAFTA is a joke, and the U.S. should get out, period. All this so-called “free trade” just hurts the American worker and employer (what jobs we still do have in this country).
— Scott G.
This is exactly what we all were worried about when they passed that crap law. Now after all the bull about how this wouldn’t happen, here it is.
— J. Sampson
Do they really think they can afford this? B.S.! The country is broke enough as it is!
— Robin D.
The ATA and corporate America couldn’t export our jobs. They have tried the driver shortage game, but didn’t get the visas for the cheap labor that they want, but now they are about to get some of it.
— James M.
Don’t blame NAFTA for this Mexican EOBR debacle! The reason the FMCSA is purchasing said EOBRs for the Mexican carriers is because they can’t force them to buy them. They would first have to force EOBRs upon us American carriers and then the Canadians and Mexicans would have to follow suit. It’s a bad deal using fuel tax money, but I think it’s a good deal the Mexicans aren’t throwing a fit about it. It shows they are willing to bend to our DOT’s will and play by our country’s rules. You people that think it’s going to affect our freight up here need to realize they’ll only be hauling their freight. Freight that comes out of Mexico or is bound for Mexico.
— Ryan F.
SOUND OFF
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