ATA asks that bill address industry needs
The American Trucking Associations asked members of the committee negotiating on the highway bill to address important industry needs.
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Truckers urged to use social media
October 17, 2011
| by: Todd Dills
Truckers can use social media to have their voices heard in fighting federal regulations, said Trans Products/Trans Services Regulatory Manager Rich Wilson, at a panel discussion at the first annual Truck Driver Social Media Convention Oct. 15 in Tunica, Miss.
“Fight the bureaucrats with bureaucracy,” Wilson said in responding to driver frustration with numerous new rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and a feeling of powerlessness to do anything about them.
“There are 13 million voices in the United States with CDLs in their back pocket,” Wilson said. “Get enough people in there and start talking” and drivers could have a measurable effect on regulatory planning.
The convention, organized by Allen and Donna Smith of the Truth About Trucking organization, attracted approximately 200 drivers, owner-operators and industry participants.
Communication and networking tools can be effective in spreading a message, promoting a business and sharing information, said Landon Middleton, CEO of Ultimate Marketing Solutions, who manages social media campaigns for Truckers Matter advocacy group. “Facebook is where people are choosing to do life with each other,” he said, citing statistics that showed the online social site accounts for 15 percent of all world Internet traffic. “As a business owner, or someone with a passionate message, doesn’t it make sense that I take advantage of that?”
Use it and other tools to distribute and gather information, Wilson said. “Power is intelligent knowledge,” he said, “making your point in the right place.”
Keep informed on proposed regulations by subscribing to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration notifications of meetings. When you can, go to the public meetings and make your point of view heard. More drivers are needed there, he said.
[...] Driver Social Media Convention (if you missed my reporting from the event, check out two stories here and here) in Tunica, Miss., due south of their Memphis home base. They’re the pair behind [...]
Sorry to disagree but the lack of unity in trucking does not say to me that we can stop anything. Trucking unity is even worse now then when deregulation hit in the 80s. Even trucking companies on not fighting anything. I am never for shut downs but if you want people in Government to take notice. Protesting gets you the most exposure. Because then you get media exposure.
John, Thanks for the thoughts, and that very lack of unity among drivers/owner-operators was a subject brought up at the convention. Nobody said regulatory influence to the benefit of the driver would be an easy, straight path, of course.
As for engagement in the rule-making process, Rich Wilson speaks from hard experience when he conjures an image of what would happen if even a tiny fraction of the millions of CDL holders showed up for Washington meetings on potential new rules, to recommend such engagement. He prefers that than shutdowns and protests, as he was out there shutting down with so many in 1979, as an owner-operator, the biggest result for him being that some other carriers in the area called on his and others’ shippers while they were protesting, to take their freight. Also, in today’s world, as mainstream media outlets are fractured and spread ever thinner, it’s an open question as to whether drivers can even count on that.
Engagement in the rulemaking process, utilizing the tools available to communicate viewpoints among the driver core, may well be the best option for having a real impact on the regs. In any case, thanks for reading and commenting. Feel free to email me anytime with story ideas/views: tdills@rrpub.com. Or just comment here.
I agree with John about the lack of unity in trucking, especially among drivers. However, this very first convention achieved one of its primary goals, and that is media exposure.
Bloomberg Businessweek and a freelance journalist for the NY Times were on hand to cover the event, along with Challenge Magazine, Truckers News and of course, Overdrive Magazine.
This annual event will work toward uniting drivers as they once were decades ago. It will not happen with just one event, but I am hopeful that we will see this take place in future annual conventions.
As this convention grows, so will media exposure for drivers.
Thanks for the thoughts, Allen. Have BusinessWeek or the Times published anything as yet?