TheTrucker.com - America's Trucking Newspaper

Being on road not fun and games

anymore, says veteran trucker

I started this in 1973 and was warned that it wasn't all fun and games. After 38 years and 4 million miles it's not any more.

Shippers don't care and receivers are even worse. The DOT is just after your money and they are always right. Our wonderful government has just about put us in the same category as air traffic controllers and they want total control.

I understand that change comes and the only thing I question is why does it come from a bunch of blithering idiots that know absolutely nothing about my job? I will give them the fact that this is still a dangerous profession for us and the public but so is war. We don't ban that and regulate that to death so why us?

We make deals with foreign governments that can't control their own people and have made drug trafficking across our borders profitable for their leaders and some of ours, I suspect. Truck driving used to be an honorable position and I was there when it was. Now we are looked upon as scum and just in the way when they need to go really fast in traffic.

Just for once I would invite every driver out there to park it for three days [so] … all the groceries [would] back up in warehouses around the land. When Miss Goody Two Shoes can't get a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk the outlook on us will change.

There you have it: the lowdown on why we aren't happy anymore and some idea as to how to fix it.

Good luck doing that and if I don't get published big deal; just another loud mouth truck driver venting.

— R. Dayvault

Trucker thankful for his wife,

team driver, PR agent in one

I have read your article, "WIT (Women In Trucking) looking for a few good ads so it can attract more than a few good women to the industry."

Excellent. My wife for 16 years has been my companion and my best friend and is an awesome asset. For example, when we bump a dock and you know who in the office is on planet angry on a nice clear California morning, I send in No. 1 to deal with the things I can’t.

Linda has been driving team with me for one company for 16 years has many safe driving awards not to mention we both have 1 million safe miles driven with no accidents. Linda is an awesome mother and now a grandma. As a team we earn a very, very good income and live in a new brick home.

We are home every weekend and have been home every weekend for the last eight years. We work for Werner Enterprises of Omaha, Neb.

The success this company has brought to our lives was never expected. We are amazed every time we walk through the front door — that this place is ours.

So if you are looking for a lady who is driven to succeed in whatever it may be, it is Linda Cornett.

Thank you for your time.

— Mike Cornett

Some ‘Draconian’ measures

easier for driver, reader says

I read with great interest your article concerning David Owen and company A and B. I tried to read all articles that I can get my hands on when it comes to driver retention. I do not believe the industry has a driver hiring problem, it is a retention problem which is exactly what your article addresses.

The problem with your article is that I think it is very misleading. My company uses some of those Draconian methods that you (Owen) refer to in your article. We use them for one of two reasons: It is mandated by the law or it is easier for the driver. A couple of examples would be the speed governors and e-logs. We use the speed governors because we pull loads into Canada and it is mandated that trucks must be governed at 65.2 mph. They actually plug into the trucks computer to check it. We have already had several trucks fined for having it set wrong. These drivers were not caught speeding; they went through an inspection and were cited then.

The second is e-logs. When we first announced that we were going to e-logs it was not well received with the drivers. So we decided to test it on a handful to make sure we were doing the correct thing. After only two months the test drivers said they loved the e-logs, no paperwork, no math, no violations and no one could tell the driver to “stretch” their log to get the load there. Everyone in the office can look at the log and see exactly what the driver has left for the day and the week. We have since rolled it out to the rest of the fleet with the same results. We get some apprehension when we install it but as soon as the drivers learn the system, they love it.

It has been my experience in hiring and managing drivers that the largest problem in the retention area is home time. If we receive 100 applications a week 90 of them want home every night and off on the weekends. This is very difficult to accomplish for obvious reasons. There are even times when we will hire a driver understanding that they will be out some weekends and after several weeks or months of work they will want to switch to home every night and off on the weekends. It becomes very difficult to try and retain drivers that have unrealistic expectations of the trucking industry.

— S.H.

Trucker says he’s getting tired

of being treated like a ‘bad guy’

As I sit here my eyes are watering; I'm holding back tears. I'm so tired of this trucking life. I use to love this when I started over 15 years ago, but over the years I am stressed to the breaking point.

Every time I'm out here I try not to think about where the next attack is gonna come from...I can never be left alone out here, everyday, I'm reminded of how much of a second class citizen I am. When you walk to the shipping/receiving windows the snobbery is very apparent. I wear clothing that is neat; [it] doesn't make a difference how I'm treated. Everybody who knows me I can say thinks well of me because I work well with people, my people skills are very good.

Many places we visit to load and unload do not allow drivers to use their bathrooms. They have port potties [for the drivers]. I used those in Iraq/Kuwait, and just as they were there they are the same here, lacking toilet tissue, stinking and full of flies.

Almost all cities across the U.S.A have what I call truck traps, in my case I will point to ones that really stands out in my mind: In the city of Commerce, Calif., I went to pick up at 5a.m. and got there at 4:30 a.m., as soon as they opened up, and I could walk to check in. Upon leaving to dock my truck after checking in, I found a parking ticket [even though] on that street there are no signs whatsoever stating anything about not parking. The ticket was for parking a commercial vehicle on the street. (so of course fines are higher).

That area is nothing but commercial buildings for a mile radius, and it is four lanes wide with room for parking curbside and not impeding traffic whatsoever.

… Every time I read up in your newspaper about new regulations coming, I always wonder why are they always shooting at us truck drivers, on and on, fines for this fines for that, CSA 2010, DAC reports, and to top it all off if I idle my truck at the good ole Ontario, Calif. T/A truck stop, the California air resources board comes running up in there handing out tickets for idling.

We can go to jail for leaving animals in a locked hot vehicle but us second-class people do not have the right to stay comfortable nor have the safety of a locked vehicle. When will they change this policy? When a driver dies from heat exhaustion or somebody climbs up into the truck whilst the driver is sleeping and harms or kills the driver during a robbery or even leaving the truck wide open for a hijacking?

On June 22, 2009, a car collided with me head on. I have to live with the memories of seeing a person die in front of me. To look at their eyes looking up at me before we crashed, to get out and be there to see them take their last breath, to have a nurse show up and tell me she can't find a pulse — since that day I have emotional breakdowns and cry just because, and I've already had to leave the road on highway U.S. 395 to avoid head-on collisions, and every time I'm left shaken to my core having to relive the accident.

Just tell me where it's going to end. I cannot do this truck driving much longer because the tears are more frequent from the stress.

Ask our fearless leaders in the office in Washington, when will I get a break? Without me and other drivers like me see how they like it when more drivers quit and the roads fill up with rookie drivers and the turnover rate goes thru the roof. This job has enough stress, stop adding to it. Give me a break — I'm not the bad guy ‘because I drive a truck — but I feel like one.

— Peter H.

Driver contends ATA doesn’t act

in independents’ best interests

All too often we hear how the ATA is speaking on behalf of truckers to various regulatory agencies. Surprise! The ATA represents mega-carriers who hire real drivers as a regrettable but necessary business expense.

It was they who profited so handsomely from 1980s transportation deregulation when the bottom fell out of driver pay. ATA lobbyists and fierce opposition to unions have denied truckers overtime pay, company paid medical, on-call pay for loading/unloading or waiting for dispatch and paid sick leave. Many truckers from the 1970s make fewer dollars monthly now than back then and that’s before considering inflation.

The big carriers gained by ensuring the wealth from increased trucker productivity would “trickle up” not down. ATA members brainwash far too many “Average Joe” company drivers into parroting a disingenuous corporate line on Hours of Service regulations. Of course, the big carriers hate the 14-hour rule and sleeper berth provisions. Such government control pressures them and shippers to stop wasting truckers’ time.

Think! Before the 14-hour rule, what shipper paid detention after two hours? How many times in the old days did a driver get loaded for eight or 10 hours during the day, get told to log it as off-duty sleeper time then start out close to midnight after being up, in reality, all day? At least the 14-hour rule stopped much of that, yet how many drivers falsely assume they will have larger paychecks if the 14-hour rule were to be repealed? Such drivers confuse working more hours with getting more pay.

The ATA continually whines about an anticipated driver shortage, knowing if trucking were less like an historic garment industry the so-called shortage would quickly evaporate. Now that EOBRs will be mandated, the big carriers could easily pay at an hourly rate as has been done in Europe for decades but do you see them push for that? No. ATA members prefer mileage pay, a method obscenely understating the true hours a trucker puts in. They especially love to pay miles, not hourly, in places like Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay area. My recent trips into those areas have earned at an effective rate of $4.70 per hour as the average speed was so slow with all the congestion. Would my company transfer the load to a driver on local hourly pay? Not if they could possibly avoid it.

My company recently suggested all truckers working for them should send in messages opposing the cutback to 10 hours. Were they concerned, as they claimed, about truckers not earning as much? Perish that thought! They knew the cutback would force them to hire a few more drivers.

As an ATA member, my employer also favors the heavier truck limits so the six-axle 100,000-pound truck would be the standard. Why? Fewer drivers, of course. No wonder corporate America is booming while keeping a large permanent pool of unemployed conveniently available. This same Northwest truck carrier tells drivers to exercise their democratic right to pressure the government but tolerates no deviation from a company policy in which their employees have zero voice. Clearly, company drivers who blindly and blithely repeat the ATA position on hours and regulations are KFC chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.

Next, there’s the business of suggesting all trucks be governed at 68 mph max. My company, a staunch ATA member, now limits its trucks to 62 mph, ostensibly for safety. I suppose that will help their CSA score as any accidents should now be where some hapless independent owner-operator running on a 75 mph interstate rear ends me at 70 mph, thus rendering it the other truck’s fault (clever, right?)

Meanwhile, a cross-industry 68 mph rule would make things tougher for ATA’s arch-enemy, the independent owner-operator who survives based on quicker travel and turn-around times and who depends on getting the most miles per day.

When you read how the ATA representatives spoke for truckers at some government hearing, you might just remember the ATA advocates the wishes of the largest truck corporations in the U.S. It is unlikely you or any of your regular trucking buddies will ever meet an ATA rep. They may suggest things that hurt, not help, the average driver. If they suggest you repeat the party line to your government rep you might question their motives and their angle. After all, can they truly understand truckers and their issues from their cubicle? I don’t buy it and neither should you.

— John Ward

Reader says U.S. still ‘land of the free,’ proud to be American

In reply to the letter from Wayne Clark (Aug. 1-14 issue) where he said America is no longer the land of the free: Mr. Clark, that is your right to think that if you choose. But a lot of Americans that served and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country — yours and mine — to be called the land of the free and the home of the brave whether you want to believe it or not.

You don’t speak for me and others. I’m my own man and to each his or her own. I say I’m proud to be an American. I go out and about every day wearing the red, white and blue clothing riding one of four … bikes that I own and I fly one of several patriotic flags off of it. Also, whether people give me thumbs up or down I do it anyway. It’s my life.

There is nothing wrong with our country. The trouble is the way our country’s leaders run it. Go to other countries, such as Iraq or Haiti. You will feel differently.

— Pete Seville,

Green Castle, Pa.

Drivers need to be compensated for all time in truck, says reader

I just read the perspective article in the May 1-14 issue titled, "Highway hero: Truckers need decent wages, healthcare, retirement."

I am a company team driver. I drive East Coast to West Coast each week.

The writer asked what is fair compensation for 70 hours of work. That is not a fair question. I am in the truck above 100 hours each week.

Because I'm not on duty, I don't deserve compensation for those hours? I am not at home. I am trapped in a moving vehicle during my time off. I am on duty an average of 55 hours a week. I am paid by the mile.

This leads directly into my HOS opinion. A doctor, lawyer, manufacturing employee etc. can work 12 hours a day seven days a week and still drive a car when they are done. Also, they are not limited to the number of hours that they can work. I know nurses and police officers that regularly put in double shifts and do this multiple days a week. But I am only allowed to work 70 hours a week. I have to take 34 hours off.

So to summarize I am only allowed to work 70 hours, I can only average, if I'm extremely lucky, 50 mph. I am not paid for sitting and waiting at a dock to get loaded or unloaded. I have to take mandatory time off.

By paying company drivers by the mile, you are encouraging them to break the law, so that they can recoup the lost time and money from waiting.

Companies do not care how long you are waiting for it does not effect their pockets.

I'll point out that owner-operators are companies unto themselves unless they are leased on to a specific company.

First, drivers should all be paid by the hour. This will put the responsibility back on the companies to make sure drivers get loaded in a timely manner. This will also prevent some drivers from overdriving their logbooks. If I leave North Carolina on Tuesday and arrive back on Saturday I should be paid for all the hours I've spent in the truck. Not just the miles driven. Hourly pay does not apply to owner-operators.

Second, no more 34-hour reset. You get 14 hours and have to take 10 off. You cannot drive more than 12 and must take at least two, 30-minute breaks during that 14-hour period and your pre-trip inspection is not one of them. That's so if you work 15 days straight you just have to show your 10 hours off in between shifts. Your company is not going to want to pay you for 15 days times 24 hours times $15 an hour, which equals $5,400. That's why companies like the 34-hour rule. You are trapped in their truck on the road and it doesn't cost them a thing while the driver loses money and home time.

— Scott Simmons

Team driver North Carolina

EOBRs violate 4^th Amendment rights; DOT falsifying data, reader asserts

Last Friday, I saw an article about FMCSA’s electronic onboard recorder (EOBR) proposal and found it difficult to believe what I read: “… FMCSA is asking for additional comments on whether its proposed EOBR mandate sets up the possibility of driver harassment.” Really? It wants these types of comments? OK. Here you go.

Forcing carriers to install EOBRs and report the gathered data to DOT or any other government entity is one of the worst ideas in the history of the republic, and for several reasons:

First, because the proposal is illegal. The 4th Amendment says it is the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

DOT has no right to conduct electronic surveillance on innocent American citizens like this, and they have no right to coerce carriers into doing it for them. Carriers' EOBR data will be reported to the DOT on demand … but it is unlawful for the federal government to obtain this data without a search warrant, and no warrant can issue but upon probable cause of wrongdoing.

Carriers have every right to collect, possess, use, and protect this data under the 4th Amendment. The federal government has no right to it except by a specific, limited search warrant issued with probable cause. There is no good thing that can possibly come of any government’s electronic surveillance of innocent citizens’ location and activities. No good thing. Nothing. This is 21st century America, not WWII Germany or communist Russia. We do not need government-required electronic surveillance devices around us.

Second, the proposal is a bad idea because DOT’s illegal behavior sets the stage for more illegal behavior. As a professor who laces his classroom lectures with profanity establishes the acceptability of profanity in his class, DOT’s illegal behavior establishes the acceptability of illegal behavior. This is bad. This is very bad.

Third, Big Brother Boxes are a bad idea because they corrupt the employer-employee relationship between carriers and their employees (drivers). EOBRs are good when used properly by the right people. Carriers have both every right to know (therefore, to track) the location of their own equipments with EOBRs, and the responsibility to appropriately supervise employees' on-the-job activities (consistent with employees' rights). EOBRs are bad when used unlawfully by the wrong people. Government entities like DOT have no right to use or to coerce others to use on their behalf, any device like an EOBR to conduct electronic surveillance on innocent American citizens. An EOBR whose data is reported to the government is a Big Brother Box. Big Brother is watching, and his name is Ray LaHood.

Fourth, Big Brother Boxes are a bad idea because the DOT cannot be trusted with the Brother Box data. DOT falsifies logbook violations. When drivers submit logs showing hours driven and distances traveled, DOT calculates average speed for the day. If the average speed exceeds 60 mph, a logbook violation is recorded against the driver for speeding. Many interstates have speed limits of 65 to 75 mph for long distances, so driving the speed limit makes DOT-falsified speeding (called “also-speeding”) very common. This DOT behavior does five things. First, DOT-falsified speeding inflates any data DOT reports about the number of logbook violations, thus invalidating that data. Second, DOT's creating logbook violations from nothing shows DOT can't be trusted with access to drivers' information. DOT's falsifying these records is not an innocent mistake, but willful, consistent, ongoing, and determined wrongdoing.

Third, every DOT-falsified logbook violation shows DOT's willingness to make innocent citizens out to be lawbreakers for driving the speed limit (welcome to Ray LaHood's Orwellian universe). Fourth, it shows DOT's confidence that actual logbook violations are too few to justify Mr. LaHood's unlawful proposal — the data has to be cooked to make the problem look a lot bigger than it is. Fifth, this willing, consistent, determined falsification of records causes legitimate doubt about the meaning of other data DOT reports.

With this in mind, just imagine what DOT can contrive with unlimited access to drivers' EOBR data. Speeding can be reduced from 61 mph in a 70-mph zone to 55 mph or less. Fines can be levied, points against your license, anything your Brother Box records can and will be used against you, and no amount of law-abiding can save you.

With 24-hour electronic surveillance of where we go and what we do, DOT can designate whatever any disfavored truck driving citizen does as lawbreaking. Did you stop to avoid hitting that child last month? Every hard-braking event will be recorded by the EOBR and will be designated by DOT as a dangerous maneuver, and the minimum braking force required to trigger this designation will be lessened over time. Did you swerve to avoid that guy who halfway ran his stop sign? That's EOBR-detected reckless driving on you, not him. EOBRs never lie. Have you ever failed to maintain the 40-mph minimum speed with a 45,000-pound load climbing those steep mountains on I-68 in Maryland? That's impeding traffic. If a cheap EOBR records current vehicle speed once every three seconds, and the driver dead-stops every stop sign for only one second, EOBRs will show the driver to have run two out of every three stop signs, each of which is a serious moving violation. Does this concern you at all?

When a drunk driver wipes out a 40-mph speed limit sign some night, and the EOBR catches the truck driver going 15-over at that spot the next day, how will he defend himself when he wasn't even made aware of his transgression until days or weeks after the fact? He doesn’t specifically remember the town name, and can't recall any speeding. EOBRs never lie. The EOBR proves every driver to be a reckless driver, a menace to every man, woman, child, and building in sight. How many of these serious moving violations does a driver need before DOT revokes his CDL? DOT will have all the proof, and will use it in whatever way it sees fit, even using the auto-speeding rule.

EOBRs never lie. Of course, EOBRs never tell the truth, either; they only record and report empirical data. Drivers who are DOT-disfavored, and have a Brother Box, will be found to be extremely dangerous, and the government-interpreted Brother Box data will prove it, no matter what that data is. A federal government that regularly uses the Also-Speeding Rule and falsifies records will designate whatever data they have in whatever way they wish. DOT will have all the proof, and EOBRs never lie. No amount of law-abiding can save a DOT-disfavored driver or carrier. The problem is not carrier harassment of drivers, but DOT harassment of drivers.

The solution to present and future DOT corruption is not to make DOT promise something about how they act — Ray LaHood has already promised to uphold and defend the constitution, and look what he's doing; promises don't work with these people. The solution is to force DOT to comply with the law, which requires the government obtain a proper, limited search warrant before rummaging through our stuff, stuff like our data. The government needs to comply with the law.

I favor increasing traffic safety and preserving our constitutional rights. Mr. LaHood favors using traffic safety as an excuse to violate those same rights, as if the end justifies the means. It doesn’t. DOT should start respecting our 4th Amendment, whether constrained by the courts or not. DOT is clearly unwilling to do this, but they are very willing to make all disfavored carriers and drivers out to be dangerous criminals. This is wrong.

— D. Hobbs

Driver shortage will continue to be problem, reader predicts

The driver shortage is going to continue to be a problem, especially in this age of every man being able to broadcast mistreatment by companies and the rigors of the profession.

When a driver goes into most orientations at entry-level companies they get a rude awakening. Usually the terms of employment are not quite what they were led to believe. There are usually secondary unwritten qualifiers for compensation and bonuses.

Also, harsh deductions and discipline for even the slightest misstep. And many companies have multi-level lease agreements that are structured to hamper possible successful completion.We have been to two orientations earlier on in our careers where one of the goals was to send 50 percent of the candidates home without employment, qualified or not.

Having spent close to four years driving, my main advice to other drivers is to keep your record clean. There are good companies out there. Do not jump without researching all levels. Interview them. And if they have EOBRs in the fleet ask if they allow use as personal vehicle. I know of at least one of the major LTLs allowing one hour per driver per day, when not under load.

— Tim “Silver Spider” Lutz

People making commercial laws need to drive OTR, trucker says

In several issues that I have read, there are many letters basically saying the same thing: The DOT is getting too hard on truckers and trucking companies.

Most interesting is the June 1-14 issue in the letter titled, "What in the world is Ray LaHood smoking?" Really? I think that all those pencil-pushing politicians should come down out of their ivory towers and see what is really going on out here.

The old saying goes that "People who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw rocks." I didn't just start driving, I have about 28 years to my credit and there have been many changes in the industry in that time. As I stated, many of the letters in past and present issues basically say the same thing, More understanding of the trucking industry and its effects on the economy is needed. Those who make the rules and laws really need to have some trucking experience to really know what is needed. It would be like me going into a heart hospital and telling the surgeon how to do an operation; I have no knowledge of that and have no business going there. I also believe that it is all well and good that people write letters here, but a greater impact would be sending e-mails and/or letters to the politicians as well.

With trucks moving approximately 70 percent of the nation's goods, being approximately 15-20 percent of the nation's highway traffic, then why may I ask, does the trucking industry suffer 90 percent of the highway regulations?

Yes, we are professionals, but highway safety is everyone’s responsibility. I would really like to see a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Motor Vehicle Division. This is discrimination and negligence of enforcing laws on John and Jane Q Public. We see it every day, some person driving 80 mph next to you while texting, typing on a laptop, reading a newspaper, driving erratically, tailgating, etc.

Don’t even get me started on CSA. Whoever came up with that is clueless. Further, it just came to the end of the 2011, 72-hour DOT blitz on trucks. How about a 167-hour motor vehicle safety blitz? How many cars are driving up and down the highways with no tail lights, missing head lights, no insurance, expired registrations, no license, and under the influence? I could go on, but you know what I’m talking about. Remember, if you bought it, a truck brought it. Safe motoring.

— Thomas A. Gilles

Driver wants to see 14-hour rule go away

I was reading a letter that expresses that the Teamsters don't follow the Hours of Service rules. I have many friends that work for a union and it is the same.

I have talked to another driver that is a friend and his company makes him take a 35-hour restart instead of the 34-hour restart. A lot of companies are having to revamp structure within the lines of safety since CSA. The 34-hour restart is a good thing for the driver. By getting the restart you are able to make more money and get a break every week. I have talked to several drivers and they have used the restart to their advantage.

As for the hourly pay for OTR drivers, it is crazy because the companies will go out of business and then the driver is out of a job. The OTR driver has been getting paid by the mile for a long period of time. I have talked to some of the drivers and they like getting paid by the mile; they just want more per mile.

Yes, getting paid by the mile means you have to work more to get the money you need. By getting paid by the hour the company will have the power to cut your hours when they want to save in payroll.

The HOS will not change or get better with the hourly rate. The accidents will still be there.

I would like is to see the 14-hour rule to go away because that is the greed of the U.S. Department of Transportation to make money.

As for the ATA, I have seen where they are backing the trucker and telling the U.S. DOT not to change the HOS. Changing HOS confuses the driver and keeps him in a bind with DOT and companies. So I do not know where this driver was coming from that the ATA is not helping drivers. I guess he wants the ATA to come to his house and hold his hand with the changes and tell him it is going to be OK.

The driver talking about politicians. This driver should have been at the Mid-America Trucking Show and he would have gotten to talk to many people about his concerns and they would have heard him out.

— Cynthia E. Kidder

Owner-operator wants backgrounds of FMCSA, DOT officials explored

I'm an owner-operator and OOIDA member. I really like your publication. In my opinion it's one of the very best available. I'm writing to ask if you would be interested in doing an article(s) about something that has been bothering me for quite some time. I think a lot of truckers have similar suspicions as mine. If I have already asked I apologize; I have been looking for someone to work on this issue.

You may recall that back when the BP oil spill was in the news it was reported that the agency responsible for oversight of the oil industry was actually at fault for not enforcing many of the regulations. Turned out the agency was staffed with industry insiders and there were parties and relationships going on involving oil executives and agency members.

I also saw a report saying that it has been a long-standing strategy for corporations to try and pack government agencies with people that have ties to the industry or who can be manipulated to further the industry's interests. That being the case, I wonder if any of the FMCSA members or even Ray LaHood are involved in similar sorts of things? I would be interested to know their backgrounds and any industry ties. I would also like to know the names of the people who actually wrote CSA2010 and what/who they have been involved with past, present and future.

I think there would be huge interest in all of this. Is this something you would be interested in? I think it has the potential to be a "blockbuster" kind of piece(s) that would draw in readers and also do the trucking industry some good.

— Sincerely,

Peter Black

Regarding EOBRs, safety of food as important as road safety

I just read your article on EOBRs. How come there is no back-up plan? Just this fancy $11,000 fine? What if there was a virus? Or the computer broke? The load still has to go.

Do they have a fall-back plan? Like if the computer is broken can the carrier use paper? Or do we have to install two EOBRs like Qualcomm and PeopleNet just in case one breaks?

I think they should regulate miles. I expressed this at the listening sessions already, 650 to 700 miles a day with the 14- to 16-hour rule.

And they should have two cycles: the regional/local seven-day cycle with the weekend off 48 hours and the OTR/continental cycle of 14 days, 96 hours restart. I hate taking a restart away from home; a coast-to-coast turn is 10 days minimum.

Restart should only be done at home.

But I need a restart to have a fresh run (once every seven days is a problem). I run produce and they won't tolerate an interruption and days are expected to have full, maxed-out, 11-hour days. The loads are perishable and food quality and public health are just as important as highway safety.

— James Garvin

If everyone practiced a little courtesy it would help industry

I was pulling into a customer the other day; when I stopped to go into the guard shack to sign in, the truck coming in behind me rushed past. Since I don’t use the general receiving docks I didn’t think much of it. As I went around the back of the plant I saw that the truck that had gone around me was sitting in the dock I needed. I pulled up, popped the parking brake and proceeded to curse and grumble about the “me first” attitude that has permeated driving.

What happened next was a total shock. The driver got out but instead of going in to make his delivery, he came over to my truck and asked me if he was in the dock I needed. I told him he was and he said that he would pull out and let me back in since I was there first. After that he walked around the plant with me to help me find the particular receiver I needed.

This industry is hard, no doubt about that. It can make a mean, self-centered, cuss out of anyone but that doesn’t mean that you should let it. There was a time when truck drivers were considered the knights of the highway. That time has long since passed and all of us as drivers are responsible for its passing. The more we became concerned with ourselves and less concerned about each other, the more it went to sleep. I say “sleep” because it hasn’t died, it can be roused from its slumber through regular and repeated use.

In driving, we’re all taught to “look out the window, get the big picture.” I want to show you the “big picture” when it comes to common courtesy. Doing something nice for someone doesn’t just make them feel good at that moment; it improves their attitude in general, even if only by a fraction. If a person has a good attitude they are more likely to help others and eventually this act of kindness will find its way back to you, which gives you a better attitude.

Courtesy can generate other benefits as well. For example: If a seasoned driver sees a rookie that is no doubt struggling to learn the ropes and teaches him how to do something, that rookie has a huge amount of stress lifted off of his shoulders and the pro can take pleasure knowing that not only did he make someone’s day better but that the rookie now knows how to do something safe and proper which makes the road safer and now that same rookie has knowledge that he can impart.

I’m sure that right now you’re probably saying, “It’ll never happen; there are too many rotten apples out there for a change like that to happen”! Well, it only takes one person to start to affect change and if everyone who reads this thinks “I may be that one person and even if no one else ever tries to be courteous, that’s fine, I’m still going to do it,” that basket is likely to fill itself full of fresh apples in no time.

Thank you for reading.

— Stan Fuhrman

LTL driver tired of HOS debate

As a professional driver of 34 years in the LTL freight business, I am so tired of this debate over Hours of Service, especially by people who don’t have a clue in the FMCSA, OOIDA and DOT. Here are the simple facts: 11 hours of driving along with any on-duty time during that period is too many hours. That means a driver can put in a 14-hour day, and that is ridiculous. If you want to talk about fatigue, there is your answer.

Most LTL freight companies jumped all over the 11-hour rule back when it went into effect and made all their runs longer and [they] started requiring their drivers to make these runs. No one can work that many hours and not become fatigued, not even superman. Our drivers started making 705-mile runs to Dallas from Wichita and back in one night. That is an accident waiting to happen. I realize I am shooting myself in the foot, but the HOS needs to go back to 10 hours driving and 10 hours off. Eight hours off means in most cases only getting six hours sleep by the time you fuel, eat, and clean up. Come on, let’s wake up; it’s not that hard to figure out. In order to make this industry safer, this is what is going to have to happen. Forget all the wasted money and time on studies, let’s just do this and move on.

— Troy Smith

Trucker says new HOS proposal would hurt his bottom line

I have only been driving about a year now but I've been around trucks most of my life. Of coarse I'm only a driver, not some pencil pusher in Washington whose idea of a long commute is anything more than an hour.

I just read your Jan. 15-31 edition regarding the proposed new Hours of Service rules. I do not agree with any of them but the one that bothers me the most is the new 34-hour reset.

I typically drive overnight for several reasons: There’s less traffic to deal with, so I can maintain a higher average speed and get good fuel mileage consistently, it's easier to find parking in the morning and so on. If I have to wait until the 168 hours or seven days are up then I would end up sitting for four to five days to do a restart. I run my book and my hours legally and very efficiently, but by doing that I can blow through my 70 hours in roughly five days.

By my understanding of the proposed new rule I would have to wait until the seventh day to start my reset. God forbid my reset didn't include two 12 a.m.-6a.m. periods which being a night driver it wouldn't.

I would have to wait until I sat through another 12 a.m.-6a.m. period to start driving. After already sitting for two days so I can wait till the seventh day, I could start at midnight, so on the eighth day at 10 a.m. I would have a reset, [but] the problem is that I drive nights, so my internal clock is telling me it’s time for bed, but I've sat for almost four days and I'm now broke, dead tired, and wondering how to pay the bills and all in all, stressed out.

So what do I do? Go to sleep and wait until it has been five days and safely go back to work? Or do I get to work so I can feed my family? During peak daylight and driving hours? I'm not a big fan of being away from my family but I have bills to pay so I do what needs to be done for them. These new rules will not make people compliant. They will, however, make compliant people unsafe. But like I said, I'm just a driver who does this every day for a living, what do I know?

— Heath Wilson

Deltona, Fla.

Reader: Article on license requirements for pilots was almost totally false

Your article in the Oct. 15-20 issue concerning physicals was almost wholly false. First, there is no such thing as a 1st class airman’s license. There are four airman’s licenses: Airline Transport Pilot (ATP); commercial pilot; private pilot and light sport pilot.

The first two are the professional ones, the ones allowing the airplane equivalent of a CDL holder. There is a 1st class medical certificate and a second class medical certificate that applies to these two categories. The first class medical certificate applies only to the ATP category of pilots and then only when they are employed in a job requiring that license, mostly part 141 jobs, airlines conducting regular scheduled flights, [and] read airline pilots. There are others but most are airline pilots. About 5 percent of all professional pilots hold an ATP license and of that percent about 2 percent have jobs that call for the combination of ATP and 1st class airman’s medical certificate.

An ATP pilot works in a part 135 job or in crop dusting; part 135 is irregular and non scheduled flights. Sightseeing flights and short charters, for example, need the same medical certificate as a commercial pilot which is a 2nd classs airman’s medical certificate. This physical is good for two years and is virtually identical to a DOT physical. In addition, pilots flying in jobs requiring a commercial pilot’s license can fly as long as they can pass the physical. I am a retired miltary pilot; I have an ATP pilot’s rating and over 5,000 hours. I also have a CDL as does my wife, and together we have about 3,000,000 miles. I have taken at least 15 or so DOT physicals, and at least that many FAA physicals both 1st class and 2nd class, also at least a dozen or more military physicals on to p of that. I know whereof I speak.

About 3,000 hours of my flight time was as a civilian, logging, oil exploration, pipe line, DNR, forest service, surveying and as a life flight helicopter pilot.

— J. Gwinn

Anyone who doesn’t use hands-free cell phone device an idiot, driver says

In response to your opinion piece on using cell phones while driving I would like to state that I have 13 years behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler and use a hands-free device, currently a Bluetooth.

I use this whenever I use the phone while driving either my truck or POVand I think anyone that doesn't [use a handheld] is an idiot.

I have told other drivers of both four wheelers and big trucks, after they have done something stupid because of inattention because they had the phone in their ear, that they are barely talented enough to drive and are certainly not talented enough to drive with the phone. I tell them that face to face when possible so they know I am sincere.

Ontario,Canada prohibits use of a cell phone without a hands-free device but every time I go up there I see the law being blatantly ignored. That being said, I disagree that we need more laws and regulations. We are being lawed and regulated to death and I oppose further infringement on our liberties.

It is my opinion that every driver should be responsible enough to not drive distracted, keep in shape, act courteously and look and act like a professional. However, the companies that employ the drivers and the market,if not the driver’s own pride, should put pressure to do that — not more government laws that get abused all to often in their enforcement.

— Sincerely,

Charles Baker

Fairborn, Ohio

Reader: 4-wheelers need regulations; truckers blamed for their mistakes

I love your magazine. I'm a big fan of The Trucker. I read it all the time. My husband and I got married 27 months ago. I started to ride with my husband on short hauls just over three years ago. Then over the road for about a year. I love the ride. I've seen some beautiful and amazing things out there. I've also seen some bad things.

I'm always seeing articles on DOT regulations. There are all sorts of rules and laws for truck drivers. There needs to be more laws for four-wheelers out there. They drive like fools. Truckers are only allowed one lane to travel in except to pass or exit. Others are all over the place, causing havoc and getting away with it. They cut a truck off to hit a last minute exit. They cut around a traffic jam or accident because they don't want to wait. This causes more problems.

How about cell phones? People are forever using cell phones while driving and are completely ignorant to their surroundings. They don't pay attention. Or they move in front of a driver and slow down. When the trucker starts around this four-wheeler, it moves back, cutting the trucker off. This sort of thing happens all of the time. Truck drivers have no room and are blamed for quite a lot. What was the other guy doing at the time of the accident? The rules need to change so they help and keep every one safe. Truckers need more than one travel lane. No four-wheelers allowed. Stop picking on the trucker. Show these men and women some respect. They are a big part of what keeps this country moving.

DOT also needs to look at some of these companies out there. The ones who make the driver use faulty equipment and force dispatch. Some have no choice. Drive or lose your job. It's the driver who catches it. How about some laws for them too?

Things really need to change.

— J.L.H

Brady, Texas

Truckers can’t afford safety technology; ‘we’re broke,’ says driver

Regarding the new inspection technology announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that ran in your paper Nov. 1-14, let me tell Ms. [FMCSA Administrator Anne] Ferro, We are broke. We don’t have the money for the new technology.

We are $13 trillion in debt already. They say 99.9 percent of [technology] is for safety but can we afford it?

We can only make things so safe.

— Charles West

Eight-hour proposal by ‘safety’ groups will increase accidents, drive up prices

I have been following the HOS controversy that has been heating up between the Truck Safety Coalition, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and FMCSA.

It is unclear what the real objective is in this debate; to shorten the workday for over-the-road truck drivers or to make highways safer? I don't see solutions in any of the proposals that have been presented thus far. FMCSA changed the 10-hour rule to the new 14-hour rule with the intention of creating safer highways by mandating 10 hours of continuous rest following a maximum workday of 14 hours of which 11 could be behind the wheel. The Truck Safety Coalition now wants to mandate a maximum driving period of eight hours followed by 16 hours of rest or inactivity.

FMCSA should not bend to pressure applied by organizations that do not have a strong, verifiable background in day-to-day trucking operations. What truly seems to be lost here is the reality that trucking is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week profession. It’s not for everyone.

Please, as someone who has spent nearly 40 years in this industry as a driver, trainer, heavy equipment insurance adjuster and safety director, let's make changes that provide options and flexibility to accommodate our industry and not react to uninformed special interests.

— Rick Stierer

Drivers are the pros; they shouldn’t be saddled with lumpers, transactions

I been driving since I retired from the military, June 1995. I'm not sure why we keep going around in circles with the issues to try and keep America’s freight rolling safely. It just seems that whoever a president elects to run the federal highway safety program, as a defensive truck driver who has been over the road, if I had a college education I would run for the office or at least ask the president to help make the following changes.

1. OTR drivers are drivers who pick up from the shipper on time, secure their loads and deliver to receiver in a safe manner on time.

2. Shippers have a product they want to ship. Then they should have the manpower to get the freight counted, and loaded on the truck properly, so when it's on the truck the trucker who has been resting his eyes so he can continue to go down the road safely, can secure the load with load locks. The driver should not have to worry about hiring lumpers to load that truck, or writing out checks, or coming up with cash money to get the truck loaded. Professional truck drivers go to school to learn how to drive safely, and develop those skills so he can keep the environment around him safe. He didn't go to school to be a middle man between the shipper and the receiver, or to load or unload freight, or handle cash transactions. Transactions should be handled by the person who has a product to ship and a person who wants to receive the product. We need to take away the ability from trucking companies, shippers, receivers, making deals on the backs of the professional drivers taking away their time to rest their eyes, and recharging their bodies. …

—Leland Hopkins

Senator Lautenberg, Public Citizen should just sit down and shut up

If Senator Lautenberg was sincere in his concerns, he would also propose the installation of EOBRs on passenger cars, pickup trucks and SUVs as well. And, since 70 percent of the truck/car crashes are the result of the car’s driver, we should follow the Senator’s train of thought to its natural conclusion and put the same Hours of Service regulations into effect for everyone. Limit those who hold a driver’s license to the 14-hour rule regarding driving and on-duty time. After all, safety is safety and more people die in auto-to-auto crashes than in auto to truck crashes – they’re just less dramatic.

… We keep having this recurring and often ludicrous discussion about HOS because politicians and judges won’t simply tell the Teamsters, Public Citizen and others that they are tired of their incessant whining. These groups generally don’t know what they’re talking about, and they should just go sit down and shut up. Until these people start accepting the mountains of empirical data gathered regarding this subject, they lack any credible standing. This is not a perfect world and no amount of legislation, rules or regulations are going to reduce vehicular accidents to zero. If we were to permanently park every vehicle, some idiot will still figure out a way to get hurt by one. …

Senator Lautenberg won’t be up for re-election again until 2014; hopefully the good citizens of New Jersey will tell Senator Lautenberg that they are tired of his incessant whining, he generally doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he should just go sit down and shut up.

— Sincerely,

Walter R.Privette II

OTR driver thankful for 12-Step program, Al-Anon, 1 day at a time

Hello [Assistant Editor] Dorothy [Cox], my name is Christine.

I am an OTR trucker and very grateful for 12-Step programs. I have been in Al-Anon almost 17 years and I love it.

I am blessed and do not have any dependence on drink or drugs, but I was not very fun to be around because I blamed the addict for all that was wrong in [my] life.

I really enjoyed your story and I think we need to be able to connect with others in need of a friend with the understanding of 12 Steps.

God bless, one day at a time.

— Very sincerely, Christine

Reader offended by ‘condescending’ letter from ‘engineer-turned-trucker’

I would like to rebut the offensive opinions stated by "Robert" in the Sept. 15-30 issue in the Letters to the Editor page. To the "engineer-turned-trucker" with his 3.5 years trucking experience. I have plenty to say to you as many others will also. Your letter to the editor was both discriminating and offensive while at the same time condescending. You are an educated man and that has certainly served you quite well. We all can see you have the mental aptitude to express your opinions of us in such a fashion while maintaining your integrity.

The problem is that you said a lot but really didn't say anything. As an educated man you need to elaborate more on the subject matter you are so inclined to take issue on. Instead, we read nothing more than a vague commentary. It seems you couldn't resist exalting yourself because you were once an engineer by making us out to be nothing more than uneducated, illiterate 8th and 9th graders.

According to you, and I will paraphrase, only 30 percent of us have the ability to read yet alone comprehend what we have read. So having said that, how can we read what you are so intent of condemning us on? The last time I checked, you must have reading ability to pass the CDL test (even those of us who were grandfathered in had to take the written test portion) along with the ability to comprehend and communicate in English as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations. That alone nullifies your pretentious attitude against us.

The fact is that we are not impressed by your former engineering career, nor are we sorry that you lost your job and have to resort to truck driving as a means of a living. We surely don't need your condescension to "the many hard working men and women" nor do we need your disrespectful and insulting commentary, either. Lastly, we certainly don't need you out here trucking as you are way too good for us.

We wish you well.

— Andrew Padilla

Army’s ‘ adapt and overcome’ could be slogan for drivers regarding CSA 2010

Regarding Bruce Lake’s letter in a recent issue (Sept. 15-30) of The Trucker: his insight was right on the money.

While there will undoubtedly be many drivers who will view CSA 2010 as the last straw, and have always understood that the so-called, ‘driver shortage’ has been exploited by larger carriers to condone a ‘meat-in-the-seat’ mentality, I’m inclined to see at least a glimmer of hope.

I would equate our present situation to the credo of a U.S. Army Airborne Ranger when faced

with a challenge: Adapt and overcome. Experts at situational awareness, they are trained to recognize that their survival — as well as the lives of their fellow soldiers — could ultimately depend on those two words. And yet, one of the greatest ironies of the human condition is that while we are all highly resilient and extremely adaptable beings, we tend to be fierce creatures of habit.

Given a choice most of us will choose the path of least resistance. Not because we’re lazy, but rather that we prefer to live in the comfort zone of our routines. From the way we get up in the morning to the way we prepare for bedtime, our everyday lives are patterned by the familiar habits we create. It provides us with a sense of order and stability. Even the slightest change in our routine tends to force us out of our comfort zone.

But what happens when we get too comfortable? Or become indifferent to the need for change? As professional drivers, are we guilty of having been asleep at the wheel for the past 30 years? Have the consequences of our collective indifference cost us a legitimate say-so in the direction of our own destiny?

We are, at this very moment, experiencing the greatest paradigm shift in the history of our industry in the form of CSA 2010. Borrowing from the theory that nature abhors a vacuum, it’s clear that in the deafening absence of any meaningful self-determination from the professional ranks of drivers, the federal government has seen fit to fill the void by doing it for us. Our combined failure to exercise our communal voice in dealing with the government — to properly guide the next generation of drivers by setting a good example — to disavow those in the industry who would destroy our image, has led us to this crossroad we all now know as CSA 2010.

Or do we all know? More astonishing perhaps than our complacency is the reality that there are still large numbers of professional drivers who don’t want to understand its implications. Or worse yet, don’t have a clue what CSA 2010 is.

In one form or another, the proposed regulations have been on our plate for over two years. How could someone honestly claim to be part of an industry as dynamic as trucking and not by now know what lies down the road?

It’s been said many times before but it bears repeating that anyone who’s been in the business over the last three decades has surely witnessed the stunning role reversal from our early renown as “Knights of the Road.” In the time since, few professions in American society have been so wildly romanticized and yet so clearly marginalized.

It could be argued somewhere along the line we’ve even managed to fall in love with our own sentimental myth; Trucker as anti-hero; a self-defeating demeanor that has finally reached a point of diminishing returns. By default, we’ve allowed our industry to live up to the lowered expectations of the public.

And I’m as blameworthy as the next person. There’s no doubt that due to the ad-hoc social structure of the trucking community, we’ve never managed to develop our own sense of identity as a profession. But that never seemed to matter. We did it for the “love of the game.” We did it for the freedom, for the landscape.

We’ve surrendered meaningful segments of our lives in order to transcend the controlled and routine cadence of other ordinary occupations.

With no small measure of pride, those of us, “old schooler’s” who have watched the industry grow up during the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s to the present day can certainly lay claim as having contributed to the greatness of our nation.

But love of the game is no longer enough.

Unfortunately, as CSA 2010 comes to pass, I’m afraid much of the attrition will certainly come from the cadre of us old school types — those who are unwilling to adapt to the new regulations or simply content to stay in their comfort zone. Living in the past is living in a dream.

Neither the FMCSA nor the federal government cares one iota how we did things yesterday. For better or worse, a new normal is fast approaching and our individual actions will be at the mercy of mathematical algorithms.

There’s an old adage that says the only constant in the universe is change. Perhaps CSA 2010 will live up to its billing and serve to change and improve, if not restore the image of the American trucker. Perhaps it may just turn out to be another bureaucratic nightmare like the IRS. It’s hard to say at this point. But I am certain of this: Like Napoleon’s army that came to grief in underestimating the Russian winter, professional drivers who do not attain situational awareness and cannot adapt and change to overcome this regulatory obstacle will eventually meet their Waterloo.

— Dante Staciokas

Hooray for Jack Russell terrier, DeeDee, says dog-loving trucker

Regarding DeeDee, the Jack Russell, we enjoyed that story (Sept. 1-14 print edition) more than most articles we have read.

Now here’s a hint for dog lovers and owners. I know this wouldn’t have helped much with DeeDee, since she wouldn’t come to other people, but it may help another doggie get to its people. We had a special tag engraved with her name and my cell phone number on it. We knew this was important since our Jack Russell is a “Houdini.” It has helped us very quickly, more than once.

Thankfully we have never had to leave her behind. I can certainly sympathize with DeeDee’s daddy.

— Arlene Barton

Doctors work unlimited 13-hour shifts but ‘safety’ groups want 8-hour limit

I had to respond to the cover story "Safety groups want daily driving time reduced to 8 hours" in the July 15-31 issue of The Trucker.

I have a high school classmate who I will call Frank who is a family physician in New Ulm, Minn., about 110 miles from where I live. He recently told me that in a typical week, he only gets Tuesdays off, while spreading 80 hours of "on-duty" time during the other six days of the week, performing his daily tasks of seeing patients, surgery, births, etc. Let's see, 80 hours divided by 6 days a week is over 13 hours per day, not to mention that people's lives are hanging in the balance with every decision he makes.

Wow. I can't help but wonder how fried and fatigued his mind is at the end of one of his shifts. In addition, there are no strict government regulations restricting my high school buddy from how many hours he can work in a day or a week. So using his example, if Frank can work for five consecutive days and at the end of day five have worked 65 hours, he can still legally work another 13 hours on day six? But if I as a truck driver tried to perform an identical work schedule and get nailed, how much trouble would I be in? You know the answer to that question already. It's a no brainer.

And then this document filed by Henry Jasny on behalf of the Truck Safety Coalition, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety wants to reduce daily driving time for truck drivers to a measly eight hours? This kind of asinine scheme is outrageous and insulting to say the least. Please tell Mr. Henry Jasny to get a life, and stick his stupid plan where the sun don't shine.

Thanks for your time.

— Lee C. Roschen

Dawson, Minn.

Engineer-turned-trucker: Trouble with industry is drivers just need to grow up

You do not understand that what we have are 8th graders out there driving and 9th graders in charge of the trucking industry. I have been trucking only for 3.5 years and I am amazed every day at the way this industry is. Do not get me wrong — I am not saying all truckers are 8th graders; some are 9th graders as well. However, there many good hard working men and women out there and the problem is that most are the former.

I am a mechanical engineer helped out of business by the bad recession/depression and by high rolling government we now have.

My uncle drove all of his life and never did I hear anything like I have seen out here today. I am 61 years old so do not think I have not seen what is happening these days. We are not headed down a good path in trucking or most jobs related to the everyday working women and men.

The U.S. is in a mess and I do not think we will see it come back for many years, no education, no parental guidance, just contempt for laws and other humans in general.

Sad to say but even if truckers read your comments I do not think it will sink in as only 30 percent of them have the ability to read, but then they have to comprehend what they read.

I will keep reading you.

— Robert

Money comes above safety because corporations run country, reader says

I am writing in response to your article in the July 15-31 issue of your paper about the comments from [FMCSA Administrator] Anne Ferro.

I agree with her theory about less wait time at the shippers and receivers but at the same time you’re asking the politicians and transportation department to bite the hand that feeds them. That’s why you have so much trouble getting paid detention for waiting to get loaded or unloaded. Corporations run this country; money is always in front of safety.

Here’s a theory: stop treating us like second-class citizens and go ahead and put black boxes in our trucks with time clocks built in. Then give us $18 to $35 an hour depending on experience. Then have the company put us into a motel every night and help us pay our living expenses while we’re away from home.

No more not getting paid for waiting, no more logbooks, no more idling to keep warm or cool. But do you know why this won’t work? Because the rates would increase and it would cost shippers and receivers more money to operate and your big corporations run this country. They make the decisions.

You could do something as easy as stopping the brokers from stealing 30 percent to 60 percent of the trucker’s money and pass that on to owner-operators and drivers, more money to where it belongs: to the actual people doing the work and paying their expenses. But do you know why they don’t control the bedroom brokers? Because big corporations run this country. Money first then safety.

Ann [Ferro] also mentioned that it takes working together toward highway safety. Hey, that’s funny, I’d like to see some effort there.

Maybe you could get the Department of Transportation to paint the lines on the nation’s highways so four-wheelers don’t have to run their high beams at night in pouring-down rain because no one knows what lane they’re in. Highway lines (of the lack of them) probably kill thousands of people a year. Is anyone going to paint the lines?

… Take a look at four-wheelers next time you’re out. One out of 10 uses turn signals; seven out of 10 are on cell phones. Watch how they cut people off, cruise in the middle lane for no apparent reason. Just watch them; they’re out of control and there’s no one disciplining them. …

Help us to make the nation’s highways safer by working with us and do your part as stated above. This is a two-way street. By putting more garbage rules on us truckers will not fix the problem. The DOT needs to make the roads safer for us truckers.

— Jerry

Driver recounts towing problem: took him $1,100 to get truck back

I saw your article about the towing of a truck at Carlisle, Pa. That same thing happened to me at Land of Lakes, Fla., on Dec. 19, 2009, in the Village Lake Shopping Center.

I was parked there at 1a.m. to meet friends for a bite to eat and came back at 2 a.m. and my truck was gone. There were no towing signs up, just “No Overnight Parking” signs.

It turns out that Brian, of A-1 Towing, was sitting there in his truck and watched me get out of my truck and didn’t say a thing about towing me if I parked there. He got me and two other rigs that night at a cost of $1,100 for me to get the rig back. This all happened a week before Christmas and my wife had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Brian of A-1 Towing told me I was on private property and he had every right to tow me. By the way, he drove up in a new Hummer … The owner of the strip mall is out of Michigan and they had no sympathy for me. I was told by local police I have no rights on private property. I talked to some local towers and they said they never tow without first getting hold of the owner of the vehicle.

— John Newcomer

Lanark, Ill.

‘Safety’ groups should place focus on texting, 4-wheelers, says trucker

I’m wondering if you might be able to educate me on something. These "safety groups" that petition for changes in how we operate, have any of them ever been drivers? Do they understand how hard it is for drivers to make a living and that by lowering the hours we can operate the less we can make?

If they were really concerned about safety they would go after the four-wheelers that have no regulations and text while driving, taking their attention from the road.

— Adam

Reader says drivers will have to organize before they see any change for the better

Here we go again — a new regime and nothing more than a bunch of new regulations being dumped on us again. It just goes to show you how much the government and anybody with a loud mouth hates truck drivers.

The ATA shows it the most, and so does the government and all their so-called safety regulations and it’s nothing more than control of the drivers because they will not organize and let themselves be heard, always depending on someone else to do it.

The biggest problem with drivers is that they have a yellow streak down their backs four inches wide and nothing gets done about anybody listening to the drivers. If you drivers should ever get your selves organized you more than likely would be getting a good salary, something you could live on, and get a lot of these regulations off our backs. Nobody seems to care that 87 percent of the time that it’s the four-wheeler that causes the accidents with the trucks. Or are all the studies flawed, now.

It just doesn't make sense. More and more regulations have not made one bit of difference. When are you people going to stop discriminating against the truck drivers compared to the rest of the drivers on the road? Why don’t all drivers — of cars, pickup trucks and motor homes of all sizes, also have to have a logbook? And when accident doses happen then we can look at all the logbooks and see who is not telling the truth. Personally, I think the logbooks and most of the regulations are against the 5th Amendment of the Constitution of the U.S.

All you drivers out there will have nothing now and never will until you organize.

— Bill Zentner

Trucker: problem with most veteran drivers not adaptability, it’s lack of hope

Hello again, [staff writer] Kevin [Jones]:

Towards the end of your article on CSA2010 (Biz Buzz, Aug. 1-14) you discussed the challenge carriers face with veteran drivers. I'm sure you and many experienced carrier managers understand this, but, just on the outside chance, I would like to state it.

Veteran drivers have developed a siege mentally. We have seen the quality of nearly every aspect of our daily activities, careers and lives on the road deteriorate. Except for vastly improved equipment, we have been forced to accept less and less: less respect, less consideration, less pay in inflation-adjusted dollars, less parking as a percentage, fewer full-service, driver-centric truck stops and, in my case, less home time.

I don't mean to whine, but overall the trend seems to be less return for more invested. Presently, we are not alone; many, if not most, Americans are going through this.

Many veteran drivers will view CSA2010 as “the last straw” of a seemingly ever-increasing burden and will want to opt out of the industry, if they have that option. I've been driving since 1984 and I have been sampling the winds for hope since that time for an improvement in trucking as a career path, banking mainly on the “driver-shortage” to bring improvement. But I am becoming more discouraged and more resolved to a continued decline.

I've begun to see the “driver-shortage,” my source of hope, as nothing but a ruse to solicit government-subsidized driver training or else a liberal relaxation of immigration policy. I see the future of trucking becoming much like the taxi-driver situation in New York City, a job so fraught with aggravation and adversity together with low pay and high sacrifice that it becomes only an entry-level job for foreigners seeking the ever-allusive American dream, a job that George W. Bush described as “a job that Americans don't want.”

If there really was a driver shortage, wouldn't drivers be able to negotiate more instead of having to settle for less?

I've drifted a bit off topic, but I just wanted to share the feeling of malaise among veteran-drivers that predates the economic downturn in hopes that some good will come from it.

I view you and the staff of The Trucker as offering a voice to the "powers that be" for the un-consulted and unheard drivers. Everyone else involved in this industry most certainly has their own set of challenges to deal with, but at least, most of them get to set policies to begin to deal with their problems. Drivers, veteran or not, just have to swallow their problems along with the new policies or else, vote with their feet and start over somewhere else.

The problem with veteran drivers is not a lack of adaptability, it is a lack of hope.

— Bruce Luke

Team crunches the numbers, disagrees with CPA’s figures

With all due respect to the CPA quoted in the July 15-31 issue [on per diem], I think he has missed the point that the 50-year-old company driver made.

We have worked for two companies that paid per diem, one reported it on the W2; the other did not. We don't work for crooks now.

The CPA gave an example of a driver on 34 cents per mile, driving 2,000 miles in five days, but then focused completely on the $59-a-day figure, which is not how companies pay per diem.

If the per diem rate was 5 cpm, the driver’s immediate benefit is $28.11 for that week, using the CPA's figures.

If the driver claimed the daily allowance of $59 a day times 80 percent at the end of the year on schedule A, it would reduce his tax burden — and the difference between the tax overpaid that week, and the lesser tax he should have paid would put $59.71 in his pocket for that week via a tax refund at the year, let alone the lower tax bracket it would place him in.

In summary, if a driver is unfortunate enough to be force-fed the per diem system then our advice is to save all pay stubs, claim the per-diem as additional untaxed income, (whether or not it is listed on the W2), then file Schedule A, which includes all expenses along with the $59-a-day allowance, reducing the gross taxable income and resulting in a refund.

A driver needs to keep either logbooks or a diary for the year to accurately record the days away from the tax home.

My wife and I have filed our own taxes for the last five years as company drivers and always receive a decent refund. From talking to other drivers we conclude that the tax return is the single biggest area in which company drivers lose the largest chunk of their income.

As per the form 1040 Schedule A, "Unreimbursed Employee Expenses," the IRS allows $59 a day for those under DOT regulations, for the days spent away from their tax home.

Many drivers easily spend 300 days a year on the road; 300 times $59 a day times 80 percent equals $14,160. That's a sizable reduction in taxable gross income, and it’s perfectly legal.

CPAs that are not familiar with company truck drivers often misinterpret the ‘per diem’ situation.

We crunched the numbers either way and the key benefit is in the Schedule A filing at year’s end, supported by record and receipt retention.

But hey, we're just a pair of dumb truck drivers that barely finished high school. What do we know?

We both appreciate your fine publication, keep up the good work.

—Blair and Gretchen McArthur

Reader: cell phones contain in them ability to be shut off when moving

While I share your concerns [about distracted driving], a simple and effective solution is already built in to most cell phones. It is that cell phones can recognize they are in motion due to the ever changing signal strength to the distant towers.

Pass laws that cell phones be inoperative, or shut down texting at speeds that represent road travel. Download the software patch and the problem is significantly reduced.

— G. Andrew Younger

Eight-hour proposal by ‘safety’ groups will increase accidents, drive up prices

I have been following the HOS controversy that has been heating up between the Truck Safety Coalition, Public Citizen and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and FMCSA.

Both of these solutions remind me of the definition of a “camel.” It’s a horse designed by a committee. Neither the existing HOS program nor the Safety Coalition proposal seems to understand the nature of the transportation industry. In many, many ways, the old 10-hour rule was better than what currently exists and what is being proposed. First, and perhaps the most important of all, under the old 10-hour rule drivers could split their driving time to take a rest when necessary. With the new 14-hour rule, once the clock starts it doesn't stop for 14 hours which means that if a driver needs to pull over for a rest, the clock is still ticking and his rest time is subtracted from his drive time. This feature greatly effects productivity and, more importantly, safety, mainly because drivers know that miles equal money and every moment that their truck is parked (off-duty or sleeper) they're not making a penny.

We need a common-sense approach, not a reaction to changing statistical data. And, the FMCSA should not bend to pressure applied by organizations that do not have a strong, verifiable background in day-to-day trucking operations. What truly seems to be lost here is the reality that trucking is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week profession. It’s not for everyone.

Under the proposed system, freight costs will skyrocket because now even team loads will only be marginally more efficient than current solo drivers. Prices consumers will pay for goods will increase in proportion to this new inefficiency as well as by shipping delays and adjusted freight costs. And, I predict that this added pressure to perform will create an environment that fosters more accidents, not fewer.

Please, as someone who has spent nearly 40 years in this industry as a driver, trainer, heavy equipment insurance adjuster, and safety director, let's make changes that provide options and flexibility to accommodate our industry and not react to uninformed special interests.

— Rick Stierer

Truckers not bankers, says reader; 8 hours would put drivers on welfare

Hello. Well, it just never stops, does it? I’m talking about the article on page 1 of the July 15-31 issue. I have to wonder how many of these people have even been in the cab of big truck, let alone driven one on revenue runs from coast to coast.

Their whole goal is just to put us all on the welfare rolls. “Let the trains haul the freight. Let the trains deliver to the warehouses and stores.”

Eight hours total driving time. Twelve hours total time each day. Twelve hours total down time. You've gotta be kidding! We'd never get anything done. Twelve hours off each day would just make us all more tired from setting around each day.

You can't fit trucking into a 9-to-5 banker’s day and get anything done. Shippers and receivers would be backed up worse than they are now.

And if we had the working hours they want who's gonna make up our lost wages? All those so-called experts don't have a clue what it takes to move freight. Tell the shippers and receivers to get the goods in and out in a timely manner (two hours or less) or pay a big fine that would go to the drivers so they wouldn't have to rush to make a living.

Leave the HOS alone except to put split sleeper time back and give the ability to stop the clock like we used to so we can take a nap if we need to or wait for traffic to clear up if needed to stay out of the rush hours.

Also, teach drivers education in schools again with an emphasis on how to act around a big rig — what the rig can and cannot do. Teach how to work with us and not against us and things would be a lot safer on the roads.

Yes, I know that is way too easy a solution. I'm just an old country boy who doesn't know any better.

Thanks for the great paper and letting us vent sometimes.

— Norris "pawpaw" Williams

Pea Ridge, Ark.

Drivers are the pros, they shouldn’t be saddled with lumpers, transactions

1. OTR drivers are drivers who pick up from the shipper on time, secure their loads and deliver to receiver in a safe manner on time.

So I ask again, what does everyone want? Do you really want to make changes that will help the trucking Industry be safer or do you want to go down the same path make changes then come back later and say, well that didn't work, let’s try again, and again, and again. We have too many good people working in the trucking industry so we should be able to identify problems, get rid of them, and make regulations work.

So I ask the president of the United States and the federal transportation administration, truck drivers are governed by federal regulations not trucking companies, not shippers, not receivers. I have a lot of good ideas so if anybody out there wants more fact-finding information to really fix a problem let me know. I’ll be glad to pay my own expenses to Washington.

— Leland Hopkins

Why doesn’t anyone look at big picture, the way it really works for OTR drivers?

If 10 hours of sleeping is not enough, maybe the EOBRs will need to be set up like a sleep apnea meter that can monitor that a driver is in his truck sleeping — not playing computer or video games.

A 40-48 hour restart just means more expense and time away from home. I run legal, always have, always will and if I'm tired, I have enough sense to call in and tell them. I've done that twice and received thank you's.

These so-called avoidable accidents, were there only trucks involved with trucks or were the normal four-wheeler the cause and then trucks are the culprit?

We do so much for this country, are still regulated more than most, yet we are always the underdog.

What about looking at the big picture? For example, [you have a] 65-mph truck, 53-mph dispatch on their terminal-to-terminal freight. You're in California, and the speed limit 55 for trucks and you are already behind because of getting the paperwork, looking for your trailer, hooking, sliding tandems, pulling away from the dock, shutting doors, scaling and then you are on your way.

Now you've used about an hour, sometimes more, and you are expected to get to your receiver regardless. No real breaks … equal no time for drivers to relax. Why not mandate that we are required half-hour lunches and quarter-hour breaks, meaning just like the rest of the labor workforce has?

— Paula Hopkins

Here’s one trucker who says he won’t miss that new truck stop chain

Goodbye Flying J, and good riddance.

Thank you for closing your restaurants from 10pm until 6am. Trucking is 24/7, and my day often begins between midnight and 4 am.

And thank you for the awful parking spots; I've seen more trucks get damaged in "J" parking lots than any other major chain.

I'm not a big fan of Pilot either with them only offering fast food at an overwhelming majority of their locations.

Burgers are OK once in awhile, but all of us drivers need real food.

— Art Brophy

Senator Lautenberg, Public Citizen should just sit down and shut up

If you work an eight-hour shift, that’s on-duty, not driving. The same [goes] for washing the car, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, etc. Deduct that time from 14 hours and that’s what time you have available for driving. After all, what’s more dangerous than an overstressed soccer mom behind the wheel of a 3,000-pound minivan containing herself and six or seven screaming nine-year-olds? What about the cop who’s just pulled a double? Not only does he or she have the wheel of a 3,200-pound missile on wheels, they also have a gun. The biggest gray area I can see might come regarding prostitutes and the sleeper berth/on-duty provisions.

We keep having this recurring and often ludicrous discussion about HOS because politicians and judges won’t simply tell the Teamsters, Public Citizen and others that they are tired of their incessant whining. These groups generally don’t know what they’re talking about, and they should just go sit down and shut up. Until these people start accepting the mountains of empirical data gathered regarding this subject, they lack any credible standing. This is not a perfect world and no amount of legislation, rules or regulations are going to reduce vehicular accidents to zero. If we were to permanently park every vehicle, some idiot will still figure out a way to get hurt by one.

“I do not mean that as a political statement . . .” should be your first clue as to Senator Lautenberg’s true nature. Every public statement a politician makes is, by definition, of a political nature. He is guilty of the same old pandering and political posturing that most Americans have grown so thoroughly tired of. Senator Lautenberg won’t be up for re-election again until 2014; hopefully the good citizens of New Jersey will tell Senator Lautenberg that they are tired of his incessant whining, he generally doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and he should just go sit down and shut up.

— Sincerely,

Walter R.Privette II

They've messed with everything concerning truckers; 'enough is enough' reader says

I have read the articles in The Trucker, Trucker News, and just about every other trucking paper or magazine. First, the government targets the Hours of Service, they changed them, and in most cases, everyone has adjusted to them (although, a few things in the HOS could stand to be revamped, in general, drivers have adjusted to them).

Next, they come up with the CSA 2010, which the government admits that, when put into full effect, it will put over 200,000 drivers out of jobs.

Then, they decide that the only ones who are a safety factor when texting and driving, are commercial drivers. So, they put into effect that any commercial driver caught texting and driving will be fined $2750.

Then, the government wants to down size the trucking industry because the BIG RIGS are causing too much damage to the highways.

Then, here comes those Public Advocate Groups (you know, PATT, CRASH, Etc.), screaming that the Hours of Service now needs to be changed to allowing only 8 hours of driving per day.

And now, we have the FMCSA, wanting to ban use of the CB in trucks.

Now, let’s look at these things:

1) Hours of Service Change - We were at 10 hours of driving then an 8 hour break. This worked for the majority of the drivers, allowing rest breaks during the day, allowing for odd hours of loading and unloading, and most were comfortable with this. Then, the Public Advocate Groups strarted screaming and this got changed. Now, with the new Hours of Service, you can't take the breaks like before, and this has pushed drivers to drive while tired (mainly ones who are under the paperless logs). Where a large number of drivers use to take a couple hour break, to just rest or let traffic die down during rush hour, they can't do this unless they are taking an 8-hour break. After driving for 4 or 5 hours, most just want a couple of hours break, they don't need 8 hours.

2) CSA 2010 - Is just a strong-hold manuveur the government is using to over-power the trucking industry. Anyone and everyone, that has ever had anything to do with the trucking industry knows this. For example, sleep apnea. This industry does not provide for a regular sleep cycle, so, at times a driver gets what sleep they can get, when they can get it (which goes back to the HOS, and the need to be able to take breaks). Trying to make the highways safe is something we all want, but in order to do so, you cannot single out one group, you have to direct the issues at everyone involved. Kind of like Football, you can't take the quarterback and put him on the field alone, and expect to win the game. You have to put in the linemen, ends, running backs.

As for it putting over 200,000 drivers out of jobs, what is this going to do? It will bring in 200,000 inexperienced drivers in a large mass, and put them on the streets. They have received the little training they got in driving school, and no time out with a trainer. Yes, everyone has to be given the chance to learn, but training in this industry is like training in the medical field, you don't just take a student fresh out of college and throw them out there and say, "You are now a Doctor", they have to go through a Residency Program, where they are under close supervision. In the trucking industry, the same thing applies.

3) Texting - I agree, "Texting and Driving is very dangerous and distracting". However, this is one of the governments moves to single out the commercial driver. Everyday, we (truckers) watch as people go down the road texting, reading, playing on the computer, doing their make-up, etc. We watch these people weaving back and forth, coming close to hitting other vehicles, or worse yet, causing an accident. But, the Blind Politicians don't see them as being distracted. Why? Because if they enforced the same law on everyone, then that would mean they would be fined, also. Plus, this would mean that Law Enforcement Officers would not be allowed to use their computers, text or talk on the phone (without hands-free device).

4) Damages to the Highway - Yes, trucks put wear-and-tear on the highways, but so do the cars, Rv's, buses, etc. A lot of the problems with the highways is, you have construction crews that use their position to ensure what is called, "Job Security". A crew can repave or reconstruct a highway or bridge, and within 1-2 months of completion, they are out there tearing up a portion of that new highway or bridge, making holes in it, then with their massive experience and knowledge, fill in the holes so they only hold temporarily, and 1-2 months later they are back out there at the same spot.

5) CB Radios - CB radios have been a part of the trucking industry ever since they came out on the market. The CB is used for numerous things, to advise other drivers of delays, accidents, to give bear reports, when at shippers/receivers to communicate between the driver and these departments, for just normal conversation, etc. But, one of the biggest use of the CB is, when a driver is feeling tired and trying to get somewhere safe to pull off and get some rest, we use to talk to other drivers to help keep us going until we reach a place. The CB radio, you can say is, "OUR LIFE LINE".

20 years or more ago, there wasn't as many trucks on the road, therefore, finding a place to park wasn't as hard. Now, there are more trucks on the road than available parking, so, finding a place to park is very hard to do. That is why you find trucks parked on the shoulder of ramps, in shopping center parking lots, etc. Then, you have Law Enforcement Officers going around waking up drivers, making them move, writing them parking tickets, etc. We try our best to avoid driving while tired or fatigued, but with Law Enforcement officers doing this, they are forcing drivers to violate Federal Regulations pertaining to HOS and Driving While Fatigued, forcing drivers to be safety hazards on the highways (by referring to Force, I am speaking from personal experiences of being told to move the truck down the road or it will be towed and I will be arrested. Maryland, Virginia along I-81, and recently, Western Tennessee has all told me this).

It is time to get the government to back off and let us do our jobs, get the Public Advocate Groups out of dictating to the government, and get the Law Enforcement Officers to help make the highways safe by letting us get our rest (As long as a truck is not blocking anything or being a hazard to the public or themselves). Also, get the States to open up the parking areas they have shut down, and use funds to increase the size of parking areas. Indiana and Ohio did exactly that, along the toll roads. They increased the size of parking areas at service plazas, and Indiana made large parking areas for trucks. California has areas along the highway that anyone can pull off and rest, and Pennsylvania has the same thing. They don't have to put facilities there (unless they do like Indiana and put port-a-johns), just a few dumpsters or some garbage cans.

But no matter how it is looked at, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH."

— Bill Heath

EOBRs won’t combat driver fatigue, government 'meddling' isn't making roads more safe

Regarding your article in this edition (Aug. 15-31 print edition): you failed to address Lautenberg's comment "Drivers and passengers should not have to fear sharing the roads with a large truck."

I, wholeheartedly, disagree! I would like to pose a metaphor to demonstrate my point.

The NFL has been increasing safety standards for the game; helmets, pads, etc. and with all of their efforts, injuries have increased exponentially. The reason? With every new "advancement" in safety there are men willing to push the boundaries, thinking that the regulations are keeping them safe. Safety is a RELATIVE condition.

Similarly, the government's continued meddling into the safety on the roadways are making the general motoring public MORE COMPLACENT in feeling safe and thereby making them more dangerous to themselves and others! But since the government can't regulate THEM, the general public, they deem it necessary to regulate US, the trucker.

Unfortunately, there will always be trucking companies out there that will whine at their drivers because the driver has a few more hours left on the clock, goading and guilting them to take a short run that ends in fatigue. Plausible deniability reigns from there when the driver excuses himself by blaming the dispatcher and the dispatcher in turn blames the driver, who "should've known better.”

EOBRs will not combat driver fatigue until the aforementioned "blame game" mentality is removed from the Industry. EOBRs will simply add to the dispatcher side of the equation, fomenting more of the US vs THEM mentality that has destroyed America.

I take exception to your note (It's important to note that the previous administration... blah blah blah): you, yourselves are falling into that mentality of US vs THEM by perpetuating the Obama vs Bush crap! Blame is as productive as a Billy BigRig school that won't teach backing techniques!

The answer is NOT more governmental regulations; the answer is MORE FREEDOM!!

— Michael Holcombe

Wildwood, Fla.

Disconnect between reality of trucking and what’s perceived

There seems to be a conflict between reality and perception concerning the regulation of the trucking industry. Drivers are regulated on hours, but mostly paid by mileage. Percentage pay is based on mileage as well. (For those who wish to argue: find out how rates are set... Distance, weight, special requirements, etc. It all comes back to mileage.)

Let's not forget that a truck is a piece of equipment, no different than a crane, backhoe, or dozer. This equipment is billed by the hour, figuring operator wages, cost, wear and tear, etc. Would it not be reasonable to factor these same things into the shipping rates?

If companies would bill shippers by the hour, and paid drivers accordingly, a lot of industry problems would be solved almost overnight. No more speeding to get more miles before hours run out, no more unpaid dock time, no more unpaid breakdown time, it all pays the same... The list goes on. Technology is already available to prevent drivers from abusing the system. (Aka milking the clock).

As long as the rules and the compensation are in conflict, drivers will break the rules. EOBRs may make it more difficult, but there is always a way. Remember, drivers are driving to make a living, not because they just need something to do.

No matter what the new HOS are, if rates and driver compensation do not reflect the loss of productivity they will not be followed. Companies will go out of business, drivers will leave the industry, and who would replace them? The more unattractive the industry becomes the harder it will be to attract new drivers.

We would all like to have safer highways, but the responsibility falls on all our shoulders, not just the driver. Reducing driver productivity (and therefore wages) will solve nothing. Reducing the allowable driving time would be fine if compensation was adjusted accordingly. (Who wants to work 70 hours a week or 14 hours a day anyway?!!)

— Ray Cook

They really can’t legislate safety; government needs to leave trucking alone

I would like to know why there is no one addressing the constitutionality of this department we call the DOT or the FMCSA?

Yes, safety is of the utmost importance on our roads. But what business is it of the federal government to tell myself and everyone else what they think safety is?

Safety means you are protecting someone else from harm. That mentality cannot be mandated by any institution or electronic device! It must start with each and every driver out here, be it the professional or the amateur. As long as each and every driver has the safety of another driver in their best interest, how does the government have any business telling drivers how many hours to work and sleep? My God, how much more sleep can one get and still be able to function? An old family friend told me growing up said: "The more you sleep the more sleep you want."

Government needs to leave the trucking industry alone. Again, how does tinkering with the HOS or mandating EOBRs have anything to do with safety? It must be a trained response of every driver on the road.

I drove my car for 19 years without an accident or ticket. I have since obtained my CDL, and have driven my rig for 13 years with the same mentality. No accidents or tickets. Government can not mandate that no matter what it does!

Thank you for your time.

— R. Eric Johnston

14-hour rule is the real danger; safety groups need to wake up

These idiots we have up in high places have no idea about safety. If they did, the first thing they would do is get rid of that 14-hour rule..Whoever thought that one up should be fired. It is obvious it has nothing to do with safety. Deaths are down, accidents are down and they are still complaiing. Mark my words, if they keep that 14-hour rule in and go to EOBRS there will be a lot more deaths. Then what are the bright ones going to do?

They need to wake up before there are a lot more deaths. It has nothing to do with the 11 hours or 34-hour restart. It is the 14-hour rule that will kill a lot more if they do not get rid of it. I have been driving for 24 years and I am tired of Jill saying they treat us like sweathogs. When was the last time Jill talked to a trucker (union drivers don’t count)? Wake up, people, before you kill more with your B. S.

— Nelson ‘Night Owl’ Sweet

Deaths down but 'railroad-sponsored groups' want less working hours for truckers

Fellow drivers: I've been running an e-log for three years now for a private Northeast regional fleet and it does a fine job since we deliver to our own stores. I ran 22 years as an OTR driver nationwide. As for the 48-state irregular route, drivers, it's just going to mean a lot of unpaid downtime/less hometime/more stress/less yearly pay and even less new drivers staying in this industry. The older drivers will bail out faster than they've been doing.

Since most trucking companies pay by the mile the new question to ask employers will be "How much are you paying a driver to not drive the truck but be responsible for it for 2-3 weeks while he's not at home?” Don't work for a company that doesn't have an auxillary a/c-heater on the tractor because you'll need one for all the unpaid hours you'll be spending in the truck. They need to forget about appointments and get used to late deliveries. The "Just-In-Time" loads will have to be pulled by teams.

And I'm sure that freight rates will skyrocket so that owner-operators and companies drivers will get more compensation for doing less work.

Also, where are all the trucks going to park during the downtime hours we'll be saddled with?

It's downright amazing that the trucking industry's safety record is at an all-time high but the railroad-sponsored safety groups want even less working hours for drivers. Most of us are out here to earn money not sit around 14 hours or more a day in a truck bunk. The freight has to move efficiently and in a timely manner. The 'powers that be' need to wake up in D.C. and quit changing the rules every few years. Maybe drivers will remember to vote this November and put some of these 'know nothing politicians' on the unemployment rolls, too.

— "Bandit"

Elizabethville, Pa.

Why are the truckers the only ones on the road being monitored, driver wants to know

Although I do have to agree that things need to change as far as Hours of Service goes, the clowns that some call our government need to be more informed by the people that are out here everyday.

I have currently been in the trucking industry for 22-plus years and have in recent years seriously considered leaving a career that I love.

Anyone who is on the roads as much as an OTR driver can tell you that there are issues with some drivers out here. However, they will all agree that the people in cars, pickups, campers, etc. have no clue how they were taught to drive and have no respect for their own lives let alone the lives of others.

Keeping those thoughts in mind I see no problem with changing the rules for the trucking industry but let’s manage to take the needed steps to improve the roads for everyone.

Truck driver training schools are a great plus; however, three weeks of school and very little hands-on experience are not the way for new drivers to start out. Furthermore, driver’s education for non commercial vehicles should contain a great deal more information about the dangers of driving with trucks on the road and the dangers of aggressive driving for you and the people around you.

Change is not always a bad thing but let’s make the changes across the board not just the for the truckers. Keep in mind most truckers drive more safe miles in one year than non truckers drive in five or 10 years and we do have to go through a great deal just to be a professional driver and to get a license for anything else is quite simple and requires very little training.

One last thought for all concerned: why is the trucking industry the only one being monitored? There should be more than truckers being monitored and more people driving aggressive or just plain crazy need to be stopped not just the trucks because they're a bigger dollar target.

— Greg Carter

Somebody needs to tell Sen. Lautenberg the facts about trucking

I have just got through reading your editorial about the HOS rules that one Sen. Frank Lautenberg wants to tighten up on. I'm a truck driver writing this response to your editorial in the August 15-31 publication. (Vol. 23, No. 16 issue), in my sleeper. Did anyone tell the senator that most of the accidents between four-wheelers and CVs are the fault of the four-wheeler? Or the fact that when someone goes to the DMV that there is nothing in their "operator's manual" about driving around big trucks on the streets or U.S./state highways and interstates?

How about the fact that we have to move over to the passing (hammer) lane when there's an officer on the shoulder of the roadway doing his business, (or for that matter anyone else), and they will not back off or speed up enough to give us the necessary room to change lanes to the left and avoid a potential disaster? In the name of safety they say. What a bunch of bovine feces! How about educating the public? How about teaching all the kids about to get their first driver's license?

Is driving around big trucks covered in the driving manual for that particular state? How about the class rooms across the U.S.? Is anyone teaching those teenagers how to drive around big trucks? You know, like giving right-of-way on the highway, or at intersections, or when I have to block traffic because the dock happens to be right next to the street if not right on it. If the public were better educated, don't you think that would help reduce that accident rate that Sen. Lautenberg likes to wave in the faces of our (deliberately misguided) lawmakers?

Why is it that it's always the truck driver's fault? Where does this guy get his "facts"? Every day, just about, I see people driving in such a way that could cause an accident. I was on my way into Houston, when on the shoulder of the road was a tow truck getting ready to tow someone off the highway. When I tried to change lanes, this idiot on my left wouldn't let me change to the left. He clearly saw people on the side of the road with children in that broke down minivan; he clearly saw my left turn signal and he clearly saw that slowing down would not have made that much difference. He was clearly being selfish. How about that Senator! Would you take that information and wave it in front of our law maker's faces? No, you wouldn't! The only purpose all these new regulations have is to rob us of more of our money. And to hold trucking companies accountable for all of the actions of their drivers borders on ludicrous.

Granted, there are some things a company can do to prevent from hiring irresponsible drivers, but how about state responsibility? For example; giving CDLs to people who can't speak or willfully will not learn English?! Does the Senator have any idea what kinds of problems that has caused in the past, or causes in the present? How about speed limiters? What would happen if a governed truck got into an emergency situation where a little more power or speed would have made the difference between life and death? Does the Senator know what happens when and truck jackknifes, and how to potentially get out of one? Or the unsafe crowding on the highways when two, three, four or more trucks are clustered together and an unexpected disaster happens, and it just so happens a four-wheeler caused it?

How about in winter, when we all have to get there, and even though we do our best to drive safely, there’s always the potential for an accident that can be avoided if only that truck had that little extra speed and power. In my experience, that extra speed and power has kept or gotten me out of trouble. It's an amazing country we now live in when a gallon of fuel is more important than a man with a family. Has anyone ever noticed that it's always the people who know very little to absolutely nothing about our jobs out here? Anyone can "learn" about the industry, but not anyone can be a truck driver. We really are a unique breed of people. I've been at this for years and I'm always learning something I didn't know yesterday. And now with these new rules, they’re cutting our throats.

Isn't anyone gonna stand up for us, the truck drivers? Most of these companies won’t, anymore. We're expendable to them. Why worry about one guy when we have a hundred others that will take his/her place? It ain't what it used to be! I currently work for a company that not only cut my truck down to 62, but put me on e-logs as well. They basically cut my pay in half. They will not increase my mileage pay to make up the difference! They don't care! So now I'm looking for another job while I still work the one I have. Better some income than no income.

And what about the on-duty not-driving line? If we're on duty, why can't we get paid for that time? Demurrage is a joke! I spent 9.5 hours at a Target DC and all I got for it was $45. Basically, $4.74 an hour. Again, that's a bunch of bovine feces! If all that time on line 4 counts against us, then shouldn't we get paid for it so it won't hurt us so much? I know, I know, everybody's trying to save money and make money. But at what cost to the driver? To all of the politicians out there, get off our backs! This business doesn't pay as well as it used to, and you still want more money from us. Did you want us to work for free, or for food? Which is it? Stop coming after us! Turn that gun on yourselves or point it some other direction for a change. Start looking at the four-wheelers like yourself. It’s more than time you stop blaming us for everything that’s gone wrong out here. We can't control everything. And I can only drive one vehicle at a time. Mine! You are responsible for your vehicle and your driving, just like each and every one of us is responsible for our own vehicles and our driving habits.

Senator Frank Lautenberg, please stay out of our business, our wallets, and our lives. Goodbye!

— Greg Carter

8-hour proposal would ‘kill trucking’; shippers and receivers would not cooperate either

I just read your story [July 15-31 print edition] about [a proposal that] driving time be cut back to eight hours a day. This would kill the trucking. Shippers and receivers will never keep this going to put their product out. Who is this nut? Who does he think he is? I bet he never has even been in a truck.. This cannot be allowed to happen.

—Thanks, Critter

Why aren’t message billboards considered road distractions, reader wants to know

Hi [staff writer] Barb [Kampbell],

I just read the article [on distracted driving]. There is one obvious distraction to drivers that I've never personally heard mentioned or discussed: electronic video billboards with constantly changing messages.

I believe that at one point in time, some states had outlawed these while they were still in their infancy. They should at the very least be governed as to font and type sizes, and how often the messages could change.

I'm surprised attorneys haven't used this particular kind of road distraction against drivers who have caused vehicle accidents. It seems like these distracting billboards are detrimental to the public and to safe driving.

— Tim Ahrens, Washington, Mo.

Driver has questions about HOS changes, wants to know what’s taking so long

The current Hours of Service are unsafe; they should not ever have been changed to begin with.

I want to know why: Why does it take Bush administration about six weeks to get it changed to where it is now, then take such a long time to reverse it back to where it should be?

I would really like to know, why people are dragging their feet in regard to switching this back?

— Charles T., Missouri

Doctors work unlimited 13-hour shifts but ‘safety’ groups want 8-hour limit for truckers, notes reader

I had to respond to the cover story "Safety groups want daily driving time reduced to 8 hours" in the July 15-31 issue of The Trucker.

Thanks for your time.

— Lee C. Roschen, Dawson, Minn.

Trucker using EOBR claims they’re unsafe, create all kinds of problems for everyone

I have been working for a company that uses the EOBR and I can tell you that fatigue still plays a major factor: when the clock runs out I have to stop. If it's in the middle of the day getting any sleep is out of the question. Being on time is another problem. I have to remind some of the shippers and receivers that my clock is running. Most of them don't really care. So if I'm within 10 miles of the consignee when the clock reaches zero I have to stop. The customer will have to wait the following day, or if they're open 24/7 I can deliver then and still be late or re-schedule for another time.

I find myself at times driving like a mad man when the time is down to minutes to find a place to park. This is so not safe for the motoring public. These EOBRs are insane, and all they are doing is causing more problems and more stress for the drivers. So much for the safety factor.

— Susan Steckly

Money comes above safety because corporations run country, reader says

I am writing in response to your article in the July 15-31 issue of your paper about the comments from [FMCSA Administrator] Anne Ferro.

Ann [Ferro] also mentioned that it takes working together toward highway safety. Hey, that’s funny, I’d like to see some effort there.

— Jerry

Driver recounts towing problem: took him $1,100 to get truck back

I saw your article about the towing of a truck at Carlisle, Pa. That same thing happened to me at Land of Lakes, Fla., on Dec. 19, 2009, in the Village Lake Shopping Center.

I was parked there at 1a.m. to meet friends for a bite to eat and came back at 2 a.m. and my truck was gone. There were no towing signs up, just “No Overnight Parking” signs.

— John Newcomer, Lanark, Ill.

‘Safety’ groups should focus on texting 4-wheelers, says trucker

If they were really concerned about safety they would go after the four-wheelers that have no regulations and text while driving, taking their attention from the road.

— Adam

Reader says drivers will have to organize before they see any change for the better

All you drivers out there will have nothing now and never will until you organize.

— Bill Zentner

Problem with most veteran drivers is not adaptability but lack of hope, trucker says

Hello again, [staff writer] Kevin [Jones]:

I don't mean to whine, but overall the trend seems to be less return for more invested. Presently, we are not alone; many, if not most, Americans are going through this.

If there really was a driver shortage, wouldn't drivers be able to negotiate more instead of having to settle for less?

I've drifted a bit off topic, but I just wanted to share the feeling of malaise among veteran-drivers that predates the economic downturn in hopes that some good will come from it.

I view you and the staff of The Trucker as offering a voice to the "powers that be" for the un-consulted and unheard drivers. Everyone else involved in this industry most certainly has their own set of challenges to deal with, but at least, most of them get to set policies to begin to deal with their problems. Drivers, veteran or not, just have to swallow their problems along with the new policies or else, vote with their feet and start over somewhere else.

The problem with veteran drivers is not a lack of adaptability, it is a lack of hope.

—Bruce Luke