![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
Brutal Honesty ? * The U.S. Government vs The American Trucker
The following article is a re-post of my (probable) final post
Elk City,OK,USA -Trucks * Truckers * Trucking, by Keith Birmingham -August 29, 2010: -- For the first 15 years of my trucking career I fought hard to improve the system. I wrote more letters to government officials than I care to remember. I bitched and complained to everyone I knew, and to a lot of people I did not know. Some transportation magazines were viewing my letter writing as regular contributions to their magazines. But, all of that work went for little gain for the men and women on the front lines. In the last 20 years I stopped trying to change things. I stopped yelling, screaming, bitching, complaining, and letter writing. I kept the driver's door shut. I rolled the windows up. I turned the c.b. off. I turned the a.m. on. And, I drove. And, I accomplished just as much change... What I am trying to say is that there is only one way to change this industry. Letters from drivers won't do it. Shut downs won't do it. An occasional deadly crash on the highway won't do it. A thousand new rest areas, and 500 new fuel stops won't change a thing. By the time anything is done by a government entity you will find that it was done 20 years too late. Those are not idiots in Washington, but they are deaf mutes. If you want to change this industry you will have to tell the truth about this industry to prospective drivers. Convince them not to enter the industry. You will have to leave this industry. And, when there is nobody left to deliver the toilet paper to wipe their butts you will find that the ears will come unplugged. And, changes will be made... This site (Trucks * Truckers * Trucking) is essentially null and void. For now it will not be deleted, and there may be an occassional post. And, in the future I may have the desire to work with the site again. I am a retired 35 year veteran of the trucking industry. I have started a new life. And, while I still enjoy photographing trucks I have no desire to write about the industry... For now, the only reference I wish to make about government regulations of truckers, and all of the other crap truckers have to deal with, - well, that will be done in my stories... (Picture from t1.gstatic: The vehicles as seen here at the O2 Arena, Greenwich are in their striking...)* CSA 2010 and HOS Change: The Perfect Storm for Trucking Industry?
Dunnellon,FL,USA -Before It's News, by Allen Smith -27 Aug 2010: ... With the possibility of more than a quarter of a million truck drivers facing termination from their driving careers from the CSA 2010 initiative, coupled with the talk of changing the current HOS rules, is there a a catastrophic event heading straight toward professional drivers and trucking companies alike? ... The hours of service rule for truck drivers could be looking at losing two hours of driving time, along with doing away with the 34 hour restart rule. The ATA and company CEO’s fear that these two aspects combined will reduce productivity among drivers. ATA Chairman, Tommy Hodges stated that the CSA 2010 will be a “free agency for drivers.” He went on to say, “a driver that knows he’s got a good record, he knows how to abide by the rules, and he knows and understands his value to your company, (is) going to come in and say, ‘look at my score, you’re going to pay me 50 cents a mile or I’m going to go to XYZ,’ and he will.” He went on to comment that productivity loss could be as high as 18 percent if the changes are indeed made... No doubt that losing two hours of driving time and the 34 hour restart will change the way trucking companies operate, but could not adding additional time for rest also increase productivity by eliminating much of the “pushing of drivers” to run further and harder? The industry sees the loss of revenue coming by not being able to push their drivers beyond their physical and mental limits in order to get the freight delivered and move on to the next load. Are the industry leaders more concerned with the loss of dollars than the safety of their drivers? ... Truck drivers operated under the former set of HOS rules for years and did just fine. The new HOS rules, if they occur, will basically return nearly as they were before. Is the industry fearful of losing their ability to push their drivers’ work loads, or more afraid of drivers gaining more control over their own careers? ...
Labels: truckers' stories
posted by Unknown @ 5:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home