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Apr 30, 2016

DEBATE ABOUT 'RSRT' * Australia: How brutal the trucking industry could be

* NSW - Turnbull sends australians down a dangerous road

--- The Turnbull Government’s decision to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal is a travesty that will have far-reaching consequences for truck drivers and everyone who shares the roads with them... About the systemic problems in the industry. The low rates, pay per kilometre incentive systems that encourage drug use, driving while fatigued, and other unsafe practices. All adding up to a sick industry that was killing people, not from accidents, but from preventable crashes. In 2016, the same problems remain... Working behind the wheel of a truck means you are 12 times more likely to die on the job than the average working Australian. Statistics from the Victorian Coroners Court show that truck drivers are the most likely to suicide... And if you happen to own a small business trucking company, ASIC statistics on insolvencies show that you are one of the most likely to go bankrupt... As an example of how brutal the trucking industry could be. The national logistics manager of Coles has detailed how his KPIs demand a 5 per cent cut in transport costs while increasing the freight moved by 15 per cent, regardless of the consequences... The reality is that the Tribunal was established to bring truck drivers, trucking operators, and transport clients together to develop safe standards and conditions for all transport workers – owner driver and employee, regional and city based – that would then make the roads safer for all Australians... Truck Drivers are responsible for their individual actions, but if you want to tackle the systemic problems in the industry, you need to look at the economic pressures... Think about this the next time you pass a truck. Do you want the B-Double hurtling towards you driven by a tired, stressed and pressured truck driver? Or do you want a refreshed and alert driver in a properly maintained rig? ... That’s why safe and fair pay and conditions for truck drivers’ matters to everyone...
(Photo: A recent TWU protest)  --  Sydney, NSW, Australia - The New Matilda, by Michael Aird: NSW Secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union Michael Aird - April 29, 2016

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Apr 23, 2016

RSRT ABOLITION * Australia: TWU pressures on truckies

* ACT - TWU using crashes for seemingly political gain 
-- The Transport Workers’ Union has defended using crashes in its fight for safe rates. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester said the TWU had used the crashes to further support the call for safe rates calling it “appalling” ... The Transport Workers’ Union has come under fire on social media and in parliament for highlighting recent crashes and saying they were related to safe rates... The post which shared an ABC story about the crash on the Augusta Hwy on Monday went onto say: “This comes as the Government prepares to abolish an independent body which can look at the pressures in trucking which lead to these types of tragedies”... In the House of Representatives yesterday Transport and Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester and other politicians said they were “appalled” with the TWU for using these crashes for seemingly political gain... This came as politicians debated whether to abolish the RSRT... Minister Chester went onto say at least one of the crashes the TWU was referring to was caused by a car pulling front of a truck, meanwhile another crash involved a truck that was carrying race cars, which would never have come under the order... 
(Photo by Nicola Brander / Sunshine Coast Daily - Roadside Cross on Nambour- Mapleton Road, Mapleton)  --  Canberra, ACT, Australia - Big Rigs - 19th Apr 2016


* New South Wales - Truck operators rejoicing

-- Owner-Operator truck drivers in western NSW are rejoicing after the Coalition government's bill to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) passed both houses of Parliament on Monday night... Speaking on the bill in Parliament on Monday, federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton backed the abolition of the RSRT, following its recent pay order which would produce dire consequences for small truck operators right across Australia... Mr Coulton has faced criticism that by supporting the abolition of the RSRT he does not care about the safety of drivers in the trucking industry... The passage of The Road Safety Remuneration Repeal Bill 2016 sees the repeal of the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012 and now allows the minister to make rules dealing with transitional matters... Transport Workers Union NSW Secretary, Michael Aird, said Malcolm Turnbull should hang his head in shame over his decision to put cheap politics ahead of safety on our roads and the safety of transport workers... But the Chief Executive of the Australian Trucking Association, Christopher Melham, said the decision would save thousands of small businesses... 
Sydney, NSW, Australia - Western Advocates - April 20, 2016

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MANDATORY MINIMUM CHARGES * Australia: RSRT abolition

* ACT - Victory for owner drivers with RSRT abolition
 -- Owner drivers and small trucking businesses across Australia have secured a great victory, with the Australian Parliament voting to abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT) late on Monday... Drivers from across Australia travelled to Canberra to take part in two days of truck convoys and rallies calling for the abolition of the Tribunal and its devastating payments order... ATA CEO Chris Melham said the decision would save thousands of small businesses... The abolition act commenced on Thursday 21 April...
(Image) -- Canberra, ACT, Australia - ATA Friday Facts - 22 April 2016

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Apr 19, 2016

OWNER-DRIVER * Australia: ROAD SAFETY PAY

* Western Australia - Independent contractors will do have their prices fixed by the government


... The modern danger to workers in Australia is the increasing pattern of collusion between big business and big unions, which sell out workers' interests so as to boost union membership. The Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption revealed, this is the preferred business model of Australia's alternative prime minister, Bill Shorten... As head of the Australian Workers Union (AWU), Shorten signed off on a deal which bargained away wages and conditions of employees at a company called Cleanevent. The deal undercut the award rates of pay by $10 per hour per person, costing an estimated 5000 employees a total of about $400 million in lost wages. In return it represented a significant saving for the management of Cleanevent... The creation of the RSRT in 2012 – under Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten – was an amplification and codification of this approach... Under the terms of the Road Safety Remuneration Act 2012, the RSRT has the power to set the prices which long-haul and interstate owner-driver truckies must charge. After almost four years the RSRT has just issued its first determination in relation to payments for owner-drivers. Its decision will massively increase 'safe rates' that must be paid to owner-drivers to such an extent it threatens the viability of up to 80 per cent of the nation's estimated 35,000 owner-drivers... The real kicker is that the increased rates apply only to owner-drivers. Curiously, large trucking companies with employee drivers are not required to pay the massively inflated 'safe rates'... Put simply, those who own and operate their trucking businesses as independent contractors are having their prices fixed by the government... In a staggering coincidence, the workforce of large trucking companies is where much of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) membership can be found. Unless the RSRT is abolished, those wishing to work as truckies will be forced to do so as employees of the big trucking companies, and probably also as members of the TWU. Of course, this was Bill Shorten's desire – a ménage a trois of big business, big unions and big government... The impact of Bill Shorten's TWU membership drive extends beyond Australia's owner-drivers to the kitchen table of every Australian by forcing up the prices of household goods and groceries... 
(Photo by Arsineh Houspian - Truck drivers will be forced into union membership by RSRT pay decision)   --  Perth, W.A., Australia - Financial Review, by Dean Smith - Apr 18 2016

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Apr 18, 2016

* AUSSIE TRUCKERS PROTEST

* ACT - Truck drivers take to Canberra roads in protest over pay rates
(Photo ABC News, by Alexandra Beec h- Trucks honk their horns on their way to Parliament House this morning)

  -- A convoy of more than 200 trucks has travelled through Canberra to protest against new minimum pay rates mandated by the Road Safety Renumeration Tribunal (RSRT)... The Federal Government is pushing to axe the RSRT when Parliament resumes on Monday, following the independent body's attempt to introduce new pay rates for truck drivers... Some crossbenchers have urged the Government to give it priority over its bid to get the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) Bill through the Upper House... Employees who drive for big fleets like Lindsay Fox and Toll are already covered under an award rate system, and the Transport Workers' Union says contractors need the new rate to compete and stay safe on the roads... 
(Photo ABC News, by Alexandra Beech - Truck drivers say the changes will send them bankrupt within months)

... But so-called owner truck drivers argue the obligation to charge clients to cover the increased pay rates will force thousands of them out of business... Truck driver Gordon Mackinlay said the new rates would send small operators broke within months... The group made its way through the outskirts of the ACT and arrived at Parliament House on Sunday morning... Government plans to abolish tribunal...
Canberra, ACT, Australia - ABC Net News - 17 April 2016

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posted by Unknown @ 11:41 AM  0 comments

Apr 16, 2016

MANDATORY MINIMUM CHARGES * Australia: Inferences

* What do US studies say?  

"The evidence is that if you ensure that people travel safely in terms of safe rates you will get proper outcomes … you will get improved safety" Anthony Albanese

-- Checking the source 

- When asked for evidence to support his statement, Albanese’s spokesman referred The Conversation to Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Brendan O'Connor, to the 2016 Review of the Road Safety Remuneration System conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Commonwealth government: 
* "Drivers are likely to benefit the most [from tribunal orders] due to increased remuneration and fewer road accidents, followed by government and members of society who face costs following road crashes, and will therefore benefit from an improvement in safety." 

 - An Australian study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2007 analysed drug use by drivers in both surveys and concluded that:  
* "The strongest predictors of drug use were payment based on the amount of work completed and fatigue reported as a major problem … The strong association of payment by results and low pay with drug use among Australian long-distance truck drivers is consistent with other research suggesting that economic factors are an important influence on health and safety in the workplace." 

 - Another survey of Australian heavy vehicle drivers published in 2014 found: 
* "Piece-rate compensation methods were associated with higher levels of fatigue-related driving than non-piece-rate methods. Follow-up analysis also revealed higher caffeine and amphetamines use among piece-rate drivers for the purpose of staying awake while driving" 

Conclusions 

 1 - Michael Quinlan: Director of the Industrial Relations Research Centre, UNSW Australia 
-- A US paper published in 2002 found that driver pay has a strong effect on safety outcomes... Nonetheless, the research findings are clear and consistent... Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, was correct. There is persuasive evidence of a connection between truck driver pay and safety 

 2 - Studies by Michael H. Belzer: Associate Professor, Economics, Wayne State University 
-- My team performed for the US Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Administration in 2002 demonstrated that higher compensation led to significantly safer truck driver performance. For every 10% more in truck driver mileage pay rate, a very large American truckload carrier found that the probability that a driver would have a crash declined 40%... Research shows this effect is true across carriers. A cross-sectional study of 102 non-union truckload motor carriers found that for every 10% increase in truckie compensation, carriers' crash rates were 9.2% lower... In sum, there is ample evidence that supports the relationship between compensation and safety in trucking and across other modes. In my own work, I see it in intercity buses. In others’ work, I see it in airlines and even in rail...

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Apr 13, 2016

MANDATORY MINIMUM CHARGES Australia: * Truckers' protests -- ** Government move back

* Queensland - Truckers unite in convoy against planned changes
-- Richard Easey has been in the trucking industry for 25 years, but now he's worried he's going to struggle... The owner of Easy Haul, a Gracemere-based company, was joined by around 60 people yesterday to protest the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT)... Under the system, the RSRT set pay and related conditions for road transport drivers in the road transport industry... It was initially implemented to improve safety for truck drivers by reducing deadline pressure, but Richard said that simply wasn't true... Richard said about 40% of Central Queensland businesses rely on goods delivered by owner-operator truckers, making any downturn a negative consequence for the whole community... The Federal Government is moving to push the start date of the tribunal's fixed rate contract regulation, which was due to commence this month, back to 2017 after two reviews of the RSRT recommended the system be abolished... 
 (Image by Allan Reinikka/Rokaconvoy - HARD TRUCKIN’: Richard Easey speaks at a convoy to protest against RSRT) -- Rockhampton, QNLD, Australia - The Morning Bulletin, by Trinette Stevens - 12th Apr 2016


** ACT - Coalition pushes for immediate abolition of truck driver pay tribunal

-- The government will introduce legislation next week to immediately abolish a tribunal that sets minimum pay rates for truck owner-drivers... The government originally planned to delay the tribunal’s minimum pay order until January 2017 and then abolish the tribunal after the election... On Tuesday evening the government decided to introduce legislation in the sitting week starting on 18 April to abolish the tribunal immediately. If that fails the government will settle for a bill delaying the order and abolish the tribunal after the election...
(Photo by Dean Lewins/AAP: Malcolm Turnbull and Michaelia Cash. The employment minister said the government’s plan would be ‘a test of leadership for Bill Shorten’) -- Canberra, ACT, Australia - The Guardian, by Paul Karp - 12 April 2016

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Apr 11, 2016

MANDATORY MINIMUM CHARGES * Australia: Turnbull says his government will abolish they

* ACT - Turnbull pushes for National Trucking Tribunal to be dumped if Coalition wins election


-- Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, says his government will abolish the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal if the coalition is re-elected at the upcoming election... The tribunal was set up by the previous Labor government and is responsible for pay and safety in the trucking industry. It was recently responsible for setting new minimum pay rates for owner-operator truck drivers... Speaking on Sunday, Turnbull said the Coalition planned to scrap the body, saying its decisions were putting mum-and-dad operators out of business... The Transport Workers' Union argues trucking contractors need better pay to compete and stay safe on the roads... Turnbull said it was time the tribunal was dumped after a number of critical reports... 
 Canberra, ACT, Australia - The Huffington Post Australia, by Sam McKeith - 10 April 2016


 * ACT - Malcolm Turnbull using truck drivers ‘as pawns’ in election strategy, say crossbenchers

-- Senators say prime minister’s plan to abolish road safety remuneration tribunal leaves owner-drivers in limbo... Malcolm Turnbull is using the livelihood of family-run trucking companies as a political football before the election, members of the Senate crossbench have warned... The government would introduce legislation to freeze pay in the interim, opening up another industrial relations battleground with the unions... But at least two key crossbenchers say the move puts owner-driver truck drivers, typically from small or family-owned businesses, in limbo... “The Turnbull government is just trying to buy votes and they are prepared to use mum and dad truckies as pawns in their own election campaign,” independent senator, Glenn Lazarus, wrote on his Facebook page. “Owner-drivers are being decimated now. This should not be an election issue. This is an issue which should be solved now - not in August - not after an election” ... Labor instigated the tribunal on the grounds that giving drivers minimum pay would reduce the need for them to work unsafe hours or cut corners in order to expedite deliveries... “The truth of the matter is that most drivers or many drivers in this industry are not even members of the union,” the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said. “But all drivers are entitled to a safe system of work” ...
 (Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP - Senators Jacqui Lambie, Glenn Lazarus and Nick Xenophon. Lazarus says he is ‘disgusted’ by the prospect of dragging out the abolition of the tribunal) -- Canberra, ACT, Australia - The Guardian, by Shalailah Medhora - 10 April 2016


* NT - Backs delay on truckers' minimum pay

-- The Northern Territory government says it's "common sense" for its federal counterpart's to delay the introduction of new minimum pay rates for truck owner-drivers. Federal Employment Minister, Michaela Cash, has announced that the government will introduce legislation next week to prevent mandatory minimum rates for owner-drivers taking effect before January 1. "Our priority is protecting owner-drivers in the trucking industry and as it stands, the order put forward by the National Road Safety Tribunal threatens these drivers and all who rely on an efficient and competitive road transport industry," NT Transport Minister, Peter Chandler, said on Monday. Chief Minister Adam Giles said repealing that decision was "common sense". "The tribunal's order would lead to price increases and would be likely to have an adverse effect on competition in the sector," he said. NT Road Transport Association President Michael Swart said the order was "anti-competitive and will destroy small family businesses who make up the bulk of owner-drivers in the NT". He said there was "no proven link between pay and safety" and that other laws already dealt with safety in the industry... 
 (Photo: Minimum pay rates for truck owner-drivers are anti-competitive, the NT government says) -- Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - AAP/Yahoo News - April 11, 2016

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Apr 9, 2016

MANDATORY MINIMUM CHARGES * Australia: CONTROVERSIAL, FOR OWNER DRIVERS

* ACT - Trucking industry divided after controversial RSRO changes stopped at the last minute


-- A last minute stoppage of controversial changes for owner-drivers in the trucking industry has deepened the divide between the sector, the union and politicians... The Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal was set to introduce mandatory minimum charges for transport contracts aimed at improving safety and therefore preventing heavy vehicle fatalities... The changes have been opposed by some trucking associations who have said thousands of people would be forced out of business if the changes came into being... Due to take effect on the April 4 2016, the changes would bring owner-drivers in line with the union award requirements and could see fines of $54,000 if drivers failed to comply... The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, denied there was a link between pay and safety, saying the owner-drivers feared the minimum rates they would have to charge for their services would put their jobs at risk... The Federal Government today announced it would be introducing legislation when parliament returns, to gain clarity on the issue... In a statement the Minister for Employment Senator Michaelia Cash said this legislation, if passed by the Senate, will provide certainty for the trucking industry, while reform options for the Road Safety Remuneration system were considered by the Government... 
(Photograph: David Crosling/AAP - The employment minister denies there is a link between payment of minimum rates for truck owner-drivers and road safety)  --  Canberra, ACT, Australia - ABC Rural, by Arlie Felton-Taylor - 4 April 2016 


** Queensland - Opponents of the changes say they could affect up to 70,000 owner operators

-- Small business groups say the rules will make competing with big business even more difficult... This is because owner-operator truck drivers will not be able to set their own minimum price for services... Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, told SmartCompany the regulations threaten the livelihoods of up to 70,000 small business owners... Carnell says this consultation process needs to happen as quickly as possible so the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal and the Federal Court can see the impact these new rules will have on small business owners... “The thing that’s missing from the debate at the moment is these family businesses,” she says, “It’s their houses they’re going to lose. This needs to be ramped up pretty quickly because, fairly obviously, it will be a real disaster if this ruling [by the tribunal] goes ahead in its current form” ... 
-- Big Rig Magazine, asked readers, what they thought and the results showed that the majority did agree that the rates need to improve but that the Order needs to apply to the whole industry... Only 2% of respondents thought that rates don’t need to increase and 3% said they were happy with the order as it is... What we can see quite clearly with results like these is that the industry wants better rates across the board, and it’s now a matter of waiting to find out whether legal interpretations of the Order such as barrister Jardine’s are adopted...　
(Photo by Carly Morrissey - Raymond Cooper driving for Grayson's Haulage at the Anti-RSRT convoy, BP Archerfield April 3)  --  Brisbane, QNLD, Australia - Smart Company, by BROEDE CARMODY - April 4 2016 - 


*** ATA to lead Canberra RSRO protest convoy 

 -- The Australian Trucking Association will lead the way in a Convoy to Canberra on Monday 18 April to protest the introduction of the Contractor Driver Minimum Payments Road Safety Remuneration Order 2016 (RSRO)... The RSRO came into effect yesterday afternoon, after the Federal Court decided not to continue a stay on the order... ATA Chief Executive, Christopher Melham, said the Order would have a devastating impact on tens of thousands of owner-drivers and other small operators... “The ATA is proud to organise this Convoy to Canberra. It’s essential that Ministers and Senators understand just how many small operators will be threatened by this payments order” ... Further information about the convoy will be announced early next week... Canberra, ACT, Australia - ATA Friday Facts - 8 April 2016

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Feb 20, 2016

TRUCKS LIMITS ON HIGHWAYS SPEEDS * USA

* Georgia - Truckers oppose new speed controls 
-- The trucking industry voiced opposition Thursday to tougher limits on its highway speeds... The tougher restrictions come from House Bill that Rep. Ron Stephens introduced in response to a crash last year on Interstate 16... Stephens and the industry representatives testified during a hearing before the House Motor Vehicle Committee considering a proposal to make truckers in 100,000-pound, commercial vehicles subject to the $200 Super Speeder penalties that are on top of local fines when caught going 10 mph over the speed limit on Interstate highways... Objecting was Dan Matthews, who has driven trucks since the 1970s and is a safety trainer for YRC Freight, recommended a 15 mph trigger rather than 10 mph. He said getting two speeding tickets at 15 mph over the limit in a three-year period already means an automatic 60-day suspension from operating as a commercial driver in interstate commerce. The trigger in the current law is 20 mph, where it would remain for cars and non-commercial buses, vans and smaller trucks... The committee also heard from five lobbyists for hospitals around the state supporting the bill because the added fines would go to help support their trauma centers... 
(Photo by Walter C. Jones/Morris News Service - Trucker Dan Maxwell of Marietta testified Thursday that a proposal to lower the threshold on truck drivers getting a Super Speeder ticket should be 15 mph over the limit on Interstate highways rather than the proposed 10 mph in a bill authored by Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah) -- Atlanta, GA, USA - Morris News Service/ Savannah Now, by Walter C. Jones - February 19, 2016

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Jun 13, 2015

* USA: House Representatives passes bill with controversial trucking riders

* DC - The House of R. passes bill with section on restart provision

-- The battle over longer trucks on U.S. highways and shorter work hours for truck drivers shifts to the Senate, after the House of Representatives narrowly passed an appropriations bill with riders affecting both driver hours of service and truck lengths... The House of Representatives by a narrow margin has passed and sent to the Senate the controversial FY2016 Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill that President Barack Obama said he would veto if it reached his desk without major changes, including three involving the trucking industry... While Obama cited numerous sections of the bill he opposed, there were three sections directly tied to the trucking industry... One section would prohibit the use of federal funds to reinstate the July 1, 2013, restart rule unless the Secretary of Transportation and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation reviewed the results of the current restart study and are satisfied that the study establishes that commercial motor vehicle drivers who operated under the restart provisions in effect between July 1, 2013, and the day before the date of enactment of such Public Law demonstrated statistically significant improvement in all outcomes related to safety, operator fatigue, driver health and longevity, and work schedules, in comparison to commercial motor vehicle drivers who operated under the restart provisions in effect on June 30, 2013... The other two sections allow for 33-foot combination vehicles as opposed to the current 28-foot limit, and prohibits the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from using federal funds to issue a rulemaking on increasing liability insurance minimums... 
 Washington, DC, USA - The Trucker - 10 June 2015 


* DC - NHTSA tells Congress not to increase trucking limitations
 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advised Congress on Friday not to change current size and weight laws for the trucking industry after completing an inconclusive study on increasing the current limitations... At the heart of the study is the question of allowing double 33-foot trailers with six axles to carry bigger, heavier loads on Interstates throughout the U.S... The double trailers are already in operation in some states, and trucking-industry advocates said allowing them throughout the country would increase trucking productivity and efficiency, at little cost to safety and highway maintenance... The NHTSA told Congress that there isn’t enough data to make determinations on whether increasing truck size and weight would be safe... Crash data on the larger trucks did not give Department of Transportation (DOT) researchers an indication as to whether the crashed trucks had been fully loaded or overweight, or whether the cargo was equally distributed... The DOT also lacks models to predict bridge deterioration from the heavier trucks, rendering it impossible to determine any long-term costs from maintenance... 
DC, USA - The Times News Daily, by Josh Aden - Jun 10, 2015 


* Virginia - American Trucking Associations applauded the House action
 -- The advice to table any changes in the law has drawn the ire of trucking-industry advocates, such as American Trucking Association President and CEO Bill Graves, who is firmly in favor of larger twin trailers... “By including language requiring a more robust study of the Hours of Service restart restrictions originally imposed in July 2013, and a modest increase in the length of some truck combinations, the House has taken an important step in improving the safety of our highways, first and foremost, but also the efficiency of our highway system and the industry that moves nearly 70 percent of the nation’s goods,” said Graves, "the longer combination vehicles allowed by the bill would improve capacity and safety, without increasing truck weight limits. This modest change will reduce the number of truck trips needed to move the nation’s freight, cut emissions and reduce trucking’s exposure to crashes"... The ATA has taken a neutral position on the possible increase in liability minimums... 
Arlington, VIR, USA - The Trucker - 10 June 2015


* Michigan - Hoffa: Overworking truckers is dangerous
 -- Highways across Michigan and the U.S. have become increasingly dangerous for motorists. And that will only get worse if Congress approves a transportation spending bill that effectively keeps the suspension of rules in place that allow truck drivers to work longer hours, that permits larger double-trailers and that prevents the U.S. Department of Transportation from raising minimum insurance standards that have been frozen in place for the last three decades... 
Detroit, MICH, USA - The Detroit News, by Teamsters President James Hoffa - June 10, 2015 

* "There are many miles to go, however, before either rider becomes law, if they do. That depends on when and whether the Obama administration and Congress can strike a budget deal"  said William B. Cassidy, J.O.C. Senior Editor - Jun 10, 2015

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posted by Unknown @ 5:52 AM  0 comments

Oct 21, 2014

CONTROVERSY * USA: The tyranny of truck traffic ... or, you enjoy far more convenience in your life because of them

* Put trucks in their place

(Photo by Getty Images) 
Road and Truck, by Jack Baruth -October 16, 2014: ... I drive anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 miles a year, much of it on freeways and the bulk of it east of the Mississippi, and I can report with certainty that this dismal state of affairs is now the rule rather than the exception. On the way to an endurance race in New Jersey, I saw two-lane freeways blocked by dual trucks more often than they were not... With trucks restricted to the right lane, the rest of us would be able to travel at a safe and reasonable speed without the sudden brake-checks and dangerous traffic stacking that accompany these “truck races” on the Interstate. No longer would we all be subject to the whims of someone whose judgment is clouded by everything from financial considerations to “Stacker 2” caffeine pills. If Wal-Marts across the country have to wait another six hours or so for their latest deliveries of plastic junk from China, I think that falls under the category of acceptable losses. If that means resurrecting one of the malaise era's signature slogans, that's okay...Trucks on the right: It's a law we can live with...

* Road and Track is clueless about big rigs and traffic
-Torque News, by Aaron Turpen -18 Oct 2014: ... Now let's talk solutions: Instead of restricting trucks to the right lane, let's restrict automobiles from the left lane in major metro areas. The logic is simple: trucks are generally passing through, not stopping, and "beltways" and the like have merely become more clogged arteries rather than the bypasses they were once meant to be. So the solution is to push trucks into the left lane and let the cars, who're entering and exiting continually, have the right hand lanes so that they can safely do so without passing in front of or trying to get around trucks in the process. This would make situations like this one far less likely... This solution has been lauded by truck drivers and others at both of the places I've shared it. It's simple, makes far more sense than the right lane, slower speed restrictions that would only add to the safety issues already happening, and allows commerce to flow unimpeded. The only argument given against this plan, so far, is that we're culturally tied to the idea that the left lane, even in heavy traffic, is somehow the "fast lane." Despite the obvious evidence to the contrary, as witnessed by any rush hour driver in any city in the United States (of A.)... Oh and John Baruth... the next time you drive that little Honda Accord of yours, remember that everything on it, the gas you're putting in it, the tires you're rolling on, and the asphalt you drive it upon were all brought together by trucks. In fact, so was the food you ate before you took off on your drive and so was the clothing you put on that morning before going out. You might not like the trucks that sometimes make your drive inconvenient, but you have to admit that you enjoy far more convenience in your life because of them...

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