Shills in print
Our industry's media. What the heck is it with those guys,
anyway? It's obvious that a desperate ATA wants only a positive
image of the industry painted. Trucking companies are so in need
of recruits that only the rosiest of pictures they feel must be
presented. They feel the last thing a rookie driver needs to hear
is the seasoned drivers sadly lamenting the industry's real problems.
In fact, the only magazine in trucking that even
offers any real opportunity for a driver to express his views
is this publication right here.
Give the drivers a forum to be heard side by side
with the fluff and features presented by the ATA agenda. Resist
the ATAs personal grab for the media; its own mirrored tobacco-industry
type inspired censorship many truly suspect is afoot. Demand the
media print all sides of the issues surrounding trucking! It's
the American way.
Al Jessep
Amarillo, TX
18-wheel angels
I have spent most of the last few months on the road between
my home in South Carolina and Florida. I have seen many good truckdrivers
and many more [expletive omitted]. Since I have been on the road
mostly with my teenage children and I am a female, I appreciate
the type of truckdriver who will "look out" for me when
I am driving around them. I have had many positive experiences
with truckdrivers who have warned me about potential road hazards
and accidents.
One night in July, I blew a tire on my pickup and
while I had a jack and a workable spare tire, I had no flashlight.
An eastbound trucker heard me call for help on my CB and alerted
westbound truckers to stop and help me. Almost immediately a trucker
stopped. I told him my husband was a truckdriver. I was fortunate
to find an 18-wheel angel that night.
Chrys Capuano
York, SC
Truckdriver's Prayer
Dear God, help me have a safe trip today. For I know that
while I look out for my brother, you will be looking out for us
both.
Milton Re Doy Smith
Houston, TX
Give owner-operators more leeway
I think that as long as truckdrivers are excluded from the
Fair Labor Laws this will continue to be a sore and costly spot
for owner-operators. The for-hire drivers should be working according
to the Labor Laws of the Department of Labor and no other branch
of government. This would allow owner-operators to work as they
see fit. It would prevent the abuses that have caused the government
to take the current stance.
The ATA is one that fights very hard to keep truckdrivers
from a normal life by giving trucking companies too much power
which in the end forces long hours upon the workers. An owner-operator
would set his own hours under the labor department just as a store
owner works the hours chosen by himself. Thank you for your time.
Lawrence Hazlett
Columbus, OH
Sleeper time and where do we have space to do this?
The federal government tells us that we are to have x number
of hours off duty, this is a great law, but where do we take this
time off? Some days if you are not at a truckstop before 5:00
p.m. or 6:00 p.m., you are unable to find a parking spot. Some
states (VA) have built very nice parking spaces for trucks on
the interstates. That is nice, but if you are there for more than
two hours, you will be given a ticket for parking. For years,
Virginia had more HP than they needed, they had nothing for them
to do other than go out and write parking tickets. I think if
a driver parks on the shoulder and is not broken down, he needs
a ticket. I think if you park on the entrance ramp and not in
the right of way, you should be allowed to park there. I was in
NJ where I parked on a ramp; the ticket was $31. I have been awakened
a number of times and told to move. So what are they going to
do for more space to sleep? Are the other drivers and I to go
down the road and go to sleep driving or are they going to give
us a break? Thanks to states like KY for allowing drivers to stay
at their scale houses, where we can park without getting a ticket.
It's hard to say anything good about Ohio, but they will allow
you to park on the entrance ramps without getting a ticket. Thanks
for a place to gripe.
Steven & Holly Morse
Cleveland, OH
Used Trucks
I am writing this letter in hopes that someone else will be
able to learn from my mistakes. It all started in October of '98.
I owned a 1987 Freightliner and decided it was time to upgrade.
I found the best deal that I could -- a '94 Volvo. It had been
company owned and supposedly had a good maintenance record, so
I traded. Now the nightmare begins. The day after I bought the
truck the alternator went out. I went back to the dealer and they
said you bought a used truck so it's your problem. The story gets
worse. I have put $13,000 dollars into repairs on a truck that
is worth about $20,000, and I had to refinance, so at this point
I now owed $26,767. But it's not all bad.
I am leased to an extremely good company -- Bock
Transportation in Joplin, MO. Steve Bock is the owner and probably
one of the most understanding men I know. He has financed at least
two of my repairs and has helped me as much as anyone possibly
could. But when my truck broke again he said it was time
for me to get in something else. He called the local Freightliner
dealer and talked to a friend for me. His friend found a truck
for me. Then he called the finance company at least three times
to get this truck financed in a way I could buy it. My lesson
was expensive. I also learned a lesson about people. You can depend
on very few people and I now know that Steve is one of them. He
says he doesn't do this for everyone so I would like to say that
I am proud to be considered in that small group.
Daniel J. Karr
Joplin MO.
All people are created equal
Some insurance companies discriminate against the commercial
vehicle operator. Those insurance companies say you are professional
drivers, you could of have something to avoid the accident and
hold the
commercial driver at some extent of fault even when an accident
could not have been avoided by reasonable means by the commercial
driver.
Commercial drivers demand to be treated equal and
just. For all fines to be the same for all vehicles. The infractions
that apply to commercial vehicle drivers and commercial vehicles
be set by the Department of transportation be set reasonable and
justly according to the U.S. Constitution and not be able to be
changed by lower authorities.
Jeff Hackworth
Ashgrove, MO
Trailer repairs
I was pulling a wide load through Amarillo, TX, not long ago
when I blew an air bag on my trailer. The first shop I stopped
at, the utility trailer dealer on the east side of town on I-40
turned out to be about the best away from home repair experience
I have had. They were busy, and I expected the usual story, "we
might be able to get to you sometime next week." Not here,
they moved trailers to make room for me, and put a mechanic on
it right away. Everyone I dealt with was courteous, efficient,
and seemed genuinely glad to have my business. I was in and out
in less than an hour, and thanks to them I was able to make my
delivery on time. Anyone needing trailer service in the Amarillo
area should give these guys a shot. In this day and age, service
like this is rare and should be rewarded.
Michael Tadlock
Rapid City, SD
Troopers behaving badly
I just wanted to share with you what happened to me on Aug.
25. I had stopped on an exit ramp in Illinois exit 66 on I-39
about 9:15 p.m. because I was out of hours and very tired. I felt
it was safer to stop there than to drive another seven miles through
a construction zone. I was parked at the top of the ramp under
a street lamp, very safe with my truck off. About 9:30 p.m. a
state trooper beat on my truck and told me it was illegal to park
there. He gave me a written warning and told me I had to move
my truck even though I told him I was too tired to safely and
legally do so. I asked him if I could get at least and hour of
sleep and he told me no, either I moved it now or he was going
to call a tow truck and have it towed. So I moved it. When I got
to a truckstop, I called his commander and told him what happened.
He said I was lucky to just get a warning and not a ticket, then
called me an idiot and hung up on me. Does this sound like law
enforcement is looking out for the safety of the public or just
out there to harass people.
Let me know if there is anything I can do about this
officer. I showed him the book of rules we have to follow and
he said so what. He also told me he didn't know much about the
DOT laws we have to follow; he just wanted me off the ramp and
didn't care if I caused an accident. Go figure.
James P. Johnson
Janesville, WI
The right person for the right job
I know the keystone brake check is and always has been a money
generator. The governor that was in office when the great brake
check was started had just been defended in court on the illegal
axle tax and stated, "The state of Pennsylvania needs money
and guess where we are going to get it from." The state of
Kentucky and Tennessee. Need I say more. They fill the rest areas
up all the time with people that think they are as she says in
compliance they have nothing to worry about. Garbage. The trucking
industry is a never-ending source of revenue for all government
even the city is in the act of robbing the trucker at gunpoint.
North Carolina, double fines, New Jersey; road restrictions. Any
fool with half a brain knows this is about penning the cattle
up for slaughter and the turnpike making more money. If it is
not costing you money, they are stealing. If you look at your
map, from Trenton, NJ, to Phillipsburg. How would anybody with
a pea brain go? These lawmakers know by now they can do anything
they want when it comes to trucks because we have been overrun
by airheads running up and down the roads in their large cars
20 miles over the speed limit. .20 pm, a $1,000 CB and a $25 advance
at every other fuel stop.
This trucking industry is the foreign legion. Until
we get some person or persons that know what they are doing and
not some one that works by trial and error, we are sunk like the
Titanic. Driver appreciation at the scales? Let's call it what
it is Thanksgiving. Imagine a farmer putting down a line of corn
so the turkey will eat himself to the chopping block. You see,
all you need to get a trucker to the chopping block is food or
a woman.
Let's put Jim Johnston in that office. Put the person
in that can do the job.
Leonard W. Giddens, Jr.
Florence, SC
Silent Protest
There are certainly many issues which effect drivers, but
they need to be resolved in an organized and levelheaded manner.
During the weeks preceding the "strike" and for many
months before and since, I would hear drivers complain about one
issue or another. When I questioned them if they were a
member of a professional driver's association such as OOIDA, they
were generally not and became silent. But, I wanted to share with
other drivers how I make my own postage-stamp-size protest. Several
months ago, I had delivered to a customer in southwest Virginia.
It was after midnight and I was out of hours. There was
no truck parking available in the little college town and the
closest place to park was the rest area on I-81.
So I drove the five miles to the rest area, found
a legal spot, and hit the bunk. About 2:30 am, there was
a loud banging on the door. All I saw was the flashlight beam
in my eyes, a trooper yelling something indiscernible and he was
holding up two fingers. It sounded like. "Blah, blah,
blah...TWO HOURS!" I saw the flashing blue lights of his
cruiser and saw him walk toward the next truck. Now I was not
the valedictorian in college, but even I figured out he was kicking-out
all the big trucks from the rest area. So,
like many other drivers that night, before, and since, exhausted
drivers took to the roadway. What probably irritated me the most
was about a week later in some trucking publication, was a quote
from a Virginia State Police spokesperson saying "...(that)
to their knowledge, troopers NEVER wake sleeping truckers..."
or some nonsense like that. I know for a fact they still do since
I watched them perform the same ritual
two weeks ago as I was passing through the state.
From the night Smokey Bear woke me up, I have
never spent one dime in the State of Virginia. Sure, I drive
through all the time. I will make my purchases in adjacent states.
Of course, my company still pays their fuel taxes for my rolling
through. Personally, I will not eat there, drink there,
fuel or wash my truck there, or spend one red cent within that
commonwealth. I am sorry. Until those people feel the burden created
by their elected officials, my sympathy is minimal. If every member
of OOIDA were to make a similar effort, perhaps a more significant
impact would be felt. Whether the Board endorses such an
effort or not, my conscience is clear that I have done my little
part. That is my "silent protest."
Bubba Kunkle
Murfreesbourgh, TN
Editorial cartoon
(Regarding to an editorial cartoon in the Roanoke Times that
shows a trucker tailgating). This is totally ridiculous. I live
in Virginia on the dreaded I-81 and it is a hassle to drive/ride
this interstate because of the traffic, but it's not always the
trucks who tailgate. As bad as truckers are being bashed in this
area, ads like this really put the icing on the cake.
Hey ATA, OOIDA and all you other organizations that
say you're for the trucker, where are you to defend us in times
like this? What are dues for if not to help the trucker? When
are you going to push truckers' safety statistics in areas where
truckers are being bashed the most? Sure, you advertise our safety
record in trucking magazines and sure you hold conferences to
award drivers for million-mile safety awards, but when are you
going to use some of those dues and advertise in the USA Today
or other major newspapers in this country about our good things.
How about using some of "trucker collected funds" and
air something good about truckers. Go to local TV stations and
air documentaries about good things truckers do along with our
safety records. Allow the public to see us as humans, not sleezeballs.
As for everyone out there that only complains in trucking magazines,
that's fine if you want your fellow trucker to see the problems,
which most do already, but expand a little. Start sending complaints/problems
to OOIDA, ATA, and other organizations and let them know how you
feel. I do my share of complaining on the CB just as others do
but I'm not just talking, I'm doing something about it. I'm writing
letters and making phone calls (and yes, a copy of this letter
was sent to OOIDA and ATA). I'm sick of seeing ads in the newspapers
about how bad truckers are. It's our turn, fight back! It costs
very little to send a letter about how a certain shipper/receiver
treated you, a bad article about truckers you saw, or what bogus
ticket a certain police officer may have written you. With enough
complaints (without having to strike) to the right people, changes
will happen. So speak up.
Travis Burcham
Radford, VA
More changes in Vermont
Trucks traveling U.S. 4 in Vermont have local money sources
behind getting them off the road. At one time a while back, a
local police officer wrote so many citations the town had to get
an emergency delivery of mail.
More news of Vermont is that the VDOT is in the process
of building an inspection station /scales between the exits of
16 and 17 on the northbound lane. Does this come as a surprise
-- it's only about 35 miles to Canada.
Fred Bliss
St. Albans, VT
