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August/September 2011 Letters

Knowing the difference
I used to have a larger company and kept about 10 trucks on the road all the time. I knew what that big company view was about. Now I have one truck, and knowing how it was to be on the other side is very helpful. We must remember if we are small companies, we are not the enemy of big companies. We just have different business objectives. I enjoy your magazine as you know the difference.

Amrik Singh
Oakland, CA

Should I go or should I stay 
I have recently visited with two different ex-drivers. Both were very good drivers with many years of driving experience and clean driving records.

Both men have left the industry for one reason: They could no longer operate under the mountain of senseless and often unsafe regulations that have been mounted against them as truck drivers. I am beginning to feel the same way.

When the driving record that I possess is no longer good enough – and someone from behind a desk in an office building decides for me when I can drive, when I can sleep, and how fast I can drive – I wonder if it is time for me to move on to a different occupation and let the “six-month-experience team drivers” take my place.

Black boxes and senseless regulations are not the answer. Quality training and fair compensation for a job well done are the answers.

Brad Kuhn
Yarnell, AZ

Using retreads
The “Down to the last drop” article by Henry Albert in the June 2011 issue of Land Line was no surprise to me, since I have had the pleasure of speaking to Henry several times and know how bright he is.

Every owner-operator who wants to know how to improve his or her operation should read Henry’s article. It is filled with great information that can help to make a fleet – whether a fleet of one truck or 1,000 – more profitable, and that’s the name of the game.

Harvey Brodsky, managing director 
Retread Tire Association
Pacific Grove, CA

ICC bumpers 
In reference to an article in your June issue, I wonder when the discussion arrives at ICC bumper rules, why is there never a statement about the cars driving under trailers? Why should the trucking industry absorb the cost of protecting car drivers who follow too close, speed, and not pay attention?

A truck stops slower than a car, has more lighting on it to warn of an impending stop, and rarely is in a panic stop mode anyway. The discussion should be that cars should have to build front-end impact resistant structures to protect the occupants.

Jim Bly
Artesia, NM

Our favorite letter of the month
Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you and your staff thanks. Having been a member for a number of years, I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of your “family” on several occasions. These have been in person, on the phone and by email.

Each time, I was treated like someone they had known since we were all in diapers. They went out of their way to help me any way that they could and were genuinely interested in my problem(s). Where do you find these people? They’re great!

As to OOIDA as a whole, your organization does not know the meaning of BS. You shoot straight from the hip and go straight for the throat ... no intro, no warm-up band.

You people do not care if I’m fresh out of driving school hauling freight for 25 cents a mile or the president/CEO of a multibillion-dollar transportation and logistics corporation. We are all equal in your eyes because we all have a CDL. In essence, you are telling America, “Hey, I’m a professional trucker. I keep you alive. Let me do my job. Don’t mess with me!” This is the best investment of $45 I can imagine.

Jim, to you and all of your staff ... just keep doing what you’re doing and damn the torpedoes.

Dwain Peevey
San Angelo, TX

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