Any interest in an activist drivers group?
- Thread starter paullud
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paullud
Veteran Expediter
Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for World Revolution here are some activist, but I think many of them dont work, well not yet anyway. so, lets all quit, run for them thar hills, circle the wagons, load the muskets, trim the wicks, secure all water tight hatches, dive dive, down bubble 3 degrees, level off at 200ft, open out doors torpedo tubes 3 and 6, engine room all stop, secure for silent running, bong bong bong, bogies 25 miles, and so on. Anyone got coffee.
The sad part is although we may not agree with a lot of what OWS protesters wanted they went out and did something to try and force change. The vast majority of drivers can't say they have done anything themselves other than complain on internet forums or in the truck stop. What can anyone here say that they themselves have done to create change in this industry?
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BigCat
Expert Expediter
I run legal. That's about it for me. I'll admit Paul I'm too chicken**** to do anything out of the normal sitting through inspections and cooperating. While they can't force you to cooperate it is just easier to take the bs from them rather than not and have them make it hard on you and your company.
Just my $.02 take it for what it's worth.
Mayfield Express
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I looked over this thread again, and I'm not sure what I would need to protest. A level 1 inspection? Let's see, the officer checks my log and other documentation, we go out to the truck and go over the lights, tires and brakes, I get a sticker and a copy of the form documenting the inspection. This all takes up less than a half hour of my time. What is it I'm supposed to be pizzed off about?
paullud
Veteran Expediter
We are trained to conform to what everyone views as normal so doing something to stand out can certainly be tough. I mentioned one thing about legally exercising a right and suddenly it is considered a militant group. Any kids that stand out in school now are doped up to make sure they conform, we have lost our rebellious spirit that made our country great. As I stated though it was just one idea but there are other things like getting drivers, their friends, their family, and the general public to write and email certain people. I would like to see drivers working together with the public to make roads safer and a little more courteous.
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whats the beef with the scale guys....just doing their jobs....seems to be twice the numbers of anal truck drivers out there that seem to think they can do as they darn well please....
paullud
Veteran Expediter
I understand that not all drivers mind having their rights violated and look forward to EOBR's but you can chose a company that volunteers for it instead of forcing it on others against their will. It isn't as though I am suggesting a group with mandatory participation. I run legally and safely as any responsible human would do on the roads to protect myself and others.
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BigCat
Expert Expediter
I understand where your coming from. Like the old song that quotes "stand for what you believe or you'll fall for anything" you just can't really do that and expect no repercussions. These scale masters and law enforcement are trained to come down harder when we make their jobs hard.
I'm all for standing up but when you think of the consequences is it really worth it?
Start and activist group where you voice concerns of yourself with other drivers and just maybe someone high up will listen assuming you do it with respect. I'm sure finding other drivers to get involved wouldn't be too hard then but as you stand with the previous ideas you are going to be lone wolf.
And I'm not downing you in any way just offering advice to keep you out of hot water.
Mayfield Express
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I'm all for standing up but when you think of the consequences is it really worth it?
Start and activist group where you voice concerns of yourself with other drivers and just maybe someone high up will listen assuming you do it with respect. I'm sure finding other drivers to get involved wouldn't be too hard then but as you stand with the previous ideas you are going to be lone wolf.
And I'm not downing you in any way just offering advice to keep you out of hot water.
Mayfield Express
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paullud
Veteran Expediter
The whole idea of not turning the lights on or holding the brakes for the officer was simply a thought and I wouldn't suggest anyone do it right now because they would be on their own. I know if drivers think about doing it they would be concerned that the officer would be worse but the officer is there to put you OOS to begin with and states like MO are coming down on officers for not putting enough drivers OOS. I think the big issue that we are facing is the fact that the government doesn't know what to do with our industry because they are running into a HUGE issue, some of their programs worked. We are a much safer and much more professional group of people, I see us working ahead of the government and pursuing safety on our own. Driving a truck is no longer a job for some unprofessional, uneducated, meth head, loser. If you have satellite radio and listen to shows on Road Dog Trucking you hear calls from drivers educating themselves on the business side and regulations. They are calling in about making our industry safer and saying that there needs to be standards setup for training which the government just ignores. We are policing ourselves and they can't take the credit for it so they are looking for ways to step in and trample over us in a bid for office.
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Well, like Ron White says, ya can't fix stupid. I heard a report on the radio of some preliminary numbers from road check and, as usual, OOS for log book was a biggie. So, we have people out here that are so incredibly stupid that they'll run around with their log book out of whack during road check. I guess if I try to imagine myself sitting in the position of someone that regulates such things, I might see the EOBR as a viable solution.
You're right about the fact that some of the things they've done have worked, and that's primarily increased roadside inspections and drug testing.
You're right about the fact that some of the things they've done have worked, and that's primarily increased roadside inspections and drug testing.
Maybe just maybe, all this pounding by the scale guy is finally paying off....some truckers are getting it....some maybe on the edge, ticketed out the kazoo and now its at a point of comply or lose your job....
While I don't drive a truck, I do drive a van with my carrier's name on the doors. I keep my van clean and well maintained. I obey traffic laws and practice common courtesy toward other drivers, shippers/receivers and the general motoring public. These practices aren't nearly as dramatic as rolling roadblocks and tire fires but I think they are more effective in the long run. Simple things like shedding the nekid lady mudflaps, crude bumper stickers, fang grill fronts, dangling testicles, straight pipes, tailgating, speeding, unnecessary use of Jake brakes etc. might garner a little more respect and support from the general public and in turn LEOs, DOT and law makers.
I like this! Also joining and working with organizations like IOODA, Trucker Buddies etc. It's the little things that can make a big difference.
Most E.O. members are O/Os or contracted drivers. By nature, we tend to be an independent lot and thus resist organization. Even if organized, I doubt we could all agree on any specific platform or course of action to take.
This is an issue? It's how they are. What would you suggest, surgery?
How about tighty-whities or a jock strap?
The man has a point. I got cited a few years ago for an inoperative marker light at a scale in Maryland (I-70 east of Baltimore). That is a busy scale and the guy took his time writing me up. That gave me the chance to watch several other truckers come through and come in to be written up for violations of their own. Some of them seemed really dumb in that they were preventable (mine was too, of course, but I was literally on my way to the shop to get the wiring problem fixed; no telling that to the scale cop though).
One driver in particular seemed especially dumb. He was well overweight on his flatbed load and said he had no idea how that could have happened. He did not understand it. The sad thing was, it seemed to me that he was telling the truth. The man is out there driving a truck and had no clue about what was overweight and what was not.
Scale cops focus on the violations and see them every day, all day long. We drivers focus on keeping our rigs and ourselves violation free. We see a violation free truck almost every day, all day long. These experiences will naturally create different perspectives.
The folks who chat it up here in the Open Forum tend to be professional, informed and engaged. But let's face facts. There are a bunch of truck drivers out there that are dumber than a box of rocks, and those are the ones the scale cops deal with a lot. If you were the scale cop behind the counter, you 'd like to believe you have an open mind and fair approach, but when you and deal with the dregs of the industry day after day, it can't help but influence your view of what to expect of the next driver who walks in the door.
I walk in, present my papers, get the OK and out I go. The next guy walks in, has to return to his truck to get his papers because he did not read the sign, comes back in with half of them, then returns with the rest, presents bad documents and then argues, whimpers, makes excuses, lies or does whatever that keeps the cop busy for an hour. Who gets remembered that day? Which driver colors the cop's mind?
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Neither should. Each driver should be accorded the same professionalism the scale LEO's should have without regard to who walked in the door last.
I worked in a prison for 12 years; my bride for 15. You want to talk about the dregs of society? Does it get any worse? You learn there, very quickly, that everyone gets treated the same. Not only does it help maintain order, but it is what a professional does.
In prison, however, convicts have a grievance mechanism for poor treatment by staff. For we dumb mopes that are subject to the idiocy that is CSA 2010, where the LEO can be judge, jury, and executioner (and trust me.....they know a warning on an inspection does much more harm than a citation), there no such outlet.
I worked in a prison too. Nowhere near as long as you and your wife, but long enough to understand exactly what you are talking about.
There is a difference. Yes, indeed, each driver should be accorded the same level of professionalism without regard to who walked in the door last. But that is an ideal. At a scale, the scale cop is not in an environment where the inmates can take you anytime they want to.
At a scale, a lone cop or handful of cops have all the power. In a prison, a lone Bull or group of Bulls (corrections officers) can be taken by the inmates at will.
The stakes are lower at a scale. A driver gets written up or put out of service. He has not been in a cage with rage building for years like in prison. He has not lived in a perpetually stressful environment where he deals with predators and must keep his guard up all the time. His ability to play nice with others may be crude by some standards but will likely be more refined than that of the offenders who found their way into prison.
Scale cops can afford to be less professional and even-handed because it is less likely that the failure to do so will result in having one's head split open when struck from behind with a wooden roller that was removed from a mop bucket.
The Bulls I worked with in prison (I was staff in the shops) were indeed professional and evenhanded, as we were all trained to be. It worked. I don't think scale cops have the same mindset because their lives do not depend on it. They are not dealing with convicted violent offenders on a continual basis.
Finally, as you mention, there is no meaningful grievance procedure for drivers who feel they are treated unfairly by a scale cop. A corrections officer and inmate will see each other the next day and the day after and in many cases a decade after. A scale cop writes up a driver and may never see him or her again. If the driver wants to complain, it takes a major commitment of time and money.
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Originally Posted by Moot
dangling testicles
Ummmm, You guys are really testing me, aren't you.
dangling testiclesUmmmm, You guys are really testing me, aren't you.
Uh-huh... So... What's up picture dude? Ya gonna step up?