Black Smoke Matters...
- Thread starter Ragman
- Start date
Hours of service reform and flexibility is the issue. Not ELD’s. By protesting ELD’s you are basically protesting the lack of ability to cheat. Seriously and people wonder why it’s hard to argue safety and common sense hours of service reform when the FMCSA sees this kind of protest. SMH 
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Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Hours of service reform and flexibility is the issue. Not ELD’s. By protesting ELD’s you are basically protesting the lack of ability to cheat. Seriously and people wonder why it’s hard to argue safety and common sense hours of service reform when the FMCSA sees this kind of protest. SMH
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And what kind of protest would you propose?
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Uneducated opinion here. I had serviced the Semi trucking industry as a commercial tire dealer for many years but until I bought my Transit and started Expediting I had no experience in driving. That said, I have seen fleets and O/O's put large commercial trucks on the road that (IMHO) were totally unsafe. I've also heard many tales from drivers about their "dual" logbooks. I believe that Electronic Logs are a good thing and an industry equalizer.
Like anything, when our Government gets involved they usually go too far with regulations, so I get your point. But I have seen hundreds of comments & posts where drivers boast that they can go 2000 miles without sleep or 30 hours on caffeine, so, it would appear that rules and enforcement are needed. Unfortunately it may have a negative affect on the many drivers that understand their limits and are professional. John Elliott is correct, mass protests are not going to help, but more participation in trade and lobbying groups may.
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Just a thought from a drive by poster. Drivers are paid by the mile and regulated by the hour. Why not regulate by the mile in a given time period. As an example solo driver can drive 700 mile in the previous 24 hours. the electronic log can keep a rolling clock. A driver can sleep when they are tired and drive when they are rested. this would of course force the driver to stop and rest but they could do it when they felt the need not when the Government says they are tired.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
The article stated that a strike in 74, I believe, got the truckers at least part of what they wanted. Why won't they work now? And as far as lobbying, OOIDA is about the extent we can get Washington to listen to us, moneywise. They can't compete with ATA and the other mobsters. Maybe it's time to be the bad guy.
They need to go home or stop running. Not for a day, for a month.
Bring the country to its knees, and do enough damage to make a memorable impression.
Being paid by the mile is ridiculous. Of course the only way to make money is to drive unsafely and speed in horrible conditions.
Truckers need to be paid by the hour, and alternatively, paid by the job. With total freedom in their delivery time. And it needs to be law
Sure you may not want to use me next time. But if I get caught by weather I truly don't want to drive in, I park. You pay. No exceptions
Not even a multi million dollar lawsuit will make trucking companies bat an eye. Not a blip on their radar. They have insurance and barrels of cash
A month long strike of nothing moving would bring so much pressure to bear with freight stuck on the trailers across North America it couldn't be ignored. Customers, business and the government would hold the trucking companies over the flames demanding to know what was wrong. And, they BETTER fix it!
Won't happen. Seems like the average trucker doesn't REALLY care what happens to them. They gripe and complain, but do nothing.
Me? I don't get what I want, I bail. It makes enough of an impression on my immediate employer to get what I want. I've instantly quit. I've held freight hostage and threatened to dump it in the ditch over my check being ready. I've taken months off. I've used their fuel card to pay my way into working for their competition.
I have what I want. I get paid per job. I get to deliver when I safely can, at my own pace. They may charge the customer per mile, but my portion is what I need.
What will you do?
(And yeah Rags I voted)
Bring the country to its knees, and do enough damage to make a memorable impression.
Being paid by the mile is ridiculous. Of course the only way to make money is to drive unsafely and speed in horrible conditions.
Truckers need to be paid by the hour, and alternatively, paid by the job. With total freedom in their delivery time. And it needs to be law
Sure you may not want to use me next time. But if I get caught by weather I truly don't want to drive in, I park. You pay. No exceptions
Not even a multi million dollar lawsuit will make trucking companies bat an eye. Not a blip on their radar. They have insurance and barrels of cash
A month long strike of nothing moving would bring so much pressure to bear with freight stuck on the trailers across North America it couldn't be ignored. Customers, business and the government would hold the trucking companies over the flames demanding to know what was wrong. And, they BETTER fix it!
Won't happen. Seems like the average trucker doesn't REALLY care what happens to them. They gripe and complain, but do nothing.
Me? I don't get what I want, I bail. It makes enough of an impression on my immediate employer to get what I want. I've instantly quit. I've held freight hostage and threatened to dump it in the ditch over my check being ready. I've taken months off. I've used their fuel card to pay my way into working for their competition.
I have what I want. I get paid per job. I get to deliver when I safely can, at my own pace. They may charge the customer per mile, but my portion is what I need.
What will you do?
(And yeah Rags I voted)
Suits may freak over bonuses, but that's far from changing their business model.
(Edit: my current carrier evolved out of a lawsuit. They simply closed the office down, opened under another name, and paid nothing. Dragged on 10+ years...)
(Edit: my current carrier evolved out of a lawsuit. They simply closed the office down, opened under another name, and paid nothing. Dragged on 10+ years...)
Scumbags have left, individually...keeping their bonuses...new office took the orphaned drivers over. But, they are a trucking company...these are nice Scumbags 
guido4475
Not a Member
Amen, brother. Preach it. I agree. Who truckers need to get things done is Johhny Kovack.
guido4475
Not a Member
You’re joking. I realized that.
As a retired Teamster, son of a retired Teamster, and Brother to a soon to be retired Teamster and another brother who is a Union retiree, we say Thank You Jimmy Hoffa.
None of us were goofoffs or slackers. In the 50s/60s Dad was a Union O/O . I was a Union O/O from about 1998-2008.
We all enjoyed pay and benefits near the top of our craft.
When my older Bro retired at 44 years old I think his lump sum retirement was close to $750,000. ( Hired in at 17 and took buyout at 27 years service.)
What exactly are we voting for, the linked article or a strike?
Jeeze, another truck strike.
https://www.expeditersonline.com/forums/threads/truck-strike-rumor-or-fyi.30676/
https://www.expeditersonline.com/forums/threads/truck-strike-rumor-or-fyi.30676/
Is a strike helpful? Yes, no, who cares......
I personally don't think strikes help at all ...... evertbody looses.