The Trucker Newspaper - September 15, 2018

THETRUCKER.COM
Perspective September 15-30, 2018 • 19
b Letters from page 18 b
drivers are in control.
Thanks for letting me vent.
— Keith Stouch
Banish ELDs, use paper logs and
fix it so 14-hour clock doesn’t stop
Take the ELDs out of the trucks, put drivers
back on paper logs and fix the 14-hour
clock so if a driver stops during their 11-hour
drive time so does the 14-hour clock stop.
Then the highways will be safer, period.
That helps a driver to be safe on the road and
keeps America safe.
If you think about it and let it sink in,
drivers won’t have to kill themselves or anyone
else to get some miles in.
Thank you for listening to me. Also, take
all computers out of trucks.
— Jerry Turpen
ELD, HOS problems really caused by
carriers’ operations and dispatch people
The problem lies with operations and dispatch,
with this “do it or else” attitude.
The way they schedule you, if you stop to
get a cup of coffee, you’ll be late.
That leaves you stranded at customers’
[facilities] and unloading and you’re out of
hours,when you’re supposed to be recovering
from a hard day’s work, [working] all
day [and] unloading on your break. And if
you say something you’ll sit, you’ll never get
home, you won’t get miles, and you’ll go to
the crappiest places on the planet.
Why is it always [on] the driver? The
problems lie with operations and dispatch.
I’ve seen it for 28 years now. I can’t believe
y’all can’t figure it out.
— John Hazlett
ELDs lost credibility when exemptions
given for type of cargo being hauled
The ELD mandate lost all credibility the
day exemptions were given for the type of
cargo hauled, specifically the motion picture
exemption as justification.
They said the drivers where required to
submit logs daily instead of the 13 days for
all other carriers. I don’t know of any small
carrier or one truck owner who would object
to filing their drivers’ logs on a daily basis to
get out of the costs of ELDs.
Then as everyone who has ever hauled
live animals [knows], when going long distances,
you can’t stop for 10 hours or the
animals would probably die if not unloaded.
And then if you unload them, the weight loss
would lower the price of the cows/pigs/sheep.
So the exemption for live animal transportation
proves that the Hours of Service have for
years been unreasonable.
But the [Anne] Ferro [former FMCSA administrator]
group would not listen to anyone.
But The Trucking Alliance as you, the
editor, should remember from my comments
four years ago, are not concerned with safety.
Their only motivation is to corner the
major parts of the freight markets by being
able to provide drop-and-hook trailers, thus
driving the one-truck owners and small carriers
out of those markets plus bankrupting
a bunch along the way so they have to either
drive or lease to them. It’s all driven by
money.
— Phil Killerlain
Drivers need to stand up for their
rights; ELDs cause late deliveries
Drivers should grow a set and stand up for
their rights. How many four-wheeler drivers
get tired and have accidents, but nobody is
controlling them.
And don’t be late making a delivery or the
customer is mad at you because you were 10
minutes away and the ELD violated you.
— Bob M.
Trucker says easy to pick on drivers;
glad he’s already retired from industry
I’m retired, thank God. [It’s] easy pickings
[with] truck drivers.
I ran a month in Australia without a logbook
in a B-double. [It was the] best month
ever. Slept when I wanted, ate when I wanted,
got my loads in on time.
— Bryan Pigdon 8
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