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Perspective February 15-28, 2021 • 12 R Letters Open letter penned to Rhode Island officials regarding truck-only tolls Sirs, You are currently reading the words of a disgruntled patron of the I-95 TOT (trucks only tolls) in Rhode Island. New York pulled this “trucks only” business 10 years ago and, if it makes you feel any better, their culpability runs deeper because the NYS Thruway was built with bond money, not tax money. Furthermore, the NY tolls were scheduled to be removed from that thoroughfare in the ’80s, as the bonds were paid off. I know; I worked there at the time. But that’s another episode of “Trucker’s Lament.” Please allow me to inform anyone within eyeshot about the motivations on the part of RI officialdom and RIDOT. The reason this TOT became reality in RI can be summed up in one word: bullying. No matter what you or your minions proffer as the reason you started this unfair toll, there is no doubt of the salient reason: You did it because you knew you could get away with it; that’s as clear as Loretta Lynn’s sister. Consider: Most commercial vehicle traffic in RI is transient, not residents of the Ocean State. I’ve been traversing this state for 30 years, and I know. Not being residents, our influence with your legislature, governing bodies and your DOT is less than nil. Ergo, our complaints are swept aside with nary a glance (but possibly a snicker). When I was in the U.S. Air Force, I attended electronics school. The first thing I learned was the origin of the salute (in medieval times a junior soldier approaching a senior soldier had to lift his hinged helmet visor with his hand to be recognized). The second thing I learned was that both water and electricity take the path of least resistance. Well, I can add bullying to that short list. If you people had applied this additional cost (i.e., additional, inasmuch as we pay state fuel taxes up the ying-yang already) to local RI motorists there would have been muy, muy, mucho resistance! The resounding hue and cry would’ve squelched your scheme in ictu oculi (in the blink of an eye), and another dream of bloodsucking would’ve remained just that. The spineless jellyfish who engineered this outrage personify the definition of BULLY: person or persons who intimidate ones they perceive as vulnerable. I ask you: Who is more vulnerable to your machinations than a trucker with a wife and kid at home who is briefly traversing your state? What’s he going to do? Find a place to park his semi near the Capitol and lodge his out-of-state grievance? And, as if this were not enough, the federal government pays the lion’s share of the maintenance and repair of your precious 44 miles of Interstate! The parasites should hang their heads in shame. Thanks, G. Ganssle Editor’s note: Due to space constraints, Wendy Miller (Mad Dog’s Daughter) has opted to forego her column for this edition in order to run a letter from a reader regarding an important trucking issue. Don’t worry, she’ll be back next time! 8 ‘Dieselbilly’: Could it be another term for ‘sounds so sweet’? Kris Rutherford krisr@thetruckermedia.com Rhythm of the Road Anyone who has followed this column for the past year or so is aware that when it comes to music, my tastes are a bit intolerant. If it’s not country — and if it’s not classic country — chances are I’m not listening. Still, I prefer to consider my musical tastes as “refined” rather than intolerant. That being noted, recently I temporarily broadened my horizons. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t desert my beloved classic country for some sinister new genre; after all, I refer to all music other than classic country as “snake-dancin’ music.” Instead, I set out on an undercover mission to find a better term for “truck-driving music,” or rather the type of music that typically appeals to truck drivers and the themes related to their lives. Link by link, the worldwide web carried me to places I’d never been, and — perish the thought — to music I’d never heard. As a sub-genre of what is primarily country music, the phrase “truck-driving music” is a bit awkward when you’re writing it repeatedly. It also takes up three words, where surely one or two should suffice. Even if it does require three words, 17 letters are far too many (I mean, “rock ’n’ roll” only takes nine letters). But finding a shorter phrase wasn’t the only reason for my venture into music unknown. Even within classic country, “truck-driving music” is one of several phrases used to describe the subgenre. Others, while referring to the same music and the same songs, may label truck-driving music as “truck-driver music,” “trucking music,” “trucker music,” “music for the road” or some other phrase. My journey was a bit arduous. Even in music other than classic country, the words to describe truck driving music seldom varied. Then I came across one of those performers who isn’t so much known by his name but rather the bands with which he has played. Bill Kirchen is one of those musicians who doesn’t seem to fit into any specific musical genre. He performs music he likes and lets others decide how it should be categorized. But as a performer of truck-driving music, Kirchen coined a word to describe trucking songs no matter which type of category they might otherwise fall. In Bill Kirchen’s world, “Dieselbilly” says it all. Bill Kirchen is a native of Connecticut but spent most of his youth in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is likely best known for his days of playing lead guitar for the band Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. But before he set out on a professional music career, he learned the art at home, where his parents listened to classical music. See Rhythm on p16 m WORTH REPEATING In this section, The Trucker news staff selects quotes from stories throughout this issue that are just too good to only publish once. In case you missed it, you should check out the stories that include these perspectives. If you have an opinion you would like to share, email editor@thetruckermedia.com. “I think there’s no question that climate change is going to be a big focus of the Biden administration, and I think there are a lot of unknowns there in terms of equipment. For our particular business, as electrification takes place and diesel engines are slowly phased out and electric motors and electrified vehicles are developed, the whole training program has to be reassessed.” — Chris Thropp, president of Pennsylvania-based Sage Corp., which operates Sage Truck Driving Schools, on the number of trucking jobs directly related to fracking Full story on Pages 1 and 6. “Because of the pandemic, 2020 was obviously a very challenging year for the economy overall, and that is reflecting in the tonnage index’s dip from the previous year. Despite that, truck tonnage clearly outperformed the broader economy as freight continued to move in the face of a myriad of COVID-related challenges faced by the country.” — Bob Costello, chief economist for American Trucking Associations on freight tonnage in 2020 Full story on Pages 17 and 18.
THETRUCKER.COM Brad Klepper exclusive to the trucker Ask the Attorney Perspective February 15-28, 2020 • 13 Remember that roadside interactions can affect citations, inspection violations One of the problems with writing columns like this is that between the time I actually write the article and the date the article is published, the “hot topic” I wrote about is no longer hot. Or, worse yet, new facts have come to light that make my earlier opinion moot. With that said, I thought I would write about something I deal with every day — trucking and roadside interactions. In case you were unaware, 2020 was a really strange year. When the pandemic hit in the spring, we saw the number of citations being issued and inspections being conducted drop dramatically. Instead of writing citations and conducting inspections, enforcement and the industry worked together to make sure medicine was delivered and there was food on the grocery store shelves. However, all good things must come to an end. Since the “low” point in April 2020, we have seen the number of citations written and inspections conducted steadily rise. In fact, I would say we have returned to “pre-pandemic” numbers. Of course, this is not based on verified data issued by the government; instead, it is based on our legal practice. However, since all we do is defend citations and inspection violations, we have a pretty danged good feel for this stuff. The thing I find interesting is that during the past few months I have run across more inspections and citations with an uncharacteristically high number of violations noted than “normal.” Now don’t get me wrong. There is always going to be the odd inspection/citation that stands out from the crowd. Fortunately, these have always been the exception rather than the norm. However, I am now seeing these occur with more regularity. What in the world is going on to cause this sudden uptick, you say? Well, I am glad you asked. Now understand that my opinion is based solely on what I have seen in my practice — but in my opinion, the reason we are seeing this issue is because of poor roadside interactions with enforcement. I can see it in the way the citations are written. OK, I can hear it now: “How do you know that, Smarty Pants?” Well, here is my answer: I have been contesting citations and inspections for quite some time, and as a result, I generally know how the officer can write a citation. For example, if you bypass a port of entry in New Mexico you can receive a citation for bypassing a port of entry, failure to obey a traffic-control device, or other violations. If the officer wrote you a citation but only listed one violation, I know he cut you a break in the field and you had a good interaction. Two violations means it maybe was not quite as good an interaction, but probably still OK. More than that, and I know it did not go well. The same can be said for inspections. Assuming you are driving a reasonably maintained vehicle, a couple of violations can be normal. If there are more than five, I begin to take notice; more than 10 and I am concerned. More than 30 — yes, I HAVE seen that — and I know somebody said something about someone’s momma. Don’t do that. In addition to reading citations like tea leaves, I talk to enforcement and prosecutors on pretty much a daily basis. My conversations with them confirm that I am not making this up. In fact, do you know what the best thing is an officer can say to me when we are discussing a case? It’s easy: “I don’t recall your client.” If I hear that, I know everyone acted professionally, and our chances of getting a positive outcome go up. In contrast, when I hear, “Yes, I remember your client. Let me tell you what happened,” I know I am in for a long day. So, the next time you have an interaction with enforcement, please remember this: The officer is just doing his job. He is not targeting you specifically, although I know it can feel this way. He is out to keep the roads safe for you to do your job and for everyone else to do theirs. I am sure that if you took a survey of enforcement, writing tickets and doing roadside inspections is not at the top of the “things we love to do” list. But it has to be done. Why? Because there are people out there on the highways who are truly unsafe and need to be taken off the road. Unfortunately, no one labels the side of their truck with a logo that says, “Unsafe Trucking LLC.” So, stops have to be made, inspections have to be performed and citations have to be written. This is where the professional part comes into play. Do not take it personally. Do not make it personal. Do not bring anybody’s momma into the conversation. Be prepared. Be courteous. Be polite. And most importantly, be professional. Understand that this is where we begin when defending your citation. Also, understand that everyone is entitled to have a bad day, even enforcement. You know how you feel when a four-wheeler cuts you off? Or when you are trying to solve a problem at home from a thousand miles away? My point is that the officer is a person, just like you — trying to do their job, provide for their family and deal with all the complications that life brings. Extend them the same courtesy that you want to be extended to you. I promise this will make everything go better and get you back on the road quicker. At the end of the day, you cannot always control the circumstances of a stop. You cannot control the mood of the officer stopping you. You See Attorney on p16 m tHanK yoU to flatbed truck drivers and all essential workers on the front line of covid-19 • Local, Regional & OTR • Percentage Paid Weekly • Great Home Time and Benefits including Paid Holidays apply online now www.thetrucker.com/pii 866.819.8913 • Ask About Our Pay Guarantee & Vacation paid training program for company drivers
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