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Feedback
March 1, 2010
| by: Truckers News Staff
CSA 2010 Not a Win for Drivers
I do not agree with Editor Randy Grider’s article about CSA 2010 in the January issue of Truckers News. CSA 2010 will not present a golden opportunity for any driver, regardless of his or her driving record. What CSA 2010 does is tighten down government control on an industry that is already so heavily regulated that drivers can not make a good living for themselves, much less their families.
When one speaks of measuring a person’s BMI in order for them to drive a commercial truck, this raises a serious question as to when law enforcement is going to require a person to pass a BMI in order for them to get a regular drivers license. When will law enforcement require everyday people to get a physical and drug screen in order for them to operate a four-wheeler, six-wheeler or one of the large motor homes? When is law enforcement going to get their heads out of their rectums and understand that it’s the four-wheeler or six-wheeler that causes seven out of 10 accidents on the road that involve big rigs. I would also like to know why a ticket received while operating a car or pickup truck affects my CDL? I would also like to know why a ticket I receive while operating a commercial motor vehicle affects my insurance for my privately owned four-wheelers? The system is not fair and equal!
If the Department of Transportation wants trucking to be safer then might I suggest that it look at trucking dispatchers, pickup and delivery schedules and the requirements placed on drivers by the customers themselves. What the DOT needs to do is get its nose out of trucking and concentrate more on education of the four-wheelers as to driving around big rigs.
If it does come down to a requirement to measure BMI in order for me to continue driving, then I’ll become a former driver. I spent half my life in the military and was subject to weight screening, BMI tests, constant physical conditioning, eating the right types of food and physical testing every six months.
What it boils down to is the DOT, along with company and customer requirements, places a lot of stress on drivers. Some drivers are not equipped to handle this kind of pressure, so their weight goes up, their blood pressure goes up and they get angry very easily. Combine that with the pressure placed on drivers to avoid all the stupid mistakes made by drivers of four-wheelers, and you have a person whose nerves are almost shot. I refuse to let all this get next to me. I also refuse to allow government to intrude any further into my private life.
William Loyd, Masillon, Ohio
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- Randall-Reilly™
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The old saying goes, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The more I read about the Hours of Service recommendations, the more I realize the truth of this.
The proposed HOS rules have already been discounted in various media, by a number of drivers who have pointed out they aren’t based on reality. Other publications and sources have shown that the statistics used by FMCSA are basically flawed, that it has cherry picked its data.
This gets to the heart of why they’re doing this, and it has nothing to do safety on the nation’s highways. If anyone gave a damn about safety, people convicted of DUIs would lose their licenses on the first bust, not after half a dozen. This is nothing more than a political move, pure and simple. It’s about the money, ours, and how much of it they can take from us.
As President Obama calls on the government to cut back on needless and complicated regulation, Ray LaHood thumbs his nose at the president and does the exact opposite. Maybe he’s looking for the next job, or maybe he’s working towards a run for the Oval Office himself. Perhaps, like a number of other political appointees, he’s looking towards the day when he can become a “consultant” to our industry. (If memory serves, that’s what usually happens to the heads of the FMCSA: They leave office and become consultants.)
Regardless of what’s behind LaHood’s actions, they don’t serve us well, and will create more trouble on the road.
We’re not helped by the actions of the American Trucking Association, and their calls for governing all trucks. Someone, it seems, has forgotten what it’s like to drive.
I have rarely had need to drive any faster than 65, but the two occasions when I needed to, it was good to have that power. To my way of thinking, if you need to drive a governed truck to stay legal, you need to park it and turn in the keys. It’s called self-control, and if you don’t have it, you’ll do the rest of us a favor by getting off the road.
We don’t need more regulation. We need more common sense. Trucking schools can’t teach it. You learn it over time, by doing the job. There’s something to be said for apprenticeships, and for better pay. There’s nothing to be said for the current state of regulation, which penalizes good work instead of irresponsibility.
As a driver, I’m not backing this. As a voter, I’m voting against anyone who backed this.
Thanks, and stay safe,
Jeff “Roadtoad” Nesmith