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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2021.12.25

This is the TDMST Weekly Round-Up of news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending December 25, 2021.

We welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

 

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

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1. Regarding ELDs, HOS, truckers, and training:

ELDs (Electronic Logging Devices)

At least two proposed changes to regulations affecting truckers were put in place, purportedly to “save lives”:

  • On August 1, 2013, I wrote the guest blog entitled “The New Hours of Service Rule: Impact on Truckers’ Finances, Numerical Fallacies and Common Sense Questions,” in which I cited: “One source stated, ‘FMCSA estimated that these new safety regulations will save 19 lives and prevent about 1,400 crashes and 560 injuries each year.'”
  • On December 4, 2017, I recorded a video and wrote, “Electronic Logging Devices Mandate Commentary,” in which I cited: “What about the cost of lives? The ELD mandate has been put into place to save an estimated 26 lives every year. Let’s take that $2.1 BILLION annual cost and divide that by 26 lives. That means that each of those lives is worth over $80,769,230 annually. Why aren’t truckers being treated and paid as if they were worth that much money?”

At the end of my guest blog post referenced above, I stated:

What will it take to demonstrate whether the new HOS rule is about safety or control? I re-state what we asked through our blog on July 2, which was based on this article: “What if the new HOS rules don’t reduce truck driver fatigue or improve safety? What if the ‘common sense, data-driven changes’ and reduced work hours back fire? Will the FMCSA be willing to reverse course? How long will it take before we know?”

OK, so here we are — 4 years after the Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) mandate was put in place. What happened and what do we know?

It is obvious that the “wisdom” of the powers-that-be that foisted the ELD monstrosity on the smaller carriers and independent truckers were wrong. It is time to reverse this decision and let the truckers make their own commonsense decisions about when to operate their trucks.

HOS (Hours of Service)

I continue to question the “wisdom” of putting in place “emergency declarations” for truckers when there are specific situations like severe weather or medical needs if truckers cannot be trusted full-time to know how to operate their trucks.

Truckers

Training

The U.S. Constitution does not authorize the federal government to put “training standards” in place for those who operate commercial motor vehicles. This issue is clearly left up — per the Tenth Amendment — to the states and the people.

 

2. Regarding theft, holidays, and wish list:

Theft

Please be on your guard regarding the potential for tractor, trailer, and cargo theft at all times!

Holidays

Wish list

  • Dear Santa: A wish list for American truckersAt the top of the list is “Honor and respect for truck drivers and others in our industry” and although this article does not specifically mention it, the people whom I would put at the top of the list who need to honor and respect truckers are lawmakers and bureaucrats who create and enforce trucking regulations.

 

3. Regarding sentencing, CFI, CVSA, and drugs:

Sentencing

Regarding this situation, one trucker wrote on December 23 in a private trucking group on Facebook:

After finding out today the the driver sentenced to 110 years in prison was offered multiple plea deals and declined everything outside of a traffic violation my response here still stands even more so. For over 25 years I’ve been a trucker and I can tell you that the decisions that led to the deaths of the 4 victims falls squarely on him, he chose to ignore the run away truck ramp, he overheated his brakes causing them to give out and he chose not to crash off the highways but rather directly into all those vehicles he hit so in my opinion although extremely harsh I do feel he does deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison because the lives he took can’t spend theirs living. Peace

Please remember all of the other accidents in which professional truck drivers rear-end other motorists and are held accountable. Why should this one be any different, especially since people died in the crash?

CFI

CVSA

Drugs

Never, ever agree to haul illegal drugs, no matter how much you are promised.

 

4. Regarding autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, emissions, and fuel:

Autonomous vehicles

I absolutely oppose the use of self-driving, driverless, and autonomous commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public, but share these articles as a courtesy to help you stay current on the issue:

Electric vehicles

Emissions

Fuel

 

5. Regarding COVID-19, supply chain, ports, and capacity:

COVID-19

Please bear in mind that some doctors and scientists have said that the jabs are generating the variants — and that the powers-that-be see a lucrative cash cow in keeping people in an endless loop of jabs and b00sters. The more synthetic stuff that is injected into the human body, the harder one’s God-given immune system has to work to try to overcome it — if the synthetic stuff can be overcome at all! Do not fall for the lie that vaxxine passports will keep us safe, because it is all really about control.

Supply chain

You’re probably going to read that Mr. Biden or the White House fixed the supply chain issue. That’s laughable. Thanks to all of you truckers who helped solve this issue! But please do not sell yourselves short when it comes to being paid what you’re worth!

Ports

Capacity

 

6. Regarding economy, bonuses, employment, and pay:

Economy

It is now winter in the northern hemisphere, so please stay on your guard when it comes to safety and great truck operation.

Bonuses

Employment

Pay

 

7. Regarding inflation, insurance, taxes, and sustainability:

Inflation

Insurance

Taxes

Sustainability

 

8. Regarding last mile, politics, regulations, and Nikola:

Last mile

Politics

If you feel strongly about something political, please get in touch with your elected officials to express your opinion.

Regulations

Nikola

 

9. Regarding roads, weather, and parking:

Roads

Weather

Parking

 

10. Regarding safety, accidents, and staged:

Safety

Accidents

Please read through the articles listed below and see if there is anything you can glean that will help you avoid being put in the type of situation leading up to a similar accident.

Staged

 

11. Regarding recall, surcharges, and tolls:

Recall

Surcharges

Tolls

 

12. Regarding recognition and awards:

Congratulations to all of those who were recognized or issued an award!

 

My husband Mike and I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.

Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2021.12.25 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.