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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.08.05

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.08.05 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending August 5, 2023, written by Vicki Simons.

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

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding Yellow, Teamsters, UPS, employment, and employment – rehire:

Yellow

Despite my statement last week, according to this August 2, 2023, article, Abrupt layoffs center of lawsuit against Yellow:

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A class-action suit filed Tuesday against Yellow Corp. said the company failed to provide a required 60 days’ layoff notice to its 30,000 employees.
…
The class action includes all affected employees at Yellow and its four operating companies — YRC Freight, Holland, New Penn and Reddaway — not provided Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices.

It is my hope that all truckers who had been with Yellow — and who want to continue working — will be able to find suitable employment elsewhere.

Meanwhile, here are more articles about Yellow’s trouble:

Teamsters

UPS

Employment

Employment – rehire

According to the first article in the second bulleted article list below:

The arbitrator ruled in favor of the truck driver, citing alcoholism as a disability, and said that the company should have made reasonable accommodations for her.

While others disagree with me, I do not believe that alcoholism is a “disability.”

Rather, I believe that alcoholism is an addiction that can be overcome, which is a great deal different from a physical handicap that cannot be overcome.

According to Wikipedia:

Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person’s lifetime.

This resource states:

Diagnosable drug and alcohol addictions, or substance use disorders (SUDs), are considered disabilities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.

Furthermore, according to Wikipedia:

A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment made in a system to accommodate or make fair the same system for an individual based on a proven need. That need can vary. Accommodations can be religious, physical, mental or emotional, academic, or employment-related, and law often mandates them.

However, back to the article:

The truck driver had consumed at least nine beers prior to the crash, and told her employer she was an alcoholic a week after the incident. The driver claims she then got help for her drinking problem.

If it was the case that this trucker admitted being an alcoholic after the “DUI crash” that “caused damage to the truck but did not result in injuries,” it seems to me that this was a case of concealment or deceit.

Must trucking companies now have to make “reasonable accommodations” for each and every nuance in every trucker’s life?

While the article does not state the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of the trucker at the time of the crash, we can read info about BAC here (the first being state-specific):

Based on the concealment of the trucker’s alcoholism, I think it is a mistake to have re-hired this person as a professional truck driver.

I believe that this situation will (more likely than not) set a precedent for other truckers to drink alcohol and then drive.

Remember that professional truck drivers are supposed to be held to a higher standard than are other drivers.

Also, while I’m glad that no injuries were sustained as a result of the crash, what if someone had been injured or killed as a result?

Did this arbitrator’s decision de-value the trucking company’s equipment, other drivers, and even the trucker involved?

Personally, I think that all 3 were devalued.

I am in mortal dread over what may happen as a result of this one decision.

2. Regarding AEBs, internal combustion engine, parts, side underride guards, speed limiters, and tires:

AEBs

The article linked just below includes a personal account that one trucker had of a “near-miss” sitution caused by the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system in her truck.

Internal combustion engine

Although the internal combustion engine has worked well for decades, the powers-that-be are trying their best to force everone onto electric vehicles.

Parts

Side underride guards

According to the article linked just below, among the problems of installing side underride guards include these:

  • intermodal chassis, which are commonly stacked;
  • ground clearance at rail crossings;
  • backing up into steep docks;
  • making sharp turns;
  • flatbed accessories storage space;
  • the costs of installing and maintaining the guards;
  • increased fuel consumption from carrying the 400-800-pound devices;
  • hampering performing pre- and post-trip inspections;
  • increased wear and tear on trailer bodies;
  • the potential for damage to the low-hanging rails; and
  • others.

Before installing such a device on your trailer, please do your due diligence.

Also, if you disagree with this “mandate,” contact your federal lawmakers.

Speed limiters

If you believe that speed limiters in commercial motor vehicles are a bad idea, please let your federal elected officials know why.

Tires

3. Regarding autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, and emissions:

Autonomous vehicles

I totally oppose the operation of autonomous, driverless, and self-driving 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 topic.

Electric vehicles

Emissions

4. Regarding fuel, fuel – cells, fuel – diesel, fuel – gas, fuel – hydrogen, fuel – LPG, fuel prices, and oil:

Fuel

Fuel – cells

Fuel – diesel

Fuel – gas

Fuel – hydrogen

Fuel – LPG

Fuel prices

Oil

5. Regarding crashes, fatalities, health, and violence:

Crashes

Please scan through these articles to see what you can learn about what triggered the crashes, so that you can avoid being involved in a similar mishap.

Fatalities

We express our deep sympathy — and offer our condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died in these crashes.

Can you learn anything from the articles below that would help prevent being involved in a fatal large truck crash?

Health

Violence

6. Regarding distracted driving, drowsy driving, and drugs:

Actively work to prevent being distracted while you drive.

Distracted driving

Drowsy driving

Drugs

7. Regarding economy, fraud, lottery, theft, and tolls:

Economy

Fraud

Lottery

Theft

Tolls

8. Regarding politics, ports, and technology:

Politics

Ports

Technology

9. Regarding CSA, operations, and stuck:

CSA

Operations

My husband Mike used to work for a trucking company whose policy was that every truck crash was totally preventable by the trucker!

Of course, that is totally false and these articles are just two examples of why.

Stuck

This is ridiculous.

In response to a similar article to the one linked below, I wrote the following on Facebook:

If the road signs in a country are written in a particular language, then regarding that language, yes, truckers need to be able to:
– both read;
– and understand.

In my opinion, there are no excuses.

Here’s another article:

10. Regarding business, insurance, recalls, regulations, and training:

Business

Insurance

Recalls

If a recall has been issued for your tractor or trailer, please attend to getting the repair as soon as possible.

Regulations

Training

11. Regarding inspections, maintenance, mechanics, and safety:

Inspections

If you keep yourself and your rig in perpetual readiness for an inspection, you will never be caught off-guard.

Maintenance

Mechanics

Safety

12. Regarding pay, rates, and rewards:

Pay

Rates

Rewards

Previously, we wrote about rewards programs on our site.

My favorite of the items listed in the article linked just below is “Make goals attainable.”

It reminds me of an article that I wrote about a $75,000 safe driving bonus, which I felt was beyond the reach of many truckers.

Understand the terms of all rewards programs.

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






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