Just a idea. To fix these problems

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Carguy, Jun 10, 2013.

  1. Carguy

    Carguy Light Load Member

    58
    4
    Mar 18, 2012
    Detroit MI
    0
    So guys as I'm sitting in my truck tonight waiting for my 34 to be done, I'm thinking about these new rules that came in effect and how I picked up my load Saturday drove 680 miles yesterday stopped the truck at 4am and with these rules I can't leave the truck stop until Tuesday morning but I have a delivery Monday at 8 am. DOT has been sticking it to us soo much.... I cant think of how to make more money anymore. The fact that drivers are hard to find, freight is cheap, repairs are up.... Every driver says the same I can't save enough, owners say the same and small fleets are making penny's to the mile.

    As my dad always said."check your actions before blaming others. We as drivers let this happen to us. It's not DOTs fault or brokers or mega company's. it's our own fault that we let them do this to us. If we all take actions this would change sooner or later, I have customer that pay decent ratesto get the products off the docks. But dot is making it hard to make out customers happy. when small company's don't have 2 trucks available for every load like the mega carriers.

    What can we all do as drivers to abuse from dot, brokers and all the other problems?? Please share your ideas.
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. WorldofTransportation

    WorldofTransportation Heavy Load Member

    702
    577
    Sep 20, 2009
    Your mother
    0
    at this point the only thing we can do is refuse to move the trucks but that won't work either because someone else will do it... we are screwed ...that is about it
     
  4. Carguy

    Carguy Light Load Member

    58
    4
    Mar 18, 2012
    Detroit MI
    0
    Why can't we stop the trucks, when brokers need them most? One week per quarter.. I'll stop all my trucks for repairs. Can you imagine what would happen if we can get 40% of the trucks to stop. Dot would hear a ear full. The economy can't move without us!
     
  5. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

    12,466
    23,621
    Mar 29, 2008
    TN
    0
    I see opportunity in these new regulations but only time will tell.
     
  6. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

    12,812
    6,135
    Jul 22, 2008
    Owensboro , KY
    0
    Work on getting a tenth of a per cent of trucks to stop and go from there . I can't even imagine that happening though .
     
  7. rogueunh

    rogueunh Road Train Member

    1,077
    21,215
    Jan 4, 2011
    0
    Right, since every truck reads this message board, I definitely see this happening.
     
    j3411 and WorldofTransportation Thank this.
  8. WorldofTransportation

    WorldofTransportation Heavy Load Member

    702
    577
    Sep 20, 2009
    Your mother
    0
    Because you can't stop all the trucks.. People have been trying to get a strike organized since 1970's.. It never works and never will work.. Swift, JB Hunt, Werner Schineder(SP) and all the other large companies will just put us all out of business even faster.. They will refuse to shut down because like they said in the 90's if they can make pennies per mile they will be alright... The new regulations are not the only problem...and you will never get a strike organized that will have any affect on the country... Sorry but true..
     
  9. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

    7,740
    14,412
    May 7, 2011
    0
    I just think we should do EXACTLY as our government bureaucrats demand.

    They don't want us driving between the hours of 1 AM and 5 AM....evidence of this being the requirement that our 34 hour restart requires two consecutive nights with this precise time frame "off duty" along with the current 14 clock/10 break (14 + 10 = a full 24 hour day) that we've had for the past several years.

    So what if NOBODY fired up their truck on Monday, July 1 until after 5 AM in the morning? All of the trucks that normally run overnight (when few others are using the roads) would be right there in the fustercluck with all of the "commuters" on their way to their "normal" jobs. That typical 30 minute commute might take an hour or more because of the increased truck volume on the road during that morning rush hour.

    Where did all of these trucks come from? They are the trucks the government did not want on the road overnight...so now they are on the road during the day.

    Then, between the hours of 5 and 7 PM when everybody is trying to get home, we need to be out in full force again trying to park all of these trucks for the night since the government bureaucrats don't want us on the roads. Besides that, since we started our work day at 5 AM, our 14 hour clock is winding down for the day anyway...the FMCSA HOS regulations state that we now need to shut down for a 10 hour break. This will cause yet another fustercluck during the evening rush.

    Repeat on Tuesday. And again on Wednesday. And Thursday. And Friday. Do what you have to do to get yourself home on Saturday, though, so that we can start fresh again the following Monday.

    Of course we'll need articulate spokespeople out there talking to the media answering the questions about "why are all of these trucks suddenly in the way and where did all of these trucks come from?" In other words, if you are a toothless high school drop-outs who hasn't bathed in months, we don't want you being the one representing us in the media.

    We NEED drivers who will cast a POSITIVE light on the industry to fill this role...well dressed, well spoken, PROFESSIONAL drivers to explain that under the new rules that took effect on July 1, drivers need to have 2 consecutive nights being off duty between the hours of 1 AM and 5 AM in order to restart their hours for the next week. If a driver didn't make it home until Saturday morning, that means that Sunday 1 AM to 5 AM was the first day, and Monday 1 AM to 5 AM was the second day....so at 5 AM on Monday morning, the driver who made it home on Saturday is able to leave home to go deliver the nation's freight, instead of being able to leave Sunday night to drive during the overnight hours and be off the road by the time the morning rush hour commenced as has been his typical routine for the past several years.

    Also, explain the 14 hour rule...how starting at 5 AM means that your work day MUST end by 7 PM...which lead to the chaos during the afternoon rush hour as all of these trucks were trying to find ample parking as their limited work day came to a close.

    Use that to transition into the next issue regarding the availability of truck parking....how it had been in short supply when there were trucks that could run during those overnight hours, but now that the government has pretty much mandated trucks operate during the day, it only exacerbated the already existing problem of where to park all of these trucks for their required 10 hour break.

    Encourage people who don't enjoy sitting in traffic during their commute to call their lawmakers to get rid of this ridiculous 1 AM to 5 AM provision in the restart rule.

    Encourage communities around truck stops to call their lawmakers to light a fire under their rears in figuring out what to do with all of these trucks at night now that the rules punish anyone who chooses to drive during the overnight hours.

    Basically we've got to get in the way so that "regular" people take notice...but do so in a way that doesn't come across as petty or childish.

    We need to do our jobs EXACTLY as the government is demanding....and have articulate spokespeople out there in the media explaining what is going on and WHY it is happening.

    Explain our side in a manner that will be understood and received along with a call to action to have those ordinary commuters calling their lawmakers.

    It will be a fine line to walk, for sure....but IF we operate strictly by the book we CAN make our point without resorting to childish tactics.

    Shutdowns and strikes aren't much different than the kid on the playground who doesn't get his way taking his ball and going home to pout. That proves NOTHING, and you lose income while you are sitting at home...and if you are somebody's employee, you might find yourself out of a job as well because that employer wants his trucks rolling down the road hauling freight.

    Play by the rules and your company cannot get TOO upset....you're just complying with the new rules.

    Play by the rules and the rules will back up your actions....when somebody questions "WHY" you ran the way you did, point to the FMCSA HOS regulations and say "My 34 hour restart didn't end until 5 AM...I started my day as early as I could under the rules."...."My 14 hour day ended at 7 PM, I had to park for the night."...."My 10 hour break was over at 5 AM Tuesday morning, so I left out as early as I could under the rules."

    Work with what you've got, and use it to your advantage whenever possible.

    Run legal. That really is all you've got to do to make it blatantly obvious how utterly ridiculous and unworkable these latest changes truly are.
     
  10. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

    12,466
    23,621
    Mar 29, 2008
    TN
    0
    Hopefully this will cause freight to "needlessly" sit around on loading docks waiting for trucks to pick it up that customers figure should have been there loading it, yesterday. For those who don't need 70 hours a week to make a decent check and get home often it ought to be a good thing. When I first started trucking we never had a 34hr reset and got along just fine. The crazy thing to me is all the drivers complaining they can't work even more hours for the same low pay when what they ought to be seeking is higher pay for the limited hours they can work.
     
    scottied67 Thanks this.
  11. Cranky Yankee

    Cranky Yankee Cranky old ######

    15,317
    209
    Jan 31, 2012
    Green Bay Wi
    0
    if you didn't stop your truck until 4am on sunday morning you couldn't get a 34 in before 8 am Monday to start with
    and under new rules wouldn't have driven past 00:30 sunday to start a 34 anyway with good planning
    the sky isn't falling except to those that cant adjust
    the government is going to become more and more intrusive
    it is what goverments do
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.