Fear the Hammer LOL

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Actually it should go mid 9's in the 1/4 8's if it hooks with spray. Either way it is a real ride and a handfull to keep between the lines alot harder than this Pete.

You can see more of the car here and the pictures as I was building it back at this link.

[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

LOL I was guessing.....not to good with the conversion. Nice ride and impressive numbers

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My belief is until people such as yerself starts emailing our lawmakers and these stupid organizations whom "think" a driver should not take a nap mid-day to safely drive the last half of their day the industry will always be looked down on. Also not to mention the demands of the shippers/receivers. There is too many people telling others what to do and when. I myself take the time out of my day to email, call, write and even show up on the doorstep of the very people who want to make the industry harder BUT I cannot do it alone. So stop venting your frustration here and put it to good use. When you get to a rough spot contact the media, that is the BEST threat. Just ask Rick Boucher aka Virginia Congressman LMAO! I got him in a corner when I questioned him about 3 things. One thing I do want to point out to you is that I can only assume that you have stereotyped a percentage of the drivers that is out there. Let me just give you some food for thought- there is bad apples in every bunch. Stereotyping such as what you have done is what makes the good ones look bad. I know many drivers, some good and some I wouldn't even wanna comment on. But that is the same as calling your credit card company and getting bad customer service then hanging up and calling back and getting one of the best customer service reps you have spoken to in that company....do you see where I am coming from? I am proud to be in the industry and my belief is until everybody stops wetting their pants and losing their passies and gets up and does something about the industry we will forever roll in the misery and stereotyping that is laid upon us. Venting my frustration on the source gets you a lot further than on a forum like this cause it takes you to the source. The time you spend here venting about how bad the industry is controled you could have activley emailed a law maker or anti-trucking organization about the industry. One voice may not be heard but you can make an effort. Another thing about the industry is that factories that people has worked at for so many years has shut down and moved over seas thus making the people take on different jobs and truck driving is one of them. I live in a community like that. 2 factories here shut down laying off 3,000 people and 1,700 going to truck driving! That is a lot of newbies out there. In the end this creates frustration cause the father or mother is taken out of the home and forced to do a job to make ends meet all because of making the big money! See where I am headed with this? So I can understand the frustration from some drivers but like I say there is a bad apple in every bunch! I am by far trying to be mean but just setting on the outside looking in!

It all boils down to 'you can't judge a book by its cover'...Just look at some of these criminals during trial...Sometimes you can't tell the difference between the criminal and the lawer...Well, I suppose they both are criminals...heh...

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No good deed goes unpunished......

My simple belief, is that one company take the first step to improve its business practices. Hire better drivers to make them look good and treat those drivers VERY well. Have a basic set of rules and regulations to keep honest people honest and run with the profits!

Sometimes competition is not the best policy. Especialy when it dilutes way too much and creates a goo that we have today.

On one hand, I am glad there is a job surplus, as it is allowing me to enter the field as a newbie and get my foot in the door on a good career. On the other hand, who else is getting hired? I am a retired electrician and electrical instructor. I am not a dummy by any means, but I am not the sharpest tool in the shed either. I can admit that. But what about the person that doesn't have the mental capaciy to flip a burger, much less drive a truck? These CDL mills are rushing them through.

I called a company yesterday that has a terminal right across the freeway from me, and asked about their requirements for drivers. The lady that answered the phone said jokingly, "Breathing, living, able to fog a mirror. Must be able to walk into the office under own power. No more than 25 felonies in the last year, with no more than 7 recreational drug charges."

Joking or not, although I laughed and said, "Did I get Swift's recruiters?", now I sit and think how sad that is. I understand driving is a tough career and it takes a special kind of person to do it. I just hope I fit the bill.

But seeing all the truck related accidents on the news, yes I know its a media slant, one has to wonder about todays truck driver or perhaps its the company that driver works for. If a company REALLY forces the driver to drive tired and fake a logbook, then they should be punished.

Now I have researched several different companies to get a feel for safety records, turnover rates, etc., and I have narrowed it down to a small handfull of ones that I would WANT to work for. So now I have to worry about the other driver. A good driver should know when enough is enough. A good driver should know better than to trust chemicals to keep him awake. Etc, etc....

I am not saying all drivers are like that, but I can tell that a good number of them are. All I have to do is drive down to the new Pilot down the road from me and see all the 'Wonder pills' on display. I, too, take vitamins, but I buy mine from the Walmart pharmacy department, NOT the checkout counter...

Sorry for the rambling....I don't realisicly see a solution to our image, aside from self policing...

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No good deed goes unpunished......

Let me add one of the basic rules I was taught back when I first joined the Navy, and it's one of the important ones you never hear of.

"A star only shines in the darkness".

That rule kept me out of more lousy work when my peers were doing it, and ensured that my time in the service was much more pleasant than it could have been otherwise. If all the people around you, be they truckdrivers or sailors, operate at a low level of performance, then you don't have to do too much to stand out from the crowd. Whether you make your on the job performance bette than the rest of the group, or if you make your appearance stand out, or whatever you do to make your self stand out a little bit above the herd, it will stand you in good stead. If the companies are hiring drivers with "burger flippers" potential, your skills and work ethic will put you in a better position than they find themselves in.

Whether the result is you get a job with a preferred company, or a little bit better equipment, or treated better by the office, or better loads from your dispatch, one way or another that extra bit of effort will come back to you.

While there may be a job surplus, and parts of the industry would like to fill that with drivers from the lowest common denominator, they will always have a need for a premium driver, capable of giving better service than the rest of the pack.

And positioning yourself to be that premium driver will always be good business sesce on your part.

I couldn't agree more and well written!!

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No good deed goes unpunished......

There's a simple fact of life that people need to understand. OOIDA is not going to change the world for truckers. They change the world for themselves. I'm not necessarily saying that they are wrong for doing this, but the fact is, they are self-serving in almost everything they do. They are a business. They have to make money in order to survive.

This industry does have problems. And when it comes to drivers, and how they are affected by those problems, there is only one person on this earth that can do anything to effect change, that can be considered positive in nature. That person is themself. As long as drivers keep making poor, uninformed, unwise, and stupid decisions, as the case may be, the companies out here that exist to utilize their services for profit potential, will continue to exist and thrive.

You "hit them in the pocket", by not working for them.