it's really hard to get behind a movement that doesn't even know what its' mad about.

Its not trucking that has changed , its always been very diverse from sector to sector , it's the drivers that have changed.
I pushed back hard against carb , I used to run east and west exclusively , not any more . And really what can you do to stop a state you don't even live in ?
California has always done wtf ever they want , so guys like me said good riddence.
This nonsense that an ELD is the same as paper log book , my log book isn't plugged into my data port recording everything that happens .
When a trial lawyer goes over that data and roasts some poor driver over the coals , ask him if it's the same as a paper log !
Past generations would never have put up with the rules we accept now , and the ones yet to come will be worse .
Of course your right that we can't be organized or band together , half the drivers don't care , have no intention of staying in this industry or aren't even from this country .
The few old timers left , that remember when this was a great industry are mocked , how can some old guy know more then one of these pups with neck beards , inconceivable lol
Well the jokes going to be on the neck beards !!!

 

By the way let me make this clear , I'm 54 years old and don't remember trucking before deregulation , I started right after in 1982 .
I've always respected the drivers from the 70s , they had strikes that stuck and we reaped the benefits for years later .
Respecting and learning from your elders is only going to benefit you , they have experience that has real value and have probably made mistakes you can avoid if you just listen

 

The culture in the country has changed greatly, it is not just trucking. Where was the outrage when thousands of manufacturing facilities closed and sent millions of good jobs overseas?

 

It was a different world then. A lot of small and solo operators and a few larger LTL and union freight hauler outfits. There were no "megas", no "training/starter companies", very few truckload fleets with more than 200 trucks. So the small guys made up a very large collective and were vital to get food and other vital goods from one coast to the other. Today, the industry largely operates under an ENTIRELY different business model that works for THEM. Enough are so large, they operate in their own reality - that is completely different then the reality of a typical owner-op or small fleet owner.

 

I won't dispute anything in your post , and I didn't intend to aim my rant at you

 

I disagree. When I was running OTR almost everyday between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon I would get drowsy. A 15 to 30 minute nap worked wonders for me, and I was then able to go past midnight easily. But that was just me.

 

I didn't take it personally. I'm just trying to convey my POV that it was indeed "a different world" only 30 years ago. So different that what might have worked then, can't work today.

 

But you could and still can do that legally. There are morons claiming they can't pull over to take a nap because of E logs.

 

True, but the 14 hour crap cuts into what can legally be accomplished (legally).

 

Which therein lies the problem. On paper, many drivers "falsify" logs so much and so often, it became routine and they lost track of what was really supposed to be happening. Now with eLogs, they are realizing the reality of the 14 and the 8 and the 11 and real timers logging everything, and "it hurts". This is why it's really hard for the rest of us to take these complaining TODAY, seriously. All they are doing is highlighting their past long-term and chronic propensity of log falsification and cheating and dishonesty, all the while bad-mouthing those on eLogs who were impatient in the fuel island and complained of not being able to find parking in some areas. They told those who supported paid reserved parking they were fools.