Why do people keep telling me trucking is not the same?

Good post!

Just a few notes . . . The first federal HOS regulations for U.S. truck drivers were proposed in the 1920's (really). Many states had their own HOS; some had none. The federal (nationwide) HOS hit the road on March 1, 1939 after 4 years of public hearings and, no doubt, back-room maneuvering by the ATA and others): ten hours driving per day, maximum. In 1962, the Interstate Commerce Commission (defunct since 1995) allowed the ten hours driving in 24 to become: drive 10, take 8 off, then drive 10 more, i.e., an 18-hour work/rest cycle, and the possibility of driving almost 16 hours in 24.

The Chauffer's License -- at least in California where I had one -- was obtained the same way a CDL is obtained today: you took a road test and written exams and you had to carry a medical card (medical certification was also part of the original HOS, although I'm not sure that it was always enforced).

As to second log books. Yes, we did it, we pushed ourselves--to make as much money as possible, of course, and to deliver on-time. In Sweatshops on Wheels, Micahel Belzer referrs to this practice as 'sweating ourselves.' For the most part, the carrier I drove for looked the other way; on-time and no accidents were all that mattered.

U.S. trucking is going the way of trucking in Europe: tighter controls on hours, rest breaks, driver qualifications, and pollution. I believe drivers in the EU are paid hourly, but some may be paid by the load. If I can find it, I'll post a YouTube clip on an Irish trucking firm's illegal activites--pushing drivers past their hours and physical limits among other things.

 

The old hos were much more sensible than what we have today. We could stop the clock when we got tired. The way the current hos work, you can't really stop the clock so that you can take a nap or rest without it costing you money. One main flaw of the current hos is that they want a cookie cutter approach to their rules. Not everyone needs 8 or 10 hours of sleep. I get along just fine on 5 or 6 hours. Some may need 8. There needs to be greater flexibility when it comes to the hos. In fact, I have always been an advocate of getting rid of the hos and logs altogether.

Those who want all these changes are special interest groups that have never even sat in a truck, yet they know what is best for all of us. We don't need more rules, but fewer. The hos are thrust upon us using safety. In reality it is about money.

We still don't know what the next changes are going to entail. I think that some just need to justify their existence so they like to change our hos on a regular basis. Five of the larger carriers managed to push forward a bill designed by the CEO of Maverick that would require everyone who owns a truck to have an EOBR. One reason they have used is safety. When they want to get something through they use safety. After all, who could be against safety? The thing is that the last three years have been among the safest in our history, so why change? If this was really about safety then they would have a study and see with a control group whether having these on board logs would in fact actually improve safety. They won't because there is some serious money to be made from this legislation. There are between 3-5 million trucks on the road. I would expect these new EOBR's to cost at least $2,000 each. When you do the math that is a lot of money. Another excuse for having these computers is to have a level playing field for all carriers. That doesn't wash either. Maverick has been known to haul freight out of south Texas for $0.50/mile. I don't need to compete with those rates.

The lawyers want computers because it could enable them to more easily manipulate the system to extort more money from insurance companies and carriers. The EOBR legislation is merely a tool that is being used to limit competition. About 90% of the freight in this country is hauled by carriers with fewer than 20 trucks. All of the sponsors of the EOBR legislation are in the 10% of carriers. We have 10% of the carriers wanting to control the other 90%.

As a side note, I read one article where enforcement personnel want to be able to check your EOBR while driving down the highway without needing to pull you over. That will likely be the next thing if this passes.

Trucking used to be fun. It becomes less so with the mountain of useless regulations that continue to be thrust upon us. That is the real reason so many experience drivers are leaving the industry. They are tired of all the manipulation by the government. It isn't about safety, but money. If there was no profit to be made in these EOBR's you would not see legislation pending to force everyone to have them in their trucks.

I plan on staying in the industry for a while, but have much less enthusiasm than I did only 10 years ago. The reason some seasoned drivers stay in this business is because when you reach a certain age it is very difficult to find a job which would pay an equivalent salary. Most companies want younger employees who will work for a smaller paycheck. Once you reach 50 or 60 years old it becomes much more difficult to start a new career. Those who have a good education are in a better position to do something else, but companies still discriminate against those who are older. It is not easy to replace a job where you have been accustomed to making $50,000+/year when you reach that age. That is a primary reason many continue in this industry.

It also makes a difference when you have been trucking for a few decades where you have not had someone looking over your shoulder to take a job where you will now be punching a clock. With all the regulations, there is still a certain amount of freedom attached to this business.

No matter what you do for a living, there will be things that you don't like about the job or company. Trucking is no different. You can either go with the flow, as they say, or find something else to do. We do seem to have more than our share of whiners and complainers. If I get to the point where I don't enjoy this business then I will likely quit, sell my equipment and start another company.

 

I much prefer stopping the clock. We can up in Canada and it makes for an easier day. If I hit weather or know of a traffic tie up. I can stop, nap for a couple of hours. Then, hopefully, things are open and I can drive on the rest of my day.

Being able to stop when you are tired, sleep, then drive, and do it all again is the ideal way to go. Loads WILL get there faster and we will have fewer accidents. Rested drivers are safer drivers. Then we can not have to stress about the DM's and our daily running hours in the logs.

But, making sense it not what governments do.

 

With all the rules and reulations and driving 500 miles a day i don't think anybody could say truckdriving as a unskilled labor div.(but they do)

I can also remember my grandpaw telling my dad trucking wasn't for sissys(lol)
But with no power steering it was the truth.
My dad also told me not to do it.
Us #### kids just need to listen i guess.

 

we are old truck drivers....THAT is why they are telling you it aint the same to get out now!!
I was told the same crap 30 years ago don't even start it aint like it was !!
The only difference in a puppy and a truck driver is .....a puppy stops whining after 6 weeks !!!!
This industry is one of the fastest changing industries going today and dagnabbit it aint like it used to be !!!

 

We must prove proficiency, have a professional license (CDL) and have a medical card at least every 2 years. To me, that is a professional. The reason we are not considered skilled labor is mostly due to the way we are compensated. While local drivers are usually paid by the hour, the norm in this industry is to pay by the mile. It has nothing to do with how many hours you work, but how many miles. Some are paid a percentage of what the truck makes. Neither involve hourly pay and most prefer it that way. Some of the new rules seem to be designed to eliminate some of those who have been in this industry for a few decades. I dare say that we have the most regulated job in the country. Those of us who have worked in the industry for some time will be more resistant to some of the changes we see than those who have grown up on the government teet (can I say that?).

We are losing more and more of our freedoms every day. Because I grew up at a time whe we were free I can see many ways that our freedoms are being limited. We still free for the most part, but many of the freedoms we took for granted when I grew up, have been limited or greatly reduced. The advent of technology has enabled the government to keep tabs on the populace. Some of you younger people might want to read a book that was written quite a few decades ago called "1984." It should be interesting reading. I think that you will find it to be a real eye opener. It was written before cell phones, personal computers, pagers and many other things we now take for granted.

 

Thats like the song from C.W. Mccall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dh-WOlFkHg

 

Dont do it!

This is how drug dealers get people hooked on dope! Once you get in that truck, you'll be addicted. You'll find a sick pleasure in the smell of diesel fuel, you'll find yourself staring at rigs going up and down the highway, you'll actually go out of your way to drive on the highway or go to truck stops to get coffee.

Wargames, you should be ashamed of yourself, trying to get an impressionable young man hooked on this drug called trucking!!!

 

This business does become addictive.

 

There are at least 2 natural things to people over time. 1) the past was always better. 2) the future seems to always be on the verge of an apocalypse. Old people that live in gated communities with no crime report they feel more and more afraid of crime as they get older. The facts don't matter, their feelings confirm everything.

One way old-timers justify their inherent grumpiness is by pretending today sucks and yesterday was the golden age. When they got in the business the old timers were telling them the same thing and the "real" golden age was about 20 years farther back in time. As people age they get grumpier and it feels like smaller and smaller changes are actually bigger and bigger. "The end is near" and has been for 2000 years.

The people telling you there are no parking spaces are the drivers spending their career using only pull-thru parking spaces or parking on the ramp. If there are no pull-thrus then that is the same as no parking. If you learn to back, back often, and never pull-thru you will always be able to find a parking space. It may be beside a bull wagon or between two reefers but you will find one.