HOS Reform

Because as an independent with a single truck and trailer, they are unable to provide hook and drop service.

We are forced to live unload/load.

 

This is already being done TO THE EXTENT IS CAN BE. Good paying accounts are VERY HARD to come by. And if a carrier imposes a $5,000 worth of detention fees in a week to a shipper because some of that shipper's valued customers were "unusually" slow to unload, that is not going to go over well. The account will simply refuse to pay detention charges, and the account is NOT going to piss off their valued customer by asking them to "be more timely" when their product arrives and/or reimburse detention charges paid on their behalf.

Bottom line is, many hauling rates already factor in a huge amount to cover the lumper fee which I suspect, also factors in a certain amount of "detention time pay" ... which of course rarely get's transferred back to the driver who incurred the lost time except perhaps in exceptional cases.

When there is more freight than there is trucks, this might actually go over and carriers may actually be able to "insist" they are paid for detention, but as it is now, in a permanently depressed economy with carriers begging for freight? Ain't going to happen.

 

You got it part right . HOS ALLOWS the driver to drive 11 hours straight . You were wrong saying it FORCES them . Nobody is in the truck holding a gun to their head . Driver abuse is self abuse caused by lack of backbone and self respect .

 

Joan Claybrook would be happy to explain it . You can contact her at Public Citizen .

 

"More freight than trucks"??!?!? I was looking at that DAT thing the other night ... it seemed like there was a ton of freight that desperately needed trucks ... so giving you the benefit of the doubt; exactly what did you mean?

 

This is what I go by . http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2012/bts028_12/html/bts028_12.html . Not very impressive .

 

gr8! Now we gotta read this article ... let's see ... umm nope don't have to read it ; the title says it all ...[h=2]"Freight Shipments Rose 0.2% in April from March"[/h]

 

Wow ! 0.2% or 1/5 of 1% and this was a rise after declining the previous month .

 

I don't care what the truckload movement numbers say or don't say. The question is how much capacity is sitting idle at truck stops all across the nation with poor drivers wondering how they're going to make the house payment tomorrow. The nation's trucking industry has been far under-utilized and over-staffed (truckers and trucks, not office personnel) for decades.

 

Which gets us back on topic; HOS reform, what's ure suggestion to make things better? Should drivers be paid by the hour instead of cpm? Are the new rules going to hurt the aforementioned drivers? Will truck driving b the next to organize a union and 'occupy'? Answers after this!