Five industry questions. Maybe you know the answer

People are sheep......

There...Answered all five concisely and accurately......

 

You don't think that the people who work for the FMCSA are not sheep too?...

 

Why does anyone?
In another topic, there was a discussion about people not wanting to get out of their comfort zone, and I think that's applicable here. You get comfortable, you get a consistent check, so much is done for you... take that vs. being expected to turn some wrenches while you're on the road, keep track of your mileage, etc., and it's not unfathomable that those who come in with a steering wheel holder mentality will want to stay where it can be better accommodated.

O/Os, or lease ops? Pretty substantial difference. Again, I think it goes back to comfort zone, in either case.

Lobbies, catering to the whims of a poorly informed general public, a large lobby of trucking companies pushing for these measures... I don't feel like typing it again, but what I said here.

 

I live in a town that has NO manufacturing in it. Working class people drive from there homes from as far as 60 miles away. A lot of this country has people living in areas with no real employment in it other than to drive a truck under a contract. There is no programs even for profit to educate driver's to become self employed.

Some of the DOT officers find it easy to fill in the bosses orders by finding easy trucks to pick on. You know the company drivers that don't know about CB radios that have brand new trucks.

 

1. They're spineless
2. They're stupid or a #####...well I'm a ##### I'll pull any trailer for money as long as its good money. Cept for a reefer screw that.
3. Money, that's all they want is money I've said that for years the laws aren't for safety they're for revenue
4. Once again money they get a break from the gooberment for supplying X amount of jobs to Joe blow who will never become a truck driver. They also don't care as long as the load gets moved. Why should they care? They've got the money and control of the market.
5. Because 10 DOT would not make 1 good man. Far as I'm concerned DOT is the scum of the earth but that's just me and yes I have and will say that to any young punk DOT cops face that is trying to make a name for himself. The old timers I don't mind at all they're alright its the young punks I can't stand. Here is a better question the rules are outlined black and white in that book on what is pass and fail. Why the hell does 1 DOT cop have a hard on for that stupid reflective tape, and the other doesn't care? Forgive me for answering a question with a question but there's a good one for you, there's too much interpretation and crap, and not enough doing things by the book. PERIOD!

 

If you've truly been driving for 7 years then you probably already know the answers to these questions.......one thing that irritates me though is the whole myth about the "driver shortage." There isn't one. There is however a pay shortage and if you paid drivers enough money there would be half the turnover there is now. Companies, the megas, want the turnover this way...that way they collect the training money (our tax dollars,) and push one student out the door to bring in the next...then they can collect more government money. The publics safety is never a concern. If it was, the FMCSR would stop these practices and encourage driver retention in the industry by implementing or encouraging mor favorable work conditions for drivers....everything however is to the contrary and the mandate EOBR rule that was passed will just encourage more experienced drivers to leave and more undesirables to come in while Americas roads will suffer in terms of safety and the trucking industry will continue to be kicked while it's down.

 

There are few other jobs. I estimate the actual numbers of unemployed at 20%, and the underemployed at 20%. Eating is better than starving.

I'm not aware of that. I'd have to guess it's "money".

To be fair, there's little to nothing to suggest the typical driver isn't nearly asleep and/or drunk.

Just point out where they can find real "drivers", I'm sure someone will listen, for a second.

There must be an apparently reasonable assumption the typical steering wheel holder will have some regard for their own safety/employment, but that is apparently not so reasonable.

Additional training, oddly enough, works contrary to safety. The trained tend to assume they are now more qualified to operate more dangerously, safely. Ask any of the "trainers" who teach "high-performance safety" courses. They will tell you, with a straight face, many if not most of their students report to them their training let them avoid a crash, and saved their life, within a few weeks. How they managed to avoid crashing and stay alive for years/decades before the training could not be more irrelevant.

And carriers seem reluctant to spend the money to train drivers who will be gone from trucking or driving for another carrier within 6 months or a year, if that training was worth 2 cents, which it isn't.

The trained have to be willing to be trained, which the typical driver isn't. Any suggestion they could improve their driving is an insult.

I never witnessed that, but it seems most likely a matter of perception. I'm pretty sure we've all rolled through a scale and seen nobody at the controls/otherwise occupied, and cops apparently monitoring traffic but instead otherwise occupied with their head down finishing paperwork or communicating with HQ.