Chattanooga Times Free Press series

Good article. I know my views are going to set off the anti regulation nuts but here goes. ELDS need to be mandatory with more flexibility of the rules. Canada has a great system we should follow. Cheating of paper logs allow drivers to push past their body limits. The argument that you can't make money on electronic logs is false.
Hair testing should be mandatory to stop the drug addicts from going clean for a month to land a job then they go back to the reckless behavior.
70 mile an hour governor on all trucks. And harsh penalty for drivers that crash due to driving fast in bad weather.
3 to 6 month internship with a licensed trainer on duty with a student at the wheel.
Tougher laws on truck inspection. Partially the older trucks being held togeather with duct tape.
Mandatory detention pay so I driver can stay profitable without turning the wheels.

These will improve safety and save lives. It's up to companies to foot the bill on loss of productivity but profits usually win. All of these future regulations and suggested regulations will save lives. The regulation bashers are usually the same ones that are the problem.

 

Put simply this guy was high on meth and was an accident waiting to happen. I don't know how anyone can conclude manadatory EOBR's or speed limiters on trucks will do anything to save lives. It's sad these people lost their lives but knee jerk reactions aren't going to save any lives.

I suggest enforcing the laws we already have as a step in the right direction. I don't think there will ever be any solution. There will always be accidents and deaths on our nation's highways no matter what regulations are or how much enforcement there is. I could also sit here and point to the un-safe, wreckless behavior of speed limited trucks on EOBR's I see every time I'm on the road.

Those guys are under immense time constraints and pressure to make a living. You will see them making up time by running yellow lights and speeding against their 65 mph speed limiters in 55 mph construction zones. As an owner operator I don't operate like that. I also don't book loads that I can't legally or safely complete. The risk is just not worth it.

Anyone who thinks speed limiters and EOBR would have made any difference at all in this tragedy needs to be reminded of the Wal Mart company truck that crashed into Tracy Morgan's limo in New Jersey a couple of years ago. That Wal Mart driver was on EOBR and driving a speed limited 63 mph truck. As the story came out it was clear this was an issue of an irresponsible individual. Really no different than this meth head Brewer guy. You don't regulate or legislate personal responsibility.

 

I'm sure we can find many examples of regulation not stopping a tragedy. But the majority of deaths could be eliminated by the regulations. Who knows maybe that annoying ELD'S regulation might have saved your loved one and you didn't even know it.

 

You can't really make that statement as if it were an unassailable fact. Because it's not and there's no proof of it. Accidents will continue to happen with mandatory EOBR and speed limiters. Just stepping out on my porch I run the risk of tripping and breaking my neck but I don't let that stop me.

Wreckless behavior and choices come down to an individual. Now we all know where this industry is heading thanks to big monied interests of the ATA and the big companies like Covenant and USXpress who are behind them. They want these things mandatory and big monied interests always get what they want to thin the competition. That's how our system is.

Five years from now when they have gotten their way I'm sure guys like you, the FMCSA, ATA, etc will collectively all be scratching your heads wondering why several thousands of deaths involving tractor trailers are still happening. When there is a crash involving an 80,000 lb truck and a 2,000 lb car that's the likely outcome. It's been beat to death here and elsewhere anyways but the vast majority of accidents between tractor trailers and cars were the fault of the driver in the car anyway.

 

So we should follow the #### happens and we should just accept that.... if you have Ice on your steps do you put salt on it to prevent the fall even though it cost money or do you just take the risk.. your analogy is flawed. You do not value life over what amounts to a hiccup in our jobs.

 

I'd say the article was about as fair as it could have been. I kept expecting it to reach for regulatory solutions but it never went there. There were a few tired old trucking clichés in there one would expect from persons who don't really know the industry. Successful small trucking operations don't compete with big companies like Covenant. They fill small niches and needs for customers with special requirements that big companies simply cannot meet. I could go on but that stuff is beside the point and really does no good in this discussion.

 

Yeah..except it didn't address the consruction zones that have been in Chatt in that area forever or distracted driving or the accident that created the sudden stoppage of traffic in the travel lanes or the...Well,nevermind,easier to list the truck accident statistics but not the overall statistics of Automobile travels..

 

No we don't accept that. We can enforce current HOS regulations and speed limit laws. And we have to accept this is not and never will be a perfect world. People die every day. Irresponsible people are among you every day. Nothing you can do will ever change that. Furthermore, for you as a company driver these things are just a hiccup. For a small business owners like me knee jerk nonsense has costly consequences.

 

We all know 4 wheelers cause most accidents. The i can't drive and the I'm in such a hurry I'll gamble with my life drivers. These traits are also in the truck industry but a car can't mow thru 8 cars like butter. I'll stay in my slow Lane doing 55 making money and being safe and the nuts can run fast and die young.