Carb forced me out of Calif.

OK there is a difference in what you are getting at, one is the vehicle laws (lighting, safety equipment, etc .. ) and the other is the operator laws (speed limit, lane changing, etc ...). Anti-idle laws are operator laws, not a vehicle law and it is easy to confuse the two.

See what the issue comes down to state sovereignty under the constitution at the same time the feds duty to regulate interstate commerce in these cases.

I mean that the state where you register your car/truck in is the home state and the laws that apply to that car/truck only come from that state. If you register your car/truck in Vermont where say they allow one tail light and three fog lights but you go to NYC and they ticket you for having one tail light, that ticket is nullified by the agreement that Vermont has with NY state saying that they agree to accept Vermont's vehicle laws. The same holds true for California, they have an agreement with all 50 states to allow people's cars with different equipment to go on California roads.

Now it goes a bit further because we are conducting interstate commerce when we pick up a load say in Georgia and take it to San Diego, which is now Federally controlled. They have the say on what limits the state has on saying who can enter and not enter the state of California (or any other state for that matter) and under the constitution, their duties are clear - to ensure that all markets are open to other states. So your truck being registered in Vermont and having equipment acceptable to/meeting the requirements of Vermont is also acceptable to everyone else no matter what their internal laws say. So when you cross over into California, you have to abide by their operator laws, follow the speed limit, make sure your weights are balanced on the truck (which I found out Bridge laws are operator laws because you load and unload with loads being considered unique in nature and the operator is in control of the load balance) and so on but because California already agreed to accept Vermont's vehicle laws, they can't do a thing about it. You can't just take off or add lights when you hit the border or change out one set of tires for another.

Does that clear up the difference?

 

Most will probably tell them to pound sand and not even list P.R.O.C. loads.

 

Makes sense to me.

 

Finally, someone has explained the Interstate Commerce Clause and how it works. Thank you Ridgline !!!! Once everything kicks in on Jan. 1 there will be lawsuits filed because that is when you can show that the CARB law has affected other states business owners financially, thus making interstate commerce irregular. If OOIDA or any of the other trucking associations don't file suit, there will be no point in giving them any more money.

 

Seems like the only people crying about the carb stuff are the o/o. Fleets are updating because in order to stay relevant and keep up with the demand of our society you have to adapt. You think swift and Schneider got as big as they are by crying every time some new law was gonna cost they 10k? No. They did it cause those loads going to Cali will pay that back easily. Do 3 loads to Cali and that filter is paid for.

 

And the o/o wonder why they are being fazed out in favor of fleets....

 

It's not about crying that an O/O can't or doesn't want to comply with CARB rules, it's about the law and California bullying everyone into complying with their laws because they have crappy air. The Constitution, which is THE supreme law of the land, states that congress shall make commerce regular between the states. In other words not making it more difficult for people to do business in certain states because the leaders in one don't like folks in another. This happened during the formation of our country when one state imposed undue tariffs or taxes on certain products coming from one state because they were feuding and that in turn caused harm to business owners and citizens. It all comes down to following the law not doing what you want because your CA and you have a lot of fuel tax money, which will be decreased due to the fact that O/O's are fleeing the state, won't do business in the state or have reduced their fleet. We'll see how it all turns out after 1/14.

 

As for O/O's being "fazed out" in favor of larger fleets, it comes down to cost. The mega carriers can charge less to haul freight than an O/O can so the shipper will choose the cheaper. It's all about $$$$$ and has nothing to do with O/O's crying.

 

Another O/O here affected by this. After all said and done, I have decided to buy another '11 truck with def and also keep my 04. Only way I can get in and hopefully rates will be high enough to justify this purchase.

 

Fleets can charge less because their operating cost are lower because... Wait for it... They have new trucks which get better fuel mileage. New trucks with def and soot filters and all that carb stuff on it. So they don't have to charge $4 a mile just to make a profit like the guys running the old long nose bricks on wheels. They can charge $2.50 and still make a profit. So I guess if it was me I'd make the trade to a better truck and run Cali and make profit.