How do the stay in business?!?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by BigBadBill, Apr 9, 2014.

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  1. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    If tired drivers are the cause of accidents, then why wouldn't we require all drivers, (all meaning all), to keep a record of driving, a logbook?

    Why is it that we as a country allow someone, (here I'll present a hypothetical)

    Joe Blow works in LA, he lives in Ontario Ca and commutes to work. Because of commuter traffic it typically takes Joe 2 hours of commuting time to drive to work. He gets up and starts his day at 0500 in order to arrive at work on time, 0800. Joe works until 1700, (12hours), and then begins the trek back home. Joe has the same traffic going home that he does in the morning, Joe gets home at 1830-1900 just about every day that he works....

    a 14 hour window. (and I've been very generous on the time spent commuting, it is not unheard of for this to actually take longer)

    Except that on Fridays during football season Joe drives up to Vegas to gamble, drink, and watch football his passion and what he wagers on....

    Joe doesn't get up to the casino where he's reserved his room until right around midnight 0100, Joe stops to have dinner in Barstow, and anyone who's driven this route on a Friday knows how brutal the traffic going up to Vegas on a Friday is....

    For some reason we allow Joe to work and drive a 20 hour day, and to drive 300 miles without a record of how long he's been up......

    Now, why is that?

    It sure isn't because Joe's a great driver, he's got numerous speeding violations on his driving record. It's not because Joe's a safe driver either, Joe's been involved in two accidents in a three year period....

    Hmm...why is Joe exempt from hours of service/hours spent working, and hours spent driving limits?
     
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  3. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    They lacked the ability to EOBR you a decade ago.

    It's no coincidence that the technology and the implementation are joined at the hip.
     
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  4. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    At one time all of the industry heavyweights fought against this.

    All of the industry heavyweights have been fighting this, except lately some/most have rolled over and gone along. Not sure exactly why....

    Can you remember when Qcom data was being fiercely protected by it's users?

    I'm not exactly sure, but I think the ruling was that they were admissible and subject to the rules of discovery. I'm fine with that standard, as at that point it's a court matter and I'm good with the sunlight in that instance.

    But...

    That aura of inquisition and interrogation radiating out of our government isn't new. The I.R.S has been accused of targeting, and I'm not someone who thinks those charges are without merit.

    Maybe, just maybe, the bigs are going along to get along and to keep from being singled out.....

    Maybe they've been given assurances by our government that they are the preferred providers of freight transportation.

    I dunno, maybe the government folks really are purely interested in safety and could care less about revenue.

    It's possible.

    What I find really interesting is that those who see themselves as benefiting from it financially are enthusiastic supporters.

    Hmmm...yeah, that's interesting.

    There's a saying....

    "Be careful what you wish for"
     
  5. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    At this point a lot of readers will be thinking, "what is it that trees is trying to hide? He must be guilty of cheating on his log books."

    I run team with my wife, my truck is paid for, I make good money with my truck, my logs are always legal.

    What I don't like is the enforcement boot that is the inevitable result of all of this.

    Minnesota and their roadside driver assessment that was litigated fairly recently comes to mind.....
     
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  6. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

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    Why are apples not oranges?


    It was making a point that if a large, public company is willfully doing what is described they are going to get skewered sooner or later.

    And I am not sure how what is be described would be taking advantage of the ill informed. They know what they are doing.
     
  7. stayinback

    stayinback Road Train Member

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    Speaking of Litigation.....

    I Have A Great Question and Not to Hijack this thread but......

    Does the DOT (Officer) Have the 'Right' to Call (on the telephone) your Physician to find out info on your medical History?

    I Was getting a Level 3 in south Dakota 2 months ago and Seen a DOT man TRYING (did not succeed) to Call the Doctors office of another Driver to See if his card was legit



    Dont we have Constitutional Rights about our personal Health histories and physicals?
     
  8. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    Ask any old timer who's been out here forever if things have gotten better, from the drivers perspective, or worse.


    This has been planned and implemented for a long time, it has come incrementally, and has merged with the technology as the technology evolved/arrived.

    I believe Wichris addressed this. If you think the DOT auditors are going to just, "Aw shucks, I ain't worried 'bout this, or this, or this, or this, or that either..."

    LOL!! that's like saying, "The people in authority now are the same people as then, there have been no personnel changes in the Dept of Transportation. They are lifetime appointments."

    And even if they were the same people, your statement claims that they have remained unchanged over time in their viewpoint....

    A ridiculous notion. We all change our minds. Your posts are an attempt to convince me to change mine, and vice versa...lol...
     
  9. trees

    trees Road Train Member

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    Supposed to be protected by Hippa.

    He may be able to verify that he performed the exam, but should be unable to provide any details. If I was the physician I'd tell him to stop wasting my time and hang up on him.
     
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  10. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

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    I can tell you why the fighting over this has stopped. Money.

    Carriers that where forced (remember when it was only going to be for certain carrier with high HOS violations?) had a ramp up time that they had to get all the trucks on them. Depending on the size, it was like 3 or 4 years. But all of a sudden these companies that fought them implemented them in record time. One large carrier that needed to upgrade equipment was complaining that they could get the units fast enough.

    What they learned is they saved money on log auditing and planning.

    Companies that weren't being forced to install them have. And once this moved forward they went with the political tactic of supporting them. It has nothing to do with "forcing the little guy out of business" and everything to do with looking good when they lobby against changes. "Look, we are safe because we have ELogs".

    Does anyone have a good number on how many trucks have them now? Last I read it was around 36%. I bet less than 10% would have been required to get them.
     
  11. Pound Puppy

    Pound Puppy Heavy Load Member

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    This is essentially the model that the railroads wanted. They have given lobby groups a lot of money to pound the drum. They want trucks doing regional shorthaul, while they run the long haul on rail.

    Im ok with eobr, been using them a while now. What i do not like is the 34 restart rule and the split sleeper rule. It was great when you have one of those days that your eyes feel like lead weights, to pull in for a two hour snooze and keep rolling without hurting your hours. I do feel that a lot of guys simply will not stop if they get tired. I do no matter what, as im not about to kill myself or anyone else. I would rather take the rap for being a little late. But some keep going and eventually nod off.

    I do wonder though, will this push more drivers in to the overnite and short haul?
     
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