Idiling...a Criminal Offence

The Prius is actually a bit behind in battery technology & traction motors.

Another well known European company (I forget off-hand but I want to say Lotus Engineering) has a Li-Ion battery stack that powers a slightly larger car than the Prius for about 300 miles & can be charged in about 10-15 mins with their proprietary charger.

Charger technology is not terribly involved nor costly.
You can actually make a decent small charger using Radio Shack parts if you know what you're looking for in parts specs.
No, I would not resort to RS for a "real" battery stack charger like for the Prius or the other vehicle.

I'm also of the idea that it might be in our lifetime's that we see a roadworthy electric hybrid truck.
I'd guess that would start in local deliveries before anywhere else.

I confess that I do love this area of technology.

 

I'll just say this...I'll turn off my air conditioner and heater when all employers in all the country in all types of employment turn their air conditioners and heaters off when they go to work. and, when they go home. I don't know about ya'll but, I live in my truck most of the time. I just visit my home ocassionally. I don't care how many tickets they want to hand out . My air conditioner went out this summer in Phoenix. I went about 200 miles on i-10 into calif. and got very sick. it was 110 outside, probably 150 in the truck. I guess I'll get a lot of tickets. cause they can kmass if they think I would would do that again voluntarally!

 

I'm with you Tammy
I've said the same thing repeatedly.

Someone is going to get hurt or worse, die, this winter because of these idiotic anti-idling laws.

I will be glad to add whatever assistance I can to the legal team suing the state & company over this.

 

it just seems so idiotic that our politicians have passed these laws with no thought put into how it will affect the driver

either freeze or sweat, they dont care

i thought they were supposed to be our representatives... but then again, we are not an influential group

whats sadder is that there are cops who know exactly the conditions, but will not hesitate to write out tickets for truck drivers who are basically in their "home"

makes one really cynical about the whole system

 

B I N G O Brickman!
The response by the general motoring public would probably be to mount a campaign informing those asleep at the wheel that the,...............

K I L L E R BIG TRUCK DRIVERS SEEK REVENGE ON CONCERNED CITIZENS WITH DIRTY AIR!!

Hail!
The way it's going with no Jake type Engine Brake laws, NO PARKING ANYTIME laws, NO TRUCKS ALLOWED laws, and anti-idle laws, They're KILLIN' US out here.

Just what ARE they trying to accomplish, anyway?!
I hear "SAFETY".
But their idea of "safety" and MY idea of "safety" are, well,...........
let's just say it's safe to say, we don't agree.

I'd say "nice try folks," but I don't believe it was.
What it WAS, is a knee-jerk reaction to special-interest groups, who, as another poster or two have already pointed out, -- THOSE special-interest folks seem to be able to keep warm and cool by jerking their knees.
But, just in case, I'm sure their homes, autos and work places are climate controlled.
And tested often.
Probably daily.

We have experienced desk drivers making important and sometimes life threatening decisions concerning an industry they have little to NO real experience in or with.
And they claim their rules and regulations are just what the doctor ordered, if the experienced and newbie Big truck drivers would just LISTEN to them.

Ain't THAT a hoot?!
Did those desk drivin' experts ever LISTEN,............ to US, the REAL Big truck drivers, who actually DO know what's REALLY needed out there on the road. --- for comfort, necessity, and sometimes survival?
What about that "SAFETY" I keep hearing about?

I think we all know the answer to that question.

Instead, they LISTEN to the special-interest folks.
THEY have more time to talk inbetwixt soccer practice.
Doncha know.
Gotta give that ump a piece of special interest mind set for leaving lil Johnny on the bench though. Let that ump know what's BEST.
Why won't that ump just LISTEN to the special-interest soccer mom on a mission to run the lives of others? And maybe even the world.
It seems to be their life's mission.
Control Others As You Would Have Others Control You.
Or something like that.

Question might be, is there life AFTER Big trucks?
But somehow, I doubt they've followed their rantings to a LOGICAL conclusion. Or ANY conclusion at all, for that matter.
The special-interest folks seem to view it as a "game" they're trying to win.
If THEY win, who "loses"?

Who sang that song with the lyrics:

"Let's Do SOMEthing --- Even If It's WRONG." ??

Was it Vince Gill?

Anyway,................

If that's the case, our elected powers that be are at least, consistent.
And can they, .... do they,....... sing?
I wonder,...........
y'all reckon that's their theme song?
Y'all reckon it OUTHTA be?

I'll leave y'all with that thought.
I think.

While the Big truck drivers are out there gettin' 'er done, through hail, rain, sleet, snow (jobs) and bureaucratic bovine excrement, the special interest folks are comfortable and content that THEY'VE solved another problem.
And they just might have.
However, does it count if the problem solved creates additional problems ten-fold?

Hail!
A Big truck probably brought all the tables and chairs and sound equipment to the rally where the special-interest folks will make the announcement that they've figured out the REAL meaning of life, as well as which came first, the Big truck, or the load it carries? And why that ol' chicken crossed the road.

Plain truth seems to be that the powers that be haven't a clue whuzzup with the Big truck truckin' "problems" and the Big truck drivers who drive 'em and have 'em.
And that doesn't surprise me at all.
SOMEtimes, neither do WE.
But we DARNED sure have a better idea than an experienced desk driver.

IMO, one size rule and regulation does not fit all.
They're lookin' for the Holy Grail.
Unicorns.
A needle in the haystack.
Black Helicopters.
Or a Stairway to Heaven.
And all the while, they're tryin' to make a dollar out of 99 cents. (Your taxes at work --- working with YOUR taxes. And disappearing down a bottomless pit.)

It's too bad we couldn't have control over the decisions that others have made for us in the BEST interest of ALL involved, -- as they snuggle into their warm, cozy, secure, beds on cold nights after sitting in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace that evening.

Almost didn't have enough wood though, rumor has it.
Good thing that Killer Big truck driver pushed his hours just a tad, and delivered that load of fire wood to the the local Home Improvement Center there in town, --- on time.
And unloaded that firewood because the receiving department was too busy to get to it, "tonight."
REschedule!
Sit and wait.
And you BETTER not idle that Big truck overnight, Killer.

Can you imagine the hail there would be to pay if that Killer Big truck driver had been late?
*G A S P!*

But,...........
he didn't get out of town fast enough. Local cops busted him for idling to keep warm. And he was out of hours.
Pitiful excuse for breaking the LAW.
But, it's,..................
Like pokin' fish in a barrel.
Easy money!

What's next?
Illegal for Big truck drivers to WALK on their ground?
A police escort from one end, entering a town, to the other end, exiting said town?
With no stops inbetwixt, unless it's to spend money, voluntarily.
Of not.
All depends.

Will we be seeing,..................
Signs reading;

TRUCKERS WELCOME!
Now, GET THE HAIL OUT (OF TOWN).
And don't get caught speeding.
Or idling.
Or smoking a tobacco product.
HAVE FUN AND ENJOY YOUR STAY.

Or,................

C A U T I O N !!
CHILDREN AT PLAY.
Also known as
Local Government.

**(Meets every other afternoon, after nap time,
at the City's Municipal Sand Box. Milk and cookies
served at the conclusion of meetings. Unless an official
throws a tizzy-fit. In which case, the rules can be bent.)**

And, just like local governments tends to do,
sooner or later,
YOU'LL screw up, too, ---- driver.
And the "law" will be right there to bust y'all too. Unlike us. We ARE the LAW. Rules and regulations are exempt for the powers that be who write 'em.
We only propose and WRITE the laws.
After we've done that, if we do, our job is finished.
It's Y'ALL who will HAVE to live with those laws.
For "SAFETY" reasons,............
Doncha know.

Go figure,....................................

$$$$$$$$$
Follow the Money Trail, --------------->

Or, the way things seem to be going,
lack thereof. (Money)
Si amigo!
America es numbre UNO!
No?



But hey!
If things were just peachy all the time, what would I have to complain (in writing) about?
Or write to complain about?
It's a tough job, but, SOMEbody has to do it.
Ya reckon.

When ALL else fails,.............................

 

It wouldn't be the EPA you're suing.
You would sue your company & the state.

The company gets named because they sent you into a place they knew would be hazardous to your health & didn't provide the basic equipment to deal with it.

The state gets named because it was their ridiculous law that put you in the bad spot to start with no alternatives.

 

That's like the same as locking up the 1920's & 1930's gangsters for TAX evasion when the courts couldn't convict them on murder charges and cooking the books.
Might even be EXACTLY the same,
only different.

Let me tell you how I think and feel about laws, rules and regulations.
First, and unfortunately --- they're a necessary evil it seems. I wish they weren't necessary, but they are, and we should strive to live within them, none the less. UNLESS, the laws, rules and regulations don't make sense UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES at the time.

Part of a Big truck driver's paycheck is for "thinking", I think.
SOMEtimes, I think, it's better to AVOID a potential incident --- even if it's a long shot, than to just drive right in and hope for the best, again. There's a LOT to be said for "gut instincts", believe me, ... I know!

I've asked Law Officers the same question, over coffee and pie, -- if they don't prefer that a Big truck driver take his potential target for trouble somewhere OTHER than THEIR jurisdiction?
Just makes sense to me.

And wouldn't they rather sit there eating pie and drinking coffee with me, than responding to another traffic incident involving another Big truck and another car. This time.
What a mess that could have been avoided.
IMO.

To date, I haven't received a satisfactory reply.
Most I get a speech about how they're law officers, sworn to Serve & Protect, and Big trucks that break the law get tickets. Big truck drivers are DANGEROUS if they drive their Big trucks a few minutes past the "legal" limit

However, a law enforcement officer can work a double shift, a couple of time a week, with deadly force riding on their hips, --- probably just a tad tired, .... and THAT'S all right, legally.
And interns at hospitals stay awake for MANY hours at a time, and THEY'RE expected to make life saving decisions as a rather steady diet. Legally.

But a Big truck driver, TRYING to get Federally Mandated rest, is expected to sacrifice comfort and quality rest, with the potential to endanger others on the highway, to comply with local laws, rules and regulations.
If that don't beat all!
Ain't that a tad COUNTER productive?
At least if SAFETY is of any concern.

And it causes me to wonder, ................ who was there FIRST?
The Big trucks,..................or the neighbors?
Hmmmmmmmmmm

Typical of folks these daze.
Move next to a truck facility
then complain about the Big trucks being there.

OH!

S hip
H igh
I n
T ransit
! ! ! !

Make the Big trucks go away!
I don't want to SEE them anymore.

Hello, C.R.A.S.H.?
Do you know the phone number for P.A.T.T.?
Ok, give me the WHOLE list of special interest groups.

Which one(s) is Gloria working pro-bono for these daze?
SOMEbodys gotta STOP those waskly Big trucks and the drivers who drive 'em.
Top Priority!

When Big truck drivers FEAR the wrath of driving an extra twenty-minutes to get to a safer haven for their break, and instead, take the risk of parking in a seedy area on an on or off ramp --- possibly in violation of local laws, by golly, Hooston, we have a problem.
Break a law to obey another law?
Is THAT legal?

In California, one fifteen minute mistake in a Big truck driver's log book can fetch said driver upwards of a $1,500 fine for a log book "violation", and loss of license for not at least attempting to pay it.
Dad-Gummed if a Big truck driver DOES!
And Dad-Gummed if a BIg truck driver DON'T.

What's a Big truck driver to do?
Flip a coin?

Once upon a time, long ago and far away, I think I saw the writing on the wall. Only THIS writing was on street signs. Three street signs to be exact.
And they were located at the end of a parking lot, and the ONLY way Big truck drivers are TOLD to exit the store facility.

Where the parking lot of a major mall in Brownsville, I think it was, --- I remember it was my fifth or sixth drop of a 32 drop load, all going to a major retailer, and located mostly in large shopping malls -- I remember it was in Texas though.

Anyway,................
Where the parking lot meets the highway --- I looked straight ahead.
A residential area.
Low trees and the like.
And sign, in English, reading

NO TRUCKS ALLOWED.

Okay, that makes sense.

I looked left.
Another sign.
Also in English.
This time it read,

NO TRUCKS OVER 5 TONS ALLOWED.

Hmmmmm
Well! That's ME.

Look right, --------->

ANOTHER sign in English.
But I wasn't feelin' the love,..................
This time, the sign in English read,........

NO THROUGH TRUCKS PERMITTED

Me again.
I just wanna get to the Interstate.
Is THAT too much for a Big truck driver to ask?

Can't legally go straight.
Can't legally go left.
And can't legally go right.
I'm pretty darned good at backing though.
But wasn't willing to be THAT darned good.

Bummers!
Big truck driver decision time.
And,.......... wouldn'tcha know it?
The coin I usually flip only has two sides.
I had at LEAST three, maybe FOUR informed, intelligent decisions to make.
How the dickens is a Big truck driver supposed to accomplish THAT with only a two-sided coin?!
Another reason why Big truck trucking companies should pay better. Better pay = better coins.
Ergo, four sided coins.

Tell me I'm wrong.

 

ok, so here is our issue

we have some pretty valid points here, as i am sure most truck drivers would agree, as would any sensible thinking person who bothered to think the thing out

so aside from venting on an obscure website forum, what can we do?

and i dont mean just about this idling issue (which to me makes a lot of sense as a starter) but many of the other legislations and rules (public and private) and HOS issues that we have to endure

join OOIDA?
write to our inept congressman?
vote the president out and get another doofus?
wage civil war?
beat up a mexican?
organize a labor movement (and get arrested under RICO and anti terrorist laws)

what do we do?