Idiling...a Criminal Offence

Waking up in the morning can be very invigorating. Frost on the windows. Get the truck started and get back under the covers and wait for it warm up.

 

EXACTLY!b

And that blast of cold can wake me up pronto.
Fire ol' Christeen up and turn the heater on ---
Another 15 to 30 minutes under the covers and I'm good to go
get a HOT cup of coffee.
And several refills.
With a Big truck mug to go.

 

You ought to tell them a story or two about Christeen someday. Heck I miss hearin about her too. BTW: How is she these days?

 

It is my considered opinion that the various State "anti-idle" laws, aimed at reducing either noise or air pollution, are putting motor carrier operators and the general public in imminent danger by creating a situation in which drivers are unable to achieve restful and regenerative sleep in an ever-changing sleeper-berth/ truck cab environment.

The Centers for Disease Control recognizes that it takes a minimum of three to 5 days of constant exposure to a given temperature/humidity range in order to acclimate to that range; yet truckers -- particularly those involved in long-haul, over-the-road trucking, find themselves in an ever-changing environment in which temperatures can range from below freezing to over 90 degrees in a single day. Anti-Idle laws therefore require drivers to attempt to "rest" in an environment to which they are physically unable to acclimate.

It is imperative that drivers are able to rest not only in a "comfortable" condition (the exact definition of which will vary from driver to driver), but in a condition that will maintain the driver's health and safety. In the environment of a truck cab and sleeper, the environmental conditions are most readily controlled by running the engine. In addition to providing motive power for the vehicle, the engine is also the only reliable source of electrical power which provides both heating and cooling, and by cooling, humidity control.

By allowing States and Municipalities to forbid motor carriers from "idling" their engines, the Federal Government and OSHA create a situation in which drivers face punitive fines and loss of work time, as well as the endangering of their health, for merely attempting to comply with FMCSA regulations which require drivers to be fully rested before beginning or continuing a duty period. Further, laws which allow idling for only brief periods require that the driver wake on regular intervals to run -- and then shut off -- the engine, preventing sound sleep. And by forcing drivers to therefore return to work in an unrested state, the health and safety -- even the very lives -- of the drivers and the general public traveling upon the Nations roads, are endangered.

Please use the following link to immediately file an emergency "Workplace Safety" report. As the current "Anti-Idle" laws "...concern a workplace condition/hazard likely to cause death or serious illness/injury today or in the near future", using this emergency report line is the only appropriate way to contact OSHA.

www dot osha.goc/pls/edata/owae_data.osha

 

Thank You MommaKay!
I agree.

I also understand the concerns others have for their health.
If there were places provided -- by the areas that want to restrict Big truck idling for whatEVER reason -- where a Big truck CAN idle, it sure would go a long ways toward a solution.
But to restrict and not redirect only causes other problem(s).

For every action there is a reaction.

Anymore, Big trucks are like prisons.
Folks say we need prisons and demad that desperados be confined there. But NOT in THEIR neighborhoods.
And they also demand the cargos brought by Big trucks and their drivers.
Go figure.

When did that two-way street become one-way ONLY?

 

Thank you, Aftershock. I noticed just now a typo in the link posting -- it should be .gov rather than .goc.

I am personally outraged by the current state of affairs, in which this industry must comply with rules and regulations written by, and codified by, people who have absolutely NO experience with what they are regulating. Require these bureaucrats to spend a week in a solo OTR rig running from Laredo Texas to Bangor Maine without idling the truck for sleep cycles. Then see what they think about "anti-idle" laws.

I'm not altogether opposed to legislation which prohibits leaving *unattended* trucks from idling for more than several minutes. But if there is a human in the truck, that human should have the right to control their environment as *they* see fit -- not to suit the whims of a bureaucratic committee sitting in their comfy chairs in air-conditioned offices, going home to a house which has had its furnace or air conditioning running all day (with no one there) so that they will be comfortable the instant they walk in the door.

 

It's also weird how an animal has more rights to a comfortable environment inside that truck than the driver.

 

Wow! The next time I am in trouble and need someone to stick up for me I'll come call on you!!

You've very good at articulating.

 

Thanks, Sweeze. I think it goes along with the articulated vehicles.

 

Thats ridiculous Brickman; "stop hauling freight to such places" Cmon most drivers are force dispatch and thats it. We go where we are told. If you are an owner op then cool you can "boycott" these places but it wont make a bit of difference. If you want to make a difference suggest something like contacting the elected officials in the state and convey your concerns to them. If enough do this legislation can be drafted and voted on. That is how our system works. I really was disappointed with your suggestion, it is beneath you.