People must be desperate

To each his own. I like taking a nap when i feel like it and getting the job done safely and on time. I also like going to bed and waking up when my body tells me to, not when an electronic device says to.

I also like FREEDOM which eobrs conflict with. That freedom thing is more important to me than money. below is the websters definition of freedom to further prove my point and enlighten some of you. Every driver using tracking devices is a threat to not only my freedom and safety but everyone elses as well. Dont get me started on being 1 hour from home and parking bc big brother said so. What was that f word again? It was FREEDOM and it is not a cuss word!

just look how many guys are driving trucks against the governor all day and drafting like nascars. you bet eobrs and satallites have a lot to do with that. and some people will drive like that with or without tracking untill they kill someone. im just saying that with out tracking not as many drivers will be stupid enough to allow themselves to be pressured into impatient dangerous driving habits.

enough of my ranting for now. the horse has allready been beaten to death over and over.

Definition of FREEDOM

1
: the quality or state of being free: as
a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence
c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous <freedom from care>
d : ease, facility <spoke the language with freedom>
e : the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken <answered with freedom>
f : improper familiarity
g : boldness of conception or execution
h : unrestricted use <gave him the freedom of their home>

2
a : a political right
b : franchise, privilege

See freedom defined for English-language learners »

See freedom defined for kids »

 

The funny thing is that there is, on average, 19 flatbed loads available for every flatbed truck. I recently took a nice paying load to Wyoming, but could only get an "okay" load out-to west Texas. Searching at a radius of 250 miles, we could only find loads paying $1.05 to $1.30 per mile. This is way below our minimal rate range and we refuse to haul cheap freight. But digging deeper into the "why" we uncovered a dirty little secret. It seems that in west Texas (Odessa) that Jordan Trucking has been keeping the rates low by hauling freight at $1.30, yet if they don't have the trucks to cover it, double brokers the freight at $1.05. What gets me is that other truckers, not regarding their cost, or not willing to dead head to a better freight area, take this crap.

As for me, I dead headed to the Dallas area (350 miles) for a nice load to Maryland. We made a small profit, covered the four days under the load and were able to get back in a major freight lane. If we had taken a load at $1.30 that was going to PA, we would have lost at least $100, if not more. Owner operators need to know their costs. If your truck is paid off and your insurance is low, you might be able to make a little money at $1.05 per mile, but you won't survive long.

 

Not bad, but you assume that the e-log does not allow me freedom. Let's take yesterday, I ran my normal 1400 rpm / 62 mph that the truck really likes for best balance of fuel mileage and power, got hung up for a little while on I-80 in Iowa due to snow storm and folks that can't figure out yet how to drive a commercial truck in it, stopped by the house later and got a shower and took the wife out for lunch to a great deli in town, then proceeded on to where I was headed and took a break near the customer I am delivering to this morning. Again at a nice leisurely pace that fit my style. No pressure, no worrying about what some box was saying, etc. The e-log, for me, is just a tool to do the logging thing for me. Pure and simple. And many of us that are using e-logs are not in governed trucks drafting anyone. Mine will do triple digits it I wanted it to. And those that are governed and doing the drafting thing, are just cherry drivers or nincompoops that know no better. You must not remember, this kind of thing has gone on since governing of trucks began and long before e-logs came on the scene. To equate one with the other is a fallacy.

And the one thing you overlook in all of this. While you may be able to "juggle" the log and have what you perceive to be total freedom, if something, God forbid, were to happen, and you were dragged kicking and screaming into a court room, if there is but one thing that an opposing counsel could use against you to show in any way you skirted the regulations, then your goose is cooked. And then you will either have your freedom and lose all your income to the opposition if it is a lawsuit, or you would lose your freedom and be discussing this with your cell mate. It is not the e-log that takes away any perceived freedom, it is the lawsuit crazy culture we live in. E-logs just give me a more solid record of what the I was doing in the event I have a situation that requires hiring a good lawyer.

I have no less freedom with an e-log than I do with paper. Was in conversation yesterday with the president of a small trucking company and this came up. He mentioned he had half of his drivers on paper and half on e-logs. Then ones on e-logs don't seem to have any problem with it. He only lost one driver out of 46 last year. And that was due to retirement. We are discussing the possibilities of me bringing my truck over to his company. I told him I can work either way, paper or e-log. It just doesn't bother me. Look, if you are logging properly on paper, there really is no difference with e-log. And if you are not logging properly, you are playing Russian Roulette.

But I have no problem with those that have a morbid fear of e-logs. I think it is unwarranted, but it is what it is. Lots of folks have various phobias. Some have a morbid fear of heights, some snakes, some e-logs. I have to admit, it has been interesting to watch the birth of this new phobia... elogitis. I sure hope the powers that be never actually mandate e-logs, for their sake, but that might be dreaming too much.

 

Hold that thought Cowpie...I have to go to the dentist and then i will respond to this statement..

 

Mr. cowpie you assume to much about what i am stating and implying in order to reasonably comprehend it. i am not taking a shot at you specifically. AS I MENTIONED EARLIER I MEANT EOBRs NOT ELOGS! DO YOU SEE AND UNDERSTAND WHAT I TYPE IF ITS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS? DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN EOBR IS?

when and how did i equate one with the other? I DID NOT!

As i said earlier "when you assume you can make an @s$(out of) u (and) me"

do you understand the words that are coming out of my m--- i mean keyboard?

i never questioned your freedom with an e log. i was talking about eobrs but you have failed to get that thru your skull and to your brain thus far.

e logs dont scare me. eobrs do because they threaten every ones safety in general. sure there are exceptions but overall eobrs are a bad idea.

mr cowpie please re-read things... slowly, maybe more than once, and comprehend things before you assume again and make an @s$(out of) u (and) me AGAIN!

o and i cover my butt well. if a receipt cant match the log it does not stay in the truck. stamps are cheap. fines are not. i do not put a ton of miles on or run unsafe, but we live in the real world and poop happens. deal with it as smart, patient, and profitable as you can.

 

Ok..... I'll bite.... why do EOBR's bother you so much and how do they threaten everyone's safety?

 

be careful you are entering cowpie perfect world............

 

Just wanting to find out why he thinks they will be more unsafe. I am not looking at it from a mandate standpoint, I am just curious how an inanimate device in a truck can somehow make everyone now unsafe. That is like saying a gun lying on a table with no one touching it is dangerous to everyone.

With that question I asked, I am not taking a position, pro or con, regarding anything. I would have no problem if FMCSA closed it's door, hung up a sign that said "gone fishin'" and left us alone and gave up on all this mandate stuff. I don't believe any of it makes anyone safer. Safety is a mindset. It is a condition you actively pursue.

 

After reading many posts complaining about people hauling cheap freight, i've concluded that people posting it cant make a living trucking and finnaly figured what they are doing wrong. Its everybody elses fault.

 

I have to side with Cowpie on this. Myself I'm just plain too lazy to enjoy filling out a complicated document that has to be exactly letter perfect down to the point of using an actual ruler (or straight edge) to draw the lines. I did that stuff when I was studying for my CDL, and have (thankfully) never had to bother with it again since.

Fortunately your truck doesn't get upset if you make it sit. Just so long as you got money to keep up on the payments.