Schneider moving solo to 63mph

Well it's true! Just heard the new radio advertisement. As long as you have a truck with crash avoidance and they can hook a few electrodes up to you, and a shock device, you can now drive 63 at Sni. This should fill the seats!

 

The "lane departure warning" system might as well be a shock device....if it was any louder, they would've had to buy me a hearing aid.

 

BRRRRRRTTT!!! God I hate that thing. Stupid thing goes haywire after dark.

 

Not that it matters, but taking a little time off and sipping on perhaps the finest whiskey I have ever tasted so it seems like the perfect time to try and take a shot at this.
I also note where you stated that it's not necessarily your personal belief but another side of the story. Point taken. There is one thing missing though.
When the industry transitioned from mechanical to electronic diesels, cruise control was touted as a earth shattering fuel economy improvement. During this same time speed related class 8 crashes started going through the roof. I worked for a small not for hire flatbed company during this period and after three wrecks out of ten trucks in a one year period the owner disabled the cruise on all trucks. Not saying cruise is the root of all evil, just a real life observation.
In my opinion all of this so called safety enhancing components is just bubble gum and BS. Just a way for the ATA and all their members to pat themselves on the back and show what "great efforts" they are going to in the name of safety while they hose the rest of the industry.
The single biggest thing you could do to improve safety is disc brakes on tractor and trailers. This would cost a fortune but can you imagine the safety benefits. I will guarantee you when there is a whole lot of Otto's running around everything will be disc brake equipped and the next thing you know the ATA and all the megas will be touting what exceptional stopping distances they have.
Not arguing with a word you said. Can't argue with numbers. It seems true safety comes with a rather pricey tag though. I just find all these other gizmos to be offensive really.

 

Don't have the whiskey but...... I'll take this a little further. The only reason that any of these companies are concerned with anything related to safety is for money purposes. For example: the requirement for wearing safety vests and slip resistant shoes is a huge reduction in insurance costs. This goes along with any of the new technology like OnGuard and the lane beeping systems. Just by making certain things requirements reduces those costs. If it don't make money. It don't make cents!!!

 

All kind of funny things start happening when a IPO is in the mix. It's all about filling idle truck seats. I don't blame them. It's the way it goes I guess. Maybe if they would slow down a bit and try to focus on keeping the good drivers they do have.......I just don't know where 3 mph gets you when your stuck in the NE running 210 mile loads at a time. Sounds good in a radio add I guess

 

@sealevel - didn't your Mother teach you to share?

 

While I have you on the phone can you please explain what a "reverse upward trend in the economy" is? Don't want to sound stupid but it's driving me crazy.

 

It's the same thing as a "very busy slack season" or a "very slack busy season". In essence it's a snarky way to say business is bad, recession, or similar.

I forget the name of the Korean War General who said of the retreat from the Yalu River "retreat, he'll we're just attacking in the other direction". As the post war boom faded from the US economy in the late 50s or early sixties an economist was quoted saying the "reverse upward trend" in the economy was a good thing. The worder choice makes it seem like things are going okay when in reality you should be buying horse treats to appease the 4 Horsemen.

 

I'll sound stupid with ya. I didn't know either. I've heard that term on the radio before but never bothered to look it up.