Why a strike? The CSA 2010 will cripple trucking.

I hope so ... but how many "sweeping government regulations" in the past 30 years can you say actually benefited the workforce?

It also seems Billionaire Jerry Moyes has no problem filling thousands of trucks with these trainees ... and Swift is still the largest OTR company out there.

It's not about any "sky is falling" paranoia ... just a pragmatic observation and a strong sense of history.

The rating is still based on numbers and averages ... this system can be gamed.

I certainly hope I'm wrong.

 

Let's face it, it's the end, not not for trucking (there are always abundance of desperate for a job people) it's the end for a trucking as a job offering average wages for the obscene amount of work, risk and sacrifice + roof over your head, if you need it. Now, it's gonna be something between McDonalds and whatever Werner Drivers make these days on the average (less than 35k if lucky, I believe). No thanks, I'd rather go fast food. I know enforcement folks are ecstatic about this, more work, stable raises, good wages, government insurance, etc. Guess what, you'll push more and more of driver control regulations without living wage regulations, without parking, without raining in shippers, even mildly desperate will have a second thought about OTR.

Flatbed companies are going down in flames (especially after mandatory EOBR) it may take a single inspection, a few "damaged" (in the eyes of beholder) security devices to trump 20 years and 1 million of safe miles. Besides, how do you make money if on top of 1-5+++ hours of waiting to load/unload you need to spend 1, 2, 3 + hours to secure/undo while your cpm is the same (or less) than that for van drivers + Saturday/Sunday deliveries&pickups are very rare?

What people forgot to mention in this thread is ten-folded discretionary power of DOT inspectors. It's all about your likability. You are likable - straps are OK, you are not likable 10 straps are frayed (it's not exact science) + you didn't log all 5 hours at shipper as on duty. No matter how straight arrow you are, every inspection is a Russian roulette, so never say never.

On the good note, CDL school business will pick up quite a bit, be proactive.

 

so your saying that csa2010 will make bad drivers and bad companys fold.
i say about time

 

The more I read on CSA the more I think about staying out of trucking ..Not that I cant run by the rules just with what I have read about the tax thing (1099 to everyone you do bussiness with) All the BS of going back 3 years on a driver and only 2 on company .And how can they say your at fault if you are hit headon in a crash you will be assesed points on any and everything you do ..Some good things about CSA and lots of bad about it too but the bad outweighes the good

 

How did you come to that conclusion? CSA 2010 will bring lower wages, more turnover, more career uncertainty and stress, and more financially/job desperate/or outright unemployable people behind wheels. Feel safer now?

Somebody in this thread was continuously using made up stories about "communist" Russia. This proverb is not made up, they say it over there "Imbecility of the bad Laws is mitigated by the laxity of their enforcement". Imbecility of HOS & DOT (considering no fair wage, not sufficient parking, endless wasted hours, traffic, weather, individual biological clocks, etc., etc.,) was mitigate by overwork and guts of many truck drivers. Take laxity of enforcement away (everything else being unchanged) and you'll see for yourself very soon what will happen, enjoy.

 

I need to remind some wage optimists that whenever corporate world cannot get a unit of labor for the amount of $ they are willing to pay, they immediately cry shortage, lobby government for more training programs for displaced workers, veterans, minorities and women, as well as demand more work visas and larger immigration quotas. If they were paying you 40cpm before CSA, that all what you'll get (if lucky), CSA or not, it just that the very same cpm (if lucky) would mean les$$ $ in your pocket.

You think EOBR is not big deal because you figured out the way how play with lines 3 and 4 to mitigate obvious imbecility of HOS? Naive, you think lawyers will settle down after EOBR is installed on every truck, no they will make sure (eventually) that cranking up engine to run AC in the middle of the night will immediately put you on the line 4. Don't believe me, just wait Ultimately, I predict a chip under skull of every driver keeping on duty records (and whatever else), don't believe me, just wait

 

I worked oil field early 80's. The shortage was severe, and the inexperienced hand was plentiful.

The pay was great. Companies cutting each others throat for experienced workers, while inexperienced workers were lined up around the block...willing to work for half what I earned.

None of them ever got my job. Nor do I expect any of these new comers in trucking will either.

So, in response I say pay WILL go up. At the same time, I agree that safety will go in the tank. But just for a brief period.

EOBR can be set to detect drive shaft rotation as an indicator of truck movement.

GPS is inadequate for this type of reference or record. GPS will show movement at all times, unless the system is a high end one. Even the high end models can reflect false movement.

The companies are aware of this, and are addressing the issues.

Thankfully, the company I work for listened to a few of my concerns. We're about to start testing E-logs. And I offered some input, that was addressed BEFORE they're placed into service.

 

Yes, most companies would cut others throat for some kind of specialized, takes some time to train, etc., etc. workers or some kind of a guru in a field. Management is also exempt from supply-demand, they can screw things up/steal a lot and thus they are kept happy regardless how many people are willing to manage for less.

Alas, trucking is not that kind of an occupation, truckers are easy to train and easy to discard. Truckers wages (in inflation adjusted dollars, and recently in unadjusted dollars) are on steady decline for the past 30 years, while their productivity (and resulting professional illnesses) are on the steady rise. I really doubt that CSA was meant to interrupt that downfall into McTrucking, if that would be true companies & shippers would be scrambling lobbyists to intercept CSA as a communist menace. Nothing happening, big companies are happy since the days of independent OO are counted, shippers don't give a dime, they know it costs virtually close to nothing to set up another bottom feeding trucking company (not so with oil and any other business generating truckloads of stuff) so supplies of trucks will always exceed demand, small temporary glitches aside. I find your optimist unfounded given 30 years of wage declines. CSA would be a sharp downward glitch on otherwise smooth line of wage declines.

 

I could have trained a monkey to do my oil field job. But the number of deaths in his first 60 days on the job would have been open for debate.

Trucking is no different.

The best will remain, and be in demand. Just as they have been in the past.

I understand your concerns, they hide out in the back of my mind as well. But I do believe and hope you are wrong.

On the flip side. Until driver starting pay hits .50 a mile for a driver with 3 years experience. I'll say we're still in the woods.

 

I love tinfoil hat people.