Why CSA 2010 and E-Logs are a good thing.

So basically, Tazz, your position is based purely on emotion, rather than science.

This, in and of itself, makes your argument completely baseless and irrelevant. Your admission allows me to dismiss your whole position as nothing more than tearful white noise.

 

Injun I have no idea. According to FARS half of motorcycle fatalities are impact with fixed objects

I would say much like CDL motorcycle endorsements need better testing.

Side note so long as you have your own insurance I disagree with a helmet law. By that I mean medical insurance so if you scramble your melon you get to pay(or your insurance) not the rest through higher rates of forced care.

 

Say what?.

 

My assumption/opinion doesn't actually cross into trucks. Just motorcycles. I have seen far more reckless moves committed by people who probably don't have the M endorsement on their licenses than I have by truck drivers. (With a few noticeable exeptions). Also, the fact that being on a motorcycle puts you up close and personal with things that are quite capable of decapitating you makes those accidents more damaging.

I think that truck drivers see more, and react better than the vast majority of the 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers out there. And I'd trust a trucker w/ a phone at her ear before I trust the 4 wheeler.

Going by what I've experienced w/ the QC e-logs. The majority of carriers using them have a "grace" period before they automatically switch to "on-duty driving." Some carriers do have an "off-duty driving option" but I understand that all don't utilize that option. The only thing that a properly powered e-log will do is record what you let it. People have already said how you can "cheat" the system. It won't "force" you to shut down, as you can just ignore the caterwauling. It does record the violations. It records locations, and your distance driven in a day. It updates the location every time the truck stops. It doesn't make you "safer." You can be perfectly legal on your HOS, and still be half asleep. Or under the influence of something you aren't supposed to be. Or hopped up on Rooster Booster. You can't always sleep well at a shipper/receiver and if that's where your 10 happens.....you are legal on your HOS, but are still fatigued.

The number of motorcycles on the road jumped up a lot faster than the number of trucks did. Mostly owing to the cost of running your car or more likely, your SUV down the road. Many of those new motorcycle riders rode like they were still encased in the large expanse of SUV. I don't know the actual statistics, but going from what I've seen locally, I'd say our motorcycle population tripled or quadrupled in the last 5 years. No, I don't have numbers. The only study I can find ran from 1995 to 2004, which is prior to Hurricane Katrina, and the explosion in fuel prices. But in those 10 years, registrations went from 3.8M to 5.7M. Not quite doubling it, and the number of fatalities went up by a corresponding amount. The accidents per million miles almost doubled as well.

Motorcycle Accident Statistics

That's the one study I could find.

I still say safety begins between the ears of the driver. I've seen all manners of vehicles following too closely. I've had a semi so close all I could see was his grill...on an open stretch of toll road. Yes, I was doing less than the speed limit. I always do. Some of that is for fuel consumption, and some of that is the vehicle I drive. She doesn't like going 70. I'm going to go as fast as I feel I can safely drive according to the conditions on the road. If that means that I slow down to 50 when wind gusts are 50mph, so be it. If that means I stay home when the roads are icy, so be it. If that means when it's raining cows and goats (that's worse than cats and dogs, by the way), I might be driving 25mph, or I might find a bridge to pull under, depending on the situation.

I don't think that truck drivers should be held accountable when it's the 4 wheeler or the 2 wheeler that screws up. Yes, they are held to a higher standard. But sometimes I think that standard is held up so high that no one could meet it. If a 4 wheeler breaks the median, and crosses in front of you, and you literally have one second to react, it's not the truckers fault. And said trucker can be totally legal, HOS perfect, DOT clean (until the 4 wheeler smashed into his grill), but people still feel the need to blame the trucker. It's not right, and I'm doing my best in the small circle of influence I have to fix it.

 

I am not sure what you are talking about, Tazz. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. If trucks are only responsible for 1 1/2% of all fatalities, that is NOT a valid reason to throw more regulations or to have EOBR's in the truck. The statistics don't support any action on the part of the government. Personally, I prefer education over more government regulations. I think that it would be much better to teach or educate those who drive 4 wheelers as to how to safely drive or share the road with 18 wheelers rather than putting on more regulations. It is an over reaction. You could add 10,000 more regulations but it will not make roads 100% safe. It is niave to believe that more government regulations are the answer to making everyone safe. It isn't going to happen.

 

The part that most people who support eobr refuse to realize is just because the eobr says your out of hours and must rest dose not mean the driver is resting. They could be in a truck stop playing games,watching tv or any where else in the country doing a number of other things off duty besides resting. EOBR's will do nothing for safty just compliance. A driver could be up all night watching a football game with freinds off duty for 12hrs get in his truck at 5am and fall a sleep 2 hours later crash and kill someone. Is the eobr going prefent this, no because according to the eobr he was fully legal. You can not control what people do no matter what regulation they throw at us accidents and deaths will still happen. EOBR's have nothing to do with safty just compliance of the law and i'am sorry i have no trouble being compliant now. I do not need to spend money on a device to tell me when and when not to work i can do that now.

 

Rounding, rounding, rounding, rounding.....15 here, 15 there....you get the picture. Legally, as in no violations, you could pull that off.

 

I guess as USUAL your type just saw FOX and ranted,,but read my last line ,,JEEEEEZ
UNLIKE YOUR TYPE My opinions are not made from hype and or propaganda Talking points,and also I have free will to listen to what ever I choose,and before you RANT ON ,,,AGAIN I really dont care about your opinion on FOX or any other news organization,,now slip the cone of tin fowl back on(your safer that way),and leave these post(Like Yours) over in the political section

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ak92rETNy8&feature=related[/ame]

 

That "77hours quote is long before you came on the scene,,it steamed from when the HOS changed fro 10 hrs of driving a day to 11(7 days x 11 hrs=77hrs),to which in "theory they are correct when you look at a "weekly thing" compared to where you and I look at it differently as in no way,but the Safety Groups cling to that sentiment,,

And my theory on bike fatality rise is basically types have change,lighter and faster sells more,and kills faster,,160-180 and "unassing" a seat,, well helmet not so much help there,,there is a classic example of this when a dude rearended a Yellow set of doubles on the OK turnpike years ago,got stuck in the trailing trailer,bike actually passed the trucker,when the trucker stop to see what damage there was,the kid is dead planted in his door(WARNING,,GRAPHIC)http://ettanps.blogspot.com/2008/09/man-hits-back-of-truck-at-120mph-gets.html

And sorry to get off topic

 

If there are that many innocent civilians killed shouldn't the statistics reflect this? Which of course they don't... Again, I understand that that accident fatalities are down... but given the data at hand... conclusions can be drawn, that better mechanical and maintainence programs... inspections ect... are the reason they are down... period. It is the data that you in fact posted.

Again, HOS violations didn't have an effect on the base size of the given data pool.

It's hard to argue the cold facts... isn't it?