Feds crack down on Truckers

[green73]

The federal government thinks long-haul truckers like Bryan Spoon need more rest.

But with the Department of Transportation's new rules forcing drivers to take longer breaks and cut back on hours behind the wheel, Spoon thinks the government has created a solution looking for a problem.

"I wish the government would just quit trying to fix something that's not broken," Spoon said on a recent rest stop in Columbia, Mo., after hauling a load of construction materials on the 48-foot Great Dane flatbed behind his 2009 Volvo 780.

"If I get any more breaks out here I won't be able to make a living," he said.

Starting Monday, drivers like Spooner will have to stick to a schedule that requires taking a 30-minute break in the first eight hours of driving, cut the maximum workweek to 70 hours from 82, and "restart" those 70 hours with a 34-hour break once a week.

The rules are part of a program by the Obama administration to make U.S. highways safer by reducing the number of truck accidents and fatalities. The program also includes a safety rating system that shippers can review when they choose a new carrier, with the goal of prodding the trucking industry to further improve the safety of its drivers and equipment.

cont
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/feds-truckers-clash-over-new-safety-rules-6C10489607

[mad cow]

The price of everything just went up.

[jclay2]

It is good to see the government really cares about my safety.

[Icymudpuppy]

And here I thought the Teamsters were the most powerful union in America. Apparently not.

[tod evans]

And here I thought the Teamsters were the most powerful union in America. Apparently not.

I'll bet a cyber nickel the teamsters love this legislation.

It's geared toward the owner/operators not hourly drivers.

[ghengis86]

I'll bet a cyber nickel the teamsters love this legislation.

It's geared toward the owner/operators not hourly drivers.

Plus they'll need more drivers which means the potential for expanding union membership.

[tod evans]

The teamsters are always looking to expand their cash influx..

This legislation is intended to severely limit or even curtail any actual "profit" an independent hauler could make by subjecting him to the same, or similar, restrictions that teamsters drive under.

The auspice of "safety" was only to ram the legislation through in favor of the union..

[Schifference]

But it is OK for a doctor to be in the ER working 16 hours straight without a break.

[tod evans]

But it is OK for a doctor to be in the ER working 16 hours straight without a break.

Elite class.

Different rules.

[TruckinMike]

The Fed Gov wants to destroy independents/owner operators, create more jobs for less annual pay, and spread the wealth to Canada. They accomplish this with a myriad of rules and regulations. This is just another example.

My regulation pet peeve

No trucks over 243" wheelbase are allowed west of Ontario,{EDIT}CANADA. Most US western state haulers just happen to have over a 243" wheelbase (as measured from center of tandems to the front axle). Gee, do you think they knew that? The standard 379(classic style) peterbilt with a 72" sleeper has a 270" wheelbase. You can get around this by moving your front axle in the tandem far enough forward such that the center of the tandem axle group will be at 243"from the front axle --> its called a Canadian spread. The truck is the same length but the wheelbase is closer together. But ironically they will not allow our trailers with "Spread" axles. In the US a typical flatbed trailer use what is called a spread axle configuration. By spreading the axles apart there is less weight in a given square footage of roadway or bridge. As a result the US allows 40,000 lbs for tandem spread axles, whereas only 34,000 for the typical tandem axle trailer. BUT---> Canada only recognizes one axle in a spread axle configuration thus allowing you only 20,000 pounds. How many spread axle trailers will be going into canada now???

These bastards will stop at nothing to destroy our country.

[KCIndy]

The Fed Gov wants to destroy independents/owner operators, create more jobs for less annual pay, and spread the wealth to Canada. They accomplish this with a myriad of rules and regulations. This is just another example.


Don't forget spreading the wealth to Mexico, too! :D

Regarding California - I am SO glad I don't drive there anymore. (Well, not very often at least.) I got away from most of that nonsense about the time Kalifornia began demanding all box trailers have those stupid aerodynamic skirts underneath. Y'know... the ones that save a few dollars worth of fuel at the cost of several hundred dollars every time some inattentive newbie rips one loose in a pothole filled parking lot.

I've been finding it more and more ironic that the general public seems to think truckers live carefree, footloose lives free of rules and restrictions. I know there are professions even more highly regulated out there, but I'll bet trucking hits high in the top ten.

[fisharmor]

It is good to see the government really cares about my safety.

Yeah, well, if they did then they would get rid of the trucks altogether, and let people build train stations in town, and let people build businesses and factories next to those train stations, and as a result we'd stop clear-cutting the country and putting up endless complexes of box stores.


But it is OK for a doctor to be in the ER working 16 hours straight without a break.

Also don't forget the only reason they do this to interns is to make them quit, to keep the number of doctors down and the pay rates up.

[KCIndy]

Yeah, well, if they did then they would get rid of the trucks altogether, and let people build train stations in town, and let people build businesses and factories next to those train stations, and as a result we'd stop clear-cutting the country and putting up endless complexes of box stores.



Good luck building a railhead into every little town in America, let alone every single Walmart and Sam's Club.