Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/873209
VOICES 6 | Overdrive | September 2017 On July 23, a reefer trailer with 39 people inside was found in a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio. The unit had been parked for some time, and the reefer wasn't on. Ap- parently, the driver of the truck, now in custody, was present when police found eight dead in the trailer. Two others died later. Some 20 others were hospitalized. This isn't the fi rst time it's hap- pened, and it won't be the last. Such horrendous events are the reason our lawmakers feel the need to come down hard on people who participate in such abhorrent behavior. It's also the reason the recent anti-traffi cking bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and others, hasn't gone far enough. There will always be people willing to pay for illegal transport, and there will always be people who take that money, whether they hold a CDL, personal driver's license, boating license, pilot's license, broker's license or no license at all. It's prudent to end the misuse of any form of transport, not just trucks pulling trailers. Thune's bill doesn't go beyond targeting commercial vehicle operators with its lifetime CDL ban for those convicted of human traffi cking off enses. Here's where we do need to take a breather and get the language correct. This tragedy shows that there was use of more than one form of transportation during commission of the crimes. Cars were reported to be coming and going before the police got there, the drivers picking up peo- ple, like lumpers from hell unloading live freight. The incident also reminds us that traffi cking victims are unwilling victims, while smuggling operations involve willing participants. This one appears to be a "smuggling" opera- tion, not traffi cking, but that's splitting hairs no one with a heart or soul is going to care about when they read the headline "8 Dead in Tractor Trailer." This smug- gling operation hits the trucking industry in the gut. Provided early statements to police hold up, this was not just the eff ort of one truck driver. Follow- ing back through each immigrant's circumstances will show many more fi ngerprints, each of whose owners deserves to pay deeply for this. Why human trafficking bill is too narrow Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. " This is so sad! The trailer even had a reefer unit! The DOT will quickly get to the bottom of this tragedy! If the driver is really involved, then he should get the max- imum penalty as well as all those involved! It's those USA companies that give illegal immigrants employ- ment (to save money) that is the root cause to this whole problem. If every company followed federal law, then this trafficking of (slave) labor would not hap- pen at this high level. " — Lance, via OverdriveOnline.com " Apparently everyone needs reminding that this 'driver' didn't hold a current CDL, but because he was in a 'Big Truck,' that makes him a driver. No, that makes him someone who was already breaking the law to begin with, and now the public views him as a CDL truck driver, which he was not. I am not downplaying the tragedy, just [emphasizing] media's portrayal of the trucking industry. " — Wirycolt2, via OverdriveOnline.com This tragedy shows that there was use of more than one form of transportation during commission of the crimes.