Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/904267
Voices 8 | Overdrive | November 2017 The first full week of October was a doozy. I spent probably a total of 100 hours at my computer, firing off letters, gather- ing information, studying who gets money from what source in campaign donations, and watching the progress of the ELD protests in D.C.; Sacra- mento, California; Kent, Washington; and elsewhere with admiration and aston- ishment. Now about those broad statements. "You can't get two truckers to agree the sky is blue." Honey, hush. That one can be put to rest. While not all the people who came together in early October were asking for the same things, they did indeed come together, and they made quite an impression. As someone who sits on the back end at a computer and sends out information and queries to these reps on a daily basis, I can tell you from experience that you have to publicly insult someone to get them to pay attention to you in written form. It's sad but true. A face-to-face is definitely better. These demonstrations finally put trucking in the face of some of these reps, and I think they get the idea that we're not fooling around. If they didn't get the issue with ELDs before, it's not because they didn't have the information. It's because they are inundat- ed with eleventy-million dumpster fires within our gubmint, and they need to have a very squeaky wheel to grab their attention. These folks grabbed it. "Everyone fighting for this just wants to cheat." Unequivocally untrue. This is not about cheating, or even about ELDs spe- cifically. It's about allowing the gubmint to enact laws based on incorrect and contrived information, and frighten the public with threats of "safety" to make it look like they're doing everyone a favor. It's the classic non-sequitur: "We're from the gubmint, and we're here to help." You don't have to cheat on logs to make money. I have been in the truck with George on a 748-mile day, having obeyed the speed limits and parked with one minute to spare. Here's an- other: Electronic logs can be manipulated — you just have to know how to do it. I could not agree more that lack of knowledge about the ELD is hurting a lot of opinions. "People fighting for this are keeping truck- ing status-quo instead of helping it advance." Poppycock. Why should the driver bear the burden of making shippers and receivers act right? There are plenty of other ways to make them accountable for time. People fighting the mandate have made the case that there are pro- fessionals being forced to carry professional amounts of insurance and taking professional-sized fines, and 96 percent of them are doing a damn professional job of it as far as safety goes. It's ridiculous to force them to change their mode of operation based on a safety argument – which, we can't forget, is the core here – when they're already being safe. Let's cut the broad sweeping statements about each other, OK? We've got some momentum. If we can get the right people to look at this, we can get them to help us address the core issues affecting safety. We all know the hours of service, churn and training are the answer. We have to get them to understand it. Breaking down broad ELD statements Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. " If you think protesting and talking to reps in the gubmint will help, I say go for it if it makes you feel better. But it brings to mind Sen. John McCain's last election and his promise to lead the repeal of Obamacare. Yet what happened … he was the deciding 'no' vote on repeal … when his vote counted. Sorry to throw cold water on the debate, but if anyone thinks those in the gubmint are going to give up control, which is power, then I have a really great and cheap healthcare plan I'd like to sell you. " — Ricci Logan, via OverdriveOnline.com Cedric Mitchell of North Carolina, protesting in Washington, D.C., near DOT headquarters Oct. 4.