Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/119523
VOICES Parking victory in Georgia G ood news and a win for truckers in Warner Robins, Ga.: The parking ban for big trucks voted in Feb. 19 was voted out March 4. City Mayor Chuck Shaheen called and gave me the news. "We made an initial decision based on the information we had," he said. "We got better information and made a better decision." While plans for a public parking area are in the works along Georgia State Highway 247 near Warner Robins Air Force Base, rescinding the two-hour parking time limit gives truckers instant relief and assurance that Warner Robins does indeed want them in their city delivering goods. "You tell the truckers the welcome mat is out and the lights are on," Shaheen said. Your city just told the truckers that by listening and trying to understand their needs. Thank you, Warner Robins. I think we can get other cities to listen to us if we show Warner For more coverage of the Warner Robins ordinance limiting truck parking, including how it came to be overturned, scan the QR for a list of stories, or visit overdriveonline. com/tag/warner-robins. Robins that truckers can come in and park without leaving pee bottles lying around and dropping trailers for days at a time. This leaves future relations with the city totally in our court – we're in charge, for once. So don't screw it up. Glad to hear this, and Wendy's right – keep the place clean, present a better public image, and city officials in other towns will be more inclined to work with you instead of legislating against you." — Overdrive reader James M. Stepp, commenting on news of Warner Robins, Ga.'s parking ban repeal $65/HOUR: A FAIR DETENTION RATE In all the discussion of electronic onboard recorders, I rarely see mention of the days spent at shippers' and receivers' facilities loading and unloading. They hurt. Not once have I seen detention pay for being held one, two, three hours or sometimes more. I think it should be capped at one free Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline. com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. hour, and everything else should be $65 per hour. An advantage that the big carriers have over the small ones is the ability to have a trailer pool. Having the ability to drop and hook, as opposed to waiting to get offloaded or loaded, greatly reduces stress on the driver and company. Small carriers are at a disadvantage. I don't think I could swing another $350 trailer payment. Furthermore, I can't hire someone to haul it to a shipper for me to get it loaded with product. I am lucky to see a 20 percent profit margin. More realistic numbers show anywhere from 10 to 15 percent. Considering these issues staying the same, after the new hours of service and EOBR mandates become law, I will be lucky to see a 0 to 5 percent profit margin. — Edited comments from independent owner-operator Brad Lambert of B&D Transport, at OverdriveOnline.com SHARE WITH OVERDRIVE OVERDRIVE MAGAZINE TWITTER.COM/OVERDRIVEUPDATE 6 | Overdrive | April 2013 Voices_0413.indd 6 3/28/13 12:00 PM