Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/26876
FEEDBACK Driver Conditions Getting More Unbearable hanks for the informative write-up in Truckers News [“Opposing Suits?” February 2011]. I think you nailed it on the head with “paid by miles and regulated by hours.” I worked a 16-hour day because I was getting loaded, then drove 470 miles and ran out of time. That translates for me to $9.37 an hour. I should be better compensated for having to live in my truck and not be able to be at my home every night, but that’s not the case. I am not including the time I live in the truck in that in that $9.37 an hour calculation; if I did, I make about $3.00 an hour. Is there no compensation to me for the fact that I am living in this truck, and I am going where someone else is dictating that I go, with no bathrooms at most of the overnights at customers? If this industry is going to continue to treat us like dogs then what the hell do they expect us to act like other than dogs? T I am considering a janitor job in my hometown or maybe welfare — then I could get health care and be at home each night. Do you think I’ve got an original thought? No way. There are so many people out here thinking this way. Why are we out here dealing with this? Because we value working and not feeding off the system. That’s the only thing preventing me from doing it. Ten dollars for a shower? Ten dollars to park? Food choices are things like Twinkies, doughnuts and frosted flakes. Do you shop like this for your family? You wonder why we are fat and having health problems — the truckstops are where we shop 10 TRUCKERS NEWS APRIL 2011 for food, and this is our choice of food. If the government is so con- cerned about accidents, then why aren’t they looking at what we eat? There’s no place to exercise at truckstops, by and large. This indus- try has gotten horrid. It funnels us into poor diets with no exercise, no bathrooms and now heat strokes and frostbite, based on the Cali- fornia restrictions, which will no doubt run the gamut and become law in other states. Someone needs to look into the fact that companies are running their drivers during the day shift and asking them to get 10 hours of sleep and then run all night. If I have slept during the night, wake at 8:00 a.m. and my dispatcher tells me I have to pick up a load at midnight and run all night with it and deliver it in the morning, I have to get back to sleep and dou- ble stack my sleep. I can’t do it, and by the time midnight rolls around I’ve been up for 16 hours with no sleep, run the load, and now I’ve been up for 30 hours straight with no sleep. By the time I’m unloaded it’s 34 hours. You wouldn’t believe how dangerous this is, but the dis- patchers don’t care at all. It takes me three days to recoup from this abuse. And you cannot refuse the load. Sarah Harless Elverta, Calif. FMCSA REGS REP A POLITICAL GAME The old saying goes, “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” The more I read about the Hours of Ser- vice recommendations, the more I realize the truth of this. The proposed HOS rules have HOW DO YOU THINK THE TURMOIL IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL AFFECT THE TRUCKING REBOUND? “It’s a double-edged sword. I think it’s going to affect fuel prices, but, honestly, if you main- tain your equipment, it could have a positive affect with fuel surcharges going up.” — Daniel Baker, Monroeville, N.C., owner-operator leased to Landstar “I pull military freight, so it’s helping me.” — Fred Bryant, Gautier, Miss., driver for Northern Neck Transfer “It’s not good for the trucking industry because it raises the price of fuel. It doesn’t help us at all.” — Todd Anderson, Greensboro, N.C., driver for Steve’s Truck Service “It’s going to substan- tially limit the amount companies can do as far as hiring. Owner- operators are going to suffer because that’s money out of their pocket, and car- riers aren’t going to be able to offer them fuel surcharges.” — Josh Card, Jacksonville, Fla., driver for Werner