Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/62228
Feedback M Taking issue with a few of the issues We are requoted to death r. Grider, I'm an 11-year veteran driver out here and thought I would voice my opinion on some of the issues you had in your magazine. I'll start off with the hours of service. Why does the Department of Transportation have to change the hours all the time? I'm not really seeing that many accidents out here, and from what I hear everyone is following the law. Are they trying to change the 11-hour driving time to 8 hours? If so, where are we going to park? Not to mention we have now both border trucks crossing and taking up room. I like the 34-hour reset as is, and [I] don't understand [the proposed revision] at all. Now, the second issue the handset issue. I don't use my phone that much while driving but if I do I have a Bluetooth like they required. What is going on with this industry, and why do we not have anyone behind us? I'm going to be 33 this month, and if I could do something else, I would. We have a guy in office making all the rules, and Ray LaHood has no idea what a trucker does! I haven't seen this many rules since President Bill Clinton was in office. No, I wasn't driving then. But my dad was. One more, now I believe this used to be the Overdrive magazine and you all published a story my dad did back in the day. His name was Michael Ray Rogers, a long- time trucker. I still have that magazine. I hope you read this, and I hope I didn't take too much of your time. I'm a concerned driver and worried about my job with all the new rules coming out. Michael A. Rogers Duncan, Okla. Editor's note: Overdrive is the sister publication of Truckers News. If the current trend continues, we will be regulated right out of making a half-decent living. — Dianna J. If the current trend continues, there won't be any drivers to haul the freight and the country will grind to a halt. Perhaps then companies will realize that we are people, too. — Sean M. Average driver age will be more than 60. [There will be] fewer small companies, as larger ones buy them out, or just force them out. Fewer long-haul runs/drivers, with corresponding increase in short to medium hauls involving switches to allow drivers more frequent home time. More scheduled 8 | TRUCKERS NEWS | MAY 2012 In response to "Proposal to tie sleep apnea testing with body mass index" at http://www.truckersnews.com. I sn't it amazing how more and more require- ments/regulations/laws are loaded on top of the industry, stealing money that underpaid drivers have been waiting for for decades now? [The Department of Transportation] treats drivers like third-class citizens wanting to treat truck drivers like airline pilots yet treating them like criminals that are guilty until proven inno- cent in almost any and every circumstance. [Hazardous material] drivers have been vetted by the Transportation Security Administration yet they get frisked/screened before boarding a plane by who? The TSA! These drivers paid for the hazmat and background checks yet they can't board a plane though they have been cleared to drive dangerous products around our nation? So much for being treated like a pilot! Finally, safety regulations have all but choked the little guy out of business. Maybe the DOT is intent on creating a transportation cartel amongst the biggest trucking companies and could care less about the independent. Is there anyone — seriously, anyone — at the federal DOT that has ever driven a truck for a living? That has been subjected to risking their career by driving in California or New York? I have to admit, being treated like a pilot would be a lot better than being treated like a scum-dog, third-class citizen like we drivers get treated. I recently walked away from hazmat and fortu- C WHAT DO YOU THINK TRUCKING WILL BE LIKE IN 2020? | VIA FACEBOOK routes, again to allow drivers more regular home time. Greater cooperation between the big carriers to allow using a competitors facilities and yards for security purposes. Any large truck operating in Ontario and Quebec is already limited to 65 mph, or 105 kph, and has been for a few years now. It's only a matter of time. — Tom B. Sorry, supertruckers, but the inevitable "trucks limited to 65" law is comin' sooner or later! — Jim P. Natural-gas trucks at 35 percent, electronic logs at 100 percent, black boxes downloaded after a crash at 100 percent and average driver age at 40. — Jacques C. I say the average driver age will be around 23-25, because the companies will still continue to fire more experi- enced drivers for stupid crap and hire student drivers to haul thier freight for a fraction of the cost. — Robert C. Won't be driving then ... — Bob M. Old-school truckers will make a strong comeback in the years up till then, and people will wake up. Truckers old and new make this world turn. What would happen if truckers nationwide quit for a week? Do you recall when that happened? There is your answer. Hint: It was a gas war. — Steven B. ontinued on page 10