Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85435
SPEAKOUT Effect of handheld rule on drivers with hearing aids? I recommend an exception to the ban on use of handheld cell phones while driving for truckers who are hearing impaired and wear a hearing aid. I know many commercial drivers and other motorists who wear aids, and many have to remove one to use both cell phones and land lines. Can the commercial drivers be exempted due to having to handle the hearing aid and then the cell phone and ear piece to take or make the call? Far too many external units, such as a GPS and some CB systems with blue tooth capability, don't work properly and many have poor reception. As a rule, background noise interferes so extensively that it's difficult to hear everything. For those whose hearing is perfect, it's difficult to understand the challenges those with hearing loss encounter daily. Bans such as the one against handheld communication devices are only the beginning of the end for free-thinking drivers and innovative carriers. Independence is on its way out if we don't band together for a common goal. GORDON ALKIRE | Owner-operator | Riley, Kan. What in-cab product can you not live without on the road? "My Sirius satellite radio keeps me up and active on long drives." DAVID HUGHES Columbus, Miss. Celadon company driver "My fridge. I keep ham, yogurt, vegetables and salads in it. It keeps me eating healthy." SERGIO DONIS Fredricksburg, Va. Owner-operator leased to Donis Transport "I use my headset a lot – for both business and pleasure PETER PETERKIN Orlando, Fla. calls." Owner-operator leased to Landstar 88 OVERDRIVE MAY 2012 "Air freshener! I have a dog, an American Eskimo, and the truck needs it sometimes." TOM THARP Boaz, Ala. LMR Trucking company driver JOHN FAGG | Knoxville, Tenn. IWS Trucking company driver radio." RANDALL CHOTE Henderson, Texas Owner-operator leased to Dependable Auto Shippers "My CB radio, although in recent years it's turned from a tool to a toy for many drivers. I use it to keep up with local traffic." "I keep up with sports, news, everything, on my XM into New York in Rush Hour with this beauty!!! " From Overdrive's Facebook page I'd love to roll — John Cullen, of Fort Coulonge, Quebec, commenting on the Mack Granite Megatron (from the third Transformers film ) on display at the Mid- America Trucking Show. " underneath the trailer, [so] in a tornado event, it's gonna go for a ride. — Borden Dairy General Manager Bill Witt talking to Tulsa, Okla., TV station KOTV about his milk delivery fleet after April twisters roared through the town, inuring no one. " SHARE WITH OVERDRIVE Send your letter to Overdriveonline.com under the Contact menu or mail it to Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403. FIND US AT: OVERDRIVE MAGAZINE TWITTER.COM/ OVERDRIVEUPDATE "There's a lot of space