Retired

This is from an email I received from someone......

I’m Retired!!

  

I was sitting in my pickup truck at a long stop light yesterday.
Thinking about what I would do to keep busy for the rest of the week, minding my own business and patiently waiting for the light to turn green, even though there was no traffic.

An old Nissan full of bearded, young, loud Muslims, shouting Anti-American slogans, with a half-burned American Flag duct-taped on the trunk of their car, and a “Remember 9-11" slogan spray painted on the side, stopped next to me.

Suddenly they yelled, “ Allah Akbar! Praise Allah! Death to America”  and took off before the light changed.  Out of nowhere an 18 wheeler truck came speeding through the intersection and ran directly over their car, crushing it and killing everyone in it!

For several minutes I sat in my car thinking: “Man that could have been me!”

So, today I went right down to the DMV an applied for my CDL Truck Driver’s License.

SLEPT MYSELF OUT OF HOURS

I really don't understand why a nap is counted as on-duty time.   Actually, I don't know why the required 30-minute break as counted as on-duty either.

I really did it this morning.  I stopped to take a nap, didn't hear the alarm clock, and snoozed myself right out of hours (on the e-log).

It is unfortunate that the government can't see how stupid this is.  They would rather have me keep driving while tired, than allow me to take a rest to be safe and to finish my route so I can get paid and not have to lay over.

I drive a day cab, hauling groceries to our stores.  Same route each week, with only minor changes. Most of our routes and deliveries are at night.  Sometimes you start at 6pm, sometimes at midnight, or whatever.

Throw in a blizzard or two, and not being able to sleep soundly before work, there are times a driver simply can't safely drive all night long.  This is especially true when your start time changes daily.  It is hard for your body to adapt and stay awake all night, especially driving the same skinny road, week after week.

The snow flakes kept getting bigger, the windshield defroster on these Freightliners are pathetic, and your eyes start drooping.  Logically, the safe thing to do would be to pull over.  Right?

Logic plays no part in the FMCSA rule making.

What other occupation or job do you know of that keeps you "working" when you're sleeping? 

Just imagine if that happened for everybody? 

The only exception I can think of is that the politicians and assholes who make these stupid rules should definitely not be drawing the pay they receive when they aren't doing their jobs.  Off duty should be applied, with no pay, anytime they don't use logic and common sense, or listen to the drivers and people who actually know something about trucking.  And, if they are bribed by lobbyists instead of sticking up for the tax payers, they should forfeit all of the pay they derive from tax payers.

Anyway, I had a good nap. The roads were better when I woke up.  Then I stopped for coffee and used the bathroom, and really screwed up the e-log.  At least those big red circles the e-log shows when I am in violation kind of remind me of Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Take Overdrive's poll.
The question is:

What will be your response to mandated ELDs?

I just did it.  The response was that over 37% of truckers will retire or look for another line of work.  Check it out for yourself.  Add your opinion.

Overdrive Poll Link 

 

http://www.overdriveonline.com/poll-what-will-be-your-response-to-mandated-elds/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=12-17-2015&utm_campaign=Overdrive&ust_id=877b3c844c09e8168933e0da80388361 

OOIDA sues over ELD final rule

Good deal.

Please support OOIDA.

Here's a link to Overdrive's article:

http://www.overdriveonline.com/ooida-petitions-federal-court-to-block-eld-mandate/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=12-15-2015&utm_campaign=Overdrive&ust_id=877b3c844c09e8168933e0da80388361

The White House has a section on their website for regular people like us to create a petition, or sign a petition.  If 100,000 signatures are obtained, the White House must respond to the petition.

A new petition was started a day or so ago requesting to place an indefinite moratorium on the Syrian refugees to the USA until all this vetting process is figured out..  One of the Paris terrorists was a Syrian refugee, and faked his way through their vetting process. 

Not that Obama, Franken, Klobuchar, or Dayton will ever listen to taxpayers, signing the petition will definitely make a statement.  Who knows?  All you need to do is fill in your name, email, and zip code.  Then you will receive an email from the White House to verify your signature.

Obama wants to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the USA within next year.  The Heritage Foundation has determined that the cost to taxpayers would be $6.5 BILLION over time.

According to Breitbart...... "On Sept. 10, a White House spokesman said President Barack Obama would grant residence to 10,000 additional Syrians in 2016, along with the routine inflow of 70,000 refugees and 1 million new immigrants."

1 in 4 terrorists have come from Minnesota.  29 Minnesotan's have joined ISIS.  The states have no say in how many refugees will be sent to their state, and the Feds said that no background information would be provided to those states on the refugees.  We are simply supposed to trust the Feds and their vetting process.  Huh? 

Please sign the petition.  We only have until December 14th to obtain 100,000 signatures.  There have been over 1000 signatures already today.   Get this out to everybody you know.  Use email, FB, Twitter, or whatever else you can think of.

Here's the link:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/place-moratorium-all-refugee-resettlement-middle-east-wake-paris-terror-attacks

We lucked out for another month, anyway.
There was no vote in September or October.  It is November now.  Maybe legislators will get in the holiday mood and just go home and quit screwing everything up.

As you may have heard, they did not vote in September on the e-logs.  Supposedly they will vote in October, which will bring the 2-year compliance date up to October 2017.

One great thing I read today, published by Matt Cole at Overdrive is that FMCSA agrees that the driver should be able to amend e-logs prior to submitting them.  This new action will be effective whenever the compliance date  comes about.

If you want to help at all, please consider subscribing to OOIDA.  They are our only lobbyists in Washington.  Membership is $45 per YEAR, and includes a subscription to the Land Line magazine.  Do your part.  Get involved. 

Click here for OOIDA's website: http://www.ooida.com/WhoWeAre/Join/

Don't forget to contact your state's senators about the 30 minute break. It really sucks.

THE REASON I'M DOING THIS BLOG
I just turned 58 years young.

Been driving truck since 1989.

BUT

I am so sick and tired of the DOT, FMCSA, and the Government telling me when I need to sleep, take a  30-minute break, or when I can take a shit.  I am fucking tired of their stupid rules and regulations.

I work local now. Same routes every week.  12 to 14 hour runs.  

I get to meet quite a few of OTR's bringing their loads in to our warehouse.  I know those drivers are beat. I'll help them whatever way I can.  I can't even imagine trying to run an e-log on the east coast when you can't find a parking spot.

One of the reasons I decided to create this blog, is to make it easier for drivers to make a difference.

I tried the government way, with FMCSA and rule making comment periods, which the say they appreciate your comment but here's what we're going to do regardless of what me and 3000 other drivers said, contacting my Senator Amy Klobuchar who never responds to anything, and the Joker Al Franken, who is in agreement on the Iran nuke deal.  We're totally screwed when it comes to any elected government person to ever stick up for a taxpayer. A worker.  A truck driver.  Their main concern is to provide food, housing, health care and support for illegal immigrants, while we foot the bill, with no voice.  I don't know about you, but I'm tired of working my ass off for freeloaders.

We're fucked.

Since our elected  people won't listen to us, we're going to have to have our own voice, and drown out the lobbyists that pay them off.   The special interests groups that give Klobuchar money.

I think it's time to take this massive portion of our economy, trucking, and bring it into full light of our customers, the general public, and our politicians. Not just trucking, but the truckers lives, their families.  I'd like to see any one of those assholes in government do our job.

We need to inform the public.

INFORM THE PUBLIC - CAR DRIVERS,  MOMS, DADS, CO-WORKERS, ANYONE WHO DRIVES WHERE SEMI TRUCKS DRIVE.

Over the Labor Day holiday, I had the opportunity to talk to a school teacher, about trucking.  I was anxious, since I didn't know her well, but she knew I was a truck driver for a long time. I simply told her about the 30-minute mandatory break, how it affects me, my routes, and why I have to inform her and others about how stupid Government is.   When I told her the rules CDL drivers must follow, she was appalled.

It boils down to this.
Since I know there is no place to pull a rig over on the skinny 2-lane, I stop at the only store open at 2am to use a bathroom and get some coffee. Wakefield, MI.   Holiday.
I get to my delivery.  I unload.  Start cruising back. The e-log says I have 2 hours before I have to take a 30 minute break or I  will be in violation.   There's nothing else open at 4am.  It will take me about 2.5 hours to get back to Wakefield. I am in violation. My company believes that if you are tired, or there is a lot of snow and driving is difficult, take a break, slow down, as they would rather have us be safe than sorry.  On the e-log, it doesn't matter what's really going on.

Here's what people don't know about local driving and the FMCSA rules.
Since I drive a day-cab, when I run out of hours I have to get a hotel room.  I can't log off-duty-sleeper time.  I don't have a sleeper berth.  One big snow storm, getting stuck in the dock, and I'm screwed, and not in a good way.  Not only is a hotel not available in the boonies where I drive, the hours I drive, but even if there was a hotel it would be a great expense to the company. Our company slip-seats trucks, and another driver might be waiting for my truck to get back so he can pull his load, so not only does this rule screw me up, and add expense to the company, but it is also possibly screwing up the next driver waiting to use my truck for his load.

There are more tired drivers now than ever.

We need to get the public on our side.





                                                                                     

The weather gadget doesn't seem to be working.

I just added a little dude on this blog that is supposed to show the weather for Duluth, MN. 
I feel bad for southern drivers who have to deal with the high heat.  Years ago, in TX, in 110 degree temp, I lost my grip on the grab bar and damned near fell out of my truck because of natural reflexes, my hand let go because the grab bar was so hot.
If it gets 80 up here, it's too hot.  90 is going to kill me.  Good thing it only happens one or two days a year.
Anyway, pay-back is winter, the snow, the cold.
I thinks I am actually going to miss menopause.  It kept me worm in the winter.
Talk at you later.......It was 47 last night.  I think I better start shutting the windows.

Of all of the stupid FMCSA rules and regulations, I think that the mandatory 30-minute break is the most destructive.
First of all, the studies that they did didn't reflect the average driver.  They studied participants that they felt would give them their desired results.  Even if the results did not totally prove anything, they didn't listen to the drivers during the comment period anyway.
I have decided to create this post so that not only truck drivers can voice an opinion and keep up to date on some of the ever changing stupid Government rules and regulations, but I also want to get the general public informed about these things as well.