Comments on: Who would have to use an EOBR?

By: rouse apiary

rouse apiary — Sun, 22 May 2011 21:57:53 +0000

is there going to be any allowances for apiary operations(bee keepers)that move colonies of honey bees between states for crop pollenation and honey production?the movement takes place two to three times a year,example,wyoming to california late fall for almond polination feb march,to washington for cherries & apples,april,may to montana,wyoming, with a small number of colonies to oregon for cranberry polination june,1st part of july then back to wyoming until late fall.my operation uses 1 truck that is dedicated to the movement af my bee hives only. the truck is used about 10000 miles a year. the current system for tracking hours of service with a paper log works okay.

By: Moderator

Moderator — Sat, 21 May 2011 14:34:46 +0000

Gordon, The paragraph you are referring to is a quote from another commenter. We’ll double check that we’ve got the quote correct. The effort now is to make sure we accurately include everything that was raised in the comments.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:55:13 +0000

At this point in the process, the focus is on making sure the summary includes everything that was raised in the comments on the different posts. This is not the time to raise new points or re-hash old arguments. If you think we missed something that you or someone else mentioned in the comments before, let us know!

By: virgil tatro

virgil tatro — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:34:31 +0000

Gordon, the large carriers have far lower costs than the small companies. they buy there trucks in bulk and get huge discounts. they also train new drivers and pay them very little. many are self insured. some are even funded by the government to train drivers. the small companies however dont always get the left overs. the large carriers haul for larger manufacturing companies for the most part, small companies venture off of the beaton path to the small towns that have small businesses manufacturing. how many large carriers do you see unloading that new combine or tractor at the farmers house? the majority of trucking companies are small with fewer than 10 or 20 units or like me I have 1..

By: virgil tatro

virgil tatro — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:20:06 +0000

thank you moderators for this opportunity to voice our opinions and to those who set up the regulation room, thank you as well.

By: virgil tatro

virgil tatro — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:18:08 +0000

I strongly oppose the proposed eobr rule.. this and other rules cause more stress and fatigue than any thing else.. I love trucking, there is nothing i would rather do i dont mean just for work or to earn a living, I mean in general, I love to drive my truck.. trucking is the only job ive ever had where there is not enough time in a day. any other job ive done i cant wait untill the day is over, trucking i get upset when my time is up because i just want to drive. I love it.. But our truck is a 1988, non electronic..

By: virgil tatro

virgil tatro — Thu, 19 May 2011 04:08:49 +0000

the 1.5 to 2 days off for every week on the road mentioned in article 1 is not a god thing in my opinion. many carriers already use this method in determining home time 7 days out 1 day off 3 weeks on the road 3 days off, that is obsurd! I will not drive for a carrier that uses this method. I as an owner operator will stay out up tp six weeks at a time depending on the time of year and how much I have earned etc. then i may go home for as much as two weeks.. I live in Montana and the freight here is very poor, so if i come home to often it is very costly. so as i said i will stay out longer and stay home longer. And i can honestly say i resst much better in the sleeper on my truck than at home anywhere else, its quiet and cozy…

By: virgil tatro

virgil tatro — Thu, 19 May 2011 03:01:36 +0000

I know for a fact that EOBRS can and will reduce safety on americas highways. I am relieved and very happy with the results of this survey, now i just hope and pray everything goes well and I and my old peterbilt will be out there running americas highways with my family name on the side..

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 18 May 2011 23:17:12 +0000

Thanks for your input to help make the final summary better. You left your comment about lowering HOS safestate scores on the Cost post, so you can see that comment reflected in the Cost post summary, available here.

By: gordon

gordon — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:30:00 +0000

I think we might have missed the point about costs favoring the larger companies versus smaller companies. Larger companies by and large establish rates accross the US. The JB Hunts hauls the majority of the freight and extract the highest freight rates, compared to smaller companies which get the leftovers. The smaller companies can still compete, because their overhead costs are lower – smaller staff, fewer facilities, used versus new trucks, etc, etc. Large companies even save money with EOBRs because it reduces the number of staff it takes to track HOS. A 10-truck company probably is run by the owner and his wife and does not see an appreciable costs associated with implementation of EOBRs. The larger companies do. The big companies have willingly converted to EOBRs for economic reasons. The little guys are no dummies and would also if it were in their economic interests.

HOWEVER – - as I stated previously — but I did not see reflected in these comments — I think FMCSA ought to survey smaller companies and find out how many would volunatarily convert to EOBRs if their HOS safestate scores were lowered. Incentivize drivers to convert.