Profile: chele
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I feel that there is a place for EOBR’s. You are already using them where I feel they make the best sense! On drivers & company’s that have a very bad habit of disregarding the HOS & Safety Rules. To mandate them on Every truck is punishing (financially, morally,& ethically ) those who have already proven that we obey the laws the FMCSA have on the books.
This mandate will do less for safety , and more for the industry that produces and maintains the records! We DO NOT need more Big Brother!
The government & FMCSA are so busy regulating the DRIVER, that they are going to put us out of business at this rate!
Being a Owner-Operator I know trucking is NO 9 to 5 job! We have to be flexible in so many ways the average person could not believe. This is no… more »
So you ask what can the FMCSA do for the Trucker? Well here are a few areas that the FMCSA, the government & states need to do some changing!
#1. We need safe places to park for our down time & rest periods!
People sure want their products BUT 85% of them DO NOT want the trucks in their communities. We are human being! When its 85* outside in the sun its 110* to 125* inside our trucks, there are times we need to idle! I am all for the end of unnecessary idling! Not only is it a waste of fuel & money, its just not smart! The solution is a APU unit, well have you ever parked next to one with your windows open?? They are vented to the passenger side of trucks, so the exhaust comes right into the truck next to them. Its really not easy to sleep with APU exhaust pouring into your truck. It brings fatigue to a whole new level.
#2. We need quit being a major source of revenue!
The laws & rules we have to abide by are left to interpretation. That means there is very little consistency in how & when they are applied. They need defined nation wide so everyone enforces the SAME Rules.
#3. There needs to be rules for detention time on the books!
No matter what kind of freight you move there is alot of sitting time both at the shipper & receiver that is basically unpaid time. Now you tell me your time is free?? If your at work you expect to be paid right? We rarely get paid for our detention time. It also can greatly eat into our available time for working.
Thus making it so we have to break the rules to get the freight where it needs to be, and pushing a 14 hr day is tough!
#4. Transparency of the shipping contract!
1. from point of shipment to the
2.carrier/driver to the
3.receiver/customer paying the freight bill
This would do a great deal to balance out the pieces of the pie. I know it would cut the costs of moving freight, and in due cut the cost of goods to the consumer! While the FMCSA is so busy regulating the driver of the truck they do nothing to support the drivers on a whole. Here’s a example: Say a shipper ( Caterpillar for example) has a order of 50 bobcats, he calls a Broker, the says ok I can move these 10 loads for $3.50 a mile including the fuel surcharge. Now these loads start in NC, they are all going to the state of TX., but various destination city’s in the state of TX. Now that Broker puts those loads out there on a load board ( ITS, GetLoaded, LoadMax, ect.) He posts these loads for say $1.75/ml. now out of the 10 trucks he hires or books these loads for @ $1.75/ml he is making as much as the trucks moving the freight ($3.50-$1.75= $3.50). Now I don’t know about you but I have yet to see a brokers office that meets or exceeds the overhead cost of operating a Tractor Trailer! We not only pay a outrageous cost on fuel ( on a average a Tractor Trailer gets @ 5.5 to 6. miles per gallon of diesel @ a cost of $4.20/gallon that is $.75 to $.82 per mile just in fuel costs) , highway tax, road use tax, repairs, leasing of/payment of our equipment, normal repairs, both Cargo & Truck/Trailer insurance ect. On a whole a driver that owns all his equipment, needs a average of $2.00 to $2.10/ mile to pay all costs, and have a paycheck for securing these loads, driving them to the destination in a timely manner , All the while living on the road, eating truckstop or fast food, being away from home and family! « less
The US tax payers will be paying for the NEW Mexican drivers EOBR’s in the Crossboarder Program, so why not pay for ours?
I feel that there is a place for EOBR’s. You are already using them where I feel they make the best sense! On drivers & company’s that have a very bad habit of disregarding the HOS & Safety Rules. To mandate them on Every truck is punishing (financially, morally,& ethically ) those who have already proven that we obey the laws the FMCSA have on the books.
This mandate will do less for safety , and more for the industry that produces and maintains the records! We DO NOT need more Big Brother!
The government & FMCSA are so busy regulating the DRIVER, that they are going to put us out of business at this rate!
Being a Owner-Operator I know trucking is NO 9 to 5 job! We have to be flexible in so many ways the average person could not believe. This is no… more »
So you ask what can the FMCSA do for the Trucker? Well here are a few areas that the FMCSA, the government & states need to do some changing!
#1. We need safe places to park for our down time & rest periods!
People sure want their products BUT 85% of them DO NOT want the trucks in their communities. We are human being! When its 85* outside in the sun its 110* to 125* inside our trucks, there are times we need to idle! I am all for the end of unnecessary idling! Not only is it a waste of fuel & money, its just not smart! The solution is a APU unit, well have you ever parked next to one with your windows open?? They are vented to the passenger side of trucks, so the exhaust comes right into the truck next to them. Its really not easy to sleep with APU exhaust pouring into your truck. It brings fatigue to a whole new level.
#2. We need quit being a major source of revenue!
The laws & rules we have to abide by are left to interpretation. That means there is very little consistency in how & when they are applied. They need defined nation wide so everyone enforces the SAME Rules.
#3. There needs to be rules for detention time on the books!
No matter what kind of freight you move there is alot of sitting time both at the shipper & receiver that is basically unpaid time. Now you tell me your time is free?? If your at work you expect to be paid right? We rarely get paid for our detention time. It also can greatly eat into our available time for working.
Thus making it so we have to break the rules to get the freight where it needs to be, and pushing a 14 hr day is tough!
#4. Transparency of the shipping contract!
1. from point of shipment to the
2.carrier/driver to the
3.receiver/customer paying the freight bill
This would do a great deal to balance out the pieces of the pie. I know it would cut the costs of moving freight, and in due cut the cost of goods to the consumer! While the FMCSA is so busy regulating the driver of the truck they do nothing to support the drivers on a whole. Here’s a example: Say a shipper ( Caterpillar for example) has a order of 50 bobcats, he calls a Broker, the says ok I can move these 10 loads for $3.50 a mile including the fuel surcharge. Now these loads start in NC, they are all going to the state of TX., but various destination city’s in the state of TX. Now that Broker puts those loads out there on a load board ( ITS, GetLoaded, LoadMax, ect.) He posts these loads for say $1.75/ml. now out of the 10 trucks he hires or books these loads for @ $1.75/ml he is making as much as the trucks moving the freight ($3.50-$1.75= $3.50). Now I don’t know about you but I have yet to see a brokers office that meets or exceeds the overhead cost of operating a Tractor Trailer! We not only pay a outrageous cost on fuel ( on a average a Tractor Trailer gets @ 5.5 to 6. miles per gallon of diesel @ a cost of $4.20/gallon that is $.75 to $.82 per mile just in fuel costs) , highway tax, road use tax, repairs, leasing of/payment of our equipment, normal repairs, both Cargo & Truck/Trailer insurance ect. On a whole a driver that owns all his equipment, needs a average of $2.00 to $2.10/ mile to pay all costs, and have a paycheck for securing these loads, driving them to the destination in a timely manner , All the while living on the road, eating truckstop or fast food, being away from home and family! « less