I’m in “the problem is the trucks not the truckers” camp. Mostly anyway.
Yes, lets’ revitalize the nations railroads for cross country distribution and let’s have local delivery (read: smaller) trucks only.
In the meantime I’d like to see all states enact no passing laws for trucks.
I wonder how many people that agree with this statment would be willing to pay the billions more in taxes it would take to build all the lines. How about when they decide to build a track through your property. You don’t get the option to say no, and the government pays you what they value the property at.
What’s the trucker supposed to do when he’s following behind a motor home being driven by a little old man at 30 MPH?
This is 100% right. It’s not too hard to figure out. Stop the trucks, everything stops.
Rhonda
well heck yeah it’s common practice to falsify log books,
Again I say to you Rhonda, I have some comments on your post!
Falsifying his log book is just plain dangerous and you KNOW it. It makes drivers more money yes, but it kills people and even kills some truckers. One more thing, had the first truck drivers not doctored thier logs and had been up front with the companies that they work for, there would not be so much pressure on them now a days to get that load there in an unrealistic time. Yeah , there was a time when we had to wait on somethings to come in and maybe God forbid get a raincheck for an item, but hey I do not recall ever hearing that someone had died waiting to turn in a rain check. The blame lays strictly on the trucker himself for misleading the comapnies that hire them. If you can’t make it in the time alloted and none of the others can either, they would have changed thier policies out of necessity. If ONE particular trucker could not make the load in the time alloted and the others were making it there AND following the rules, then he should turn in his chaindrive billfold and his tire iron. that was a joke Rhonda.
I appreciate the truckers and always have and I am ever vigilent when I am on the road with them, but I too, have been bullied by truckers and have been forced to do very dangerous maneuvers to avoid getting killed.
Let me tell you how a trucker can GET an ATV, OK?? He can claim a theft, or he can get together with the guy at the loading docks to falsify HIS records and so on and so forth down the line. SO I hope you do have fun riding this winter. Wear a helmet and stay off the roads away from semis.
I need to also ask one thing, did you say that your husband ran over someone’s car for pulling out in front of him and killed that person?? If so , you better start riding WITH your husband more often since you averted another tradegy by spotting another stupid, inconsiderate 4-wheel driver. Your husband has chosen this work and yes, he can get out of it. I say again, if you can’t take the seat get out of the tractor.
Truly , I have nothing against your husband or any truck driver that is out there making it and doing it RIGHT, but you and I know most are not …Honesty, Rhonda, is not common practice in this day and age. So I do not expect you to admit to anything I have said in my posts, but CMON!! ALL wives NAG ! LMFAO
One last thing, I have traveled many a lonely road in my time and always frequented the truck stops. I drive at night to avoid a lot of the traffic problems. I must tell you I have heard more than one truck driver saying things like,“Let the little bastard teenager pull out in front of me. I will come out on top , I am bigger.”
SAD cause they truly mean it…
Funny you should mention that.
Ok NOW I am going to shut the F up Andy! LOL :smack: I hope dalejrfan does not say that too much after all, I AM OLD here !! LOL
He is not falsifying log books I said it is common practice. He is not OTR. As far as your “FIRST” truck drivers remark, it doesn’t work that way. Truckers are a dime a dozen as are jobs, there is no loyalty anymore, “ya don’t like it, you don’t work here”. Plain and simple. They could hire one of those guys that bought his CDL. That is one reason he will continue driving even if he doesn’t like it. He loses his job, he can go to another in a week. A lot of jobs you can’t move around that simply. These companies don’t care let me tell ya, been there and done that.
A strike would solve it, but as someone said there is no organization to do that.
I’m not going to admit to nothing that isn’t true. Most of the time my hubby prefers a flatbed and who wants anything off of there even if they could steal it? What would I do with a 22,000lb single coil??? Pretty hard to steal a 4 wheeler and faking a theft being delivered straight through on a 4 hr trip. Why would I do that to his boss? Why would I trust a dock boy? OMG lmao
It’s a sad thing people aren’t honest. I’m about as honest as they come. Of course to you I am just words on a message board so it means nothing. Ask the people that know me;)
NO my husband didn’t kill anyone, someone ran into him a little while back and they went skidding down the side of the trailer, think he got them with the back tires. Cop told him to go on, it wasn’t his fault. Hopefully they learned a lesson about driving.
He has an excellent driving record and is very responsible, that’s why his boss begged him back after he fired him for being late one morning after working there three years. His boss thought he’d get off cheaper with a new driver not having to pay stop/drop pay etc, little did he know that was going to be a hard lesson learned:)
I’ll shut the fuck up too…
We could argue all day and have to agree to disagree…if even that.
Rhonda
The words are in English, but in an order I can’t understand.
There you go, criticizing motorhomes. No one who has never driven a motorhome has a right to criticize them.
And just think how lucky you are that there are motorhomes on the road. If it wasn’t for motorhomes delivering octogenarian snowbirds from Ontario, the economy of South Florida would collapse.
And there you go assuming facts not in evidence.
dalejrfan You will find your life easier if you refrain from playing with things that have a similar smell to the underside of a bridge.
Actually, tinkertoy, although we are in agreement with so many things on this thread, INMHO dalejrfan is exhibiting some troll-like qualities herself. I don’t think a lot of what she said was defendable–including, as Andy is pointing out, that it doesn’t make sense to say that no one can criticize a profession or practice unless/until they’ve actually done it themselves. I understand the sentiment, but it doesn’t make rational sense. No one but directors can do movie reviews–and they can’t comment on acting unless they’ve acted. I can’t put a suggestion in Safeway’s comment box because I’ve never run a grocery store… it goes on from there.
When someone comes in here and posts hysteria on their first post, they’ve got some ground to make up to prove to me that they are serious. Now, the idiot who offered an exact percentage for the drug abusers in the industry? Now THAT’s definite troll-like behavior.
What wonderful logic! I suppose it’s also okay for the occasional postal worker to go crazy with an AK-47, I mean they deliver the mail and all. Oh, and it’s great for CEO’s to steal billions from the common man, I mean, they run all the companies don’t they. And yes, it’s okay for Michael Jackson to molest children (yeah, I said it) since he puts out good music.
[/strawmen]
As I said in my post, it certainly isn’t all or even most truckers that are fuckheaded dillholes. And in fact, I would bet that the good to bad ratio among truckers is even or slightly better than the same ratio among normal drivers. But their responsibility is higher, and the danger should they make mistakes, or just be assholes, is much higher as well. This means I hold them to a higher standard, and that I take them to task over offenses I would let slip from a motorcycle. If we don’t the danger is too high for all of us.
An exact, insanely high percentage, no less. Yeah, my dad has been doing drugs my entire life and nobody has ever suspected a thing.
Some of the back-and-forth here has piqued my curiosity. The computer system at the trucking company for which I work keeps track of driver terminations going back to October of 2001. Out of 1251 total terminations (and 727 currently active drivers):
7 were fired for either a positive drug screen or refusing to take the test
7 were fired for DUI or alochol in the truck*
10 were fired for legal reasons (in other words, it’s hard to drive if you’re in jail)
3 died
27 had to quit for medical reasons
8 were fired for excessive claims (Damaging freight)
15 were fired for accidents (“Hit bridge with legal load”. Riiiiiight. If the freight is taller than your condo, driver, measure the damn thing)
32 had their safety clearance pulled. (This category is tricky as it covers too many tickets, false logs, too many log violations, unauthorized passengers in the truck, too many/not reporting speeding tickets, etc. I would also like to note here that if DOT finds out during an audit that logs are hosed, that company can face a HUGE fine. It is in a company’s best interest to make sure logs violations and other safety issues are kept as close to non-existent as possible.)
1142 drivers either quit or were fired for general stupidity.
Out of a total of 1978 drivers, 69 (3.49%) were terminated for unsafe practices. I’m not going to sit here and say the remaining 1909 flatbed drivers are complete angels, but I think those numbers show either that my company hires very good drivers or that drivers are generally safety-conscious.
Anyhow, that’s my two bits.
On a completely unrelated note, one of the drivers I know well told me about an incident he had in south Texas. He was driving north, empty, on a bridge when a passing car blew a tire and veered in front of him. How he managed to avoid them he still does not know. What he does know, however, is that had he the same 48,000 pounds of granite on his trailer as he had at the start of his trip the passengers in that car would’ve been dead. The passengers didn’t know that; neither did the trooper (who commented that Greg looked worse than the car’s occupants). Greg was the only one who realized what could have happened. He told me about this a week after the fact with tears in his eyes.
I think the pro-trucker typists in this thread are a little over the top. Having said that: No, you you don’t know what’s going on out there, and you won’t until you either spend time on the road or spend some time talking to drivers.
Thanks for the informational post, and maybe I am a “little over the top.” However being that hubby is a 3rd generation driver and both his brothers are drivers. I am passionate about it. I had NO IDEA what truck drivers went through until I met and rode with my husband eight years ago. My own driving habits, awareness and respect of the big rigs have been improved because of it no doubt.
Luckily with two little girls we hopefully won’t have a 4th generation driver…lolol
Rhonda
Some of my best friends are truck drivers:)
Um… All truck drivers know what it is like to drive a passenger vehicle. Not all passenger vehicle drivers know what it’s like driving a big rig.
You ever notice how (in pretty much every circumstance) you hardly ever remember the times everything went well? But it’s a lot easier to remember the times stuff pissed you off? It’s a lot easier for me to remember the 4 wheelers that cut me off when I’m signaling for a lane change than it is to remember the ones who hang back to allow me to change lanes. And many of you might not even notice the big truck that moved into the left lane as you were coming down the entrance ramp. But you do remember the trucks that seem to appear out of nowhere in your rear view mirror.
This week is sort of my anniversary. 2 years ago, I came back from my OTR training in time for Thanksgiving. I went out next as a solo driver. Frankly, I was proud of myself. Nervous too. And I’ve driven a quarter million miles since then. And one thing I’ve learned in that time is how to deal with frustration. If I can’t control it, then don’t worry about it and just do the best I can.
So, what’s that got to do with this thread? I know this is the pit and this thread started off on a 1 to 10 emotional scale of about 12. And when we’re talking about emotional levels that high, there’s no sense trying to appeal to someone on a rational level. I’d just end up racking up the milage on my keyboard to pretty much no use.
So I’ll keep driving as defensively as I have been. I’ll take what room I can take safely to make my turns. I’ll continue to start signalling for my lane change 2 miles before the exit so the folks who MUST pass me on that side can go ahead and do it. When a vehicle pulls into the 15 second cushion I like between my front bumper and the rear bumper of the vehicle I’m following, I’ll continue to back off as I’ve been doing. I’ll continue to be randomly tested for drugs or alcohol whenever my employer or anyone with a badge wants me to pee for them. And I’ll strive to not allow idiots to piss me off.
Be safe driver Ranger, we’ll catch ya on the flip side:) and…
Have a GREAT turkey day!
Also if you could please email me, I might contact some others on this thread. I’ve had an idea in the back of my mind for a LONG time that’s way overdue…There are a more than a few people that think I should go on with it. It will be fun!
Emotionally high… yes, great thread none the less, and maybe started some people thinking.
Thanks
Rhonda
dalejrfans8@taylorvilleusa.com
Why should the fact they are girls (to be women some day) make any difference at all?
Yeah, that’s my question too. When I was driving there were very few female drivers, so I was a novelty. There was some sexism, but not much. Most of the guys were very nice and helpful to me, starting with truck driving school, to being out on the road. The biggest asshole I met was my 2nd co-driver, and I think he would have been an asshole no matter what line of work he was in. He was a great driver though. I don’t know if sexism has gotten better or worse since then (early 1980s).
Ranger, you rock too!
I meant nothing about sexism or disrespect to female drivers. I know there are a lot of them these days. Oh just the fact that their dad and uncle’s dislike driving as they get older. They’d all like to do something else. Though their great grandpa was forced out of a truck because of age/doctors etc.
It’s not an easy job. Although after my husbands boss fired him and had his exp. with bad drivers etc, he’s being awfully nice and respectful to us these days:) It’s much better than just being a number with a big company. We’ve been through the empty promises some companies make etc. “Sure you won’t go out of a 500 mile radius of home, sure you’ll be home on weekends. Oh you hired on now? your first load is in Utah 3000+ mile roundtrip, sure your loading on a Saturday to head out.” and so it goes.
We’ll see, the girls love riding in the trucks. I wouldn’t discourage them of course. A 4th generation driver would be cool.
I’ve debated as the kids get older/grow up going team with hubby until he has to quit. Although you haven’t seen me back a two horse trailer! lol, he says the trucks are easier:)
I got some turkey to go eat!
Rhonda