Be Careful About Using That CB In Some Places

I couldn't believe this when I spotted this poster in the Phoenix, AZ Knight Terminal. Apparently in Coconino county in Arizona they have come up with an ordinance that considers the use of a CB radio as a violation of the hand held communication device rules that drivers have to observe with their cell phones.

CB is LOT different, than a cell phone pfft lol ya don't need to look at it, to dial numbers, or see texts....Truckers are professionals, for the most part, as are emergency personel are....Some newb on the board wanting to look like they're doing their job?? laughable

Of course exceptions must be made for "emergency personnel," because using a CB while weaving through traffic at high speeds is much safer than doing it with the cruise on and holding steady in the slow lane...

Reading the whole thing, you can still use CB radio if you have something like a headset.... which I have seen most truckers do have.

What if i'm just holding the mic though? how do they prove you were using the radio... maybe I just like to hold something in my hand while I drive?

Phox wonders:

maybe I just like to hold something in my hand while I drive?

If something you'll like to do does not fit in with what the law says, guess which wins.

Very interesting.

CB is LOT different, than a cell phone pfft lol ya don't need to look at it, to dial numbers, or see texts.

I agree 100% with this. Holding something in your hand isn't dangerous. Taking your eyes off the road to look at your phone is what's dangerous. You don't have to do that at all with a CB. In fact, I used to hang my mic on a small bungee cord so I could grab the mic quickly without having to look for it and then let go of it to put it back without having to look for someplace to hang it.

So I think this new ordinance is misguided.

In fact, one of the things I've been screaming since I started in this industry in '93 is that 99% of the people governing this industry have no experience in a truck whatsoever. They have no idea what they're talking about most of the time. Trucks to this day are equipped with completely useless "safety devices" if you can even call them that. Same ones they've been using for 25 years. They didn't work back then, they don't work now.

And things that are desperately needed are nowhere to be found. Like how about heated windshield wipers so the snow and ice doesn't stick to them? Or maybe rear-facing cameras to make sure you're not about to back into something since a large percentage of all trucking accidents are backing accidents. Or how about the fact that there are DOT departments that have embedded small chips right into the pavement that relay the pavement's temperature in real time so the DOT knows where the salt and sand mixtures are needed the most. Wouldn't it be nice if drivers could be told the temperature of the roadway so we know the chances of ice forming?

The laws that govern us, the equipment we use, the company policies we live by - almost nothing in the regulations we live by was put together by anyone with truck driving experience and it shows. Oh they say they consult truck drivers. But seriously, in our society you'll almost never find anyone in a boardroom or an insurance agency or in Congress that is going to listen to anything a truck driver has to say.

And I hate to open up this can of worms, but I've been wondering for a long time when they're going to start identifying GPS devices as the cause of a lot of accidents? Because surely they are. They're far more dangerous to use than a CB, that's for sure.

And why in 2015 are we not using HUD technologies? HUD stands for "Heads Up Display". What it does is project important information onto the windshield or helmet visor (fighter pilots) so that you can see the information that's important to you without having to look down at your dash or elsewhere in the vehicle. You can keep your eyes on where you're going. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to follow a GPS or watch your gauges if the information was right there on the windshield?

I think we just found a niche.

Brett, let's start a company together! We can use your wallet to fund it. We can also have Old School in it too, he has decades of business experience that would prove to be very valuable. Finally I can retire!

Excellent points, Brett. Is there something we can do to drum up government & business interest in these new technologies? I work for a company that makes back-up safety systems for aeronautics -- heavy-duty gotta-work stuff like underwater locator beacons which are a part of the so-called black box and required by the FAA for all passenger planes. This is a niche market that some wise businessman would LOVE to see getting government attention. My opinion.

I think we just found a niche.

Brett, let's start a company together! We can use your wallet to fund it. We can also have Old School in it too, he has decades of business experience that would prove to be very valuable. Finally I can retire!

Awesome idea! We're going to have to lean quite heavily on Old School's experience though cuz it's going to be hard to fund a company on $7. Wait a minute - on $6 - I'm outta Ramen Noodles.

I'm a heck of a computer programmer though and I can do that for free. If you can talk Old School into it I'll try anything!

Brett. Is there something we can do to drum up government & business interest in these new technologies?

I seriously believe a huge factor in all of this is that no one is going to listen to truck drivers. You're going to have to come up with some "college educated expert" that is willing to listen to drivers and then demonstrate the need for such things to the upper management types and members of Congress.

I think it's one of the oldest problems our country faces - no one believes the "little man" has anything of value to offer. If you didn't go to college and you don't wear a white shirt and tie to work then you're just a laborer who should shut up and do what you're told by the smart people. That's how most of the white shirts in this country think. So the "little man" can scream to the Heavens that he can't see out of the windshield or he can't see what's behind him or that he's being forced to take his eyes off the road all the time to monitor everything but it's going to fall on deaf ears.

For instance, the 14 hour logbook rule. It took me all of 10 seconds the first time I read it to realize what a catastrophic blunder that was because it would take all of the flexibility out of trip planning and force drivers to drive whether it made sense to or not. My experience over the years made it painfully obvious that this was super dangerous. You see, not only did I use paper logs during my entire career but most of that time we had a much more flexible set of logbook rules governing us.

Believe it or not, even with paper logs and the more flexible logbook rules my weekly mileage goals 25 years ago were exactly what it is for most of the harder workers today - about 3,000 - 3,200 miles a week. That's about all you can run sustainably. If you run more than that you're simply going to burn out after a few months. Trust me, I did that too at one time.

I would vote to completely eliminate the 14 hour rule not because I think drivers should be able to turn more miles than they are today but because I want them to be able to drive when they see fit and park it when they see fit. Keep the 70 hour rule, keep the 11 hour rule, but ditch the 14 hour rule. The total hours a driver can drive in a week won't change but the flexibility they'll have will make the roads much safer. You'll be able to take a quick nap if you need it, park it during rush hour, or wait out a big thunderstorm. If you get stuck waiting at a shipper loading or unloading it's no big deal because your 14 hour clock isn't ticking.

Now some people might say, "Are you crazy? You want to take away some of the logbook restrictions designed to help drivers get more rest?" like they said in this CNBC article Deadly crash days after Senate panel proposes easing rest rules after the Tracy Morgan accident:

The deadly New Jersey crash Saturday involving an allegedly sleep-deprived Wal-Mart truck driver comes just days after the trucking industry won Senate support to roll back new rules designed to make sure truck drivers get enough rest.

It's nearly impossible to compete with sensationalized headlines like that.

My answer would be no, I don't want to take away the rules that help drivers get the proper rest. I want to eliminate the rule that doesn't allow a driver to get the appropriate rest when he feels he needs it and doesn't allow him to park the truck when he feels it's prudent to do so. The 14 hour rule forces you to keep going whether you like it or not. I don't know how you can see it any other way.

But who is going to listen, right? I'm not a sleep expert because I didn't go to college for it so my 15 years of driving experience means nothing to them. I don't know what you can do about that, really.

Don't try and drag me into this.

Daniel's already talking about retirement when he hasn't even broken a sweat yet!