Trucking Concerns You Want The Govt Ot Hear?

Hi. I have a unique opportunity to interview a congressional candidate on my Youtube channel and discuss issues related to trucking.

If you had such a chance... what are some things you would want congress to know or consider for improvement???

Pariking? HOS? Any ideas are appreciated

Ohhhh! Detention, and how it actually affects our day, and "forces" the split SB....

HOS for sure. Consider the idea of both 11 hour and 14 hour clocks being paused when speed is below 20 mph for more than 5 minutes. Update HOS to consider the fact that the majority of OTR and Regional service is paid by the unit (cpm) and the existing 14 hour rule creates unsafe working conditions by forcing us to drive when were tired and sleep when were awake. Propose a better system that would allow us 11 hours driving with a 24 hour period, split berth would remain as it is.

Parking - why so many closed rest stops? Also a proposal that any new DC being built has to include lots for over night parking equal to the number of trucks it serves on average. Also a plan to revitalize closed and abandoned truck stops? Grants or low interest loans and development options.

Stricter enforcement of literacy tests for basic English comprehension to get CDL with increased penalties and fines for violations. End the backdoor of work equivalency foreign nationals driving in the US from Canada. End the narative that there is a drivers shortage.

Propose an effective federal minimum wage range for cpm that accounts for cost of living increases. Minimum hourly wage and trip minimum for detention that eliminates the standard 2 hour window that the driver absorbs. Manadatory detention after 1 hour at a federal base equivalent to prevailing wage.

The 70-hr rule. I always found it counter-productive. After pre-trip, post-trip, and fueling hours are deducted from the day’s clock, that left you with only about 8 hrs drive time if you worked an even amount of time every day. I consider those… banker’s hours. If the 70-hr clock has to be, increasing the total hours from 70 to 80 would still leave me irritated with that rule, but it would be a little better.

My biggest grip is the rule making process. That should be done away with and congress should be responsible for making laws that effect interstate commerce.

Unelected folks that are appointed by whoever happens to be in power at the moment should not have that much authority. They enact special interest rules that cost hard working folks alot of money and if they fail to have a positive impact there are never any consequences for them.

At least if congress passes bad legislation there is a ability to hold them accountable at the ballot box.

I have one moving violation on my record. It irritates the heck out of me. When you meet with this person I’d like you to ask if I can get a Presidential Pardon to remove that from my record.

Kearsey, maybe YOU should run for congress. They need people like you. Seriously.

I have one moving violation on my record. It irritates the heck out of me. When you meet with this person I’d like you to ask if I can get a Presidential Pardon to remove that from my record.

Kearsey, maybe YOU should run for congress. They need people like you. Seriously.

Hahaha thanks. A feminist once told me this country is sexist and that is why we havent had a woman president. I told her it was because i never ran. Cause u know, i always do what i set my mind to.

I'd say the logbook rules, for sure, which I've been saying since 2003 when they screwed everything up and instituted the 14-hour rule, amongst others.

Fortunately, in recent years, they've adjusted the split sleeper berth and mandatory 30-minute break to make it more flexible. But the truth is we had the best set of rules prior to 2003. They should return to the rules we had back then:

• Ten hours on, eight hours off
• A split sleeper berth rule that required each period to be at least two hours
• 60/70-hour rule

That's it. That's all you need. The total hours worked then were the same as today, but you had far more flexibility.

Parking has been an issue since the 70s, and that will not change. In fact, they've done quite a bit to make it worse.

Excessive detention times have always been the biggest hindrance to efficiency in this industry, but the only way to fix it is through regulations like the "Department of Transportation's Rule on Tarmac Delays at U.S. Airports":

The rule limiting how long airlines can keep passengers on the tarmac was implemented as a regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in April 2010.

Key Points:

• Time Limits: Airlines cannot keep passengers on a departing flight on the tarmac for more than 3 hours for domestic flights and 4 hours for international flights. For arriving flights, the same limits apply before they must provide passengers with an opportunity to disembark.
• Exceptions: These time limits can be exceeded only in emergency situations related to safety, security, or air traffic control reasons.
• Passenger Rights: During tarmac delays, airlines must provide passengers with access to adequate food and water within two hours, functioning lavatories, and clear communication about the situation.

The FMCSA could just as easily create a regulation that fines shippers for excessive delays, which would dramatically improve efficiency within our industry. They could also require shippers to provide truck drivers with access to facilities.

We had an almost perfect set of logbook rules which they should have left alone, and they've known about limited parking and excessive delays at shippers for 50 years and have done nothing to make either situation better, so good luck.

That's my take. My proposals will make the industry safer and more efficient without cost to taxpayers, but politicians only meddle in things they should leave alone and do nothing about things they should focus on.

Brett, You right on the old log rules. I ran teams for awhile and we always drove 5 hours and bunked 5 hours then drove 5 and bunked 5 and we always could keep going by being able to have satisfied the 10 hours of driving and also had the required off duty time too.

The parking situation never really bothered me when solo because I mostly drove nights and the truck stops were pretty empty during the daylight hours.

The delay in unloading trailers at the receivers will probably never be corrected. I always felt that if a shipper can usually load a truck in an hour, you make an appointment to deliver then the receiver should be able to unload in a 2 hour window.

Shippers and receivers can but won't treat drivers with the respect and dignity that they should and they get away with it. Detention should automatically start after 2 hours of an appointment.

Lastly is the lumper situation. If a customer orders a shipment, the shipper loads it and the receiver unloads and if necessary separates it. There is no way the driver should have to sort every item delivered.