Human Trafficking is a criminal enterprise that affects everyone in trucking. Children are kidnapped and forced to sell sex in truck stops every day. If you really believe in freedom please visitwww.truckersagainst trafficking.org to discover how you can be a part of the effort to stop this horrendous action in America.
The three largest criminal behaviors in order are Illegal Drug Trades, Illegal Arms Trades, and Human Trafficking. The illegal drug trades are the worse, because it yields the highest in revenue and eludes to the perpetuation of the later two. The illegal arms trade should hit home for the most of us, because this is what threatens your 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms. You don't really think gangs and organized criminals are going to the local gun shop and buying up all the AK47's and the ammo to go with them do you? No, there is a black market arms trade for this. Human Trafficking is really heart breaking. Young girls and boys go missing in America every day. They are kidnapped off the streets and sold as commodity and transported around the U.S as sex slaves, sometimes they are forced to prostitute in the very truck stops we sleep in every night. That knock on your door isn't just some stupid lot lizard, it's a loved one that has gone missing and their families are worried sick about them. The trafficking industry is a lot more complicating than this, some people are distributed all over the world. In fact it is a world epidemic, increasingly so.
Facts about trafficking:
It is a 9 billion dollar a year industry
Human trafficking is non discriminatory to race, gender,age, or social status. It can happen to anyone.
300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk of becoming victims to human trafficking
Victims are physically abused to obtain submission. They suffer from broken bones and head injuries then forced back to the streets to work. They are told that if they try to escape that they or their family members are going to get hurt or killed.
An estimated 27 million people are being trafficked around the world, 13 million of them are children.
It's estimated that 80% of victims are sex slaves while 19% are used for labor.
The health risk is terrible for victims. A high percentage of sex slaves will contract HIV and other STD's.
The U.S. is one of the top three destinations in the world. New York, California, Texas, and Nevada are the primary destination states in the U.S.
You can help to stop this heinous action by reporting suspicious behavior on the national hotline at 888-373-7888. Your help is important.
We at Truckers Against Trafficking are also wanting to promote to the general public that the image of truckers has been wrong. In movies, television shows, and the like, truckers have been portrayed as uneducated, prostitute seeking, crude people. We know that, while every profession has its bad characters, the majority of truckers are indeed hard working family people who believe in God, country and honor. Our mission at TAT is to educate, empower, equip and mobilize the trucking industry to combat human trafficking and the reality of many of these so called “lot lizards.” Studies on prostitution show that a solid 80% have been raped and molested as children…perfectly conditioning them to be preyed upon by pimps and abusers. Those with pimps, who are truly slave owners, since they live off the ill-gotten earnings of their “property” are forced to make a quota or suffer dire beatings from their pimps. Many are given drugs by their pimps whether they want them or not, as pimps realize they can control these women better if they are addicted. And also, by this post and others like it (the post in question was a derogatory cartoon about "lot Lizards", not featured here), drug addiction helps to strip away any sympathy we might actually have for these women, preferring to call them lizards, reptiles, ho’s, etc who are looking to score, looking to rob, looking for a good time.
It is easy to blame the women…after all, our society has us conditioned to blame the “slut” versus those who use her and abuse her. We have been told that they want to be there, that they love their pimps and just really like sex. But actually talking to these women outside of the pressures of meeting her quota tells quite a different story. Most were forced into it at a younger age, most have suffered beatings, addiction, fear and threats. Most have STDs, forced abortions, and a broken spirit. Most know nothing else other than abuse.
I say, if we really want to give the trucking industry a new image, that we dispense with calling these women by names that are so dehumanizing. Let truckers be the heroes who call in and rescue them. Let truckers treat these girls and women like lost souls who may need some basic human compassion or victims who are desperate for someone to help them. We had a trucker do that just yesterday. We have heard reports of other truckers as well changing the way they view these girls and women and really viewing them as people who are messed up or hurting and in need of something other than disdain and hatred. These truckers are making calls, saving lives, and realizing that people are people…and sometimes we need to look past the horrible make-up, chipped nails, promiscuous clothes and speech, and see the person.
First easy step…stop calling them lot lizards and all the other choice terms that have been outlined here in this article. Second step, educate yourself about the life of trafficking victims and those who are prostituted. http://www.truckersagainsttrafficking.org The image of truckers will change…is changing…but blaming everything on “lot lizards” don’t help. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
C4L
Campaign for Liberty is a quality organization fighting to keep our freedoms. They are founded by former congressman Ron Paul and are well functioning on good old fashion common sense and intelligence. They depend on good patriotic citizens such as yourself to make progress in this endeavor. You may like to visit them at www.campaignforliberty.org .
Colorado is the 19th State to legalize marijuana. Does that mean it's really legal? As far as the Federal Government is concerned it's still a crime. Federal law supersedes State law. Does that mean, if people open shops to retail marijuana as a product that they may be arrested by federal agents for the intent to distribute an illegal substance? Does that mean that the political members that voted to legalize marijuana are criminals for acting outside of Federal law? Whatever our opinions are about the legalization of marijuana the law is the law and is supposed to be respected by all members of society. When political officials negate the Federal law for their own self interest then we have to question if the law has any real meaning and do we, as individual citizens, have to follow any of the laws that are written. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Increase in Insurance Rates
Representative Mathew Cartwright (D) has introduced a bill (H.R.2730 - "Safe Haul") into congress that would raise the mandatory carrier insurance coverage from $750,000 to $4,400,000. His claim is that "tragically, more than 100,000 people have been killed in commercial motor vehicle collisions since 1980". Seriously, over a course of 33 years and only just over 100,000 people died in commercial motor vehicle accidents! That's an average of about 3,500 people a year. Look at the statistics from the National Highway traffic safety administration (NHTSA). In 2011 large trucks and buses were involved in 3,852 fatalities while yet all other vehicles combined (excluding the sections marked other vehicles and unknown body type) amounted to 38,655 fatalities. Approximately 10% of all fatalities in 2011 involved large trucks. Unfortunately they do not list how many large trucks were at fault for those fatalities. Certainly not all of them. Why is the U.S. DOT attacking the safest operating vehicles on the roads as if the truck drivers of the United States are criminals in action? It's not a good idea to over burden the trucking industry with higher insurance premiums, and it's a better idea to start educating the general public how to be safer drivers to reduce the amount of accidents on America's roads.
http://www.dot.gov/fastlane/safety-everyone%E2%80%99s-responsibility Anne Ferro the director of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Please click on the above link to read her statements for creating safer roads nationally. Also please take notice that the banner behind her has a web address www.decadeofaction.org , which is linked to the UN and the World Health Organization. You will notice that she refered to the high number of safety crashes as a health issue. While yet understandably it may not be healthy to die or be injured in a vehicular accident one must ask themselves, is this more to the nature of political posturing to pander for globalization? Does this prove evident that we are under more of a threat of losing our sovereignty? And our constitutional rights?
Trucking companies across America are telling their drivers that electronic logging is mandatory or will be in the near future. This is a lie. FMCSA was over ruled by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit 2011, and FMCSA has rescinded that regulation on 5/14/2012. You may verify this by clicking on the link below and the article of the court ruling is in the right column 3 blocks down. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/ rulemakings/rule-programs/rule_making_details.aspx?ruleid=368
The actions taken by OOIDA have resulted in a positive outcome, according to the article below. When an organization with only 150,000 members can have that much influence, imagine what it would be like when millions of us are involved! WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA's) final rule approving use of electronic on board recorders (EOBRs) on trucks operated by certain motor carriers. EOBRs are devices intended to track the movement and duty status of drivers operating commercial motor vehicles. The federal appeals court found that the final rule was "arbitrary and capricious" because FMCSA failed to include provisions ensuring that motor carriers do not use these electronic tracking devices to harass drivers. The rule was challenged by the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA) of Grain Valley Missouri on behalf of drivers whose privacy interests were threatened by FMCSA's proposed rule.
"The Seventh Circuit's ruling is a great victory for OOIDA and thousands of drivers whose interests were threatened by the EOBR rule," said Paul D. Cullen, Sr. of The Cullen Law Firm, OOIDA's Washington, D.C. based counsel. OOIDA challenged the final rule on several grounds, but the court found it necessary only to rule on the harassment issue. "FMCSA must go back to the drawing board when the rule is remanded to it for further proceedings," observed Cullen. OOIDA also contends that the agency cannot cost-justify the rule. "EOBRs provide no advantages over paper log books for compliance with hours–of-service regulations," said Cullen. OOIDA also contends that the mandatory use of EOBRs violates drivers' rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The Seventh Circuit's opinion deals with a final rule that would have applied only to trucking companies with poor hours-of-service compliance records. FMCSA is also proposing a separate rule that would mandate installation of EOBRs on over 4 million long-haul trucks. OOIDA also opposes promulgation of the second rule on grounds similar to those raised in the Seventh Circuit case. "The Seventh Circuit holding will almost certainly force FMCSA to go back to square one before going forward with its proposal to burden all long-haul drivers with EOBRs," Mr. Cullen concluded.
For further information contact: The Cullen Law Firm, PLLC 1101 30th St. N.W. Suite 300 Washington, DC 20007 ATTN: Karina Arias (202) 944-8600 www.cullenlaw.com
If you want to know why you need to take action on your own behalf, look at the opposition. The Truck Safety Coalition is out there acting against the American truck driver. You should know what they are up to. Knowledge is power and the key to success. Not everything they are doing is unreasonable, we need to strive to make the roads and highways safer. We need to work together on the matter and not allow others to take a rule by force over us, but make it a joint effort. So, we can have it on our terms. We don't need the high cost of technology to accomplish this goal, we need a proper training program for new to the industry drivers (apprenticeship, like normal trades have), and an educational process that we can learn things such as : sleep studies,psychology/stress control, skid pads. There are 2 types of leadership 1) a rule by force: This is fear based leadership, threats,fines, penalties, and use of technology. 2) rule by finesse: better pay, plenty of parking, an educational process. Everyone wants the prior to the later because they think it is cheaper and easier, and some individuals have money to make by establishing a law that requires the use of a product they invented. A rule by finesse, however, will generate a stronger interest in safety. Because drivers are more interested in their job when adequately paid, backed with knowledge, and feel a since of belonging. Speaking of knowledge, if you want to know how some see us as truck drivers go to www.trucksafety.org or on facebook www.facebook/Stop Bigger Trucks
In the mid 1980's a person would send home checks ranging from $600.00 - $900.00 net a week.. I think they grossed about $42,000.00 - $45,000.00 annually. I bring this up because, the average annual gross income for a truck driver today is 38,000.00. Inflation has risen so much since the mid 1980's I cant figure out why drivers are being kept down on the pay scale. It seems so inappropriate when the fed's and trucking companies are demanding a professional attitude from the American driver. The lack of income only perpetuates the revolving door, people leave out as fast as they came in.
This is how drivers have to park when they are using electronic logs. Before this picture was taken there were trucks all around him. If a truck went all the down the back row they would have been blocked by a wall of trucks parked for the night. Say no to stupidity, say no to electronic logs! In case you are wondering, this picture was taken at Secondi truck stop in Milford Connecticut.
How Many trucks are Responsible for Highway Related Injuries and Fatalities
Anne Ferro speaks at the annual CVSA conference in Denver, Co. She gave a brief overview of the FMCSA's accomplishments and priorities. She claims that on average 11 people are killed in large truck related fatalities, while 241 people are injured. What We would like to know is how many of the truck drivers are found at fault for these accidents and what percentage ratio is the large truck drivers responsible for these deaths and injuries. It doesn't go without notice that the blame is placed on the trucking industry without concrete evidence. See her statements for yourself at http://1.usa.gov/15G7Bb7
Question: If a $600/month insurance policy only costs the individual $33, what does it REALLY cost?
Answer: $600, with $567 less in purchasing power for the hard-working taxpayer who is subsidizing it.
Smoke and mirrors make for bad policy. When we buy any type of insurance, we weigh the benefits of the policy against the loss of the money we must put out to purchase the policy. When we ask the taxpayers to subsidize our policy, all such reasoning disappears.
Most of us have limited funds, so we must choose carefully. Wise people insure against major loss, such as our house burning down. Most of us believe that paying $1,000 per year is reasonable, as the cost to rebuild a house is hundreds of thousands of dollars. Insurance gives us peace of mind, even though the chance of our house burning down is statistically very low.
For many reasons, we have allowed health insurance to defy all the principles of insurance. There is something emotional about health insurance. Maybe it is because we fear death and want to be sure it does not happen to us any time soon. Maybe it is watching others suffer from illness and want insurance to assure that they get well, do not suffer, and have all their bills paid.
We have actually been duped into thinking that someone else ought to pay for all the health care we need. Politicians gain support and votes when they assure the masses that they care about their health. And insurance companies are more than happy to offer generous policies since commissions and CEO compensation are a percentage of the premiums.
Never mind the premiums approach the price of a home mortgage-- we want the best, especially if we can convince others or the government to pay for it. The problem lies with the fact that with health insurance we are covering something where no actuary can assess the real risk. New medical breakthroughs are constantly being added to items that are covered, and insurance companies are happy to comply as long as they can jack up the premiums.
Insurance, by its very nature, invites overuse, especially if the deductible is low. There is a sense that we can “get our money’s worth” if we access more services.
But there comes a tipping point, when employers and citizens just say “no.” Premiums cannot rise further. The health insurers figure out ways to minimize their losses, so they tie the patient or physician up in bureaucratic knots, pre-authorization paperwork and hour-long phone calls that wind up causing everyone to throw up their hands in frustration and despair.
One example is getting pre-authorization for an MRI. Several phone calls establish the date of the injury, the attempts at medical or physical therapy treatments, the time elapsed, the symptoms and physical findings. If the physician’s office can make the case, the insurance company approves and the patient is happy. But the costs incurred by the physician and the insurance company serve to ultimately increase the cost of the monthly premium.
When all is said and done, it would have been far less costly for the physician to explain to the patient the value of the MRI, what we can hope to learn, and let him decide to use his own funds or medical savings account to pay for it.
So why will ObamaCare fail? By promising to cover everything, the premiums will be unaffordable--whether paid by the patient, his employer or the taxpayer subsidies. People will quickly learn that earning more at work will cause the subsidies to disappear, and thus incentives to advance in their jobs and careers will be stifled. Employers will learn that they can avoid paying for insurance or paying fines if they keep their employees at part-time. Lower yearly income will require more taxpayer subsidies. Fewer people working and higher taxes spell economic disaster.
ObamaCare is a $1.7 trillion experiment in the ultimate Big Government program. It is sheer hubris to expect it to save money or increase access to care, and many will be hurt in the process of showing that it can’t.
Alieta Eck, MD, graduated from the Rutgers College of Pharmacy in NJ and the St. Louis School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She studied Internal Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ and has been in private practice with her husband, Dr. John Eck, MD in Piscataway, NJ since 1988. She has been involved in health care reform since residency and is convinced that the government is a poor provider of medical care. In 2003, she and her husband founded the Zarephath Health Center, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured that currently cares for 300-400 patients per month utilizing the donated services of volunteer physicians and nurses. She testified before the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress in 2004 about better ways to deliver health care in the United States, and at a US Senate hearing in 2011 where she discussed ways to keep patients with non-urgent conditions from overusing the emergency room. Dr. Eck is a long time member of the Christian Medical Dental Association. In 2009 she joined the board of the AAPS, serving as its President in 2012. In addition, she serves on the board of Christian Care Medi-Share, a faith based medical cost sharing Ministry. She and her husband have five children, one a resident in ophthalmology in St. Louis. Dr. Eck ran in the Special Republican Primary for the US Senate from New Jersey in August, 2013, garnering 27,000 votes in a 2 month campaign. She is contemplating a second run in 2014.
Today is the first of three days that many of the truck driver of the U.S. have declared to be on strike and many others are in a convoy for Washington, D.C. in an effort to preserve our Constitutional rights and freedoms. Reports have it that some drivers are circling the I-495 beltway while driving abreast to one another at speeds as slow as 15 mph, while flying their U.S. flags to show their spirit of patriotism. This strike has certain advantages if the main stream media picks it up which I doubt they will. Usually the main stream media gives trucker strikes very little recognition. Although these drivers that are on strike right now have a valid point to be expressed, as far as the federal governments overreach and constant meddling in the private lives of all Americans are concerned. But there is an overlying concern for how it was organized. There are certain questions every driver must ask themselves about what is transpiring here. Who is organizing this strike? What kind of leadership do they offer? What are their goals? And how are they going to obtain their demands? The information about who has organized this strike seems to be real sketchy, several people have made claims to it. Therefore the leadership of what's going on is questionable in nature. As for the goals, Those seem to be unclear as well. The only things I've seen listed are from a woman by the name of Zeeda Andrews, who claims that this strike is about anti idling laws, insurance regulations, increased insurance cost, regulations forcing trucking companies to use DEF systems, Patient Protection Affordable Care Act, and restoring the constitution. Which sounds great, however many other things sure are missing. Evidently if we are unclear of who is actually in charge of this action, or what this action is really about, we can assume that no member of congress has been contacted about the grievances to actuate a desirable outcome. As far as I am concerned this action will prove to be futile, drivers are exhausting their resources and energy on an action that will leave them disappointed and frustrated. Here at Truckers United For Freedom the plan is to continue to raise awareness to the pains of the American driver and offer the solution that when we stand strong in numbers before congress, we will be heard and our grievances will be resolved. There is no shortcut to success. In fact the key to our success is to remove all doubt and stay persistent. If you or someone you know is involved in the trucker strike this weekend, We wish you and yours all the best, and salute you for at least having the backbone to stand up for what it is you believe in. If you feel that your not getting the satisfaction you hoped for, keep in mind your more than welcome to be involved here. One thing I'm sure of, is that something is going to give, because Americans sure have had enough of the abuses coming from our federal officials.
John Grosvenor - TUFF __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Trucker Strike - After the Strike, What is the outcome? October 15, 2013
Here we are, two days after the big Truckers Strike. So, what was the outcome? Nothing came of it as we suspected. Here is full disclosure as to why the strike was unsuccessful.
There has been an accusation by mexicotrucker.com that the so called organizers, Zeeda Andrews, Peter Santilli and Craig Rosenfal, of the "Ride For The Constitution" have allegedly committed an act of fraud, against you the American truck driver and trucking enthusiast . They asked for donations for truck fuel on behalf of those involved in the " Ride For The Constitution" to Washington, D.C., while yet, those that made the ride have received no money for help to accommodate their cost. Allegedly, they raised approximately $500,000.00 for the cause and yet the money seems to have disappeared.
I had an interesting phone conversation with a nice gentleman by the name of Chris Hemmer last evening that gave me the big picture to this whole matter. Mr. Hemmer is the original organizer to the trucker strike which is called "Truckers to Shut Down America" He informed me he led the organization of the strike, and Jonathon Egar had founded the web site patriotcommandcenter.org to promote the cause. Hemmer states that the cause was supposed to be simple as truckers to stay home or stop working for three days, and that truck drivers and any citizen that wanted to support the cause should refrain from making any unnecessary purchases for those three days as an act of protest for the abuses coming from our federal government. He had no intention for a ride to D.C., and that he thought that asking drivers to participate in such an action would be too much of a burden to bear.
Hemmer is a working man like everyone else and he has his truck to drive as well. Hemmer said he has been a gun rights activist for quite some time, but as a driver, when he is stopped three times a day, and his stress levels are on the rise, all because of the treatment we drivers are suffering from by our federal government, that he decided enough is enough and that he wanted to do something to bring about awareness to our situation. He expressed a great deal of frustration toward the people involved in the alleged "Ride For The Constitution" fraud case and that he feels they have undermined the cause, for their own benefit, and have done a great deal of damage to the trucking community, in terms of morale. However, he remains determined that we as truck drivers can make a difference in our lives by staying true to the course and continue to make attempts at creating awareness for just how bad our federal government has become towards it's citizens. Hemmer went on to say that he has no association with The three people involved with the "Ride For The Constitution". In fact they commandeered the project out from under him and that's what led up to the confusion in the trucking community. He went on to say that he wasn't ever asking for any money and refused to do so. Hemmer said that he was using his own money to fund the website and advertising, which is costly. He wanted to sell t-shirts as a means to raise working capital, however he never obtained a profit from that market, so he continued to move forward on his own money.
Chris Hemmer left me with feeling that he has the right connections as an activist and is quite capable of leading the truck drivers of America on a strike to actuate a change we all want as citizens. All we really want is fairness in legislation, to have the dignity to be treated with the respect we deserve as honest, hard working, tax paying citizens of the U.S. His cause is something much higher than just trucking, it is about preserving constitutional rights for all American citizens and future generations to come. Having a Congress that cares for our country and the people thereof. As opposed to actions of congress today that perpetuates deficit spending and unjust legislation against the American citizen, and he feels that we as truck drivers can lead that charge. He is not giving up and has set a target date of April 15, 2014 to pose another truckers strike. He stated to me "I am not going to let anyone get away with overrunning us again, anyone that has done this will be much sought after for criminal prosecution, and anyone who attempts this sort of action in the future will get the same. We can't move forward when we let these individuals undermine what we are doing, and I have no intentions of tolerating their poor behavior. We as truck drivers will make a change for the betterment of our country."
Having had the opportunity to speak with Chris Hemmer, I feel a sense of kinship with his spirit. That is the very reason I started The Truckers United For Freedom website. We drivers have been taking abuse from our federal government for far too long and that is extending to all of society now. I haven't made any plans for a trucker strike, due to the fact we need to follow protocol and petition our Congress with a list of grievances first. I chose to make the first list pertaining to drivers as the first phase of this cause. When we as truck drivers can enhance our lives we will show other members of society that they too can make a difference. After all, airline pilots endure the same pains we do. Recently I found myself in a conversation with a couple of truck mechanics that thought it was fine for the federal government to impose the use of electronics on us truck drivers. "Whatever keeps the roads safe", says one of them. So, I informed him that "if they can use electronics in trucks to keep the roads safe, then what do you think they are going to do next? They are going to use your GPS device to track your speed while you are driving your car, and mail you a ticket for any speeding that you may have done." He didn't like the suggestion very well, and started making remarks about having Constitutional Rights. So, I asked him" what, you think it's OK for the fed's to take away my rights, but they can't do that to you?"
Of all the accidents leading to injuries and fatalities on U.S. roadways, Trucks are involved in about 18.5% of them. That is the percentage of how many are involved, not how many are responsible for these injuries and fatalities. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or the National Highway Traffic safety Administration (NHTSA) does not keep any record of how many truck drivers are found at fault for the accidents that they are involved in. Therefor we can only assume that the amount must be less than 18.5%, but we can't put a real figure to it. In 2011 trucks were involved in 88,000 of the 2,217,000 crashes that involved injuries amounting to 25%, while yet, trucks were involved in 3757 out 32,367 fatalities amounting to 12%, combined equals 18.5%. Do to a lack of recording accountability, if we half the difference with this math, then trucks would be accountable for about 9.25% of all injury and fatality accidents on U.S. roadways. So, why are millions of tax payer dollars being spent on over regulating the safest highway travelers on U.S. roads?
This is a bad case of political lobbyist, such as the Truck Safety Coalition, which works in collusion with Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT) and Citizens for Reliable And Safe Highways (CRASH) Foundation. These organizations have been lobbying against the trucking industry for far too long now, and I expect they have been capitalizing on families that have suffered from the loss of loved ones in accidents that involved big trucks, even when the truck driver isn't at fault. They continue to drive fear in the hearts of Americans as if trucks are a menace on Americas roadways. They act as though American truck drivers are waking up each day with a goal to attack the common motorist with some evil, diabolical, conspiracy to wreak havoc on unsuspecting motorist. The truth of the matter is that we are just the same as any other citizen of our fine country. We do a job to make an honest living and look forward to our time at home to be with family and friends. We care about the common motorist as much as everyone else does, and it shows. Accident ratio for trucks have remained about the same for the last 30 years. Nothing the federal government has done has really made a difference in terms of safety. In fact they are amounting to be a hinderance for it, by the amount of stress they are causing the everyday driver.
If you would like to participate in truckers strikes to make a change in the industry we all have invested well into. That is no real concern of mine. All I want for you my fellow truck driver is to be well informed. So, that when you are taking action you know who you are working with and that you are not being taken advantage of. As the case may be during this last truckers strike as with the "Ride For The Constitution." I am going to do my part and stay the course here while Chris Hemmer is going do his part to stay the course in what he is doing. If you want to make a difference, then I ask you to start here first and post the Truckers List of Grievances to your 2 U.S. Senators and 1 U.S. Representative. If they show no sign of responding by April,15 of next year, then we will have every reason to set out to strike. Time is of the essence, so it is important to not delay.
The Truck Safety Coalition Is Against Truck Drivers
On October 8 while traveling on I-4 in Florida the driver of this automobile lost control of this vehicle and ran it underneath the trailer of this big truck, and was dragged several hundred feet. Fortunately the driver and 2 passengers survived the ordeal with minor injuries. The Truck Safety Coalition is an anti trucking lobbyist organization partnered with Parents against tired truckers(PATT), and Citizens for Reliable And Safe Highways (CRASH). For some reason they can't see articles such as is this one, because the truck driver was not at fault for the accident. In fact in their eyes the truck driver is at fault in some way, simply because he is a truck driver. Surely truck drivers must have some sort of special powers to see into the future. Anti trucking lobbyist organizations such as these have been around for a very long time and are the very bane of our existence as a truck drivers, because they are the heart of the new CSA laws, HOS rules, and many other changes in trucking that we don't agree with. The Truck Safety Coalition has a facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/Truck-Safety-Coalition/291085717585712, if you go there and see the types of things they say and feel compelled to say something against them they will delete what ever you say. Sometimes they will tell people that disagree with them that there is a separate facebook page for them,www.facebook.com/stopbiggertrucks. The problem is that the other facebook page hasn't been kept current, it's last update was August the 30th. This only proves they have no interest in hearing from truck drivers, they just want to wreak their devastation upon us. These organizations have been taking some serious actions against the American truck drivers, and the only defense we really have against them is to stand up and fight for ourselves.
Today I saw President Barack Obama speak on the morning news, What a sentiment he offered to the American people. He said " That he doesn't just shut down the federal government when he doesn't his way 100% of the time". This of course was a dig against the Republican controlled house, which makes it seem like an idiotic statement coming from an intelligent man. Why? Because, the Republican controlled house did not shut down the government, the government shut down because they would not approve certain bills associated with the budget plan. To blame the Republican controlled house is like to blame the Democrat controlled Senate. Over the weekend, just prior to the government shutdown the house has offered two plans to the Senate and both were denied approval. One bill to delay the Patient protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) for one year and another bill that would repeal the medical device tax at 2.3% of the sale of the device. (Imagine having to pay taxes on much needed medical devices and the PPACA was supposed to make healthcare more affordable for the American people). The following Monday the House sent in a third proposal to end the mandate of the PPACA and that too was rejected. The issue here is that the country is divided at about 50% over wanting the PpACA and not wanting the PPACA. While yet, the Republican controlled House is willing to meet in the middle as far as accepting the PPACA as a federal program, they are also being reasonable to ask for the removal of the imposed mandate that requires every citizen to carry health insurance, and the removal of a tax on a much needed medical device. (Just a thought here, but that's like taxing someone for their medicine. The cost alone is more than enough, but to impose a tax on it is more of an unnecessary burden that no one should have to bear. I can't get passed it, it's such a contradiction to the so called Obama care). So, if the Republican controlled House is so bad and caused the government shutdown, then what is the Democrat controlled Senate? When they won't meet in the middle to satisfy the concerns of the other 50%. AS for President Barack Obama, he is supposed to be his parties leader, yet he won't act on behalf of the American people to make an agreement to end this government shutdown and start getting America back on track again. The president instigated this whole mess in the first place, When he led the charge for the PPACA, and he should stop passing the buck, grow some backbone, and encourage the Senate to meet the demands of the American people. The overlooked issue that we have not gotten out of deficit spending plays the most vital role in this matter. How are we supposed to approve a balanced budget with an increased cost of the PPACA? It's irresponsible to go on spending money we don't have, we are putting the cart before the horse in this matter. Americans that have lost the most were accused of not knowing how to manage their money, even by President George W. Bush. Yet, our Democrat controlled Senate wants to institute a national healthcare plan before righting the economy. Nothing about what the Senate is attempting to do here exemplifies intelligence toward economic recovery or the interest of the American people.
Hanna Introduces Bill To Delay HOS Rule (H.R. 3413)
October 31, 2013TRUE Safety Act would require an assessment to see if rule is effective, valid
WASHINGTON– U.S. Reps. Richard Hanna (R-NY), Tom Rice (R-SC) and Mike Michaud (D-ME) want to delay a new regulation that began earlier this year on how many hours commercial truck drivers can spend on the road.
On July 1, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enacted a new Hours of Service (HOS) rule, which is taking a toll on truck drivers and on the trucking industry – the lifeblood of the American economy. According a study completed by the American Transportation Research Institute, the new rule would result in an annual cost of $376 million to the trucking industry alone. Other businesses likely to be adversely impacted include construction firms, delivery services and fresh food distributors.
Concerns have been raised that the new rules cause more congestion during peak morning travel and could push drivers to be more aggressive during the hours they do spend on the road. This rule could cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars and it is plausible that it will actually decrease safety on the roads.
Reps. Hanna, Rice and Michaud want to delay the regulation until an independent assessment of the rule is complete. That’s why they’ve introduced the TRUE Safety Act.
Highlights of the TRUE Safety Act include:
- Truckers would abide by the 34-hour restart rules that were in place before July 1, 2013.
- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to conduct an independent assessment of the methodology FMCSA used to come up with the new 34-hour restart rule.
- The new 34-hour restart rule could not be re-implemented until six months after GAO submits its assessment to Congress.
Rep. Hanna said:“It is wrongheaded for the federal government to impose an arbitrary and capricious regulation that impacts almost every sector of the American economy without first finishing a study on its effectiveness. Federal agencies should have an obligation to prove that new rules and regulations do not cause more harm than good - in terms of both safety and costs.
“There are legitimate concerns that this new rule makes our roads less safe and hurts small business. The TRUE Safety Act is a bipartisan effort to press the ‘pause button’ on this new rule while an independent assessment is completed to ensure the rule makes sense and will not actually harm the travelling public and American economy.”
Rep. Rice said:“I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation because our American truckers are being held to a new un-tested standard that limits their productivity and ultimately – their profitability. Congress required the FMSCA is to complete a comprehensive study before imposing new hours of service standards on our truckers. Instead, the agency has abused its authority and is requiring truckers to comply with one of the most stringent parts of its regulation priorto receiving their study’s findings. This legislation will rein in FMSCA and postpone the new un-tested hours of service regulation until its study is complete and require an additional study to ensure that our truckers are not being overregulated.”
Rep. Michaud said: “Many drivers plan their schedules to be on the road overnight so as to avoid traffic and other hazards during the day. I’m concerned that the new rules push drivers to get back on the road during the morning rush hour, increase road congestion and jeopardize safety. The independent assessment required by this bill will ensure the regulations are based on sound data in order to minimize costs and improve safety.”
Reps. Hanna, Rice and Michaudare members of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.
Government Shutdown Is Over Until January 15, 2014
October 17,2013
The government shutdown is over, and now our Congress can proceed to move forward until January 15, 2014 continuously spending more money than they take in. If you or I budget our finances at home the way the federal government does, we would be severely chastised for not adequately handling our financial obligations. In fact we were during the George W. Bush administration. They changed some of the bankruptcy laws to educate citizens on how to better manage their money. Time is long overdue for American citizens to contact their members of congress and demand financial responsibility from our federal government.
The major media outlets have criticized the Republican controlled house for shutting down the government. But, they did not want to acknowledge that the House was showing an act of responsibility to demand more proper spending and the fact that the house had made reasonable request to end the mandate and 2.3% tax on medical devices on the new Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA). They blamed the House for the shutdown, but they did not notice that the Senate could have made those concessions for the sake of the American people and to please the other 50% that don't entirely agree with the PPACA.
I suppose that the house had to give in, because of the up and coming holidays. Commerce needs the government to pick back up in order to get people back to work in both the private sector and the government sector. The next 3 months will move relatively fast and then we will be locked into this battle again, I for one am hoping that those of us that can appreciate choice and freedom can make a better stand at abolishing the mandate and 2.3% tax on medical devices.
John Grosvenor - TUFF _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Obama Care - Americans Under Siege
October 26, 2013
During the 2008 presidential campaign President Barack Obama said:
"Here’s what I would do. If you’ve got health care already, and probably the majority of you do, then you can keep your plan if you are satisfied with it. You can keep your choice of doctor. We’re going to work with your employer to lower the cost of your premiums by up to $2,500 a year. And we’re going to do it by investing in prevention. We’re going to do it by making sure that we use information technology so that medical records are actually on computers instead of you filling forms out in triplicate when you go to the hospital. That will reduce medical errors and reduce costs. If you don’t have health insurance, you’re going to be able to buy the same kind of insurance that Sen. McCain and I enjoy as federal employees. Because there’s a huge pool, we can drop the costs. And nobody will be excluded for pre-existing conditions, which is a huge problem."
Unfortunately that may not be the case since the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), otherwise known as "Obama Care", has become the law of the land.
Insurance providers are canceling hundreds of thousands of individuals insurance policies because they can't meet the PPACA criteria. There are 10 benefits that all insurance policies are required to provide : 1 Ambulatory patient service 2 Emergency services 3 Hospitalization 4 Maternity and new born care 5 Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment 6 Prescription drugs 7 Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices 8 Laboratory services 9 Preventive wellness services and chronic disease management 10 Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
Most insurance companies do not provide all of these benefits under their policies because they aim to tailor a plan to the individual needs in order to curb the cost of healthcare for the customer. Under the PPACA law, all of this criteria must be met in order to provide health insurance. This is a direct contradiction to the purpose of creating an affordable healthcare system. If we are required to buy services that we will never use, then we are throwing money away. Why should we as a people pay for someone's drug addiction recovery, the federal government allows our borders to be wide open where 90% of illegal drugs come from, and then they now want for society to pay for the recovery of addicts, that have no self control or moral fortitude to refrain from using illegal drugs. This is just one of many reasons why the PPACA is wrong for the American people. Insurance companies are more than likely going to be put out of business with the up and coming PPACA. Some people, on the other hand, think that insurance providers are eliminating the less desirable customers, ones with pre-existing conditions, in order to reduce their out of pocket cost and increase their profit margin. Evidently, time will tell which is the case.
Either way to mandate a law that a citizen must purchase a product that is available or one that the federal government has packaged and put on the market is completely anti-American and leans more toward a fascist ideal that will obviously lead us to financial peril as a nation. If the federal government can't mange social security without bankrupting it so many times in the past, then what makes us think that they can manage something more complicating like your healthcare needs? 17 trillion dollars in debt already, one can only imagine where we will be by the end of the Obama administration. If you would like to see the details about the PPACA and how it may affect you, then you may want to visit www.obamacarefacts.com.
Should Truck Drivers Run any Differently in a State of Emergency?
Emergency Declaration Information To provide vital supplies and transportation services to a disaster area in the United States, emergency declarations may be issued by the President, Governors of States, or FMCSA. These declarations trigger the temporary suspension of certain Federal safety regulations, including Hours of Service, for motor carriers and drivers engaged in specific aspects of the emergency relief effort. See 49 CFR 390.23 for the actual emergency regulation.
Relief from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations is limited to a maximum of 30 days, unless extended by FMCSA itself.
The information below reflects currently available relief:
These Federal exemptions, when in effect, only apply to 49 CFR Parts 390-399. They do NOT apply to CDL, drug/alcohol, hazardous materials, size & weight, or State/Federal registration and tax requirements. (However, a Governor's Declaration may add some of those exemptions—read the declaration for details.)
Even if an Emergency Declaration is still in effect, the emergency must be on-going and you must be providing direct emergency relief in order to be exempt from safety regulations.
The list of Emergency Declarations below may not be complete. Declarations may be in effect even if not listed here.
Drivers and carriers should coordinate with State and Federal emergency officials before providing assistance.
Even though safety regulations may be suspended, drivers and carriers are expected to use good judgment and not operate vehicles with fatigued or ill drivers, or under any conditions presenting a clear hazard to other motorists using the highways.
Back in the day they used to call this disaster relief. Now they refer to it as emergency declaration, talk about reinventing the wheel. Sometimes it's difficult when they keep changing the language the way they keep changing their minds.
The issue is, they will not work with us to come to some sort of understanding when it comes to laws in the trucking industry. They want us to accept that it is their way or get out of it all together. Truck drivers are foolish to keep taking these abuses from our federal government. The way I see it, in the FMCSR 392.3 ill or fatigued says that no driver can be forced to operate a commercial motor vehicle if they lack the ability to do so. That means if you are too tired, fatigued, or you are having mental stress do to the federal laws implemented upon you. Therefor we have complete control how freight gets moved in our country with out consequence to ourselves. It's not like you can be fired for not running your vehicle if you aren't getting proper rest because the federal law is stressing you out. Hey, if a situation comes, and it will, and we truck drivers refuse to hustle freight to an area deemed as an emergency then people will take notice and require the fed's to work with us to find a resolve to this matter of our grievances.
No one wants to have to neglect our fellow Americans in their time of need. But, who is looking out for the American truck driver? No one that's who, especially the DOT (FMCSA). In fact we need to write our members of congress about this matter, and suggest they can use the national guard to move product to a point of emergency.
John Grosvenor - TUFF __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bureaucracy is Fascism
From TruckingInfo Magazine,
A recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration report shows that motor carriers using the agency’s Pre-Employment Screening Program are seeing a greater decline in crash rates than those who are not using it.“The overall adjusted improvement in the crash rates for the PSP group, across all size classes, was statistically significant,” said the report.It also found those using PSP experienced a drop in driver out-of-service violations.
Overall it found crash rates declined 8% for carriers while driver OOS violations fell 17.2% for fleets using PSP, as opposed to those who haven’t
Declines in crash rates were even bigger for carriers who have between 6 and 20 drivers, falling 20.6%, and those with between 21-100 drivers, declining 21.1%.
FMCSA says the 12.4% decline in the crash rates with trucking operations that have 1 and 5 drivers, and a drop of 3.4%, for those with more than 100, are not statistically significant.
Declines in the driver OOS rates for carriers using PSP as opposed to those not using it, ranged between 10.1% for those with 21 to 100 drivers, to as much as 18.3% for those with between 1 and 5 drivers.
FMCSA also compiled some industry information including tracking the extent of PSP use throughout the trucking business with it showing the number of PSP users has steadily increased monthly since PSP began distributing information in May 2010.
The total number of requests to the PSP system is also increasing, most notably the monthly request totals continue to climb.
“All of these metrics indicate that PSP use is increasing throughout the motor carrier industry,” said the FMCSA study. “Currently, there are about 35,000 PSP users making about 70,000 requests per month. These requests come from both drivers and motor carriers, but almost all of these users are motor carrier companies with only a small fraction of requests coming from drivers.”
FMCSA said also gathered non-scientific information from a handful of motor carriers of various sizes utilizing PSP to provide some evidence, even if anecdotal, of how these companies view the PSP. All represented carriers responded favorably when asked about the system, and they reported using it for new hires.
“Most carriers use the PSP report to ensure that drivers accurately report information on their applications and do not omit places of employment or crashes,” said FMCSA “Violations in the PSP report for pre-trip inspections, logbooks, and speeding were high on the list of concerns and were generally believed to be a better indication of a driver’s safety performance rather than violations that the driver had little direct influence to avoid.
FMCSA established the Pre-Employment Screening Program to comply with a law requiring the agency to provide information on driver safety performance to persons conducting pre-employment screening for the motor carrier industry. The system has around 3.5 million driver records, which varies slightly from month-to-month as the record data is refreshed.
PSP was launched in May, 2010, and is a voluntary program. Motor carriers may use the information provided through the PSP, comprised of 5 years of crash data and 3 years of inspection data on the driver, to assist in determining if a driver applicant should be hired.
The PSP safety impact analysis studied carriers at a snapshot in time, 12 months before PSP launched and 12 months after, so the study covers carriers from 2009 through 2011.
97% of the companies using PSP are trucking companies and 2% are bus companies. The remaining 1% represents 3rd party industry service providers, who provide driver screening services for bus and truck companies, according to FMCSA.http://www.truckinginfo.com
This is what you would expect for the FMCSA to claim. Because they are in business and want to promote that business. This is the cost of doing business with the Fmcsa on the PSP program, straight from their website.
About the ServicePSP is designed to assist the motor carrier industry in assessing individual operators’ crash and serious safety violation history as a pre-employment condition. Account holders pay $10 for each requested driver history. An annual subscription fee of $100 also applies for industry service providers and carriers with 100 or more power units. Carriers with fewer than 100 power units qualify for a discounted annual fee of $25 per year.Individuals can request a personal driving history for a fee of $10. No subscription is necessary for individual drivers __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
U.S. Department of Transportation Declares Texas Long-Haul Truck Driver to be an Imminent Hazard to Public Safety
This article came straight off the Federal DOT/FMCSA website.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Texas-licensed truck driver Scotty G. Arnst to be an imminent hazard to public safety and has ordered him not to operate any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. Arnst was served the federal order Oct. 11, 2013.“Safety should be the top priority of every driver of every vehicle out on our nation’s highways and roads,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to work with our state law enforcement partners to protect the motoring public through vigorous enforcement of traffic laws and driver and motor vehicle regulations that prevent needless crashes and save lives.”On Sept. 22, 2013, Arnst, a commercial driver’s license (CDL) holder, was operating a tractor-trailer on Arkansas State Highway 7 near Harrison, Ark., when he struck two pedestrians changing a flat tire on the roadway shoulder. Both individuals were killed.A subsequent investigation by FMCSA determined that Arnst had failed to disclose to three separate employers during the previous nine-month period his involvement in five commercial motor vehicle crashes in addition to his prior terminations as a commercial vehicle operator for high risk driving. They also found that Arnst had potentially disqualifying medical conditions which he had repeatedly failed to disclose to employers or otherwise had submitted an outdated medical examiner certificate required by federal regulations to operate commercial motor vehicles.“It is unacceptable for a truck or bus company, or any of its drivers, to disregard the law and put travelers at risk,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We will continue our aggressive efforts to prevent unsafe commercial drivers from getting behind the wheel and endangering the public.”FMCSA's imminent hazard out-of-service order for Arnst is based on his pattern of unsafe driving, violation of local laws, crashes, falsification of employment applications after crashing, including failure to disclose medical conditions, and violation of federal safety regulations.Since the beginning of 2013, FMCSA has declared nine commercial driver's license holders as imminent hazards, blocking them from operating in interstate commerce. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Is this Justice
November 24, 2013
Daily News wrote an article on Jorge Epinoza a 33 year old truck driver who, on May 6 of this year, crashed into emergency vehicles killing police officer Tim Huffman and damaging several emergency vehicles. A very tragic accident to say the least.
What's so concerning about this article is that it depicts Mr. Epinoza as guilty for the accident without due process, The recorded footage of the accident was already released before he's been tried in a court of law. If in fact he is negligent in the matter I would not show such favor. However, he is entitled to due process of the law
All too often people of organizations such as CRASH, RSA, or PATT deem truck drivers as a criminal element on the highway, It's just categorizing truck drivers in a prejudicial manner as if we all are up to no good. When truth be known, most truck drivers are big hearted people and hold the highest regards for all of society.
Something that we need to learn from in this situation. Trucking companies are using technological advances against the best interest of drivers. Any trucking company will throw a driver under the bus if it can gain them favor with law enforcement. As a driver myself, I would never entertain the thought of driving for a company that uses Electric on board recording devices or electronic logs. Some people think that this is OK for companies to do, one person told me "whatever keeps us safe." What other members in society don't seem to understand is that if they can get away with doing this to truck drivers then cars are next. It's just a matter of time that all cars will be outfitted with GPS systems and when someone is speeding, They won't need officers in the field to issue tickets, They can just mail them out. Because, computers don't lie. Right?
Whatever the outcome in the case of Jorge Epinoza, I think we all have a heartfelt sorrow for officer Tim Huffman and his family for the loss they have suffered. This incident shows that life is a quest, for every individual, for self betterment. Truck driver isn't just a job we do, it's something we are, and the tools of survival are Respect, Discipline, and Integrity. Motor TUFF, motor happy and most of all motor safe!
John Grosvenor - TUFF
You can view the original article at: http://www.nydailynews.com/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FMCSA Statistics Tell Real Story
From the good folks at - Go BY Truck,
Statistics released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for 2011 show that most of the fatal accidents that year occurred during daylight hours in good weather conditions. More than 97 percent of fatal crashes took place on two-way roads. Of the 2011 fatalities, 2,063 were motorists involved in the crash with a large truck and 547 truckers were killed; of those 345 deaths occurred in single-vehicle crashes. In nearly ninety percent of the crashes no tickets for moving violations were issued.
Even though more truckers use seat belt than passenger vehicle motorists, the incidents of driver ejection is higher among truckers. Almost 29 percent of truckers wearing shoulder and lap belts were partially ejected and 10.7 percent were totally ejected during crashes in 2011. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 16.2 percent of motorists in vehicles weighing 13 tons or less were partially ejected and only three percent were totally ejected.
The most common factor assigned to truckers in fatal crashes was some form of speed related behavior such as going too fast for conditions or going faster than the posted limit..
The statistics also indicate that in the fatal crashes passenger car drivers made driving mistakes leading to accidents—such as following too closely and crossing the median—far more often than truckers at nearly ninety percent of the time.
- See more at: http://gobytrucknews.com/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wrong Way
According to thetrucker.com, Administrator Anne Ferro of the FMCSA is scheduled to appear before a sub House Committee on Thursday the 21st of November.
The Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee of the Committee on Small Business has titled the hearing “WRONG WAY: The Impact of FMCSA’s Hours of Service Regulations on Small Businesses. The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y. Hanna is one of three members of the House who filed a bill recently that wouldin essence rescind a portion of the new Hours of Service rule, delaying use of the current 34-hour restart provision until an independent assessment of the rule is complete. This is a show that Congressional members are seeing what we truck drivers have been saying for a long time. That FMCSA has been pushing the trucking industry in the wrong direction under the presumption that they know what is best for everyone as if truck drivers don't have a clue about the job they have been doing for decades. You can read the whole story by clicking here.
John Grosvenor - TUFF
FMCSA = Government Abuses
November 22, 2013
The narrow minded, broom riding Administrator Anne Ferro has made her intentions clear yesterday during the Small Business Committee's Hours of service hearing. She remains determined that she will not repeal the new 34 hour restart law, regardless of what the survey's that have been provided as proof of the negative impact on both businesses and driver's stress. As if this comes as any surprise to any of us. All of this right after the NHTSA National Center for Statistics and Analysis - 2012 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview. Which indicates that fatalities and injury crashes are up since 2011, after the implementation of the new CSA laws. See for yourself http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811856.pdf . __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OOIDA Petitions United State Supreme Court to rule on Mexican Truck
This one comes fro www.mexicotrucker.com. I wanted to share this because I thought it speaks volumes to how we in the U.S. are perceived by people in other nations. I will leave it at that and let you draw your own conclusions.
It is unfortunate that the agenda of bigotry and prejudice of one insignificant little man against Mexican trucks has the potential to devastate the trucking industry in three countries. (Photo- Today’s Trucking)
Not content to accept the rulings of the D.C. Court of Appeals which recently rejected arguments by the Teamsters, OOIDA and their allies to put the brakes on the Cross Border Pilot Program with Mexico, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association now turns to the United States Supreme Court in their latest attempt. If history is any indication, this effort will end in failure also.
On October 24, OOIDA filed a Petition For Writ Of Certiorari with the Supreme Court challenging the ruling of the lower court which found that the arguments presented by OOIDA and their allies were not persuasive and basically, without foundation. These arguments were rejected first by a three judge panel of the appellate court and later, OOIDA’s request for a hearing by the full court, known as an en banc hearing was also rejected.
Each term, thousands of requests for a Writ Of Certiorari are filed before the Court, however only about 100 are granted. It’s anybodies guess as to whether the Court will choose to grant this petition.
Several things are interesting about OOIDA’s latest effort to stop the successful pilot program which is proving that Mexican carriers and their drivers are capable of operating safely and in compliance with US laws and regulations.
, OOIDA and their allies have filed what have proven to be frivolous and baseless legal actions against FMCSA and their efforts to bring the United States into compliance with our obligations under NAFTA. With few exceptions, the courts have all ruled against OOIDA and their allies.
In the past, all issues raised by OOIDA and their allies in their misguided attempts to use the courts to stop Mexican trucks from operating in the United States have been rejected, with the exception of an argument concerning environmental impact studies. FMCSA complied with that ruling and we were off to the races and OOIDA and their allies were left in the dust trying to think of another bogus issue to raise.
With this petition, they think they’ve found one and in the very unlikely chance SCOTUS decided to hear the case and the less likely scenario that OOIDA should win this one, it could cause unimaginable disruptions to the US and Canadian transportation industry.
Despite the existence of a Letter of Mutual Understanding between the United States and Mexico agreeing that the commercial licenses of each country is basically similar and acceptable to the other, OOIDA is asking SCOTUS to rule on these two questions.
By statute enacted in 1998 Congress unambiguously precluded any individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial drivers license issued under federal standards.
Under the “last-in-time” rule historically used to establish precedence between conflicting treaties and acts of Congress under the Supremacy Clause, this unambiguous provision should have been viewed as abrogating a conflicting provision in a 1991 executive agreement with Mexico providing for mutual recognition of each nation’s commercial drivers’ licenses. The Court of Appeals ruled otherwise holding that conditions placed in two appropriations bills amended the unambiguous language of the 1998 statute.
Did the Court of Appeals’ decision disturb the equilibrium between Congress and the Executive Branch under the Supremacy Clause by:
(1) finding by implication Congressional intent to repeal or amend an unambiguous statute, and
(2) elevating executive agreements to a position higher than acts of Congress by imposing upon Congress a more burdensome threshold for abrogation?
And the second question.
2. 49 U.S.C. § 31302(a) forbids individuals from operating commercial motor vehicles without a valid commercial driver’s license issued in accordance with U.S. law. Did the Court of Appeals err by failing to address the canon of statutory construction holding that repeal of a statute by implication is not favored, and by failing to recognize that this canon applies with even greater force when the claimed repeal rests solely on appropriations acts?
Anybody see the potential problems here should this argument be accepted and SCOTUS rules in favor of OOIDA? Not only would it effect the cross border drayage industry which US truckers rely on to bring freight to them across the southern border under our archaic rules, it would also effect every single Canadian drivers that routinely runs in the US without restriction.
The petition as it is presented seemingly would apply only to the Mexicans, but it doesn’t. A ruling in favor of OOIDA would effectively disrupt trade between the three countries valued in the hundred of billions of dollars. And the United States could not apply the ruling only to the Mexicans while allowing the Canadians continues access.
It’s amazing how one irrelevant little bigot can have the potential to do this much damage to the US economy and the transportation industry of three countries and spend untold millions of dollars of members dollars to pursue a personal agenda.
It’s interesting that the Teamsters nor the bogus safety groups who have allied themselves with Jim Johnston and OOIDA in the past have not jumped on this bandwagon.
It is even more curious that OOIDA has not mentioned this latest attempt to stop the pilot program though a media release from it’s press office.
Only a handful of trucking publications have written anything about this latest OOIDA stunt, and only after I advised them of the filing and none of the trucking talk shows on SirusXM or Clear Channel have made any mention of it.
All very curious.
A response from FMCSA has been requested by November 27, 2013.
Feel free to download and review the latest lunacy from Jim Johnston and OOIDA
More interesting news from gobytruck.com, as we suspected the facts have been distorted.
According to the National Highway Truck Safety Administration, large trucking accidents resulting in fatalities rose 3.7% in 2012 compared to 2011. There were 3,921 people killed by accidents involving “large trucks.”
Unfortunately, the NHTSA very loosely defines “large truck,” whereas the public immediately assumes “large trucks” are big rigs.
“When the public hears the term ‘large truck,’ they naturally think of the millions of large tractor-trailers that deliver their most essential goods,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “However, data released today lump those tractor-trailers in with millions of smaller, non-freight-hauling vehicles whose crash rates are higher than in the trucking industry. The federal government should not be so casual with its terminology and should provide further information and clarity to the public.”
NHTSA Administrator David Strickland admits that their statistics lump Class 8 tractor-trailers in with delivery trucks and utility vans.
“It is hard to make any significant assessments without looking further into the numbers [as] the NHTSA numbers released today don’t have a significant breakdown yet,” explained Steve Keppler, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).
“Since the majority of truck-related crashes are multi-vehicle crashes, we can’t tell from the data whether this rise is due to truck driver or car driver error,” Keppler added. “What we can tell is most of the fatality rise is with the car drivers. To get a better sense on this we really need to delve further into the numbers to try and make sense of this.”
“FMCSA will continue driving towards zero deaths by implementing common-sense initiatives like the updated hours-of-service rules to reduce driver fatigue — a leading factor in large-truck crashes — and educating the public about how to share the road safely with commercial trucks and buses,” FMCSA Spokeswoman Marissa Padilla said.
“As a public health and safety agency, any increase in the number of deaths is cause for concern,” Strickland said in a statement. “While we’re seeing some unfortunate trends, we’re also seeing progress in some parts of the country.”
You can see the 2012 stats by clicking here __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cooking in the Truck
The man has heart. But, this not a good idea.
Sure we all need to save money on the cost of living on the road. Risking to set your truck on fire is not the way to go about it, all it takes is for a little oil to flash up and you are suddenly thumbing home. Also, do I need to mention the amount of mess it would make in the truck, and the amount of time it would take to clean up?
With the availability of space in modern day trucks you can accommodate yourself with a refrigerator, A microwave oven, and a power inverter. Stores have ready made food items that you can heat in the microwave and clean up is so much easier. The benefit of this is you can eat a whole meal for about five dollars or less, depending on your appetite. I know this to be true because I have done it for years.
I have found it interesting, that in the 1990's when the economy was it's strongest, that truck stop restaurants were so full it was near impossible for a truck driver to get in and get a quick bite to eat. Now truck stop restaurants are at half capacity at best and they don't think to improve their operation by offering a deli store to help their primary customer base save money and increase their profits at the same time.
Either way your not rolling in dough. As long as truck stops are sticking it to you for parking and over charging you for a shower. you better save what you can on the cost of living.
According to an article on the Huffington Post, authored by Sanjay Sanghoee, Universal Healthcare is an inalienable right. No different than any of your Constitutional Rights.
Isn't this what's wrong with the way people think in the U.S. today, that you have rights that aren't described in the Constitution just because they so choose to cleverly describe it that way to you?
People will attempt to sway something as wrong as the Patient Protection Affordable Healthcare Act (PPACA-Obama Care) in anyway they can. The one thing he overlooks is the fact that none of your Constitutional Rights cost you a dime to enjoy having. While yet, the PPACA will cost you way more than you can afford. More importantly you may want to look at what our forefathers said before you start believing anything a man engaged in the extreme leftist movement might have to say.
Thomas Jefferson - "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
What people misunderstand is that our form of government is is based on a Free Democracy, unlike that of European countries that started and remain on the guidelines of a socialist Democracy. What we have enjoyed about being a Free Democracy is the opportunity to prove ourselves of good character and organize to create a better and stronger society as opposed to being dictated to by our government as to what we can and cannot have.
If we wanted a better healthcare system, we should have organized a not for profit insurance organization where any associated profits can be used for healthcare needs instead of making the rich richer.
December 2,2013 The FMCSA just released this announcement.
FMCSA announces changes to its Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) to allow the Agency to upload the results of associated adjudicated State citations for roadside inspection violation data. MCMIS will be modified to accept adjudication information concerning a citation associated with a violation that was dismissed or resulted in a finding of not guilty; resulted in a conviction of a different or lesser charge; or resulted in conviction of the original charge. This action will improve roadside inspection data quality. In addition, the Agency announces new processes to provide more uniformity in the way the inspection violation data are treated in FMCSA data systems. FMCSA seeks public comments on the prospective application of the change
Of course there is a serious concern that the FMCSA is attempting to undermine the judicial process of our court system and are holding drivers guilty of any crime that a driver is being charged with, even when drivers are being found not guilty of a crime by a court of law. Is this not discrimination against a citizen that holds a CDL?
A recent ABC news article has depicted bus travel as highly dangerous. They have once again misled the public to believe that bus travel is unsafe and a person has a lot to be concerned about. They exposed viewers to images of corpses lined on the side of the road, and spoke propaganda against a valuable resource for travelers. They proved themselves adequate to provide all the negative information they could muster against bus travel and failed to provide a positive aspect to bus travel. The most important information they could have provided is that despite the possibility of a disastrous situation happening bus travel is still far safer than travel by an automobile. You can view the video at the link below.
FMCSA proposes changes to the eligibility requirements for the Agency's Vision Exemption Program. Obtaining an exemption enables an individual to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without satisfying all of the prescribed vision standards. The Agency has determined that these proposed changes in the eligibility criteria and conditions for the Vision Exemption Program will continue to ensure a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety maintained under the existing criteria.
If you like to make a comment to them about this matter you may click here to access the information as to how to go about doing so. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4/6/2014
Straight from the Federal Register:
FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (Virginia DMV) for a limited exemption from the Agency's commercial driver's license (CDL) regulation. Section 383.77(b)(1) allows a State to waive the CDL skills test described in 49 CFR 383.113 for applicants regularly employed or previously employed within the last 90 days in a military position requiring operation of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Virginia DMV proposes that it be allowed to extend the 90-day timeline to one year following the driver's separation from military service. Virginia DMV believes the 90-day timeframe is too short to take advantage of the waiver for many of the qualified discharged veterans reentering and settling into civilian life. FMCSA requests public comment on Virginia DMV's application for exemption. In addition, because the issues concerning the Virginia DMV request could be applicable in each of the States, FMCSA requests public comment whether the exemption, if granted, should cover all State Driver's Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________