Is it just me, or has the ATA overstepped its boundaries? As all of you probably already know, the ATA has petitioned the government to make 68 mph the law for all trucks. In talking with some drivers, while traveling this week, I find that many of them are under the impression that it will be a simple matter of just "adjusting" the proposed limiters, and that by doing so, the truck will run faster.
The fact that seems to have escaped their notice is that along with the proposed limiters will come a new law that makes it a crime to alter or modify the limiter in any way. More-than-likely, there will be a new addition to DOT inspections that includes checking your limiter for compliance. It's all electronic!
The question that keeps haunting me is: What is in it for the ATA?
To answer that, we need to know who the ATA is. The biggest members are, of course, the biggest carriers. They are also the ones who believe whole-heartedly in the "cookie-cutter" concept for trucking. All trucks look, run, and are controlled the same way. Not a bad concept if all things are equal! The more you can control a driver from headquarters, the better off you will be. After all, driver professionalism is best defined by someone behind a desk, right? Sorry, sometimes I think sarcasm is an addiction.
Remember what I said about "all things being equal?" This is where the stuff hits the proverbial fan. All things are not equal! All drivers are not the same and there are monetary concerns that enter into this equation that make slow trucks a detrement to many aspects of the industry and the infrastructure. Ask a shipper or a consignee who he or she wants running a "hot" load from coast to coast. Give him or her the choice of a 65 mph truck or one that can run the speed limit in any state. It isn't rocket science! What, you didn't know that "hot" loads still exist?
Maybe it is the fact that all things are not equal that serves as the impetus for this petition for L&L (limiters and law). Perhaps the truth is that slow trucks cannot compete for loads or drivers with fast trucks. I would estimate that the greatest percentage of fast trucks on the road deliver their loads safely on a daily basis; but that's just my opinion. I would also chance a guess that the drivers of those trucks would never consider driving a slow truck. (Maybe not even if forced to) I guess it would be pretty hard to recruit the best drivers if they have options other than driving a slow truck.
So, there it is! (or as the song says, "whoop, der it is!) Let's make all fast trucks illegal and shippers and consignees will have no choice but to use us. Let's cut back all trucks and drivers will be forced to work for us whether they like it or not. But, what about the owner/operators who count on their ability to get the load there asap? I can hear the answer now, "Let them eat cake!"
Please excuse me while I sigh! Here we are, the drivers who move America, and some desk jockey bean counter who sleeps in his or her own bed nightly (presumably, cause you never know these days) and probably has never been inside a truck, except for photo ops, is scheming on how to get a bigger share of the freight pie by turning us into robots (and all for the same price) without one thought given to the stress and ill-will he or she is creating within our already-divided house.
What can I say? Maybe we deserve it for believing that mush about "you can't get two drivers to agree on anything." If you believe that's true, or even funny, you're just as much a part of the problem as those who believe all truck drivers are foul-mouthed people with a distinct hate for water and soap, and just enough grey matter to remember the shifting pattern on a ten-speed transmission (and thus the reason for the move to automatics).
I have this strange feeling of dejavu; like maybe this was the way it felt to watch the fencing in of the open range or the killing off of the Buffalo. Oh well, there's other frontiers to explore, and if real trucking becomes a part of the past, I can always take comfort in the fact that I, and others like me, know what being a trucker was really about. Here's to the days when common sense, initiative, discretion, and guts exemplified professionalism.
Happy Trails & tudaloo
otr@cdldriver.net
Comment By:
Roadhzrd on Sun, Jan 07 2007 @ 5:03 PM [CST]