Just trucking along

I've been hearing and reading a lot about trucks planning to shut down. About the only thing that is going to do is give us an even bigger black eye. These pea brains think it will make a difference. Guess again. How long can you afford to shut down before you are out of money and still have bills coming in? Not long enough to make a difference. Try running legal. What a concept!!!! If the pea brains in this industry would put their little brains in gear before engaging their jaws they would see that in the long run, running legal would put a major hurt on a vast majority of companies. These places just stock up enough to out last any shutdown and have no major problem. Now these drivers are way behind on bills and have to run even harder to try to get caught up. Who got hurt here?? You guessed it. The pea brains!!
Yes TT, My soap box finally arrived and I'm making up for lost time! It feels good to be standing on it again. It would be interesting to hear what John Q and Jane Q Public thinks about this stupidity. I'm sure these so called safety advocates will be sitting back and laughing at these clowns and then wait for what happens afterwards. Get those pea brains back out on the road and have to run like crazy to try and get bills paid. Start having accidents, speeding tickets,shutdown for logbook violations and see what kind of field day CRASH and PATT and these other groups will have in the courts then.
I'm not against a person trying to earn a decent wage. I'm against how they want to do it. Thirty years ago shutting down might have helped. Not these days. You don't see these so called safety advocates out on the streets with signs trying to stop us from doing our jobs. They take advantage of the mighty powerful media and the courts. If drivers and even non drivers want to make a difference, join a union or better yet join OOIDA. You don't need to be a driver, owner operator or an Independent to join. They have many non driving members and it's only about $40 a year. They will keep you posted on what's happening in this industry and what to do when something important comes up. Anything you want to know about trucking can be found out through them.
No this is not an ad for OOIDA because they won't pay me for the space!! But they are becoming a very strong voice for the drivers. They have had luck with court cases for drivers and are being listened to more and more by capital hill. As far as I'm concerned it is a whole lot better than running around looking and sounding like an idiot. We're supposed to be professionals out here. Why not try to act like one. How many companies do you hear threatening to shut down because they are being screwed over in some way. Not a one. Even the unions are doing everything possible now to avoid a strike. Better to be working for a little less money than not working at all because your job moved to Mexico or some other country. Our jobs won't be moved to another country. They just bring the people from other countries over here to drive for less money and won't be crying about how much they are making because it will be more than they could ever make where they came from.
I for one will not be shutting down. I know there are all kinds of ways to get the word out and make people take notice without having to park the truck. If your not making a go of it as a owner or independent than you need to find out what your doing wrong. Don't be bending over and taking up the a-- and say I have no choice. Yes you do have a choice but are to much of a coward to refuse the load. Enough say no to the freight the rate will have to come up if they expect to get the freight moved. What's the difference if you say no to loads and have to sit or haul something at a loss. Either way your not making any money. Haul for a loss and the rates will never go up because these companies and brokers know there are idiots out there that will take the cheap freight. Like the anti drug ads used to say,"Just Say No" to cheap freight.

Category: General