[pjjjjj]

Originally Posted by LDB

The rules are annoying and certain parts of them need revision but they are there because a certain percentage of the population is too selfish to do the right thing and must be bound by rules.

Leo, I have to say that I'm surprised by your views on the above, having heard your views on other laws. The same could be said for ANY laws.. they exist because a certain, perhaps small, percentage of the people won't do the right thing on their own, without 'laws' in place.
Same can be said for anything, gun controls, speed limiters, no smoking in the car with children, seatbelts, etc.
Either you're 'for' government intervention, or you're not. All laws are only there to save us from ourselves.

[Moot]

The root of every problem facing expediters today is the van. Vans steal loads from trucks. Vans criss-cross the country unencumbered by H.O.S. regulations, weight restrictions, truck only speed limits, fuel taxes and unwritten laws of common courtesy.

These vans are owned and piloted by ignorant, filthy people who walk with a slight forward stoop and have bumps and gashes on their heads. Most are retired and don't care how much money they lose. They wouldn't know a P & L statement from a wheel chock. Their only goal in life is the complete downfall of the expedite industry.

Today's van is a direct descendant of the panel truck. Modern vans are used by electricians to haul volts and amperes, plumbers to carry plums and by carpenters to ferry carpet. Young hippie kids that have bought into the "Made In America" campaign have foregone the VW Microbus and have chosen a full size van. These hippie types troll our back roads; seducing our mothers, daughters and girlfriends and leaving in their wake pot smoking zombies. Why else would reality shows be so popular.

Vans are also the vehicle of choice for pedophiles. Perverts ply urban streets offering candy, pizza rolls and hand puppets to entice youngsters to go for a "ride".

The above mentioned people need vans. Expediters don't! If you want to be an expediter get yourself a truck. Not some candyass van with power steering, automatic transmission and only four wheels.

Most shippers don't like to see a van show up at their dock. How embarrassing. They would rather pay higher rates to have a real truck haul their under 2500# loads.

If you want to make a positive impact on your bottom line then we must unite and do away with the van. Once the "B" load has gone the way of the "A" load all trucks will have the opportunity to haul these .80/mile offerings which we so desperately need.

Come this November you can vote for the candidate of change. You can make a difference! You can help change the face of expediting and its structure. Or you can vote for more of the same.

The last 8 years brought us tax cuts. One in particular, the so called SUV tax break, allowed many people to purchase cargo vans. Your government subsidized van owners allowing them to steal your freight, seduce your women, molest your children, plumb your plums and completely destroy the expedite industry.

Please join with me and help BAN THE VAN. Also, say no to drugs, personal responsibility, 60 grit toilet paper, cheap freight, strangers offering luggage at airports and loud pipes.

Thank you and remember, you can make a difference.

BAN THE VAN

[highway star]

Originally Posted by dhalltoyo

FYI, for those who seem so interested in my personal life....

The tone of that statement suggests that you're annoyed by people discussing what you've posted. If that's the case, why post it in the first place?

You mentioned a couple of times that you told headquarters that you were going to bed, but you didn't say anything about telling them when you would be available again. Did you? If not, then the load offer was appropriate. Many would have had no problem taking it, myself included.

[ATeam]

Originally Posted by pjjjjj

Leo, I have to say that I'm surprised by your views on the above, having heard your views on other laws. The same could be said for ANY laws.. they exist because a certain, perhaps small, percentage of the people won't do the right thing on their own, without 'laws' in place.
Same can be said for anything, gun controls, speed limiters, no smoking in the car with children, seatbelts, etc.
Either you're 'for' government intervention, or you're not. All laws are only there to save us from ourselves.

Having worked both outside and inside government, and having worked personally with a number of state and federal lawmakers, governors and candidates for public office, I have observed that the people who have the power to make laws tend to pass laws that apply more to others than apply to themselves, and make exceptions that tend to apply more to themselves than apply to others.

A recent example is the California Air Resources Board leveling steep fines on trucks that do not have the "legal" sticker on the engine. CARB could just as easily impound the truck or put it out of service until it is compliant. But they level steep fines instead, because the fines are a major revenue source for that agency and its cause. While their cause may be noble and their intentions are good, they go about it in a way that enriches their agency and adds to their power. It is a classic Animal Farm dynamic in which the reformers become the oppressors.

[greg334]

Originally Posted by ATeam

A recent example is the California Air Resources Board leveling steep fines on trucks that do not have the "legal" sticker on the engine. CARB could just as easily impound the truck or put it out of service until it is compliant. But they level steep fines instead, because the fines are a major revenue source for that agency and its cause. While their cause may be noble and their intentions are good, they go about it in a way that enriches their agency and adds to their power. It is a classic Animal Farm dynamic in which the reformers become the oppressors.

Bad example Phil, CARB is enforcing the laws of its state and the federal government laws that states that any sticker, plaque or card on any emission regulated engine must remain on the engine and readable. These laws are there for a specific purpose, has nothing to do with trying to get money or anything like that. The enforcement of the laws may be overzealous at times, but not in this case, I think the CHP was right and the OOIDA was wrong.

Not a biggie for about 95% of the trucks out there, the 5% of the trucks, it is. Some who have worked on their truck or had it worked on and may have ripped it off or worst yet a rebuild who pools the parts together never kept the original emissions sticker with the original engine block. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, you own the thing, the law has been clear and it is federal.

If you didn’t know, the law has been on the books for the last 40 years. The CARB thing has to do with power of the state over the federal government laws; the Federal EPA issue has to do with strict politics…. You know that.

I am with Moot, ban the van!

[pjjjjj]

Originally Posted by ATeam

I have observed that the people who have the power to make laws tend to pass laws that apply more to others than apply to themselves, and make exceptions that tend to apply more to themselves than apply to others.

Something about that, just made me laugh. People are just such people, no matter who they are.

[mcclain]

Set the negatives to the side.

Focus on progress and postives.

It is through that 2nd second you will wipe away the negatives, debts, etc...............

[dhalltoyo]

The QC tracks my movement, showing initial availibilty (start time), load acceptance, arrival at the shipper, departure from the shipper, route movement, arrival at the consignee and delivery.

If you have ever looked at the computer generated screen of QC tracking, it is a line of successive marker icons that are so linked they resemble a straight line. Very high tech stuff. Have you ever seen one?

Moreover, as previously stated, the dispatchers see all of that information when they key up the unit for a potential load offer. The last message appears first; hence, if they see the start time and my last message it should not require a quantum leap in mathmatical abilities to determine that I could not safely run the load. If I have to start doing the math as well...I want more money.

And vanners, do not be fooled into thinking you can run as many hours as you choose to run. A sharp DOT officer will, and they have, ask to see your QC. He can easy determine how many hours you have been behind the wheel. And yes, you, and the carrier, can both be fined!

If you want to run illegally or outside the parameters of sound and safe judgment...help yourself. Maybe that is the dog eat dog mindset mentioned earlier on. Woof! Woof! Bark! Bark!

And since you seem to think it important, otherwise..why bring it up...my comment regarding my personal life was in response to the attempted "dig" regarding my purchase of several trucks and my transition to a different carrier. I never interjected that into the original discussion.

The only thing that annoys me is when my lovely wife leaves open the kitchen cabinet doors and I bump my head on them. She is only 5"4" and I am 6'4". Ouch!

You have a great weekend! I have to marinate a roast for the grill so it will be ready after church tomorrow.

[TimeBandit]

Originally Posted by OntarioVanMan

My point Leo...was as a solo by his own schedule he didn't go to sleep as soon as possible and wasted an opportunity...as a solo and being what it is out here...and knowing we are 24/7 it's no time to ummm kill time flagerantly

Excuse me OVM. But aren't you the fool that was bragging about having your wife signed on as a team partner a while back and got busted for not having her in the truck with you? I heard you were taking 700 mile loads away from good qualified solo drivers and you were bragging about it. Shame on you for behaving like this.

[TimeBandit]

Originally Posted by OntarioVanMan

Leo...this is the Van segment...its a dog eat dog world down here...it much different then your world...if you want proper sleep and proper diet...it is very hard to have the best of both worlds AND make a living at it as Dave has so strongly advocated many a time. It is unfortunate that we SOMEtimes have to push ourselves...David is trying to play by a clean set of rules and struggling at it...I commend him for that part of his effort. BUT I'll not coddle him for his choices on how he chooses to run...and I will be the first to point out the other side of the coin...

Look kids. This is the wonderful world of expediting. You don't have the luxury of sleeping on this job. I pulled 2600 miles in three days before. Why? It's simple. You have to bust *** and hustle while you are on a winning streak. Because that lull in freight or "unlucky cycle" is going to find you eventually. When you are running consistant, do everything that you can to keep the loads. If that means you have to sacrifice sleep for a few days at a time, then so be it. Just get yourself a nice hotel room once your money has been made. Stop sniveling like little girls and man up to the new challenges in the world of expediting.

[highway star]

Originally Posted by dhalltoyo

And vanners, do not be fooled into thinking you can run as many hours as you choose to run. A sharp DOT officer will, and they have, ask to see your QC. He can easy determine how many hours you have been behind the wheel. And yes, you, and the carrier, can both be fined!




And since you seem to think it important, otherwise..why bring it up...my comment regarding my personal life was in response to the attempted "dig" regarding my purchase of several trucks and my transition to a different carrier. I never interjected that into the original discussion.

And what would the fines be for? Vans aren't subject to HOS. Can you cite a specific example of a vanner being busted for HOS violations?

And the "dig" came from personal info that you've put out there. Like I said, if you don't want people discussing it, don't put it out there.

[x06col]

This last post makes more sense there bud. Y'all remember, dispatchers OR customers like nothing more than to hear "YES" on the other end of the line when looking fo a truck. Keeps your phone ringing. Course da price gotta be right, and not a stewpid demand from the truck.

[dhalltoyo]

And like I said, I really don't care..but I will respond to innuendo.

Nuff said. Let's move on to helping those who choose to operate legally. Uh, you do remember the law, don't you?

It has nothing to do with HOS regs.

It has everything to do with the officer determining if you are fit to drive.

The provision falls under Reckless Operation:


(2) No person may endanger the safety of any person or property by the negligent operation of a vehicle.

I was hoping the driver who was cited would post regarding his experience.

But if you have any doubts just ask a DOT officer, or any police officer for that matter, what they would do if they pulled you for weaving, or left-of-center, or erratically speeding up then slowing down(common during fatigue) and they looked at the QC and determined that you had been driving for 16 hours.

Here is memo posted to a Police Officer's web site.

When tired, a driver will have a hard time concentrating on your driving. This should be no great revelation. When we are tired, we have a hard time concentrating on anything we do. Moving in a 4500 pound object going 60 feet a second (40 MPH) is not a time to have a lapse in concentration.

When fatigued, we tend to take more risks. Drivers may do things while fatigued they would never think of doing when well-rested. Simply put - fatigue dulls the mind.

When tired, drivers have a tough time keeping their cars in the proper lane. They may weave and appear drunk, but they're not. They're just very tired. The results are the same though; it's a dangerous, accident-producing situation. A fatigued driver often speeds up and slows down erratically.

If a fatigued driver ignores these early warning signals and continues to drive, vision deteriorates and it gradually becomes very difficult to see. Attention focuses forward. The driver will begin to miss signals of signs in the peripheral vision area. In other words, the driver develops "tunnel vision." If a driver does not have peripheral vision they will have a difficult time seeing cars coming from an intersection. This accounts, in part, for many of the accidents that occur near the end of a long shift.

Many of the time honored cures for fatigue simply won't work, like drinking coffee to stay awake is only a stopgap, temporary measure. The caffeine can bring you up fast, but as the kidneys eliminate it from the body, it will also bring a person down-fast. The solution to fatigue is rest. (Gee, there's a novel idea)


REACTION TIME
Without a doubt the biggest problem fatigue can create is it's the affect on reaction time. Due to fatigue, there can be as much as a half second added to the time it takes to react to an emergency. That may not sound like much but at 60 MPH a half second delay in reacting to an incident is 45 feet, and at 40 mph a half a second is 30 feet. That could be the difference between the scenario being an emergency and not being an emergency.


"So often our safety message focuses on drunk driving or the importance of wearing seat belts. Both of these are extremely important," Illinois State Police Director Sam W. Nolen said, "but motorists should also obey other traffic laws. Think of how many lives could be saved if everyone obeyed traffic laws."

And to that I'll add, "Or just used common sense."

[x06col]

Chappy, maybe you should look into getting into the biz of police work, then you could add Cop to your love me line.

[dhalltoyo]

If you mean Police Officer, I'd be proud to serve my local, state or federal governments.

But that is not my calling.

As a Christian and a citizen of this great nation I am compelled to abide by its laws.

But you make a great case for the behavioral problems so prevalent today. You know, when the kids were riding in the back and looking over the seat at the speedo and one of them says, "Dad, the sign says 65mph, but you are driving at 75mph." And then comes the justification, "When son, they allow cars to go over the posted limit by such and such before they will ticket you." What did we just teach them?

rebel

n. [L. rebellis]

1. One who revolts from the government to which he owes allegiance, either by openly renouncing the authority of that government, or by openly opposing it. A rebel differs from an enemy, as the latter is one who does not owe allegiance to the government which he attacks. Num. 17.


2. One who willfully violates a law.