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Interesting info. This is the kind of rules-impact info I have been hoping to learn as the new rules take hold. Where did this info come from, Turtle?

OVM, you are fond of stating and restating this view and it is not entirely incorrect, but I hope you leave me and Diane out of it when you make such utterances. I once dedicated ten years of full time effort to political activism, and with no small effect. We fought city hall and won, and...

It has been several months since you introduced Diane and me to this three-volume audio book series. Again I thank you, EASYTRADER. This series has provided hundreds of hours of driving companionship while Diane sleeps and the mile markers stream by. It is especially fun to listen when driving...

Whether it is with kicking and screaming or by easy embrace, all drivers who wish to remain in compliance with the law will have to figure out how to make it work. I've never been one to believe that you can't fight city hall, but this is a case, for now at least, where city hall won.

As others have indicated, paying for fuel on a 60/40 split can work out to your advantage if: 1. The full fuel surcharge paid by the carrier is passed through to you (fleet owner takes no cut). 2. The truck is in good repair and gets reasonably good fuel mileage. 3. The truck is equipped with...

I doubt that it would do any good to tell these big-rig bullies this, but the harm they do is serious and long lasting. People remember it when they are terrified or outraged, and that is a common response when a big rig rides the bumper of a four-wheeler trying to bully the four-wheeler out of...

Not unlike a family situation where the man who is about marry your daughter looks good on the surface and you welcome to the family because you are hoping for the best and it is the polite thing to do; and you want to get off to a good start and on the right foot. But as time passes, his flaws...

Now that is impressive; a true case of turning lemons into lemonade. If you turn this new behavior into a habit by doing it again and again, and you see your physical fitness improve, that is huge. The impressive part about this is the NEW behavior that is positive for you. That said, the 30...

That's one of the challenges in this ongoing debate. The general public does not know what it is like to live and work on the road. So, when they hear about time off in trucking, they relate it to what they know about time off from their work, but the two are anything but the same. Expediitng...

Just saying what, exactly? What do the topics you bring up have to do with Hours of Service?

The letter presumes that the mentioned effects will in fact happen. We do not know that yet. We have to wait to see how it all plays out. I know of no companies that have raised their rates because of the new HOS rules. I have seen no congestion due to the new rules. I saw notice of a price...

As we discuss and complain about the new rules (and I have done my share of complaining) an important point must not be lost. That is, if you are tired, it is your duty and responsibility, to yourself and others, to stop and sleep. It does not matter if you are loaded or not. It does not...

The other night, Diane was forced by the new rules to stop the truck for 30 minutes to take the required 30 minute break. She did not want a break. She did not need a break. She would not have taken a break if the new rules did not force her to. The result was that we arrived at the delivery...

If I remember correctly, the example that was cited was that of a cargo van that got an expedited two-skid load, with the two skids comming off a larger LTL or TL shipment. It happened because, under the new HOS rules, the LTL or TL truck could not get the full shipment to the consignee in time...

While we many not have access to them, the numbers certainly do exist. Every expediting carrier knows on any given day how many vans, straight trucks and big rigs it has in the fleet. I cannot imagine a carrier not retaining such information to be looked at over the years. To some extent, I...

A steady decline for straight trucks? I'm not saying you are wrong, but do you have data to back that up, like maybe truck counts in expedite fleets before and after "3 plus CV's" were introduced? I can see where a driver of such a van would be predisposed to believe such a thing, but what data...

I don't know about a boon for cargo vans, but it is certainly reasonable to expect some loads to come off straight trucks and go onto cargo vans because of the productivty decline the new HOS force onto straight trucks. I believe one example of this very thing has already been posted in the Open...

Mexico and the Eastern European coutnries seem to be popular recuriting grounds these days.

There are pros and cons to both the expediting business and the more traditional businesses that allow you to go home every night, but there is a profound difference between the two that sets expediting apart. That is the freedom we have as expediters to take time off whenever, wherever and...

Note that once you begin a restart period, there is nothing that says you cannot abandon it. If a reason rises for you to drive, and if you have enough hours remaining to do the driving you want, you can do so. You just won't get the restart you originally intended to get. Our restart strategy...