I got this today from a big transport company we occasionally use. It does not really concern us because we do not send or get anything from US, but apart from the introduction of “electronic logging devices”, which at first I thought was some sort of computerised chainsaw , then realised it was probably a tachograph , the next 2 problems could have come out of the UK.
Dear Customer,
The US trucking industry is facing serious challenges at the moment, primarily we are dealing with the following:
New regulations requiring commercial trucks to be equipped with electronic logging devices (ELD);
Severe winter weather in specific markets which slow down deliveries and further reduce the inventory of chassis, drivers and truck capacity;
Fewer drivers in the market. The reduced availability of drivers impacts the ability of our vendors to take care of all of the work orders that has to be managed on a daily basis.
I find the whole thing hilarious
I have been using elogs for 8 years now, they are the best thing to happen to driving over here. All these protests from idiots who can’t see that each and every protest tells the authorities “Hey ! We can’t work legally”
I have never know such a bunch of total twonks. One food distribution company has complained that it now takes their drivers 3 days to do a run that took 2 days before the ELD’s came into force. I point out to every post on various forums that they are wasting there time and alerting DOT that they are not going to get the law overturned and each protest is a joke, all I get back is “Why don’t you just go back to England ?”
When I was first told I had to go on them I said I was not happy, just as many years ago when tachographs first came into law I said I wasn’t going to but we had to and the same story goes over here. I find elogs a great help, I don’t have to drive over the hours and as I have pointed out to all these others it actually helps creating various different forms of rest periods, for instance when a driver wants to split his daily rest into two periods it works out exactly what you have to do the next day, it even lets a driver take 2 x 8 hour breaks in a row, which is dam hard to work out in your mind and you can seriously commit an offence.
manski:
So it’s not just an adapted version of our tachos then ? And nothing to do with cutting trees down either ?
overdriveonline.com/e-log-m … sa-friday/
I`m sure Pat will give an answer later, but look at the comments after this article. As said many moaning about not making the job pay etc. But some others pointing out that their widespread system of paying per mile not per hour is none too friendly to drivers.
Conor:
Its quite funny given it is pretty much them making an admission that the only reason they manage to currently do the work is by breaking the law.
I’ve been following this for months now and it’s hilarious - every single time a driver or operator bleats that they can no longer make it pay they’re implicitly admitting they’ve only done so thus far by fiddling. Their owner driver’s union, OOIDA, is campaigning for small operators to have special exemptions on the the grounds that…er…um…er…yeah.
I have a good friend over there who has sworn blind she’s running compliant for the whole decade or more that I’ve known her. She got an e-log fitted in her motor the other day. Oh dear.
manski:
Thanks for the link, interesting. Yes, I suspect the resisters will be a bit like Canute and the tide, it still came in
Canute (AKA ■■■■■■■■■■■s one for dyslexics) had a bad press of course. He didnt actually believe he could turn back the tide, he was against those courtiers who were representing him as a demi-god and fawning over him. Some world leaders would do well to learn from him, instead of surrounding themselves with sycophants and toadies.
Im sure Pat and some others working in the US will say more about whats happening there. Here`s anther link to the Ex Pat dicussion. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=150442
EDIT it seems the auto-censor doesn`t like the Norse spelling of …!
Steve-o:
On the topic of American trucking, what is this I hear about paying delivery point “lumpers” to unload the stuff?
Lumpers are nothing less than extortionate criminals and the US truck driver has to put up with them. I have caused a lot of trouble in the years gone by when I have refused to pay them.
Here’s how it works… You arrive at a distribution centre similar to Tesco or Asda back home, when you arrive they will either ask you if you need a lumper (someone to unload your trailer) or are you going to unload it yourself, you will be changed an extortionate fee to have some guys unload the trailer for you, it can run from $100 to $700. On my first trucking company I got into some real arguments about paying. At one company in Newburgh NY (C & S) I arrived and was asked if I needed a lumper, I had now worked in the job for about 6 months and was used to paying about $250 under protest but my company told me to always pay up then claim the refund, they even gave us a float with which to pay, this particular night I was on a bay with 24 pallets to take off and was told to pay $450, I refused so was told to move to another bay where I could unload myself, when I moved I asked to use an electric pallet truck and they asked to see my permit ? As I didn’t have one they then said I could get one of their workers to drive it for … $450. I refused and went to the office, “Can I just see my paperwork ?” I asked.
The girl asked why as she passed it to me, “Because I am leaving, if you want the stuff take it off, as you don’t want it I am going” I pulled off the bay and drove to the gate, the security guy stopped me and asked me to go to the phone to talk to the manager who told me to go to a bay on the shipping side of the building where they unloaded it for nothing. Next day I was sent there again with an identical load but was only charged $150, when I asked why it was much less I was told it was they remember the trouble I had caused before, just shows what a scam it is.
It’s the same nationwide and drivers put up with it, luckily now I drive a tanker I never need to pay to get unloaded.
Lucy:
I’ve been following this for months now and it’s hilarious - every single time a driver or operator bleats that they can no longer make it pay they’re implicitly admitting they’ve only done so thus far by fiddling. Their owner driver’s union, OOIDA, is campaigning for small operators to have special exemptions on the the grounds that…er…um…er…yeah.
I have a good friend over there who has sworn blind she’s running compliant for the whole decade or more that I’ve known her. She got an e-log fitted in her motor the other day. Oh dear.
I find the whole thing so funny Lucy, I can’t get through to these idiots that every time they say they can’t do the job anymore they are putting the spotlight on themselves. I know a guy who owns 4 trucks and employs 4 drivers obviously, he has had at least 2 quit over the elogs, “Nobody is going to tell me where I am going to stop for the night” is the usual reaction. One woman driver has commented about me spending the night at a truck stop only 40 miles away from home and why would I even do that ? Well it’s because I am not going to risk my life or the life of some innocent person, as it happens when I park at that truck stop my wife usually drives out to have dinner with me anyway.
, then realised it was probably a tachograph 
, the next 2 problems could have come out of the UK.
