More on Mexican Trucks........Immediate Action Needed

04/13/2011

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    My daddy always told me not to bring a knife to a gun fight. Well, one person has. I will debunk him, and tell you how to take action to upset him more. Mexican trucks coming across the border is not safe, period. "Mexico Trucker", whom I believe works for Easo Grupo in Mexico (Easo was owned by M.S. Carriers, whom everyone knows was bought out by Swift), has went on all out rants against anyone who doesn't want them in the U.S. I have no solid proof towards this, but it's a good guess considering how much the big companies have to gain from Mexican trucks coming across.
    He's accused The Teamsters, OOIDA, and I, among others of what would come down to fear mongering. Well, here, I will show you the realistic facts to show where the fear is based, and entirely correct to have. I will also tell you what to do to try and stop this.
I think the Teamsters summed up best, opening the borders is dumb! They are adamant against this, as is many others. I've been in contact with the Teamsters and Ms. Taylor at OOIDA regarding this. We need to be as united as possible with these matters, and I have no issue extending my support to them to get what needs to get done done.
    What YOU need to know!
        1. Illegal immigration would increase through human smuggling:
           A. Border Wars on the National Geographic Channel
           B. The Library Index
           C. Newsmax
           D. Breit Bart
           E. One Old Vet
        2. The cartels are a major issue. They will only get more powerful if the                           borders open for Mexican trucks to come over. That is just a given. They are              already starting to  take over stateside. Now, "Mexico trucker" is claiming the              Cartels being unsafe for regular people is just horse wash. Please decide               for yourself with the following links:
           A. CBS DFW
           B. John R. Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, on Fox News
           C. Mexican Army soldiers decapitated by the Cartels
           D. Cartel kidnappings in AMERICA
           E. Cartel Mass Grave
        3. Primarily, most large amounts of drugs moving into the U.S. is moved by the             Mexican Cartels via semis. Please note; American truckers do not go into                 Mexico. Mexican trucks can enter our country however due to the cross-                      border forwarding companies. This being said, it would come as no shock                 that illegal drug smuggling would almost certainly increase:
           A. U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center
           B. USA Today
           C. The Truckers Report
           D. Los Angeles Times
           E. RGJ
        4. The border patrol has been in dire need of funds and manpower for years.                 (Yes, Mexico Trucker, they are one in the same, which shows what credence              to the truth you have,  and are tied into homeland security.) As they continue              to struggle financially, they will need to step up with more enforcement at                  the borders in order to maintain control:
           A. CNS News
           B. Info Wars
           C. New Mexico Independent
           D. Friends of the Border Patrol
           E. My Fox Austin
        5. Although reports are conflicting, all reports on the border plan to allow                          Mexican trucks to come over in compliance of NAFTA, have stated the U.S.                  tax payers will be paying for the Mexican trucks to be compliant. Yet, you                      won't be paying for the American trucks. Why should we continue giving                     money to help the Mexicans when our people need help?
           A. $60 billion estimated that illegals make in our country a year
           B. Total annual costs of illegals is estimated at over $1 billion
           C. Using the Highway Trust Fund, Mexican trucks will be replacing old                             exhaust with new catalytic converters, at the cost of $1,600 per truck
           D. $4.3 million will be given for Electronic On Board Recorders to Mexican                     trucks.
           E. This on top of the amount spent during the last pilot program for EOBR's,                 and the  cost we will be paying to keep them running.
    Now, if you've clicked on all the links for my five major arguing points, your blood may be boiling already, and you may be vehemently against Mexican trucks based on safety issues. I know I have been voicing my dismay about Mexican trucks, and so has Sandy Long. Another issue is jobs. There are just no solid figures yet to properly project this concern. But here's the clencher. It says nothing about ensuring these drivers will be proficient at English. Federal DOT and CSA requirements state that drivers must be proficient in English to be able operate a commercial motor vehicle in this country. The UT P.O.E. shut a driver down for the inability to do so just yesterday, according to Brian Rogers.
    What can you do? Continue being my 100 volunteers, but expand in a huge way. The actual docket hit the Federal Register TODAY! Unlike most amendments, we only have 30 days to respond. It's easy to comment, and doesn't take much time. Please, go here, and comment that we don't want Mexican trucks, and that NAFTA needs to be rewritten! Remind them we pay the taxes, and we vote!
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I Need 100 Volunteers, Part 1: Mexican Trucks

04/09/2011

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The ATA supports it, the democratics support it, no one that's bureaucratic seems to see the issue at hand. Let me outline some stuff!
1. There is not a driver shortage. Whoever is trying to push these brainwashed untruths need to stop listening to one or two sources. There is a shortage of qualified, professional drivers. There is no shortage of those who are a danger to everyone out on the road. Just ask the drivers out here every day.
2. In this economy, forwarders and American freight being ran by American truckers will help this economy. We already have Canadian truckers hauling freight, we don't need another country in the mix as well.
3. The public safety is at risk with this one.
    A. There is a MAJOR cartel issue in the border states. These cartels grow   
         stronger daily, and     sneakier. How are we to keep them from completely    
         taking over if we open the borders to all. Mexican trucks? In short, we can't                  ensure it.
    B. There is an illegal immigration issue. True, the drivers in Mexico honestly                  make more per mile than American truckers. The issue here is there's no                  guarantee that once upon entering, these drivers would actually exit.
    C. Our border patrol is overwhelmed as is. With no money going into the system,          they can't afford to hire even more agents more. This means more stuff would          get past the screening areas and into the U.S.
4. Apparently, the American taxpayer should foot the bill for the EOBR's (electronic on board recorders). That's right, you will pay to ensure they drive in your country legally. Uncle Sam, we already pay for all of Mexico's illegal immigrants to live off of welfare while they funnel millions, if not billions, back to Mexico, every year. Please, quit making us pay for their country!
5. I remember the last time they did the cross border program with Mexico, I lived in Texas. CMV "at fault" accidents sky rocketed. Why?
    A. They brought over the best trucks Mexico across the border for the pilot                      program. Once they opened the border to a total of 100 outfits, the trucks were          scary and unsafe.
    B. Unlike Canada, there is no structured method for HOS (hours of service). The          truck crossing into the U.S. border could've driven 4 hours straight before                  entering or 40, there's no way of knowing.
6. The Federal DOT and CSA both have laws stating you must be proficient at the English language to drive a CMV in the United States. There's enough drivers out here breaking that law due to lack of enforcement. Do we need even more?

In short, this doesn't need to happen. This is to avoid tariffs. Politicians, please be aware there are tariffs due to the facts you are making the taxes so high that the companies are taking the American jobs to other countries. Why don't we get rid of NAFTA altogether and bring the American jobs back?

What you 100 can do (you don't have to be a trucker to be part of the 100):
1. Call every politician, even your mayors.
2. Email every politician, even your mayor.
3. Write (snail mail) ever politician, even your mayor.
4. Get all your friends (even your pet if he can legally write) to do the same.
5. Start a petition in your town. Sit in front of your grocery store, or bring it to your church.

One way or another, get as many people to tell the politicians that the American people don't want this!

Thank you in advance for your efforts! Till next time..............

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Ray LaHood, Please Listen to Us on the Training Issue!

03/27/2011

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Mr. LaHood,
It is time for you to wake up, smell the roses, and see the light. See, the darkness of blinding yourself with non-issues and coming up with more regulations so you can pass your rail initiative (I still pay attention) needs to come to a very abrupt halt!
The single most dire safety issue facing the trucking industry lies in improper schooling and training by companies. CRST turned a fan of trucking that follows me into a trucker. The method is as follows for him:
1. Ignore that he's on medications for his heart problems that cause drowsiness and are illegal for CDL holders to take by DOT standards.
2. Having him complete two weeks of truck driving school at Kirkwood Community College. Kirkwood failed him at his first driving test because he stalled out at a 4-way stop sign with traffic behind him, so he was impeding traffic. The very next day, same stall at same stop sign, but since there was no one behind him he passed.
3. Next up was 28 days of training, most of which were spent running as a team operation.

No one can be properly trained while their trainer is sleeping in the bunk. But, it happens all the time. More incidents:
1. In Omaha, NE, Lou had to lay on the horn while a trainee for C.R. England came all the way over, while we were right next to him. He corrected while no more than 2 inches off our mirror, than almost took off our hood while changing lanes with no turn signal. The instructor abruptly woke up and jumped in the passenger's seat, while I was on the phone with State Patrol and C. R. England. The trainee moved to another truck, and the trainer was no longer training others.
2. While reading my Facebook time line, I see a Werner trainer constantly belittling the little mistakes his trainee is making. Find out that he, as the trainer, is sleeping in the bunk while the trainee is driving. They are running like a team operation, like what he was told to do. I told him if that's what he believes training is, to respectably quit training!
3. Look on YouTube for Donner fatality. A fatality on Donner pass by a trainee. Where was the trainer? You guessed it! Sleeping!!!

I read a lot of trainers' post and constantly shake my head. Training is a hard thing to do, especially when the trainers were just trainees and have no real time experience. The first thing to do to your trainee is not take him on the hardest passes to drive, and have them driving immediately. You should be driving, letting him see you, and explaining things, while he/she asks questions and gets educated on what the job is about. They learn nothing if they don't have a qualified trainer.
Big companies shoving people who can't pass a driver's test, who need more schooling, or should not be behind the wheel for any other reasons deemable by DOT standards, shouldn't be lured by these companies into a job just to get another lease truck out. They should ensure their trainees are provided with adequate training. The vicious cycle of trainee to trainer is a must stop. Here's Timothy Brady of Truckersu.com's standpoint, which I fully agree with:
TruckersU.com My recommendation for restructuring Truck Driver Training. The first step to improving highway safety from the trucking side of the issue is: 6 months classroom and trucking course with at least 240 hours of behind the wheel instruction.

6 ...months with a qualified "licensed" driver trainer (5 years 500,000 miles driving experience with no accidents and no more than 3 points on their CDL DMV report plus completing a course and exam to be a "Licensed" Driver Trainer). The driver trainer must always be in the right seat awake, observing and instructing the trainee. Under no circumstances can a driver trainer be in the sleeper while the trainee is driving.

At the end of the six months with the driver trainer the apprentice trucker must be able to blind side back a truck to a dock in under 5 minutes plus other on the road and tight quarter skills and be accident and ticket free to get their CDL.

It is past time for this entire industry to throw aside the gloves, put aside the differences, and unite! Please, take some time to say hi to Ray LaHood and tell him to get this done!

Ray LaHood
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000

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Time for Unity! Enough is Enough! Time to show the FMCSA we mean business........letter writers commence

02/03/2011

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This industry has to listen to, and adhere to, an at best shady governmental group. Scratch that, groups. The first group is the FMCSA. They are awesome at cooking documents, tests, polls, and results to put them in their favor. They also have been recorded taking bribes. This isn't the only stuff they've done in my opinion. (For more information on what they've done, please read the article on this link, and other articles on themThey would rather spend money replacing the world's street signs than take care of the tru. e issues in trucking. The federal DOT is hand in hand with the FMCSA. They are totally disorganized. The federal DOT and state DOT's have got things so mixed up as far as laws that you don't know whether to come or go. Oversized? Don't run your strobes if you have an escort in California. It's an automatic OOS, according to the Banning scale. Yet, every other state requires it. (Don't run your 4-ways in California either.) Utah won't allow jaking in the SLC area due to a golf course. Real safe! These are a few of the things that make me scratch my head daily. We need one set of federal laws carried out throughout all the states, and all the old, past-dated rules to be taken out of the books. We also need all weigh stations to be formatted the same. A lot of drivers get confused for the lights are different, the signs are different, etc. We also need total government transparency! Something for us to understand better and make it where there is no confusion. Do to President Reagan being a smart man, the government has to really act up before we can do a strike. A strike would then turn the general public against our plight due to the damage it would do to them. So, we will write! We will email! We will call! This is our first forceful baby step for forceful baby steps get heard, and forceful baby steps start a stampede!

Here is an example of the letter to send. (If you do your own please keep in mind to sound intelligent, professional, and nice! DO NOT go in their sounding like a super trucker! They won't listen to you cuss, demand, sound narcissistic, etc)

Dear Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator _____________________________,

Hello, my name is _________________________. I will first apologize for taking up your time, but there is a huge issue bothering me. I am concerned for my future, my friends' futures, my family's future. I am hoping you will read my letter and help our industry with the action needed.

I have read the recent issues with the FMCSA and DOT. I am highly concerned. I am part of the trucking industry and everything they decide affects not only me, but my friends, and everyone who lives in the country, for we haul most of the goods everyone needs.

We are asking for a congressional and senatorial review of the entire FMCSA and federal DOT. If the FMCSA is constantly under scrutiny, I do not believe they should be making laws and determining how we should live. This is a group of law makers who do not understand trucking, and haven't been out here year after year. They also refuse to listen to those with experience. How can you honestly make laws concerning something you know nothing about? It would be the same as me telling an astronaut how to fly a rocket; it just wouldn't work. Next, the federal DOT has their own rules, and then every state DOT has their own rules. We need a set of rules for the entirety instead of the guessing game for every state. It would be helpful to have all the scale houses/weight stations to be made the same. Find a time efficient way, and make it nationwide. Also, there are a lot of rules that have been around since the start of trucking (like white sheets in trucks due to exhaust leaks in the old trucks) that are wasting time in the books. We would also like transparency from the FMCSA and DOT. We want to know what our government is thinking when it comes down to our livelihoods.

Please help us get a congressional and senatorial review of the FMCSA and DOT. It is needed for all of us to be able to work more efficiently together. Thank you for your time, patience, and understanding.

Sincerely,

(signature)

(printed name)

(phone number)

(address)

(email address)

This is just an example letter to help people see how to write this more effectively. Please, even if you aren't a driver, a co-pilot, a trucking wife, etc get involved. Canadians, you're driving here and can send letters also. I will comment momentarily all the names and addresses.

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