[Rebels1972] truckers

[machen2081 at bellsouth.net]

Fred,
The only way they can make acceptable money is to speed?  Putting hundreds 
of thousands of lives at risk every day on the road including their 
own----for them to make some money?
Yea they're speeding all right---with the crap that they are ingesting in a 
pill form.

I was a hemodialysis RN for 27 years and I can't begin to tell you the 
number of truckers that I have dialyzed over this period of time because of 
their long term drug abuse. This group was the hardest group to work with 
due to their non-compliance, disrespect for authority figures and continued 
drug abuse.

No Fred, I wouldn't get behind a wheel and speed just to increase my 
earnings.. I'm just not made that way.  I have respect for human life. 
Period.

Transport the goods via railroad. Utilize as few trucks as possible.  As for 
me, I'm sick of their attitudes---they don't own the roads!

You're right about one thing---one bad apple spoils the whole bunch---this 
goes for everything in life

Susan


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Atkinson" <fatkinson at mishmash.com>
To: <rebels1972 at mishmash.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Rebels1972] truckers


> Yes, Susan,
>
>     There is drug testing before they can even drive.  And they are 
> subject to surprised, unannounced drug testing, too.  I've been tested a 
> number of times, myself, all negative.
>
>     Well, you'd probably speed too if you were economically enslaved and 
> the only way to make acceptable money was to speed.  Don't you think we 
> could change the law to fix that?
>
>     I've been around the truck drivers.  Mostly, they are good people 
> trying to make a living.  And remember, it only takes one or two negative 
> folks in a stereotyped group (ah, that word) to make a lot of good people 
> look bad.
>
>     We live lifestyles that we'd never live if these folks didn't do this 
> work for us.  Remember that.  When we pass laws guaranteeing wages, we 
> exempt them from the same laws we make to protect ourselves.
>
>     Regards,
>
>
>
>                                             Fred
>
>
> --- tech450 at gmail.com wrote:
>
> From: "Rick Peek" <tech450 at gmail.com>
> To: "Sansom Class of 1972" <rebels1972 at mishmash.net>
> Subject: Re: [Rebels1972] truckers
> Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:13:55 -0500
>
> Hey Susan,
> My sentiments on truckers are with you also. Driving from Gadsden to B'ham
> on the interstate for 8 years, all my dealings with truckers have been
> negative also. I have been run off the road several times myself and have
> seen them cause numerous accidents, some of which I barely missed being in
> myself. I have hit debris many times that was left in the road by truckers
> and almost made me wreck and once hit some scrap metal that fell off a 
> truck
> and shredded my new tires and almost made me wreck. I have also had my
> winsheild cracked and paint knocked off by flying rocks that fell off
> trucks. I'm on your side.
>
> Rick P.
>
>
> On 6/15/06, machen2081 at bellsouth.net <machen2081 at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> Ah Fred,
>> I read and re-read your article with great interest.  I wonder why you
>> would put so much time and energy into such an article.
>>
>> You see truck drivers really strike a chord with me and I'll tell you 
>> why.
>> I'm sure there are many great truck drivers on the road with a safe
>> driving
>> record. I haven't met many. You stated that people feel anger towards
>> truck
>> drivers because of the manner in which they drive on the open
>> highway.  You
>> are so correct.   My article may offend you....
>>
>> In 1984, I was taking my mother to and from Birmingham for her chemo
>> treatments three times per week.  On one Wednesday afternoon, I was
>> driving
>> her red car home with her reclined in the riders side. I was on the left
>> side of  highway I-59 and a "wonderful"truck driver flew by and took off
>> the
>> entire side of her car( my mother's side.) He swerved over into my lane.
>>
>> He never stopped and kept going at approx 90 miles per hr. I'm sure to
>> deliver his goods to a store! I had to chase him down and lucky for us a
>> statetrooper was a few miles away.
>> I finally got the truck to stop. The driver jumped out(all 4'10" of him
>> and
>> proceeded to cuss me out and even hit me.I was pregnant at the time)
>> He was stoned out of his mind. At this point,  I was all over him and
>> since
>> my mother was only slightly injured she had to pull me off of him. He
>> denied
>> the hit and run---cars were pulled over for witnesses and the trooper had
>> arrived.
>> Long story short---This precious trucker was stoned on Demerol, morphine
>> and
>> being serviced by his boyfriend(also stoned)when he nearly killed us. Red
>> paint was all over his wheels--he went to jail with many charges!!! This
>> wasn't the first time for him either.
>> How do these guys pass drug testing?  Is there drug testing?
>>
>> Like you said.... It isn't whether or not he's at fault that matters. You
>> may have run into him but the question is.. could he have done something
>> to
>> prevent it from happening?    You figure it out!
>>
>> My parents live next door to a trucker ....This trucker steals goods, 
>> lets
>> his 14yr drive his 18wheeler on long trips while he sleeps, and is
>> addicted
>> to crystal meth.
>>
>> My daughter and I just went to Anniston yesterday and were run off the
>> road
>> by a 18 wheeler and then the thing kept
>> chasing us for miles. I called the police but the truck had left by that
>> time. A report was taken.
>>
>> As you can see, I have little respect for truckers. My dealings have not
>> been good. Many are slaves to drugs to keep them going these long,
>> grueling
>> hours.
>> My hats are off to the good ones.
>> Susan
>>
>>
>> >>> ----- Original Message -----
>> >>> From: "Fred Atkinson" <fatkinson at mishmash.com>
>> >>> To: "Rebels 1972" <rebels1972 at mishmash.net>
>> >>> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 8:52 PM
>> >>> Subject: [Rebels1972] Economic Slavery on the Highways
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>>    I'd like to share some ideas about some of the people who make
>> this
>> >>>> country great.  They are often the most unappreciated people in the
>> >>>> world.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    We take them so much for granted despite all that they
>> do.  Everyone
>> >>>> seems to think that the goods on the shelf at your store just appear
>> >>>> there
>> >>>> magically.  The materials to build your home, school, or workplace
>> were
>> >>>> not
>> >>>> always there.  The fuel that makes your car run does not just appear
>> at
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> pump.  And there are many other material goods we rely on to 
>> >>>> maintain
>> >>>> our
>> >>>> standard of living.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    There are thousands of good Americans that transport these
>> materials
>> >>>> to
>> >>>> us.  They aren't heralded and they get no fanfare.  Man live a
>> >>>> lifestyle of
>> >>>> separation from their families and work an incredible number of
>> hours.
>> >>>> It
>> >>>> is their plight I wish to discuss.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    When the economy went sour at the end of 2001, I spoke with a
>> >>>> recruiter
>> >>>> for a national trucking company, she arranged for me to travel to
>> >>>> Memphis,
>> >>>> Tennessee and attend a three week school that would help me get a
>> Class
>> >>>> A
>> >>>> commercial driver's license with all the required endorsements and
>> the
>> >>>> training required for the company to hire me as an over the road
>> truck
>> >>>> driver.  The cost of attending the truck school was over five
>> thousand
>> >>>> dollars and I was expected to be responsible for the cost myself.  I
>> >>>> was not
>> >>>> compensated in any way for the time I spent in school.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    I went to truck driving school with a lot of people from 
>> >>>> different
>> >>>> parts
>> >>>> of the country and different backgrounds.  After we completed our
>> first
>> >>>> week
>> >>>> in school, we passed our written exams to get our learner's permits
>> and
>> >>>> our
>> >>>> medical certificates, which were required to operate the big 
>> >>>> eighteen
>> >>>> wheelers.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    The next week was range training.  We learned all manner of
>> backing.
>> >>>> Backing was not like backing a car.  It required a whole different
>> >>>> twist.
>> >>>> To back a truck to the right one must turn the wheel to the left
>> until
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> truck jacks to the right.  Then you turn the wheel to the right to
>> >>>> follow
>> >>>> the trailer and keep it on the right path.  Even backing in a
>> straight
>> >>>> line
>> >>>> was difficult.  But we learned our required backing skills during 
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> second
>> >>>> week and went on for the road training.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    We drove all over western Tennessee, eastern Arkansas, and
>> northern
>> >>>> Mississippi.  To the end of the third week we completed our training
>> >>>> and
>> >>>> passed our road tests.  When we returned to school the following
>> week,
>> >>>> we
>> >>>> were taken to the DMV to get our Class A commercial driver's 
>> >>>> licenses
>> >>>> and
>> >>>> late we were assigned to a driver who would train us while we were
>> >>>> actually
>> >>>> transporting goods all over the country.  We were paid only fifty
>> >>>> dollars
>> >>>> per day while we trained regardless of the miles driven.  Since a
>> >>>> driver
>> >>>> often drives between four and five hundred miles per shift, that
>> >>>> amounts to
>> >>>> as little as ten cents per mile or less.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    These three weeks of driver training was done with no 
>> >>>> compensation
>> >>>> and a
>> >>>> legal requirement that you repay the company for the training.  Of
>> >>>> course,
>> >>>> they pro-rated the cost over two years and made the payments for 
>> >>>> your
>> >>>> as
>> >>>> long as you worked for them.  But if you found it necessary to 
>> >>>> leave,
>> >>>> you
>> >>>> were on the hook for the pro-rated part of the money you owe.  This
>> >>>> makes it
>> >>>> difficult to leave if you are unhappy with the working situation.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    After I completed the training with my instructor, I began to
>> learn
>> >>>> things I never knew.  I knew that truck drivers were typically away
>> >>>> from
>> >>>> home for months at a time.  I never knew that they are not covered 
>> >>>> by
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> wage and hour laws (overtime?  What is that?).  Truck drivers don't
>> get
>> >>>> overtime even though they constantly work in excess of sixty hours
>> per
>> >>>> week.
>> >>>> They get paid for the miles they drive and (on occasion) for loading
>> or
>> >>>> unloading a truck, not for the time they work.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    Many responsibilities that truck drivers perform are without any
>> >>>> compensation.  The Department of Transportation requires that they
>> >>>> perform a
>> >>>> complete and thorough pre-trip safety inspection each day, which
>> takes
>> >>>> fifteen minutes of their time.  They receive no compensation for
>> their
>> >>>> time
>> >>>> to perform this.  When they weigh and balance a truck to make sure
>> the
>> >>>> load
>> >>>> is legal on the highway, they receive no compensation for that,
>> either.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    When they hitch or unhitch a trailer, they receive no 
>> >>>> compensation
>> >>>> for
>> >>>> that task.  When a shipper or receiver makes them stand around and
>> wait
>> >>>> for
>> >>>> their load to be loaded or unloaded from a trailer, the driver
>> receives
>> >>>> no
>> >>>> compensation for the time he is there idle while the shipper or
>> >>>> receiver
>> >>>> focuses on other things (unless he is paid for loading or unloading,
>> >>>> which
>> >>>> isn't often).
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    And the driver is never guaranteed to get a shipment to
>> move.  There
>> >>>> were a number of times where I sat at a truck stop in a strange city
>> >>>> with no
>> >>>> load.  Our company compensated us forty dollars per day if they had
>> no
>> >>>> load
>> >>>> for us.  Imagine that, only forty dollars for a single day of your
>> life
>> >>>> (and
>> >>>> not all drivers even get that) away from your family, community, and
>> >>>> friends.  And the per mile rates for new drivers are very low.  One 
>> >>>> I
>> >>>> was
>> >>>> asked to pick up a trailer, weigh it to make sure it was legally
>> >>>> balanced,
>> >>>> and transport it to the nearest company terminal for
>> >>>> reassignment to another driver.  For my several hours of work, I
>> >>>> received
>> >>>> approximately twelve dollars for my efforts.  It amounted to less
>> than
>> >>>> minimum wage.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    Truck drivers get no respect.  Once when I was at a truckstop 
>> >>>> near
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> Canadian border in Maine, a driver told me that his CB handle was
>> >>>> 'Caucasian
>> >>>> scumbag'.  He said that he chose that handle because of what his
>> father
>> >>>> (also a truck driver) told him.  Truck driving is an honorable
>> >>>> profession,
>> >>>> but you will never get any respect.  Sadly, I found myself agreeing
>> >>>> with
>> >>>> him.  A few examples follow.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    Once I made a delivery at a warehouse.  After 'bumping the dock'
>> (an
>> >>>> expression used that means you have parked the trailer at the 
>> >>>> loading
>> >>>> dock
>> >>>> so it can be loaded or unloaded), I found a door marked 'driver's
>> >>>> entrance'.
>> >>>> When I stepped inside the door, I found myself standing inside of a
>> >>>> cage
>> >>>> (subhuman treatment).
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    I once made a pickup at a major customer.  As my hours were 
>> >>>> almost
>> >>>> used
>> >>>> up when I made the pickup, I parked the truck outside the front gate
>> in
>> >>>> an
>> >>>> area where truckers were allowed to park and get the required time 
>> >>>> in
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> sleeper before they were allowed to drive again.  When I walked back
>> to
>> >>>> the
>> >>>> gate requesting to use the restroom, they refused saying that
>> driver's
>> >>>> weren't allowed to use the restrooms in the facility.  I had to go
>> and
>> >>>> relieve myself in the middle of an open field because there was no
>> >>>> other
>> >>>> place provided for the drivers.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    People often feel anger towards truck drivers because of the
>> manner
>> >>>> in
>> >>>> which they drive on the open highways.  I did not engage in such
>> >>>> driving and
>> >>>> I did not approve of those who did.  But think of what it cost me.
>> >>>> Slowing
>> >>>> down reduced the amount of money I made.  Remember that many of the
>> >>>> lesser
>> >>>> experienced drivers are not all that well paid (contrary to the
>> stories
>> >>>> about how well truck drivers are paid).  When you are paid by the
>> mile
>> >>>> at
>> >>>> such a rate as twenty-seven cents a mile and only allowed to drive
>> for
>> >>>> a
>> >>>> limited number of hours, making more money requires that you floor
>> it.
>> >>>> When
>> >>>> a driver is caught in a traffic jam, he is sitting there burning his
>> >>>> driving
>> >>>> hours and getting no compensation for it.  He cannot drive extra
>> hours
>> >>>> to
>> >>>> make up for it or the Department of Transportation will fine him 
>> >>>> when
>> >>>> they
>> >>>> audit his driving logbook.  To that end, some drivers falsify their
>> >>>> logbook
>> >>>> to drive more miles.  This means that they are driving over the
>> number
>> >>>> of
>> >>>> hours it is safe for a person's body to be alert enough to handle an
>> >>>> eighty-thousand pound multi-vehicle truck and creates an additional
>> >>>> hazard.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    Truck drivers would like to see that changed, but it's difficult.
>> >>>> 'Over
>> >>>> the road' drivers are away from home for months at a time.  Because
>> of
>> >>>> that
>> >>>> they don't get to vote.  Politicians look at those statistics and
>> they
>> >>>> realize that spending time helping truck drivers does not yield them
>> >>>> additional votes.  This does not motivate the politicians to make
>> >>>> things any
>> >>>> easier for them.  Once, a driver told me that he had tried to get an
>> >>>> absentee ballot.  He was asked where he'd be on election day.  He
>> told
>> >>>> them
>> >>>> he had no way of knowing because he was sent to different places
>> often
>> >>>> on
>> >>>> only a few hours notice.  Because he couldn't tell them where he'd 
>> >>>> be
>> >>>> on
>> >>>> election day, they denied him an absentee ballot.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    As long as we continue to pay our over the road drivers 'by the
>> >>>> mile'
>> >>>> instead of by the hour and pay them for the things truck drivers do
>> for
>> >>>> no
>> >>>> compensation every day, the way many truck drivers operate their
>> >>>> vehicles is
>> >>>> not going to change.  There is significant legislative reform needed
>> >>>> but no
>> >>>> political incentive to perform it.  And many of these good people
>> >>>> continue
>> >>>> to suffer while making a living to support their families (with whom
>> >>>> they
>> >>>> are able to spend very little time with).  The next time you enjoy
>> your
>> >>>> breakfast, buy nice new clothes at the store, fill up your tank with
>> >>>> gasoline, or partake of any number of other countless things, you
>> >>>> should
>> >>>> remember that truck drivers brought those materials to you.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    Imagine if the trucks stopped rolling for a week.  We'd 
>> >>>> experience
>> >>>> gas
>> >>>> shortages, food shortages, and have to learn to do without many
>> things.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    When a driver is involved in a traffic accident, it isn't whether
>> or
>> >>>> not
>> >>>> he is at fault that matters.  You may have run into him but the
>> >>>> question is
>> >>>> could he have done something to prevent it from happening?  Even if
>> he
>> >>>> was
>> >>>> not at fault in the accident, it often is still reported on his
>> driving
>> >>>> record as 'preventable' (which stacks against him when his driving
>> >>>> record is
>> >>>> reviewed for insurance or for possible employment with a different
>> >>>> trucking
>> >>>> company).  Imagine that, you caused the accident but they hold it
>> >>>> against
>> >>>> the truck driver anyway.  He is responsible for managing *your*
>> driving
>> >>>> safety habits.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    These dramatically under appreciated people live a lifestyle that
>> I
>> >>>> don't understand how they continue to live day in and day out year
>> >>>> after
>> >>>> year.  Essentially they are slaves to our system and we continue to
>> >>>> take
>> >>>> advantage of them paying many of them low wages and working them at 
>> >>>> a
>> >>>> schedule that would cause most of us to experience complete
>> exhaustion.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>    My hat is off to them and I think about them from time to
>> time.  God
>> >>>> bless our truck drivers.
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> _______________________________________________
>> >>>> Rebels1972 mailing list
>> >>>> Rebels1972 at mishmash.net
>> >>>> http://mishmash.net/mailman/listinfo/rebels1972_mishmash.net
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Rick Peek
> Tech450 at gmail.com
>
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