Momentum
“I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” – Frances E. Willard
A few of us from the Land Line Media team were fortunate enough to go and cover the Mid-America Trucking Show. It’s always a special gig for us because we get to connect with our readers, listeners and members of OOIDA.
And this year was no different.
There was an energy and enthusiasm that we haven’t been able to experience in quite a while (thanks, COVID). We were able to spend time in the OOIDA booth and talk to truckers who were either joining the Association for the first time or renewing their membership.
In honor of OOIDA’s 50th anniversary year, we decided to collect stories from members about why they decided to join OOIDA. Everyone had a story and reasons. One of my favorites came from a member who doesn’t like “dumb people telling me what to do.” You can read the full article starting on Page 48.
All of the stories hit home. They meant a lot because they were sincere and energized responses. It was the kind of mood where you couldn’t help but pick up a new head of steam and build momentum to head back to the office and continue fighting for the rights of truckers.
Getting that extra jolt of enthusiasm helps when so much interaction these days is on social media. You have your keyboard warriors out there calling BS on everything and generally being the “friction” in life. They just slow things down, kill moods, hinder progress.
We need more of the momentum. Especially now in trucking.
We can build off the success of OOIDA as it celebrates its 50th anniversary and capitalize on that momentum to tackle a very full regulatory plate being served up in 2023.
OOIDA President Todd Spencer said it best at the opening reception of the Mid-America Trucking Show.
“One of the things we’ve shown is that the little guys … can stick together. And when that happens, change can happen,” he said. And he had a lot more to say. Check out Page 50 for that.
Some of that change and momentum has come recently in the form of the granting of a petition for a rulemaking on broker reform. OOIDA has fought for this for years and most recently had to let the turnover at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration settle down to see progress. Read more about that starting on Page 14.
Heap on another bit of forward progress with the parking bill, which if passed would fund actual parking for trucks. We have info on that on Page 20. And let’s tip our hats to Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, for listening to truckers and pushing back against the EPA’s latest overreach targeting trucks. You can find that on Page 22.
As in life, nothing is 100% rosy, even if you choose to wear the glasses. Speed limiters, automatic emergency braking systems, a Department of Labor nominee and much more need to be battled. We can use our momentum to cause these things enough friction to ultimately fail.
Oftentimes it is frustrating to put together these articles, magazines, broadcasts and promote them on social media to only see complaints, usually from people who did not consume the information. It doesn’t take much effort to be informed, and we need to encourage those who choose to not put in the time to get on board.
OOIDA has made it easy, really easy, to be informed and involved. The FightingForTruckers.com website is literally an easy button for contacting lawmakers (tell them yes to truck parking) and to comment when FMCSA has a comment period open (get ready to fight like hell against speed limiters). Share that link every time you see someone who needs a nudge to get on the fight. We’ll always make room for more people on the momentum bandwagon. LL