Put down the shotgun
Truckers, have you ever been in a situation where you overreacted to an unnecessary extreme?
I have a friend who told a story about her fiancé going to extraordinary – dare I say redneck – extremes when he shot a field mouse with a .410-caliber shotgun in the backyard. I mean, if it had been in the house, would he have set the place on fire?
I’m being glib with my (100% true) example, but I’m not when it comes to the approach the federal government takes when it comes to highway safety.
Every life is precious. Every death on the highway is tragic. There is no getting around that. And, the goal of zero highway deaths is noble and one we all should share.
That said, the feds continue grabbing at extreme measures to address highway fatalities – and targeting truckers – when the whole situation is begging to be looked at in a new way.
There is a photo of OOIDA President Todd Spencer testifying before Congress holding up the big green book of regulations. You know the book, that when you drop it on a desk it lands with a considerable “thunk” because it’s so big.
It always feels messy to say that the pandemic has brought about some good things. But it is true. It shed a light on systemic problems with driver pay and detention time. It also showed that in the course of two-plus years of a waiver on hours-of-service regulations for relief supplies, we did not see a spike in crashes. Same for hurricane and wildfire relief waivers.
More overly burdensome regulations have never been the answer. OOIDA has preached it for years. Our cover story, starting on Page 16, dives deep into the unintended consequences of overregulation. So maybe it’s time to put the shotgun approach to regulation down and start with simpler, more useful approaches.
Another example of a regulation that did not deliver on its perceived benefits has been the electronic logging mandate. And yet FMCSA is seriously considering expanding the reg. Truckers are firing back. We report on the comment period and what truckers have to say about that boneheaded idea on Page 20.
The feds aren’t the only ones who go all knee-jerk with laws and regulations. States get in on that action as well. On Page 28 we have a roundup of states with lawmakers looking to implement side underride guard laws.
Another state that targeted truckers – not for safety reasons but for a giant money grab – is Rhode Island. A federal judge called the truck-only tolls out for what they are – “discriminatory.” The ruling was glorious. Check it out on Page 29.
There’s plenty more hard news and news you can use in this issue of the magazine. But, it is the November issue. Not really sure where time flew to, but it is almost the holiday season.
Truckers for Troops will be happening in November and then the holidays will be upon us. You can read about some of the good things that happen because of the Truckers for Troops campaign on Page 40. Then if you’re still in the giving spirit and need inspiration for some gift ideas, we bring you our annual Cool Gifts round-up. As usual, it doesn’t disappoint. Find that unique gift starting on Page 80.
Finally, we offer our congratulations to this year’s Pilot Flying J Road Warrior – our very own Diesel Dave Sweetman. He’s a great writer and storyteller, an even better trucker, and one hell of a human being. We couldn’t be more proud for him to get the recognition he so richly deserves. Atta boy, DS with the BS. LL