Roses & Razzberries – February 2021

ROSES to everyone at the Franklin County, Kan., Sheriff’s Office for helping out a woman who worked at a Love’s Truck Stop who was a little down on her luck. The Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they had gotten calls about a woman walking on a local highway. Deputies found her and learned she was walking 6 miles from her home to her job to support her two small children – and that she did this every day. The deputies got together and – with the help of some local citizens and businesses – were able to give this woman a van, two new car seats, a Price Chopper gift card, and the first year of insurance on the van. Oh, and $200 cash, to boot. It’s amazing what can happen when a whole community comes together to help out one family.

ROSES to veteran newsman Dan Rather who – back in December when the COVID vaccines were just beginning to roll out – offered up a salute to everyone involved in making it happen. That included scientists, shipping clerks, pilots and, yes, truck drivers. It may seem like a small gesture, but after truck drivers spent all of 2020 literally keeping this country moving during one of the biggest crises in modern history, it’s good to get some recognition for everything they do.

ROSES to the Delaware River Port Authority for voting to not raise tolls on the bridges it oversees until at least next year. That marks 10 years since the last toll increase on the bridges managed by the authority that cross over the Delaware River. Port Authority Chairman Ryan N. Boyer said in a statement at the time that the board “has worked over the past several years to ensure that the organization runs efficiently and effectively.”

In a time when so many transportation agencies are struggling and turning to toll increases as a quick fix, it’s good to see at least one agency has its affairs in order.

On a related note, RAZZBERRIES to the New York State Thruway Authority Board of Directors for raising tolls on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and the New York State Thruway. Those toll increases – which went into effect in January – are going to hit truckers pretty hard. Trucks on the Cuomo Bridge with an in-state E-ZPass saw their tolls jump more than $10. For out-of-state E-ZPass holders, the rates jumped more than $16. Oh, and for passenger cars? The increase was a whopping 50 cents. Don’t look for many I Heart NY bumper stickers on trucks this year because New York sure doesn’t heart truckers.

More toll-related RAZZBERRIES to Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and the lawmakers who came up with the state’s oh-so-brilliant truck-only tolling plan for their continued refusal to appear in court and defend it. They were issued subpoenas early last year in a lawsuit filed by the American Trucking Associations and then spent the better part of the year coming up with excuse after excuse for why they couldn’t honor those subpoenas. Thankfully the courts continued to reject those excuses and ordered Raimondo and her cohorts to appear. But riddle me this, Governor: If your toll program is so great, why are you so worried about appearing in court to talk about it?

RAZZBERRIES to a TV show called “Big Sky” that appeared on ABC last fall. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s about a private detective who teams up with an ex-cop to track down a serial killer.

Three guesses as to the profession of that serial killer. And the first two don’t count.

Yes, once again Hollywood has gone to the tired stereotype of the serial killer truck driver. How tired is it? Even the ATA – which, let’s face it, doesn’t always have the best interests of truck drivers at heart – called out the show, calling it “deeply concerning” in a letter to the show’s producers. The show even insinuated that the trucker character was involved in human trafficking, something you can bet caught the attention of Truckers Against Trafficking (Hey, Hollywood – note the use of the word “against” in there).

We’ve called out other entertainment producers on this trope before – Stephen King has been guilty a few times over the years – but they never seem to get it. Here’s hoping Big Sky ends with small ratings. LL

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