Roses & Razzberries – June 2021

ROSES to Jon Osburn, recently retired driver of the OOIDA tour truck, the Spirit of the American Trucker. For many years now, Jon and his faithful sidekick, Sassi, have been the faces of OOIDA as they have traveled the country and greeted truckers everywhere they went.

Whether it was high praise or low complaints, Jon would listen to it all with a smile on his face – though it may have been hard to see beneath the mustache. He answered questions, stumped for OOIDA positions, and generally provided a friendly place for truckers to stop and chat while they were on the road. We don’t know what Jon will do with his retirement – beyond spending time with his grandkids obviously – but given the number of stories he has to tell about his career both in trucking and out (seriously, the man is kind of like a smarter Forrest Gump, he’s been everywhere), might we suggest, Jon, that you and Sassi write a book? We’d be first in line to read it.

RAZZBERRIES to the American Trucking Associations for once again pushing for a speed limiter mandate in Congress. In case you missed it, earlier this year the ATA resurrected the proposal that would mandate that trucks operate at a speed of either 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour. Which, by the way, is well below the maximum speed limit in nearly every state. So break down why this is a bad idea: Speed differentials lead to more interactions between trucks and other vehicles. That, in turn, dramatically increases the risk of a crash involving those vehicles and therefore does nothing to improve safety on the highway.

In fact, if anything, speed limiters would make highways less safe.

Everybody got that? Good. Because the ATA sure doesn’t. Here’s hoping the members of Congress do.

RAZZBERRIES to Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Ill., for bringing back the Insurance Act yet again. This bad bill would raise the minimum insurance requirements for truck drivers and would be devastating to small-business truckers. Garcia’s previous versions of the bill have sought to raise that amount to nearly $5 million from its current level of $750,000. We just wish someone could explain how lining the pockets of personal injury lawyers with gobs of money is somehow going to make our roads safer. Because we just don’t see the connection.

ROSES to truck driver Ahmed Shaaban, who made headlines earlier this year for being in the right place at the right time. Shaaban was on his way to pick up a load in Pomona, Calif., when a person wanted in connection with a shooting death led police on a high-speed chase through the area. Shaaban was driving down the road when he saw the chase leading through a gas station right next to the road he was on. The suspect pulled out of the station and turned toward an intersection that Shaaban was also approaching. He used his truck to block the intersection and – bam! – the chase was soon over, and police took the suspect into custody.

Thankfully, Shaaban wasn’t hurt, though his truck did get a little dinged up in the process.

ROSES to the U.S. International Trade Commission for taking steps earlier this year to finalize the rules regarding investigations into noncompliant, Mexican-based cross-border trucking operations. The new rules establish procedures for filing complaints and conducting investigations against Mexican carriers that illegally operate beyond the border zones in the U.S. This provision – part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that replaced NAFTA last year – is one that OOIDA has spent years fighting for. It’s good to see it finally being put into action.

RAZZBERRIES to mainstream media outlets that can’t seem to understand the difference between a pickup truck and a semitruck. We can’t count the number of times we’ve seen headlines about so-called “truck drivers” doing something awful, only to click on the link and find out that it was a pickup truck instead. There was a recent example this spring in Texas with headlines blaring “Texas truck driver indicted in the deaths of eight migrants in crash.” Reading the story, it of course turned out to be a pickup truck. Stories like this are awful enough and with people’s attention spans not being what they once were, it’s easy to imagine many people just skimming the headline and assuming it was a commercial truck driver involved. It’s an easy mistake to make, but an easier one to prevent for any reporter worth their journalism degree. LL