The inmates are running the asylum
In the absence of order and structure, chaos will thrive. That succinctly describes life as we know it when it comes to the condition of our roads and bridges.
Every morning here at Land Line Media HQ, the radio and magazine staff gets together to pitch the news that we will be covering on the show and on the web. Lately, I’m going to be honest, it’s been pretty tough to sit through.
A day doesn’t go by without multiple stories on states grappling with finding ways to pay for their deteriorating highway infrastructure. It’s a universal problem that has been around way too long. And I, for one, am really tired of hearing about it.
Problem is, when we hit a collective fatigue on a subject and start turning the channel or flipping the page to something else, the problem gets worse.
So, here we are with a decade-old problem that is hitting critical mass. The federal government isn’t fixing it, so every state in the nation it seems is working on the problem. Tolls, fuel taxes and vehicle miles traveled taxes are all on the table.
Welcome to the asylum where every crazy idea is lauded as inspired. We as taxpayers and highway users owe it to ourselves to get informed and get involved to protect our own interests.
You truckers have the biggest stake of all in this fight. Not only are the highways your office, lawmakers are seeing you as the cash cow they will hit hardest to pay for their procrastination and diversion-of-funding dilemma.
Staff Writer Tyson Fisher does a bang up job, starting on Page 18, telling you everything you need to know.
Now, none of that is to say the solution will be simple.
Exhibit A starts on Page 48, where I cover the OOIDA Board of Directors spring meeting.
A little bit of need-to-know info before I explain. In the board of director’s oath, newly elected or re-elected board members swear that they will not be a “rubber stamp.” The Association’s leadership wants diverse points of view from different operations and perspectives. It helps shape OOIDA’s position on various issues.
There was a lot, and I mean a lot, of talk about highway funding. The coverage of the board meeting will underscore how tough it will be to find a universal solution at the federal level and why we can’t just say no to every idea that’s presented.
Another example of chaos prevailing when the inmates run the asylum can be found starting on Page 62.
When motor carriers present owner-operators with a contract, there are all sorts of craziness that can lie within the print. And there are plenty of terrible leasing contracts out there that will have you signing away your rights to dang near everything. There are leases designed to make owner-operators profit centers from chargebacks.
Problem is, most of those leases are in violation of the federal leasing regulations. We break down the top pitfalls in owner-operator leases so you can avoid being preyed upon.
Tom Berg joins the Land Line team and debuts in this issue. He’s been a friend and mentor to me, and I couldn’t be happier to have him contributing to our efforts here at Land Line.
He comes out with a piece where he ran incognito as a CDL holder through the recruiter gauntlet in the nutty West Wing of the Mid-America Trucking Show. His mission was to go undercover and basically get recruited. His report starts on Page 64.
Circling back to the central theme of abounding craziness, I would be remiss if I did not mention Staff Writer Wendy Parker’s Strange Things and Filthy Lies. Here’s the spoiler without context: Genghis Khan and poop in a box. It all, eventually, makes sense on Page 88. LL