OOIDA tour trailer stops in San Antonio

Marty Ellis is enjoying a respite from winter weather with another stop in Texas with the OOIDA tour trailer.

Ellis and the Spirit of the American Trucker trailer are scheduled Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20-21, to be at the TA Travel Center in San Antonio. That is the Foster Road exit from I-10, Exit 583.

The San Antonio TA is on the east side of the city. There is parking for 238 tractor-trailers there.
The truck stop has a bean bag toss, horseshoe pit and basketball hoop for drivers to move around and work off some steam.

On Monday, Ellis and The Spirit are scheduled to be in Laredo, Texas.

Shocking speeding fines

Ellis regularly talks on Friday broadcasts of Land Line Now about what he sees and is hearing from drivers on the road.

Last Friday, his attention had been caught by an article comparing speeding fines for CDL holders by state.

Some of the fines really surprised him and some of the drivers who had stopped by the OOIDA tour trailer.

Everybody seems to be going faster, he said, and he wondered whether states were trying to change behavior of drivers on the road or if this was just a money grab.

“Too many times us as drivers really feel like these states are really gouging the truck driver,” he said. “And it wasn’t that long ago that truck drivers were being the hero for being out here, but it seems like we’ve gone back to just being that piggy bank.”

Stop by when you see The Spirit

If you see the OOIDA tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis looks forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership with the OOIDA 50th anniversary promotion of two years for $50. That’s a $40 savings. You can also use the promotion as many times as you like.

After San Antonio, Ellis plans to stop in Laredo, Texas, and then Beaumont, Texas.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL