The OOIDA tour trailer sets up on Ohio-Indiana state line on I-70

New Paris, Ohio, is the next stop for Marty Ellis and the OOIDA tour trailer.

He plans to be at the New Paris Petro at I-70 and U.S. 40 on May 19-20. That is Exit 156B. New Paris is on the Ohio-Indiana border.

The New Paris Petro has parking for 197 tractor-trailers. The Iron Skillet dining room is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Across U.S. 40 from the truck stop is a giant cross at the New Creations Chapel. The cross is made of corrugated steel and built to be visible from the interstate.

After New Paris, Ellis plans to take the OOIDA tour trailer to the American Truck Historical Society Greater Cincinnati Chapter Truck Show in Honor of Jerry Howard on May 21 in Lima, Ohio. That is about 90 miles away: go east and take a left at I-75.

Drivers on compensation

There have been some involved discussions about driver pay around the OOIDA tour trailer. Ellis shared some of his thoughts and what he’s heard from other drivers on Friday’s Land Line Now broadcast.

Ellis regularly discusses what he sees on the road and hears from drivers on Friday Land Line Now broadcasts.

“The company drivers, they’re really all for trying to get some fair compensation because for years we have not been paid for the hours that we worked. It’s just plain and simple,” Ellis said on Land Line Now. “I remember putting pallets underneath the pallet rack of trailers before heading out to California because that was, quote, your job, but you never technically got paid for it. What you’re told is, ‘Well, it’s in your mileage rate.’ All right, no, it’s not. It sounds good. It’s just the boss doesn’t want to pay you during the time that you’re doing it.”

It also happens with drivers having to sweep out a trailer, or getting their trailer washed out, and also the hours a driver spends in line waiting to check in or check out, he said.

“There’s just so many things like that that you just do not get paid for,” Ellis said.

Drivers get paid by the mile and don’t want to log the hours spent doing those things because it eats into paid time, the time when they could be racking up paid miles, he said. That leads to the problem of trying to tell federal authorities that drivers are spending all this time at docks but aren’t recording it. It would be easier to explain the problem if drivers had always been recording that time on duty, so it was all in black and white, Ellis said.

“Companies really don’t want to pay because they haven’t. ‘We’ve done it this way all the time.’ Well, at some point in time we as an industry really have to take a look and do we need to make some changes to make that right,” Ellis said. “Guys, you know, should be paid to sweep out a trailer. They should be paid to load pallets. They should be paid to sit at a dock, because even if you can record it in the bunk, you’re still there waiting, ready to go, but you’re not making any money. It doesn’t do your family any good.”

Listen to the Land Line Now discussion here.

Ellis also touched on speed limiters, another hot topic among drivers.

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 for $10 off the regular price at The Spirit. Face masks are available at The Spirit for anyone with a commercial driver’s license.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL