The FMCSA is about to announce changes they are going to make to the HOS for truck drivers in the United States.  No matter what they say, it will not decrease the amount of drivers that are cheating on their logs.  Drivers still cheat in many ways like using "yard moves" or creeping around at 2mph so the log doesn't throw them into driving.  Why do we do this?  We are not paid properly.  Drivers that are paid by the mile and the stop are not being compensated for all of their time and feel, rightly so, that they need to cheat their logs to make a fair living.  This outdated mode of paying drivers dates back decades and is obsolete.  Is there really a reason drivers are not paid hourly for all of their time?  Yes.  Greed.  Trucking companies darn well know that drivers cheat their logs.  They look the other way while we sit for hours and sometimes days without pay.  This way they can maximize their earnings while drivers risk our lives to deliver tomato sauce and diapers to a willing consumer who is blind to what is happening.  Until truck drivers are paid by the hour with overtime no amount of tinkering with the HOS rules will make a bit of difference to safety.  

Trucking Answers is nearing 20,000 subscribers and there is going to be an extravaganza of giveaways on my live show when that happens!  I already have BlueParrott on board and they are sending over a headset to give to you!  I am writing to other places as well and will make more announcements as they become available.  Blueparrott has been a friend of the show for some time and were the first corporation to support the channel.  We all know they have the best quality and sounding headsets for truck drivers on the market today and I am happy to have them with me on the channel.  Thank you BlueParrott!

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In section 135 of a proposed transportation funding bill there is a provision that would bar the FMCSA from eliminating the 30 minute break.  Yes, you heard me.  This is a major appropriations bill and stuck way in there in this little gem.  Even though the FMCSA has talked about changing or even eliminating the break, if this bill passes they would be legally barred from doing so.  None of this kind of garbage should be allowed to be stuffed into these funding bills.  Because of the way these type of bills are written, we do not know who did this.  Whoever it is likely has gotten money from one of these "safety" groups out there.  These groups have no interest in working with truck drivers about safety nor do they generally have any truck drivers on their boards.  They just want to impose regulation after regulation on trucking in the name of safety.  The 30 minute break rule has nothing at all to do with safety and no study really says that this rule helps to increase safety in any meaningful way.  It has only decreased driver pay and forced drivers to be less safe in the rest of their day to try to make up for 30 minutes of lost pay per day.  It is just ridiculous and as usual we will have to pay the price.  

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It is time for my DOT physical.  So, let's see how I did.  At my company you just call them and tell them when you want to take it.  They make an appointment and you go over there and take it.  The company pays for it.  So, I get over there early and get signed in.  I had to wait a half an hour past my appointment to get seen.  Even at my age of being in my extreme upper 30s, I got another 2 year physical.  People tell me it is impossible to get a 2 year if you are over 30 but that is just not true.  Now, I purposely do a low stress run and I also take time daily to meditate.  This 3 extra hours a day that drivers want, that is not going to happen for me.  Passing your physical is good and you get to keep your job but being healthy is much better.  If you are sick you can't live your best life.  Keep yourself healthy by reducing stress in your life.  Your health is more important than anything.  

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The head of the National Transportation Institute recently spoke in Alabama about the made up drivers shortage and actually made the case against a shortage in his own remarks.  He commented that the "Truckload driver turnover rate is stranded near 100%".  How exactly can you have a turnover rate of 100% if there is a shortage of drivers?  If you have 5000 drivers and you actually hire 5000 new drivers every year is there an actual shortage of drivers?  NO.  It would seem these companies have no issue finding drivers.  They have an issue KEEPING drivers.  In fact, the ATA says the industry is short 90000 drivers but the government issues 400000 new CDLs every year.  Folks, there is no shortage of drivers, there is a shortage of good paying jobs.  As we go along the article we see that trucking pay has increased 19% since 2007 while McDonald's wages have increased 113% in the same period.  The issue, of course, is pay.  The solution is paying drivers by the hour.  I have found a few companies doing this but not many.  To ask a driver, or any employee, to sit for hours with no pay is ridiculous.  What other industry does that?  No wonder there is a 100% turnover.  Who wants to work for free?  Until there is change in the way drivers are paid there will be no solution to the driver turnover issue.  Check out the article HERE. 

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The driver in the deadly Colorado truck accident has been charged with 40 counts including 4 counts of vehicular homicide.  This guy who is her legally from Cuba says his brakes failed going down the mountain and he smashed into stopped traffic.  Police say he was going in excess of 85 in a 45 zone.  His real problem is that he passed a truck escape ramp.  Let me say this, if you need to use that, use it.  It will be hard to convince a jury to let him go.  He has plead not guilty and has not been convicted of a crime.  If convicted, he could get decades in prison.  What will happen?  Likely he will plead to a charge or two and get a couple of years and then possibly be deported because you can't stay on a green card with felonies.  No matter what happens, 4 people are now dead that didn't have to be.  I have a podcast on this and you can listen HERE. 

This is a good time to remind everyone to do whatever it is you wanted to do.  You never know when your last day is here.  Call that person, quit your job, hike the Andes or whatever it is GO DO IT.  You only get one go around on the planet.

​I will continue to follow this story as it is going to take some time to get through the process.

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​See you on the road!