@Dept:
NAFTA Nastiness
I am appalled that you and your colleagues can actually be behind our government on NAFTA border crossings for Mexican trucking companies (Deb Whistler's editorial, March HDT).
I think you need to make a trip to Mexico and learn about Mexico and their government and maybe about ours.
Our borders need to be secure, and at this point we cannot control them. Our government is prosecuting border patrol agents for doing their jobs and putting them in jail. We have politicians pandering for Mexican votes even though they are not legal to be in this country. Here are some points to consider in this matter.
Mexico has a government that is corrupt and has not been willing to cooperate with the U.S. on drugs, border issues, trade issues or anything else, and now you want to welcome them into the U.S. This gives Mexico an avenue to transport drugs and a host of other items into this country illegally, including undocumented aliens.
Mexico has a judicial system in place that is nowhere close to ours and are unwilling to change. If a driver gets in trouble in Mexico, there is no way to get any representation. You could lose everything and be there for an unspecified period of time in a Mexican jail. Mexico has a cartel that has, in the past, stopped trucks and done bodily harm to the drivers and stolen their trucks. Is this acceptable to you?
Our government cannot control, inspect or stay on top of companies in this country for hours of service, safety or other abuses, and now you want add hundreds of more companies that are unwilling to make huge steps to comply. We don't even have an hours of service rule that we can count on.
There is also a language barrier, so now you are going to require U.S. drivers to learn the several dialects of Spanish they use to be able to cross the border and vice versa. It looks like a one-way street to me.
Several of the large trucking companies are pushing this because they have already set up trucking operations in Mexico in anticipation of this and can hire drivers for a third of what they pay drivers in the U.S. I would like your opinion how the government is going to regulate these trucks and drivers after they get into the U.S.
Lester Oster
Rancho Cordova, Calif.
No To NAFTA
This letter pertains to the "Mexico Cross-border Program" (Deb Whistler editorial, March HDT) proposed by the Bush Administration under NAFTA, allowing Mexican trucks deeper into the United States.
As an independent owner-operator in the trucking industry, an increased number of foreign trucks will severely damage my small business and many small businesses like mine.
First, there is no cabotage enforcement in our country what-soever. This would allow foreign trucks to roam freely across the U.S., hauling freight meant for American truckers, instead of going back to their own country once they have off-loaded. These foreign truckers could be undercutting the rates and even hauling for "under the table" cash.
Mexican diesel fuel, like the average Mexican wage and standard of living, is cheap and would be an incentive to illegally remain in this country. Second, the flow of illegal drugs coming across our southern border. Third, there is no database on Mexican drivers. Are they criminals? Can they speak, read, write or even understand English? Last, Mexican Transportation and Safety rules and regulations could not possibly compare to our standards and could cause great threats to everyone's safety on our highways.
Therefore, I am asking my state representatives to support the Hunter-Captor NAFTA safety bill. Stop the influx of illegal aliens and save American jobs and our standard of living.
David P. Gaibis Sr.
New Castle, Pa.
Opening The Border
Thanks for trying to put the independent owner-operator out of business.
We are one of "those trucks" that sit at the border waiting for the Mexican trucks to arrive with products to take north.
We are also one of "those trucks" that haul meat products to southern Texas to cross into Mexico.
Your ideas would put thousands of U.S. truckers out of business. Thanks a lot. I thought you supported the trucking industry instead of your pocketbook.
Oh, and for your information, I was one of "those owners" who called my senator several times to urge everyone on the committee to vote to stop this idea.
D&M Trucking
Solving Driver Crisis
Today I got my April edition of Heavy Duty Trucking magazine. As always, I found it to be very informative. I am writing this to discuss with you the problem of driver shortages.
Personally I am in a very different position in the transportation world. I am a police officer with the town of Fryeburg, Maine. One of my specialties is DOT/CMV enforcement. But before I became a cop, I worked for Wells Fargo Armored Service. I held many positions there, from driver to branch manager.
One of the positions I had was OTR driver. We went from South Easton, Mass., to all over New England. I really enjoyed it. A lot of people didn't want to do OTR runs. But I will say Wells Fargo was one-thousand-percent honest with us about OTR runs. They told us where we would be going, when we would be home, where we would be staying (armored trucks don't have sleeper cabs), and how much we would earn on the trip.
And they kept their promises. They were great about communication on the road and our dispatchers actually cared. It was a great time for me.
When I moved into management, I remembered the way I was treated and did the same for my employees. Be honest, be fair and keep your promises.
It seems that many OTR drivers today are either being lied to, or have a very bad misconception of what an OTR driver does. Many of the drivers I deal with are angry because of no home time, or being sent on a run they didn't want. But lack of miles/money is the one complaint I have never heard.
All I know is that honesty and communication kept me "Over the Road."
Ian F. Tait
What Driver Crisis?
What driver crisis? Surely you must know that there really isn't any driver crisis. If there were, America's truck loads wouldn't get delivered. The fact is that all loads are being delivered. thus, no driver shortage.
I imagine the real source of your information is the large trucking companies. These companies want to build a large reserve of drivers so that they can lower the rates they pay their drivers.
The real problems of trucking are many fold. Here's Trucking 101. The hours of service regs are all wrong. Drivers should drive as long as they feel up to it. DOT, with their road checks, are a waste of time. Insurance, fuel, cost of owning a truck and other expenses are out of sight. Above all, those trucking companies treat their drivers as though they were second-hand citizens.
I trucked for 25 years and endured all the hardships a driver deals with on a daily basis. I know it's not an easy business to be in. But as far as driver shortage, forget about it.
Norman K, Weiskopf
Palm Coast, Fla.
Bashing Truck Safety
Loved your "Bashing Truck Safety" editorial (Deb Whistler's column, January HDT).
You know the Times has been very critical of the Bush Administration on a wide range of issues. I'm not surprised they've picked on this one at all. I completely agree with your position as well as our industry's leaders.
I would like you to forward a copy of your editorial to Bill O'Reilly at oreilly@foxnews.com
Keep up the good work!
Jay Rogers
Rogers Livestock Services
Simonton, Texas
More Truck Bashing
I just got through reading your "Bashing Truck Safety" editorial (January HDT). I did not read the New York Times article, but it appears to me that perhaps there may be prejudices on both sides.
You are the editor of a trucking magazine, so it's natural to defend trucking. A trucker obeying the laws and driving sensible, which is probably the vast majority, are un-noticed. It is the overly aggressive driver that is noticed. I have been involved in the transportation industry for 50 years and realize all forms of transportation are necessary and that trucking in particular is very visible. To give you some insight in what the general public observes, take a motor home, drive the legal speed limit of 65 mph, and watch how many truck drivers will intentionally attempt to abuse them. It almost seems that many attempt to cause a problem for this group of motorists. Many of the things I observe with the motor home, I will not observe with a car or another truck.
Yes, with the numbers of trucks on the road, perhaps these are in the minority, but as I stated previously, it is the aggressive driver that gets noticed.
David A Schappell
Thwarting Negative Media
Both owner-operators and company drivers have the same pressures: If they work really hard and ignore luxuries like restroom stops and meal breaks, they can make a living. What a sad commentary on our society.
The problem isn't 24 hours in a day as often as getting "there" on time. It can be across town by 3:30 to reload, or 300 miles away overnight to unload and reload so that he or she isn't laying over on Thanksgiving weekend.
We work hard to avoid creating these situations for drivers, and many other fleets do as well. Some don't care. And the best planning can still fall apart from traffic delays, a DOT inspection delay or other issues. Rates make us schedule things tightly – we don't assume that a driver emptying out at 10 a.m. will not have time to reload. We add extra time and conclude that the driver can reload in the same town by 4 p.m., but sometimes reality happens and the driver is pushed to make this happen.
If the driver doesn't make it, he or she loses – stuck in a specific area overnight to reload the next day instead of reloaded and on their way, with some flexibility of "where to stop at."
Truckers have so many factors working against them that it is a tribute to the individual drivers that anything gets delivered at all.
Danny R. Schnautz
Clark Freight Lines
Pasadena,Texas
