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The Blind spot #74

As most of you can imagine being a over the road trucker can put  a serious strain on any loving relationship.  It can be a real challenge to make a relationship work when you are thousands of miles away from your loved ones for long periods of time. I alone could write a book about my struggles with; life on the road, dealing with industry issues and learning to help your family back home handle your absence.

Long story short I got a divorce several years ago but still manage to maintain communication with my ex-wife to raise the children we both brought into this world. When I got the divorce I thought all the problems would end, boy was I wrong, that is when it seems the worst of it began. I am not here to defend my self or make my ex-wife look like a complete asshole. This is not the format to really share such a story, one day I may write a script and shoot a full length production as I feel our strugle would make for a great movie.

In this recorded audio clip(link below) I talk about some of the more recent problems I have had dealing with my ex-wife  who I had to battle with to get temporary custody of my kids when I found out she was going to be homeless.  The last time I got home my oldest boy asked me “where is mommy” I didn’t know. I called her mother to track her down. I found her mentally and physically broke down, living in a trap house in central phoenix.

This show was recorded live, I had no plan on talking about any of this. I had planned on doing production on a podcast with audio clips I have record of her on our trip across the United States, I may end up doing that as well because there is more I would like to say to complete this story.

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Sorry no trucks are allowed to park here, your going to have to leave!

I get so fuck tired of hearing “sorry sir you can’t park here”, from it seems like ever one and their mother. Ask any driver out there what is the biggest concern is in their day to day operation? You will hear “I hope I can find a spot to park tonight”. WOW, yeah I know I was shocked too, I thought they would have said “why don’t the truck stop offer more commercial company at this location?” I was wrong to, I digress. Some cities seem to have what appears to be at least a half baked plan for truck parking, while others don’t give a fucking shit! Orlando, FL falls in the I DON’T GIVE A SHIT CATEGORY.

I delivered there this past Monday morning and found myself in a huge fucking mess trying to find a place to park. (among other problems, I hope to maybe make a video about at some point) After pussy farting around half the morning looking, I found what looked like the only parking spot left in all of Orlando, FL. It was in a run down part of town around the corner from the Greyhound bus station off of John Young parkway. I was looking to rest however this area is the type of place you keep one eye open, I was not happy to be parking here.

Three hours into my rest I get a bang on the door I am like “fuck it is the cops” WRONG. It is the business owner across the street he says to me “can you please move your truck, you’re blocking our view”. I am like “um, what do you mean this is a legal parking spot no signs saying no truck parking”. He explains to me “We park our vehicles in that lot next to you and often times thugs break into our cars or steal them, so with you parked here we can’t monitor the activity of that lot”. I moved my truck for the man, not because I felt any concern for his situation rather I was worried about my own damn self!

I went down W. Colonial parkway(because everything in FL is a parkway, even the alley ways)  till I found another semi parked, signs again all over the place saying “no semi parking you will get yo ass towed bitch” seriously that is what the sign said. I went in the shop asked the owner if I could park he agreed. I could not believe it I got good rest at this location and no hookers or drug dealers to worry about.

That was the short version of that story, as I forget the rest of the bullshit. I am a firm believer in moving forward I have no time to dwell on the downsides. If I did I could end up like this dude who I was reading about. The guy had been parking his rig on his street for years. Several months ago, however, he found that his favorite parking spot had become a no-parking zone, following the completion of the pedestrian mall in the city center, but he continued parking there anyway.

City parking inspectors apparently didn’t care about the “historic connection” between the truck driver and his parking spot, and they began ticketing his truck every time they found it in a space where parking was now prohibited.

The 52-year-old truck driver’s fury over the tickets allegedly got the better of him. He was arrested yesterday on suspicion of setting fire Tuesday night to the offices of the enforcement division of his local Municipality. The offices, which were housed in trailers, were totally destroyed, but no one was injured. One witness reported seeing the suspect arrive at the scene, torch the premises and flee the scene in a passenger car. The witness also reportedly saw part of the vehicle’s license number.

An hour later, police tracked down the person whom they believed to be the owner of the car, based on the license plate, and questioned him. He told police that he had lent the car to a friend. When police arrived at the home of the friend - the truck driver - they found a hooded sweatshirt that smelled of gasoline. The hood of the car, which was parked outside, was still warm.

They detained the driver, who initially denied involvement in the blaze but under interrogation confessed to the arson as revenge against the the parking inspectors. The suspect was taken to the scene of the fire, where he reenacted the crime for officers. He was brought before a judge for a remand hearing, during which police asked that he remain in custody.

I have been getting the same kind of treatment in my town for the last 5 years or so but damn. He took that shit far eh? What about you, do you get fucked around like this too? Leave a message in the comments section below share your story with me.

An inter-agency operation this week took 53 commercial vehicles and 93 drivers off Oregon roads for safety violations.

A team of Oregon State Police, several local police agencies and commercial vehicle inspectors with the Oregon Department of Transpiration ran the 16th Operation Trucker Check from 12:01 a.m. Tuesday through 11:59 p.m. Thursday at the southbound Interstate 5 Woodburn port of entry. The goal was to get impaired drivers and unsafe commercial vehicles off the road.

OSP reported preliminary statistics Friday. The 463 inspections during the check took 53 (about 11.5 percent) commercial vehicles off the road for critical safety violations and sidelined 93 (20 percent) drivers for violations that ranged from excessive driving hours, log book deficiencies and driver qualification issues. Officers and inspectors issued 42 motor carrier-related citations and 367 warnings.

During the previous trucker check in September last year at the Highway 97 Klamath Falls port of entry, state agencies placed 9 percent of the vehicles and 11 percent of the drivers out-of-service. And Trucker Check 14 at the westbound Interstate 84 Farewell Bend port of entry took 12 percent of vehicles and 14 percent of drivers off the road.

During trucker check 16, officers arrested a driver for possession of methamphetamine, hydrocodone tablets, alcohol, a handgun and a Tazer. Another driver was arrested during “Operation Trucker Check 16″ when troopers discovered he was in possession of marijuana plants, hashish, and a kit used for falsifying a urine test.

According to OSP Sergeant Dave MacKenzie, on April 8, 2009 at approximately 10:51 p.m. Senior Trooper Dianne Hansell contacted a commercial vehicle at the Woodburn Port of Entry to conduct a vehicle inspection during the 72-hour “Operation Trucker Check”.  While in contact with the operator, PHILLIP C. MATTOON, age 53, from El Paso, Texas, the trooper, assisted by Drug Recognition Experts,  determined he was in possession of four marijuana plants, user quantities of marijuana and hashish, and a kit used for falsifying a urine test.

MATTOON, who was driving for Complete Distribution Services Inc., a Texas trucking firm not related to a company by the same name based in Oregon, was taken into custody and lodged at the Marion County Jail.  Charges include:

• Operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle While in Possession of Marijuana
• Operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle While in Possession of Hashish
• Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance - Marijuana
• Unlawful Delivery of a Controlled Substance - Marijuana
• Unlawful Manufacturing of a Controlled Substance - Marijuana
• Falsifying a Drug Test Result

The bond between most truckers (the brotherhood of cdl) is strong. Most professional drivers travel down the freeway assuming that the driver next to them is also a professional. Here is a reality check for those who are quick to stand up for another trucker just because he/she is a “trucker”. We are not all good, we are not all created equal. This goes for all occupations, you can apply it to most things in life really.

Most drivers might frown on this next comment, because there is a stigma to dislike law enforcement if you’re a trucker, as if law enforcement is out to get you, which is totally moronic. I am proud of all law enforcement officers who have made a decision to serve and protect, to take the scum bags off the streets. I salute you for a job well done!

So the next time you’re travelling down the freeway and you see smoky bear sitting in the middle wave high like I do(with all five fingers), he is working for you not against you!

I really enjoy hosting The blind spot trucker talk show. However, lately it has been really trying to make the show happen. Three weeks ago I was stuck in Meta, MO with no internet connection which made it difficult to tell everyone that the show was canceled. Last week I was able to set the show up on time but was not in a position to manage running the show. Timing with my day job combined with tech problems have set the show back until this week when we all gathered together to catch up with each other. You can listen to the archive of shows at the link above or download this episode to your computer to play however you see fit.

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The FBI suspects that serial killers working as long-haul truckers are responsible for the slayings of hundreds of prostitutes, hitchhikers and stranded motorists whose bodies have been dumped near highways over the last three decades.

Federal authorities first made the connection about five years ago while helping police link a trucker to a string of unsolved killings along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma and several other states. After that, the FBI launched the Highway Serial Killings Initiative to track suspicious slayings and suspect truckers.

A computer database maintained by the FBI has grown to include information on more than 500 female crime victims, most of whom were killed and their bodies discarded at truck stops, motels and other locations along popular trucking routes crisscrossing the U.S.

The database also has information on scores of truckers who’ve been charged with killings or rapes committed near highways or who are suspects in such crimes, officials said. Authorities said they do not have statistics on whether driving trucks ranks high on the list of occupations of known serial killers.

But the pattern in roadside body dumps and other evidence has prompted many investigators to speculate that the mobility, lack of supervision and access to potential victims that come with the job make it a good cover for someone inclined to kill.

“You’ve got a mobile crime scene,” one investigator said. “You can pick a girl up on the East Coast, kill her two states away and then dump her three states after that.”

I can not argue that this scenario is not a possibility, that would be naive of me. However,  I can say that speculating  that because these killings and such happen near popular truck routes that these “serial killers” work in the trucking industry. Millions of non- truckers crisscross the country sharing the road  with us.

I am disgusted by some of the blanket statements written in this article that could easily mislead the public  to fear that “he is a trucker he could kill you”. The trucking industry already has a nasty reputation due to the media/film business over the years, and this article is no help at all.

For about the last two years or so I have been tossing around a web series idea called “long haul killer”  which is a trucker who travels across America killing hookers/pimps and such. Documenting it with amateur  videos on the internet as a way to collect his “trophy” and letting the viewers fuel his fire( I can not believe this has not happened yet).

I have decided to shy away from that as I would hate to contribute to creating a image even worse for the trucking industry. I know the show would have been viral with good marketing. Perhaps I will continue with the show instead he will be a asshole traveling journalist instead of a trucker?

Original article by:
Scott Glover
Los Angeles Times

Please read it here, tell me what you think about it?

Truckers may be able to put a little more pedal to the metal as Senate Republicans inserted language into the state transportation budget allowing vehicles and noncommercial buses over 8,000 pounds when empty to travel 65 miles per hour instead of the current 55.

During deliberations in the Senate’s transportation committee, the speed increase was added to the $7.6 billion state transportation budget, which is expected to be approved during a Senate floor vote. Ohio House members voted with a out come of 22-12.

At this point I guess I can come out and say it already. The law makers in OHIO seem to be getting their shit together on this one. For years they have been asleep behind the wheel while drivers and safety experts all agree that having a split speed limit is fucking dangerous. Not only that but is a major contributor to highway congestion. Kudos to OHIO for taking Californians dick out of its ass. If OHIO is willing what could happen next California straightening up? Uh, yeah alright,

Read more of the story at the links below.
OOIDA

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