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The blind spot  radio talk show is a leader in trucking industry news and product information for the truck driving community. In this episode of the blind spot trucker talk show we talked with trucking industry experts and friends from around the world about the recent truck stop acquisitions and the American truckers Association’s push for larger vehicles.

Other Topics:

• Over length and weight regulations pushed by the ATA
• California’s GO GREEN push for tighter epa regulations
• Truck Stop buyouts                                     Free Download| Subscribe
• Dealings with hookers                   

Texting while driving a tractor trailer.

Recently Virginia Tech Transportation Institute completed a study claiming that truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones.(read that full story here) First I want to point out that I can agree with the fact that it is obviously dangerous to text and drive. However I would like to know why this “study” was done in the first place, They claimed “we are scientist, not politicians”, yeah alright fucker. This project has to be funded by someone hmm I wonder who that is? Clearly they have a political agenda. to BAN use of Cell phones all together.

driving and texting

I personally avoid texting while I’m driving. Not just because of the danger of it but because I refuse to have a conversation with someone in text when I could just pick up the phone and talk (Chicks love to have text conversations, gets some balls and man up, tell that bitch listen this is fucking stupid call me if you want to talk). I think anyone who holds down a conversation via text or IM instead of  picking up the phone to connect on a level where at least the tone of your voice carries some emotion really needs to consider, is this out of convenience or are you sheltering yourself from the outside world to live your virtual life? Technology is great,  at the same time it has made it really easy for people who suffer from anti social behaviors and other mental conditions to push themselves further into a dark hole, Lurkers are the majority of internet users after all.

To get back on point,  I question the validity of this study all together. With out facts as to how they came to this conclusion I wouldn’t consider the use of this study in any legislation changes. Further more, even with all the data there are so many variables in a study such as this that it would be generalizable at best. Of course it is dangerous to drive distracted or even walk for that matter. Do you really need a three year study to show what common sense already tells you. No, of course not,  however to change the law  you do.

The bottom line is this, even if you put a ban on cell phones you can not put a ban on stupid. There are a million and one things to distract drivers,  not just cell phones. I believe using cell phones is dangerous, I also believe that people  should have the right to use their own discretion. More importantly is that if goverment starts with banning cell phones while driving where does the banning end?

Media reports stirred in May that troubled trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc. would ask for $1 billion in aid from the federal bailout fund, officially known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. While many trucking industry bloggers wrote about this I stayed away from it because I new something was smelling like ass, and it was not the driver sitting behind this keyboard. At that time, YRC Chief Executive Bill Zollars(aka:whiny bitch) told the Wall Street Journal that by applying for the funds, he hoped to spark a conversation with lawmakers about the company’s hefty pension obligations.

WOW, talk about a direct kick to the nuts, This is one of the worst PR stunts I have seen in the trucking industry EVER. Zollars, should fill ashamed of himself like those people who use to wear MC HAMMER PANTS. You would expect YRC who runs Yellow and Roadway to be above this but apparently not! The Overland Park, Kan.-based company’s obligations are estimated at about $2 billion, a large chunk of that from multi-employer plans.

Zollars claimed the pension obligations are unfair because YRC must now pay for employees who never worked for the company. Funny how this asscap complies with the union when things are going good then when it comes to taken care of his obligations when things are not so good it is no FAIR, no fair, no fair. Zollars whining like a little bitch reminds me of those kids in school who would brag all day long about how great they’re at this sport and that sport but when in a losing battle would walk away and quit before you could beat them fairly.

In a internal memo distributed to customers Wednesday, the company said it “has no current intentions of applying for TARP funds,” but it does “want to address the structural inequities created by multi-employer pension plans.” I would be willing to bet that if the shoe was on the other foot (and soon could be) that YRC worldwide employees would want their pension if the company folded. The purpose for joining a union is the added security (pay,pension etc.) that this one voice brings you.

Want to talk fair Zollars? How about those guys who worked their entire life paying into and supporting the union, who have also been through the struggles you’re going through financially Just to have some shit head like yourself decide you don’t want to play no more. Zollars this is not how a union works, you can not be united up to the point you have to pay. You are a asshole and a cock sucker! What more would you expect from a guy in the business of fabricating stories to get attention. Which in the end has hurt his costumer base which is the real reason for sending out the memo.

A national trucker drivers’ association is suing the Minnesota State Patrol, contending that it is illegally taking rigs out of service based on a secret interrogation checklist that officers use in the hopes of catching operators who are too tired to be on the road.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday (5/13/9)  in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Inc. on behalf of drivers Stephen K. House of Sprindale, Wash., and Gary B. Page, of Spencer, Wis. Named as defendants, all with the patrol, are Chief Mark Dunaski, Capt. Ken Urquhart and a handful of officers.

“We consider this … an outrageous abuse of police power and an intolerable violation of the civil and constitutional rights of professional truckers,” said Jim Johnston, president of the association, the largest in the nation representing professional truckers. “We see no justification for this conduct either scientifically or in rational, legitimate law enforcement.”

A copy of the suit and the checklist were forwarded to the State Patrol this morning for comment. A spokesman said the patrol was declining to say anything because it involves pending litigation.

The suit says that the checklist was created by Urquhart, and officers were “strongly urged” in an internal memo to use it when stopping truckers, even though it “does not define fatigue, nor does it incorporate any medically or clinically tested and approved methods for measuring fatigue.”

The suit adds that the patrol has failed to make this checklist public and used it to remove House and Page from behind the wheel.

The checklist, the suit says, includes various criteria to evaluate, among them: driver’s mood and cleanliness, odor in the cab, overflowing ashtrays, presence of a urine bottle. Also on the list, the suit says: driver’s neck size, tendency to be overly agreeable, presence of a cell phone, access to the Internet.

In this episode of the blind spot trucker talk show we covered quite a bit of ground, our main focus of the show was to discuss the legality and our personal opinions on this controversial topic.

Other topics covered on the show:

• The run for cancer

• Sleep apnea/cpap machines

• Right to carry a gun in the truck

Download the show for free| Subscribe to this podcast on Itunes for free

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.

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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