A Matter Of Life And Death On The Road

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States carry commercial driver's licenses despite also qualifying for full federal disability payments, and some of those drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells, according to a new U.S. safety study obtained by The Associated Press.

The problems threatening highway travelers persist despite years of government warnings and hundreds of deaths and injuries blamed on commercial truck and bus drivers who blacked out, collapsed or suffered major health problems behind the wheels of vehicles that can weigh 40 tons or more.

-APA Matter Of Life And Death On The Road

Often the broadcast news media does not seem to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Instead of quoting another ridiculous, ignorant, and erroneous statement by George Bush or constant coverage of uneventful McCain and Obama sighting there are many more serious headline stories that the media is missing or deliberately ignoring. The number of colossal and deadly tractor-trailer crashes and ongoing danger they posed to the public is an area that has been greatly ignored and under reported for years.  

Most of the current ills facing America can be trace back to the Republican’s "Contract On America" and their subsequent control of congress. Now the sick chickens born out of this sick conservative republican era, culture, and climate of deregulation and corporate lawlessness have all come home to roost, and we, the innocent citizens, are the ones to suffer the consequences.

Under republican rule, every agency from the FDA, MSHA, to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, have deliberately allowed a climate and period of lawlessness to exist that has lead to hardship and/or deaths of thousand of innocent citizens and/or workers.

The trucking industry is the most out of control industry that is in the closest proximity to the American public. And I have notice a failure on the part of the media and government to report and expose the occurrences of accidents and horrific crashes brought about by lax regulation of this industry. While near mid air collisions, by planes, are reporte daily collisions and near collisions of tractor-trailer rigs are under reported locally and nationally.

The greatest outrage is that congress (Democrats and Republicans), the government is ruled by trucking industry and other lobbyist, and if Obama and Democrats does not take this opportunity to make a dramatic change in the regulatory course of America then nothing will ever change in Washington.

Truth is, there are too many tractor-trailer rigs on America’s highways considering their danger, fuel consumption, and the fact that America’s railroads are a much better alterative to this hazard and congestion.

There is a place and time for political coverage and discussions; however, there are too many other and more pressing issues being ignored that we the people must force to the table.

•  Wow.

  Thats all I can say.  Thanks for posting this and please post a tip jar.

  by GreenHills on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 06:58:17 AM PDT

•  Drivers who are subject to impairment

  whether from seizures, drowsy medications, or other threats to continous alertness ... have a strong motivation to conceal their impairment.  They want to keep their drivers licenses so that the choice of when or if to drive, is their own choice.  In most cases, they need to drive in order to avoid threatening their livelihood.

  How much MORE so is the case, then, for those who drive for a living.  The threat to the public is far higher, but the personal threat is far higher as well.  Voluntary disqualification from one's career is a lot to expect, of anybody.

  Generous retirement packages and retraining would be a good thing, here.  FUNDED enforcement and screening would be a good thing as well.

  But, innumeracy being what it is, and rampant ... we will spend billions against imaginary or miniscule risks, while ignoring less dramatic scenarios of far, far greater probability.  Like being squashed flat by a big-rig whose driver just had a heart attack.

  by lgmcp on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:08:36 AM PDT

•  Unadulterated Bullshit

  This article, and you, try to portray a non-existent epidemic of death and destruction caused by professional drivers keeling over at the wheel out-of-the-blue.

  My DOT Physical has to be renewed every two years, and my medical card is examined by a uniformed officer EVERY time I interact with one, whether I'm stopped for a possible infraction or just getting one of my frewquent paperwork inspections.

  When was YOUR last physical, and when did a cop last check YOUR medical fitness to drive??

  Furthermore, the assertion that:

  there are too many tractor-trailer rigs on America’s highways considering their danger, fuel consumption, and the fact that America’s railroads are a much better alterative to this hazard and congestion.

  displays a profound ignorance of how this economy works, and will work into the foreseeable future. It would take trillions of dollars worth of railroad construction (in whose backyard??) to make a dent in the number of trucks on the road, not to mention the millions of acres of warehousing that would have to be pulled out of somebody's ass to move away from Just-in-Time.

  by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:21:54 AM PDT

  •  Agree about safety

    The professionalism and skill of truck drivers far exceed that of car drivers. I'd much rather share the road with them. I support rail for energy conservation and oil dependence, but overblown safety fears are a losing argument for promoting rail.

    by dwcal on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:32:58 AM PDT

    •  In Over 15 Years of Driving Professionally

      I've seen literally hundreds of car/truck wrecks happen, or seen the immediate aftermath, and can count on my fingers those that were caused by the truck.

      Heart attacks and such DO happen to truckers, like anybody else, but most of the time they do not involve any other vehicle.

      by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:37:46 AM PDT

  •  One way or another, I've been pondering that

    JIT could slowly see a pullback as the assumed method of doing business.  At least, in some sectors and channels.

    The question of JIT viability may possibly hinge on things like longer-term costs between storage space vs. shipping/distribution, related to B2B and consumer expectations being downgraded a few decades or so.

    It's probably not an easy time to predict future supply costs for non-warehoused businesses, these days.  And, won't get any better for some time.

    by wader on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:59:48 AM PDT

    •  Or It Could Go the Other Way

      My company, a little (tiny, actually) trucking company, got a good deal on an empty warehouse a block down the road from our yard/shop, so they branched out in a small way into warehousing, primarily as load bait. One customer immediately gave us ALL their warehousing and shed a building 30 miles away and another wants to if our capacity will handle it.

      Right now looks like a good time to shed capital assets that don't generate revenue to a lot of companies.

      by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 03:14:42 PM PDT

      •  So, they're renting instead

        of leasing/owning?

        Do you get any distribution from the deals?

        by wader on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 06:21:19 PM PDT

        •  Nope, I'm Just a Driver

          Now they pay only for the space they need rather than for an entire building and staff for it.

          by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 06:35:42 PM PDT

          •  Sorry, by "you" I meant

            your company that made the space deal.

            I entirely understand the desire to only pay for storage you need, with associated maintenance and such.

            I'm not sure if that is the opposite of having JIT becoming more iffy as transport rates increase, though - certainly, if some companies can find ways to stockpile anticipated goods closer to major delivery points, that could help them - something they already attempt today.

            My point above was that I've wondered for some years if the JIT paradigm for some markets or goods may decrease.  Especially for lower-volume, low/medium profit items.

            by wader on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 06:42:48 PM PDT

            •  I Think They Aim to Break Even

              The money is in locking down the freight.

              There's little advantage to most of our customers to get away from JIT, the movement costs pretty much the same either way, without storage/inventory costs.

              by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:01:30 PM PDT

  •  Wondered if you'd weigh in :-)

    I have often read your posts, TBK, and appreciate the timely and relevant safety information you provide.  Thanks!

    by luckylizard on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 10:53:37 AM PDT

    •  Just Accidental

      Was unloading a load of Starbuck's tea and noticed I had a connection in the little distribution center I was sitting in...

      by The Baculum King on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 03:18:24 PM PDT

•  Got anything to back this up?

  Stats on tractor trailer incidents?  "Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety" isn't an objective source.

  by MsWings on Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 07:27:42 AM PDT