ooida wages war with fmcsa

OODIA Wages War On FMCSA

The public eye is firmly focused on the ongoing OODIA lawsuit against the FMCSA or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Additional filings occurred in January 2012, due to the inability of the FMCSA to adhere to decisions propagated in the August 2011 hearing, when the United States Court of Appeals approved the OODIA-filed Cease and Desist Order. According to OODIA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration continues to operate, by their own accord regardless of the decision.

In this Cease and Desist Order, OODIA stated that the FMCSA had unlawfully utilized the electronic on-board recorders within Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration vehicles. This filing was a result of the lack of compliance of FMCSA to remove these recording devices from all federal vehicles driven by the federal agency’s personnel, following the United States Court of Appeals’ enforced ruling. Led by Judge Diane P. Wood, the United States Court of Appeals moved to nullify the AOBRD Regulation which allowed motor carriers, such as FMCSA, to install these devices inside the utilized vehicles. By vacated and/or nullifying, this regulation, the court releases the FMCSA of its authority to enforce the use of these devices.

Why are The FMCSA Recording Devices Unlawful?

According to reports and claims by OODIA, FMCSA is utilizing these electronic on-board recording devices for the sole purpose of harassing driving personnel employed through the agency. FMCSA claim the recording devices were originally installed to monitor their drivers and to ensure that these drivers were compliant with the regulations set forth by FMCSA to include the AOBRD Regulation. This compliance is based on the driver’s ability to drive these federal vehicles during working hours. The agency claims that the devices are utilized to ensure that all job duties are completed during the allotted work schedule.

The OODIA are singing a different tune, and believe the FMCSA and its blatant disregard for the court’s decision continue to utilize these devices for harassment purposes only. According to claims, these electronic on-board recorders are used invade the privacy of the workers and to allow the FMCSA to harass the drivers for not pushing their physical abilities to the max regardless of the public’s safety and the safety of their drivers.

These claims are not the first of their kind. According to Department of Public Safety reports, an increase in the death of motor carrier drivers has the direct resulted of employer enforced regulations and policies which require drivers to continue beyond scheduled working hours. These drivers often become exhausted from driving long distances without breaks and, as a result, pass out at the wheel cause their death and/or the death of surrounding drivers and their passengers. The OODIA wishes to prove the validity of their lawsuit against FMCSA for similar reasons, as this federal agency has continued to enforce the nullified AOBRD Regulation.

OODIA’s Role in the FMCSA Case

The OODIA is advocating for the safety of drivers of all included within the American Trucking Association including drivers employed by FMCSA. This foundation conducted driver related surveys, during their process of gathering data for the FMCSA lawsuit. The findings established that 68% of drivers employed through FMCSA were ordered directly by their employers to push the envelope and continue driving beyond their scheduled working hours. These hours were said, by FMSCA spokespersons, to fall within the parameters of the legally allowed driving time of motor carriers. The findings of the OODIA research indicated that this is just not the case.

Among the motor carrier drivers surveyed, at least 29% of these drivers were awakened by FMSCA management and ordered to continue to drive, when they were discovered to have fallen asleep inside the motor carriers. This discovery made possible only by the monitoring of the FMSCA drivers via the electronic on-board recorders. The OODIA filed its order to prevent the continuing utilization of these electronic on-board recorders all together, with the relevancy that FMSCA could not provide proof that the AOBRD regulation was not implemented for this purpose. According to the Court of Appeals, regulations based on the prevention of harassment were not stipulated within the literature for the regulation. The OODIA was successful in their attempts to receive approval of their order, based on the regulations lack of clarification pertaining to FMSCA harassment.

The advocacy of these motor carrier drivers by OODIA is an effort to increase federal and private sector awareness that the FMSCA is clearly ignoring Department of Transportation regulations. These DOT regulations require motor carriers to follow the 14-hour Duty Limit. This duty limit regulations required motor carrier drivers to refrain from driving for at least a 10-hour period following their shift. According to the DOT, drivers, who do opt to drive prior to this rest period are in violation with these regulations and endangering the public.

The ATA’s Response to the OODIA Lawsuit

The American Trucking Association, despite its lack of a direct response from the court, filed its own petition requesting intervention status to support Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. At press time, the ATA had received a response from OODIA in this matter. The courts granted OODIA permission to provide the ATA with their own response. This response, which included a copy of the OODIA order petition, informed the ATA, that their brief submitted to the court failed to address the initial purpose of the order. The American Trucking Association executives were identified, by motor carrier drivers employed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as regular participants of utilizing the EOBR for the purpose of harassment.

This information among other data gathered by OODIA produced findings that supported claims that drivers leased and/or employed through ATA board members reported the worst working experiences among the drivers surveyed. The OODIA data also implies that ATA was aware that regulations ceased to exist, prior to the establishment of the EOBR rule by FMSCA, permitted the use of monitoring devices in motor carriers. Prior to this rule, agencies were not permitted, under law to use GPS tracking devices in the motor carriers either. According to OODIA, the GPS tracking devices were also utilized for the sole purpose of harassment, despite ATA support of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s work practices and procedures. FMCSA continues to deny these allegations.    L.C. Ringler  (Gonzotrucker)

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South Africa Tractor Trailer South Africa Trucker

My life with transport and trucking in South Africa…

South African Truck Driver

Where do I start… for the last 10 years my life exists around transport, trucking and the biggest of all, trucks?  I wish my body had an odometer so I could really tell you how many kilometers  I have travelled.  And the most important of all…I will never ever swap it for anything else in the world. Yes, I am very passionate about it.  I had such good times and off course there are bad times but the good out shines the bad. I will always remember it. It made me who I am today and will still influence me and my future for the better. I know it will. There is no getting away from that fact.

I also have to add that everything I tell you here about transport and trucking in South Africa is how I have experienced it in the last 10 years. So please do not think it is factual for those how might think they can drag me to court if they don’t feel happy with what I have to say.

It all started when I was very young. I grew up in a family of 5.  My dad, 2 brothers and I were mostly in the garage busy either with building or working on cars and my mother was a house wife. That is when my love for wheels started and as I grew up it also grew to love bigger wheels and machines.  I bought magazines, posters and anything to do with a truck. As life went on I met a man as it usually is, in 2002. He was a truck driver. We are still married today despite some people saying it won’t last 2 years because we are both on the road and could not see each other. (I just have to add I do have a thing for a sexy man in a good looking truck). That was ten years ago. I got into a truck with him and realised this would be my future and so it happened. He thought me about trucks (the things I didn’t all ready know).

Today I own a transport company. H.J.M. Stander Transport and we are situated in Citrusdal, Western Cape, South Africa.

South Africa Women Truck Driver

We are quite a new company on our own, before this we both worker for other companies. We mostly haul freight in the Western Cape area in South Africa but sometimes we have to go to the long road to haul freight.  At the moment we haul anything legal that can fit on our trailer from bottled water, citrus fruit, watermelon, timber, clothing, containers, farming implements, tractors, glass for recycling, chemicals and even the much loved wines and beer.  In the past we have hauled loads that could go in a reefer trailer like meat, dairy, juice, medicine and dry goods.

We own an International Eagle 9700 pro sleeper N14 select plus.  He is the love of my life, if I may say so in more ways than one. I owe my current existence to this truck and transport.  There are more on their way in the future. There might even be left hands, as we may only import right hand drives in South Africa at the moment.

Transport in South Africa is a very unthankful business. It is not nearly worth as much as in USA or Europe nor is it respected enough to be acceptable.  Just a few days ago I had a huge meaning difference with a lady on face book because of a truck accident. It was a tanker truck filled with fuel and on its way to a filling station when the rear trailer of the link wagon fell over on the highway. It went up in flames causing big disruptions on the highways and on the residential roads. This lady washed out her mouth on face book about how she hates the trucks and in her eyes she thinks they take over the roads.

Also so as I try to fight for the trucks on the road and the drivers I reminded her that almost all the things she owns comes off a truck. The food she eats, the clothes she wears, the wines she drinks, the milk in her coffee, the petrol in her car, even the nice BMW in her driveway and the very expensive leather couch she uses to sit and kiss her boyfriend on, all come off a truck at some point or other.

This brings me back to the point I made earlier about the respect our trucks get from our fellow road users. South African road users think if they are in a car they have right away on the road and the trucks have to give way to them.

South Africa Women Truck Driver

Most of them have never even been in a truck nor do they know what it takes to drive a big rig or even keep it on the road. Also the road conditions are terrible. It’s full of potholes. I have to put on new tyres a lot sooner even before it’s had all its tread done. Every few months or so I have to retread the new tyres I replaced just awhile ago. It’s expensive. 2 Yokahama R23 front tyres costs R9 000 in South Africa. Retreat is at R2 000 each. The roads in South Africa causes a lot of accidents because of its terrible state. Luckily I have to say we do not drive so much on roads in South Africa where we have to pay tolls and it still looks as if you are on a gravel road because they do not use the money to fix it. It’s a shame I have to say.

$1 usd equals 7.57 zar  so r9 ooo equals $1,188 dollars

In 2002 when I started driving on the long road you could almost stop anywhere on the side of the road to have a rest or even take a nap. Now days you either have to drive yourself into a coma to get from starting point and the destination to avoid hijacking or having half of your load stolen right under your eyes. Or if you are lucky you will drive through a town where there is a little garage with some parking space for a truck to get in to and turn if they will allow you to park there for a few hours. There are only a few truck stops in our country which are for trucks and the truck driver when it comes to eating and resting. It’s not even a luxury.  It is run down and dirty. The food is unhealthy and so expensive you can hardly afford it. So we do the next best thing.

That is to have a bbq next to the road. We buy some meat in a town we drive through. Get some wood and maybe some fresh bread rolls or anything else you would like to have with your meat and it would not spoil. Then we drive out of town to the nearest and most decent place we can stop next to the road. We make an open fire and “braai” (it means to bbq meat on an open wood fire).  Usually it is more than one truck that stops. Drivers like to talk about anything and everything when they are parked next to the road.

There is huge trucker camaraderie amongst drivers on the road. If they have cb’s they talk. They talk the whole way on the road. Again they talk about anything and ever thing and even make up their own language and words for things in the road to stay awake. They support each other and when there is a death on the road of one of their mates they support the families of the lost driver. 2 of my trucker mates have lost their lives on South African roads in the last 5 years. Both in the action of doing what they loved the most…driving a  truck. It’s sad but it’s worthy because they gave their lives to the road.

The facilities I spoke about… I am so ashamed to even speak about it. When I am on the long road and I know I will not make it home in time to go take a shower at home I always have to ask someone, a man friend, to smuggle me in at one of these stops. He has to have a look if there is a cubicle open and if he can he will help me in because there are no separate facilities for a woman. You seldom come across a truck stop in South Africa where trucker woman have a toilet for them self’s and if you do it is in such a terrible state you will rather go and wash yourself outside under a tap in the coldwater. What dignity lies in that? It makes you hard. It is sad but true.

Then we get to the costs. Our diesel prices are now R10.70 a litre. Do I need to say more?

When speaking about driving a truck in South Africa…some people think if you drive a truck you do it because you can’t find any other job or are too dumb to go to university. This is because there is no respect for trucks on our roads in South Africa. Now a days there are so many drivers in the work market. It’s flooded because of unemployment. Anyone can get a truck licence but…can they really drive a truck.

Also, those who usually wash out their mouths about trucks on the roads and the drivers no nothing about a truck or transport business in South Africa.

Do they know what it takes to keep a truck on the road when you are tired and a boss is on your back to get to your delivery point so he can get the next load in line for loading. Its long hours and its tiring.

Brings me back to the few places you can stop to rest. In South Africa there are no laws on how many hours you may drive or how long you should rest. Some of the bigger companies where the drive are only a number they do have their own rules where they are checked up on tracking systems and expect drivers to rest. They must stop at about 11pm and may only drive again at 4 or 5pm. If they rest in this time it is their business, but the truck must be parked.

Now a days I am home allot more than a few years ago because of my child and responsibilities that comes with running a business. Every time I have the chance to meet a truck driver I always think to myself…what does this man or woman give up to be on the road and earn a salary to feed his or her family.

The average truck driver in South Africa earn about R8000 to R10 000 locally and on the long hauling about R11 000 up to R16 000. When you see those amounts you should also ask what these drivers have to do to earn that money. Long hours on the roads and long times away from their families and home comforts.    ( R10 ooo equals $1320. )   ( R16 000 equals $2112. )

South Africa women truck driver

They give up their health for the road. Does any one of the public ever think about that? I know they don’t.

In my years I have been on the road I have visited a lot of places. Some of the most beautiful towns and attractions in South Africa. I always say with the transport I have seen and been places I would never have seen and experienced if I had to have worked in an office.

I remember once I had to load at an abattoir. When I got there the load was not ready yet and had to sleep there to load the next day. That afternoon I took a walk and asked some of the workers if I could go in and see what they do inside. So I walked in and saw where the cows where put down and skinned. Yes I also have to say that if you know you are not a “strong” person you should not go in there. But I am glad I did. Now I know. Just as I know how wheat is handled before it’s made in to bread or porridge the same goes for chicken nuggets. Still I will not give up these experiences up for anything else may it be good or bad.

Now with all this said. The bad and negative feeds back I gave you now, I still love trucks, transport and trucking. It’s in my blood. I cannot live without my daily truck fix. May it be taking a drive in a truck or just watching trucks on our roads. Everything you read here is how I have experienced transport and trucking in South Africa the last 10 years. If I remember in ten years time I will again write about my experiences. Who knows……?

https://twitter.com/#!/Ronelst  Follow me on twitter @ronelst

(I apologise for the quality of some of the photos.)

South Africa Women Truck Driver

South Africa Women Truck Driver

South Africa Women Truck Driver

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THE BENEFIT’S TO BEING A TRUCK DRIVER

A career in trucking might be the change your looking for. “It’ can offer more benefits then you think due to the shortage of truck drivers.  Many trucking outfits are starting to pay more for cross country driving.  With more than 70% of the country’s freight being moved by truck drivers it’s an industry that’s sure to keep growing.  The trucking industry has plenty of benefits to offer you if you’re interested. “Consider these benefits of being a truck driver.”

“MOST TRUCKING COMPANYS OFFER MAJOR BENEFITS.”

Medical,  dental, vision,  prescription coverage,  and 401k retirement plus life insurance.   Some truck drivers even get paid holidays.  These benefits rival the fortune 500 companies!

“GREAT PAY.”

 With a shortage of drivers most companies are giving raises and bonuses, particular for the long haul driver.  “Companies pay more for safe and reliable truck drivers”,  because they are rare.  A truck driver can earn more than a college graduate.  They are  guaranteed pay raises as they get more years of experience Some truck drivers get them for safety, or the types of loads they haul.

“FLEXIBILTY.”

 You can choose what types of driving you like local,  regional or long haul?  Also what types of freight you want to haul?  Some companies even allow children and pets to ride along.  Or drive as a team and you can earn over “$100,000 a year.”

“JOB SECURITY.”

 In an ever changing world one thing stays the same things need to get from place to place.  Truck driving promises a secure job market and the longer you drive without any accidents the more secure you are.

So there it is now you can decide if trucking is for you or not?  ”It’s”  a different type of job not 9 to 5.  But the benefits are great, and your always in a new location not stuck behind a desk all day.  Trucking is a way of life and for some, not all its the life they wish to lead.      GONZOTRUCKER

,

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My Big Rig Hero by Fat_n_HappyHW

So, it’s a crisp fall day in upstate New York.  I’m staring out at all the beautiful

fall foliage because autumn is my favorite season.  I’m supposed to be getting us the

next load out, but I see a sign for Niagara Falls.  Well, more than just a sign, a bill

board.  Niagara Falls?
“Can we?  Can we?” I beg.

“Call the truck stops and see if we can drop the
trailer and I’ll drive ya up there,” he

answers.  Each one
says no.  I must have had the most
pitiful look in the world on my

face, because then he said, “well, see if you can get
hold of someone in the office and

find out if we can get in there with the truck and
trailer.”

I must have dialed, been on hold, and then transferred a
million times before I was

finally told that deliveries are made to “lot one”
and therefore it shouldn’t be a

problem.  Yeehaw, I’m
going to Niagara Falls!!!

“I hope you’re right, Buttercup” he says.  “If we get stuck we’ll need a helicopter
to

lift us out of there.”
Well, secretly inside I was praying like mad that I was right

and we could get in and out of there okay.  One mistake in a big rig and you can kiss

your retirement goodbye.
We put the destination in co-pilot and we were off.

The closer we got, the more obvious it became that the
delivery trucks my “office angel”

had been speaking of were not semis but straight trucks that
max out at maybe 24 foot

for the trailer and our trailer was twice that.  But like a trooper, my BigRigPig just

kept going.  I know it
must have gone against every fiber of his professional being to

navigate those streets leading up to “lot one” of
the Niagara Falls State Park.

After we crossed the bridge over the Niagara River, the road
became very narrow and the

curves were so tight we could read the license plate on our
own trailer.  But BigRigPig

is such a professional that it was no time before we rolled
up to the ticket booth, um

toll booth?  Not sure
what it’s called, but we had to do a little chain/cone moving to

maneuver the truck and trailer through the booth lane and
into the parking lot.  And,

then, of course, we had to take up quite a few parking
spaces, none of which were for

trucks!!

Once we were parked, I changed into tennis shoes, we grabbed
our phones and cameras and

hurried out of the truck before anyone could tell us we
shouldn’t be there!  Luckily,

and in spite of about 8 police vehicles in the parking lot,
it was “off season” and “after

hours”, so we weren’t really in anyone’s way.

I can’t really describe the Falls to you.  It’s something you have to experience for

yourself.  If you’re
spiritual at all, you’ll feel it the moment you hear them. There’s

a certain hum or vibration you almost immediately feel.  It draws you toward it.  The

closer you get, the louder it gets until it’s almost
deafening.  You step up to the

rails, look over…
you can’t help it.  Okay, I
couldn’t help it.  I felt the urge to

walk out in it.
Bizarre, I know, but my mind kept going there.  Anyhow, the majesty

defies my ability to vocalize the beauty and I will say it’s
only second to the Grand

Canyon.

We spent some time just listening.  We spent some time just mesmerized by the
spray of

the water.  We spent
some time pretending to throw each other over the edge.  Then it

was time to go.

Now, I’m not sure I got across on the way in just how tight
and unmaneuverable the road

was, but just let me say, it was way scarier getting out of
there than getting in!!  But

he did it, of course, because he’s a professional driver and
it’s his job.  But he was

something else that day… he was my BigRigHero!!

FatAndHappyHousewife

@Fat_n_HappyHW on twitter

Mom to five, wife to a long-haul truck driver… fat
and happy am I!! Always looking for recipes that store well on the truck or
even for camping.

http://www.fatandhappyhousewives.com

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