Suggested project for do-gooders

Well I have a suggestion for a worthwhile project for people who like to get involved in causes like MADD. (mothers against drunk drivers).

How about PIST? (People intervening for Sleepy Truckers)?

With fuel prices like they are, the trucking companies are restricting idle time.

Well that sounds like a good thing but in the summer it is too hot to sleep in a truck when it is 90 degrees outside.

They have passed lots of Federal regulations requiring that truckers have to shut down after certain number of hours of driving to ensure adequate rest.

But have you ever tried to sleep in a vehicle when it's 90 degrees outside with no AC?

Give it a try sometime. Some hot afternoon just go hop in your car and crawl in the back seat and try to take a nap.

I know those on the right will say just put APU's on the trucks so you can run the AC (and heat in the winter) without idling the trucks.

But if you think the companies will do that without it being mandatory you are exhibiting a pollyann attitude.

So how about it Stephanie?

You are always looking for a worthwhile cause to support.

How about organizing the first PIST chapter in the country right here in the Wild and Wonderful?

Newer trucks are coming with the smaller air and heat control devices the run off batteries not used to start the truck, last for up to 10 hours and are recharged when the truck is running.

There are devices that plug into the lighter on your truck that are around $100.00. If your company won’t purchase it to reduce their fuel expense (they won’t be in business for long if they operate like that) then purchase it yourself and claim it on your taxes.

I am not aware of any such device Aaron.

Not even for $1000.

I did not complain during the winter months.

I can always put enough covers on to keep warm in winter.

But I cant take enough off to stay cool in summer.

Usually (but not always) it cools down enough at nite to sleep.

But as you probably are aware, truckers as often as not sleep during the day and drive at nite.

How about one for under $50.00. Every major truck stop sells them Sherm. Buy you one and submit the receipt to your company. If it's denied, take it all the way to your operations manager. If he doesn’t approve an expense that will generate him 1000 % return on investment, do you really want to work for a company like that?

Well Aaron I have a small refrigerator in my truck. It works fine long as the truck is running. But it does not take long to run down the battery when you turn the engine off.

The device you posted is more or less just a cooler that blows air and you have to keep putting ice in it.

You would spend more in ice than the cost of idling the truck.

(The difference being the driver would pay for the ice but the owner pays for the fuel.)

The serious APU's that will heat and cool a truck cost several grand.

GEEEZE Sherman, me thinks you have been SPOILED ROTTEN after those years of comfort a crusing around in your SP cruiser ....... at no expense to you.

Well Shermmy, ......... welcome to the real world, ...... and quit bitching.

Freight companies are in business to make money ...... and CAN'T BE RAISING TAXES ...... I mean rates, ...... every other week or so just to appease and satisfy your every little want or whim.

Well Sam do you know how many kids die from being confined in a hot vehicle with no AC in the middle of the day?

And just a footnote here but I understand some localities that prohibit idling make exceptions if you have a pet inside the truck....

shermangeneral wrote:
The serious APU's that will heat and cool a truck cost several grand.

If you say so Sherm.

http://cumminsonan.com/apu/products/payback/

Well for example here is a decent looking product from Cummins/Onan.

Even at 8 grand the units will pay for themselves over time.

But if they can just tell the driver to tough it out and drive with no sleep there is no incentive in the short term.

Sherm, this is a state of the art system that not only provides air and heat for a 'condo' truck, it also provides the power to run the tv, dvd player, fridge, satelite system, computer and everything else in the truck. Why should a trucking company provide for all of that?

Whether you agree or not, there are affordable units out there that will cool a sleeper in the summer and heat one in the winter for very reasonable prices.

I'm talking about heating/air (need) vs you talking about a portable generator (want).

Well trust me if I could get something that would heat/cool for under 100 I would have one.

You say you manage trucks so just pick a hot afternoon and go take a nap in one of your own trucks without a/c and you will feel my pain.

How long have you driven a truck Sherm.

I am a relative newcomer. About 4 years.

I know you are an oldtimer with more experience.

But nontheless I know you cannot sleep in a truck without a/c when it is over 90 degrees.

I realize you are the domineering type and probably believe you can make a proclamation and tell everybody just go sleep in the truck in the hot sun and like it.

But that will not solve the problem of having a driver on the road with no sleep.

You don't know shinola Sherm.

I started driving when I was 18 and drove for about 12 years, logging close to a million miles. In the spring of 90, I went to Grand Rapids, MI and picked up a load going to Florida. I made it from Grand Rapids to just north of Murfreesboro when I ran out of driving hours. I wasn't going to go through that weigh station illegal so I went to bed and laid there for all of about 15 minutes in the 80 degree weather with no air. At that point, I got back up and continued to Conley, Ga driving for 14 straight hours to one of our terminals. I took in my log, gave it to dispatch, told him I was illegal and told him I wasn't going anywhere until someone fixed my AC and I went to bed. They fixed the AC.

The only other time I was on the road and my AC went out, the joke I was driving for out of Rock Branch refused to fix it on the road because he said it cost too much. I went into a service center just outside Indy and talked a mechanic into fixing it and charging it as a blown steer tire. When I got back to Rock Branch on a load from Jersey going to Louisana, I cleaned out my truck and told them to kiss my ass, I wasn't going t work for someone that refused to take care of his drivers. There are some things that can wait on the road. AC or heat not working isn't one of them.

I had a driver who told me Tuesday his AC was out when I ask him why he was running with his window down. I told him to stop at Penske and get it fixed and he said he would be late. I went into dispatch and told them to call the customer and tell them the truck would be late for mechanical problems. It wasn't the first time I canceled a load to get AC fixed in the spring.

No, I wouldn't tell my drivers to sleep in the heat and like it.

If the company you work for Sherm won't get you a portable AC unit or reimburse you for one, then find one that will. There are companies out there that will take care of their drivers. If you continue to work for one that doesn't, you have no one to blame but yourself.

Well I have learned to survive Aaron.

I was attempting to point out a general problem.

Not a personal problem.

There is a problem with drivers not getting sleep because their companies will not let them idle their trucks to run the a/c.

That is a general and widespread problem.

A serious safety problem imo.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

Who's denying anything Sherm? Yes, it is a problem but it's being addressed by the industry. Newer trucks have the APU's that you referenced. Many truck stops provide (for a fee) portable power, air and heat so a driver doesn't have to idle, especially in the northeast. There are very reasonably priced air and heat units and most companies will provide or pay for them.

Granted, there are a few mom and poppers out there as well as some cheap skates that don't care about drivers but they are quickly becoming extinct because good drivers with good driving records won't stay with outfits like that for very long. About all those companies can get are drivers with poor driving histories, previous avoidable accidents or high license points. And sooner or later, even those companies will come into the window when trucks with APU's become available as used trucks and those types of outfits purchase those.

There is a problem with drivers not getting sleep because their companies will not let them idle their trucks to run the a/c.

That is a general and widespread problem.

A serious safety problem imo.

Considering your normal modus operandi would the solution not be to tax the rich, re-distribute their income among the little people, and create another entitlement?

shermangeneral wrote:I am not aware of any such device Aaron.

Not even for $1000.

I did not complain during the winter months.

I can always put enough covers on to keep warm in winter.

But I cant take enough off to stay cool in summer.

Usually (but not always) it cools down enough at nite to sleep.

But as you probably are aware, truckers as often as not sleep during the day and drive at nite.

Shermy,
Only drive refrigerated trucks, then sleep in the back with extra blankys... (If you think that you have it bad, just think about the poor polars bears dying from heatstroke and maybe you won't complain so much!)

Here is another polar bear dying of heatstroke--despite CPR by an Eskimo!!

Well Terri is your pulpit air conditioned and heated?

How about your office Aaron?

Just curious.

Yes Sherm my office is air conditioned with the air conditioner I purchased and put in there. If the company you work for won't buy you a portable AC, why not just buy one yourself (thery're still under a hundred bucks), or go to work for a companty that will provide you one instead of whining about it!!!

Aaron,

You make an excellent point. I think employees have a certain obligation to find good employers, or else they themselves encourage bad ones.

I feel the same way as a consumer. If one company treats its workers better than another, why tell the government to change the bad one when we can choose to go to the better one?

I can only speak for my county in Illinois, but there have to be a dozen trucking companies hiring right now. I can't help but think that some take care of their drivers and some do not, and that a little investigation could tell you who is who.

SheikBen wrote:I can only speak for my county in Illinois, but there have to be a dozen trucking companies hiring right now. I can't help but think that some take care of their drivers and some do not, and that a little investigation could tell you who is who.

Well Mike that is true.

On the face of it.(again let me point out I am referring to a general problem. Aaron is deliberately twisting my point to make it appear that it is a personal problem with me. I personally have a lot more options than most.)

This goes to a bigger issue.

Is commercial truck regulation a legitimate concern for government, or should it be just left to the companies to choose to consider public safety?

A decision has been made (rightly or wrongly) that it is a legitimate government concern.

Regulations have been put in place that truckers cannot operate a vehicle after they have been on duty for 14 hours.

The expressed purpose for this regulation is to ensure adequate rest for drivers of commercial trucks.

However that purpose is thwarted if the driver is given break time in 90 degree heat and not allowed to run the a/c.

You legitimately point out that other companies are hiring.

That is because the turnover rate for truckers is sky high. Way over 100%.

Wonder why that is?

I know a lot of my friends on the right believe in very limited gvt. action.

So is public safety one of those limited areas where gvt. regulation is justified?

I am sure you know it is easy for someone to sit on their hi-horse totally separated from a problem and make simplistic declarations how they can solve it.

That is Aaron.

Others can put their head in the sand or dodge the issue with humorous distractions.

That is Jim.

There are lots of serious accidents involving commercial vehicles, and lots of those are the result of driver fatigue.

To deny that a problem exists like Aaron is doing does nothing to solve the problem.

Neither do Jim's humorous remarks directed toward me.

The trucking business is very competitive and the companies are not going to voluntarily increase operating costs just to accomodate drivers' comfort.

Aaron's simplistic remarks notwithstanding.

You get into issues like gauging the quality of the driver's rest. Sure, the government has an interest in the safety of the motoring public. And yes, trying to sleep in a tin can in temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit means the driver's down time will be poor quality. Should trucking companies be forced to put their people up in Holiday Inn Express? I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for.

I would suggest either provide climate controlled cabs or motels.

Do you find that unreasonable?

Those are not exclusive or take it/leave it suggestions.

Just suggestions.

They claim it takes one gallon per hour to idle. (I would guess half that).

But using their figures it would take $50 for ten hours of idling and that would pay for a motel room.

But there are not nearly enough motel rooms to accomodate all the otr truckers.

I would leave such decisions up to management.

That's why they get the big bucks not me.

Just require what is reasonable and let the professional decision makers work the details out...