What Are These Onerous New Federal Regulations?

Have you seen any news coverage of the new federal regulations? I keep hearing how impossible and expensive they are to meet but am having difficulty finding any. Here's one for you:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/news-releases/2011/USDOT-and-America-Farmers.aspx

Farmers who operate farm equipment will be required to have commercial drivers licenses, a level of license designed to guarantee the safety of highway travelers. How many farmers will be saved by these regulations? How many driven off the family farm?

Living out here in the boonies where farmers regularly travel public roads with their farming equipment, I actual favor increasing regulations on them. We have a couple of really old men driving tractors down the middle of these narrow roads without any regard for the rest of us. They are a hazard and that's a fact.

Mr friend, do I really hear you saying that you want the federal government to come to Putnam County to patrol the roads? Wouldn't you rather keep your problem local? Outside of WWII (and some episodes there were pretty dicey) what has the federal government handled with any degree of competency?

ohio county wrote:Mr friend, do I really hear you saying that you want the federal government to come to Putnam County to patrol the roads? Wouldn't you rather keep your problem local? Outside of WWII (and some episodes there were pretty dicey) what has the federal government handled with any degree of competency?

The federal government has handled nothing competently, including WWII. At least in my humble opinion. I know that "if" is a big word, but I have to wonder "if" World War Two would have been fought, "if" we had stayed out of Europe during the first World War. We'll never know the answer and I understand that.

I now understand why some of the founders of this nation feared a centralized and strong federal government.

Not the federal government, but it sure would be nice if the state did something about it.
I'm so disgusted with Washington I'm ready to move to the first state that launces a serious bid to secede, even if that state is Ohio.

You don't get much out of Putnam County, do you? When my Dad started going on nocturnal drives and rear-ended another car, I called the state police to ask what I could do about it. The trooper who answered told me he would go to my Dad's house, demand his license, and tell him he was required to take another driver's test. I thought that a little extreme and told him I'd just take Dad's keys. He surrendered his license and keys to me without any protest but it was good to know they'd do that. Troopers may be less willing to do that so near our state's capital...

It's just that it's sort of a netherworld where I live. I'm so far out in the boonies and within a couple of miles of Mason & Jackson counties. Actually, that's one thing I like about living out here, little inteference from agents of the government.
Never mind. Let the crazy old bastards ride their tractors until a family member takes the keys away.

Steph, I'm with Jimmy on this, I think the "cure" of government forcing CDLs is worse than the problem of farmers on the streets acting inconsiderately.

I'm trying to be open-minded but I believe the problem should be localized. I'm not sure how to handle Putnam County's apathy...

By staying out of Putnam County! Seriously, I'm with you on local control, and does anyone really ever HAVE to go through Putnam County:)? I lived there for awhile, mind you.

Well, I've managed to mostly stay out of Putnam County lo these sixty years... I met an interesting guy named Pat Murphy who owned Midway Ford. He started telling me a story about how his brother saw his boss, Mr. Lickinogger, and, blind drunk, started upbraiding him. "Mr. Lickinogger," said I. "Of the gas department of Owens-Libby-Owens in Kanawha City?". He said, "Yes, how did you know?" I said, "Because my Dad left there in the summer of 1957." "That's when I started," he replied. He was hired as wild Bill's replacement. It's a small world but I wouldn't want to paint it.

That is kind of odd. OK, want to hear something else odd? I know 3 other families of expatriot Rhode Islanders living in Putnam County WV. Somehow that's freaky.

You should organize them into a voting bloc and you can run Putnam County...

For whatever reason I keep running into Brits in LaSalle County, a most decidedly un-cultured corner of NC Illinois. Small world, indeed, except to painters and cattle ranchers.

not to mention a cruel world, especially for koalas