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Whether or not a state can legally force you to shut your truck off
or not, if you are ticketed for it, how many drivers are going to try to
fight the ticket? Although we ARE NOT a legal service, I
see no reason why we can't offer that option, or at least some type of
legal referral system at some point in the future if drivers want it.
Personally I have no problem accepting new technology, and I would
love to see a federal mandate requiring all new trucks to be equipped
with an auxiliary generator that provides not only heating and cooling
for the truck, but 110 volt A.C. power as well. The units do help reduce
pollution, fuel consumption, and noise levels, and the one's I've
checked out do seem to cool the truck down as effectively as the air
conditioner driven by the trucks engine. The units pay for themselves
within three to four years, and many owner operators and some companies
have seen the advantage in investing in them.
Unfortunately, not all companies have taken advantage of them yet,
and there are some valid reasons why. If they turn over their trucks
every two or three years, by retrofitting the the auxiliary units on
every truck, the units may not pay for themselves in fuel savings. There
are also installation fees to consider, and warranty issues to contend
with. If the auxiliary units are already installed by the factory on
every new truck produced, recovering the investment cost of the unit,
the installation fees, and the warranty issues becomes irrelevant.
Would I shut down to demand all new trucks be fitted with an
auxiliary generator? No, but I would shut down to make states quit
trying to force us to shut off our engines.
While many truck stops do have the
IdleAire
system in place now, that doesn't help when we're at a dock, a truck
stop that doesn't have IdleAire, or all of the IdleAire spots are full.
Even when IdleAire is available, many companies require that the driver
to pay for the window unit and sometimes all or part of the hourly cost.
I feel this is an absurd requirement since the company is the one saving
money on fuel costs when the driver does use the IdleAire instead of
idling the truck's engine to stay warm or cool.
The changes that took place in the hours of
service regulations were suppose to help prevent driver fatigue, but
they failed to address the no-idling and driver load/unload situations
as a potential source of driver fatigue.
You as an individual may be able to tolerate excessively warm or cold
temperatures, but some people can't. I know some drivers that have
suffered from heat exhaustion in the past, and it is dangerous for them
to shut their truck off in even moderately hot weather. I personally
have had frost bite on my toes, fingers, nose and ears when I was
younger, and to this day I lose mobility in my feet and hands if they
get extremely cold.
Even if you've never had a problem in the past such as heat exhaustion
or frost bite, no one can honestly say they are as well rested and
less fatigued when they are placed in a hostile climate as they are when
they are able to relax in a comfortable climate. In fact, I just
recently watched a television program that showed the deteriorative
effects that take place on the human body when subjected to hostile
climates. Thought processes, reaction times, judgment, and physical
abilities are all reduced by exposure to hostile climates.
Unless the government does demand all new trucks be manufactured with
an auxiliary generator that provided heat and cooling some day without
idling the truck's engine, we have to accept the fact that idling a
truck's engine is still a necessity, not only for our own personal
comfort, but to prevent drivers from becoming a hazard behind the wheel
due to heat exhaustion, possible loss of mobility, poor judgment,
reduced reaction times, and increased fatigue.
While we're talking about states trying
to force us not to idle, let's not forget that a lot of shippers and
receivers are jumping on the band wagon and forcing drivers to shut
their engines off while on their property or sitting in their docks.
While a warehouse may be extremely hot or cold depending on the time
of year, that warehouse worker chose to take that job, and he or she
doesn't have to sleep in that warehouse each night. While a truck driver
also chooses to take the job they do, I haven't seen any trucking
companies advertising the fact their trucks can only idle 30% of the
time, in fact, many that do require a driver to shut their engine off
hide that fact for as long as they can until after they hire a driver.
Also, looking at it from a safety standpoint, that warehouse worker
isn't going to have to maneuver a 70 foot long, 80,000 pound vehicle
through town and in traffic once they have finished loading our trailer
either. Leaving many docks is the worse time to be fatigued due to
weather conditions since we may be working our way through heavy traffic
on city streets to reach the interstate,
so
this is a legitimate safety issue.
Even if it wasn't a safety issue, we live in our trucks. They are our
homes on the road, and we have the right to be comfortable while we are
in them. If an office building loses their AC or heat, they may actually
close for the day and send their employees home. I've seen it done. So
do we matter less than an office employee just because we chose a career
that keeps the country supplied with all of the products they use on a
daily basis? That office wouldn't exist without trucks delivering the
materials to build it and the supplies they use to conduct business
every day.
So, would I be willing to shut down or agree to a state by state
boycott of the states that have no-idling laws? Yes.
Would I be willing to shut down or agree to boycott any company
that has a no-idling policy on their property? Yes.
In short, unless some type of solution can be found that will require
all new trucks to have an auxiliary heating and cooling system, and some
effort is made to make it affordable to retrofit all existing equipment
with the units, I think we are well within our rights to demand that
NO ONE, whether it be a county, a city, a state, or a private
company can force us to shut our trucks off at any time. |
