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ABF | Road Driver

The experienced drivers are getting fed up with the creeping federalism in the industry. First it was a CDL, then it was random drug screening, something even law enforcement isn't mandated to do, then it was fingerprinting EVERY TIME you renew your haz-mat endorsement on your CDL @ $90.00 a pop, then it was sleep apnea testing. What's next? Submitting your computer for forensic analysis to search for terrorist ties? I said when this all started that it would end up costing us a thousand dollars to keep certified for a $10.00 an hour job. Automatic transmissions aren't the end of it. They won't quit until they have self-driving trucks. Good luck gentlemen. I'm relieved that my time is over.
 
hangbelly said:
I'm relieved that my time is over.
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Good luck and have a great time and a long and healthy retirement. Make sure you keep in touch, it will make you feel that much better about getting out.
 
hangbelly said:
The experienced drivers are getting fed up with the creeping federalism in the industry. First it was a CDL, then it was random drug screening, something even law enforcement isn't mandated to do, then it was fingerprinting EVERY TIME you renew your haz-mat endorsement on your CDL @ $90.00 a pop, then it was sleep apnea testing. What's next? Submitting your computer for forensic analysis to search for terrorist ties? I said when this all started that it would end up costing us a thousand dollars to keep certified for a $10.00 an hour job. Automatic transmissions aren't the end of it. They won't quit until they have self-driving trucks. Good luck gentlemen. I'm relieved that my time is over.
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Self driving trucks are inevitable. They WILL be here. It just a matter of time. Probably sooner than any of us think. Long haul trucks will be first to certain service centers, along with self driving taxis. It might stop there for a while. There will have to be some changes made in the infrastructure of small business for ltl to go self driving.
And there won't be much point in owning a self driving car in the city as pay per use will be cheap. Except for the filth that's sure to build up in a public use vehicle such as this.
 
Boilerpeddle said:
Self driving trucks are inevitable. They WILL be here. It just a matter of time. Probably sooner than any of us think. Long haul trucks will be first to certain service centers, along with self driving taxis. It might stop there for a while. There will have to be some changes made in the infrastructure of small business for ltl to go self driving.
And there won't be much point in owning a self driving car in the city as pay per use will be cheap. Except for the filth that's sure to build up in a public use vehicle such as this.
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Honestly, I don't see self-driving trucks for 'final mile'. Ever. There's just too many variables to take into account. For starters, who the HELL is gonna tug that 2000-pound pallet of flooring from the nose of the trailer to the liftgate to be delivered at the end of that 'unimproved' road on the top of Mt. Everest? And what happens when a self-driving truck pulls into a yard with three other NON self-driving trucks waiting to deliver? I'm betting the driver-staffed trucks get unloaded first...while the 'drone' truck sits...and sits...and sits. That'll 'help' the OR for sure! But, our company would be brainless enough to try it anyway.
 
UPS has installed the automatic braking devices on some of their tractors, even though they aren't mandated by the FMCSA.
These devices probably are insurance-company ideas with limiting company liability in mind,.........all the while, gathering statistics on how these devices work in the real world.

At the Union Hall, several drivers complained about a loss of control of the vehicle due to application of brakes when the driver wasn't expecting it. Apparently, the computer model never took into account snowy roads, changing vehicle weights,......sometimes hourly,...road hazards,..... and , of course,..... stupid people on cell phones........

Just last week, a Google self-driving car was involved in an accident when it pulled out onto an on ramp at 25 mph in front of a city bus doing 40 mph.

Here's the next liability battleground for all those ambulance-chasing lawyers out there..... If the computer took away a driver's control over a vehicle during a critical driving maneuver, and a fatality occurred........ Who would be at fault?

The Teamsters USED to be in the forefront of keeping drivers from being used as information-gathering guinea pigs for new technology. Just look at Art.16, Sec.6 (h) of the NMFA. " No driver shall be required to drive a tractor designed with the cab under the trailer. "........Yeah,......the companies at one time SERIOUSLY proposed cab-under tractors,....... about the height of a Maserati...... Go look 'em up on the internet.... Inherently stupid.........from a driver's standpoint. But the companies didn't drop the program until the Teamsters opened up the contract and inserted that one sentence .This was back in 1977,....when the Teamsters covered 75% of all drivers,.....and were actually interested in driver safety.
 
hangbelly said:
The experienced drivers are getting fed up with the creeping federalism in the industry. First it was a CDL, then it was random drug screening, something even law enforcement isn't mandated to do, then it was fingerprinting EVERY TIME you renew your haz-mat endorsement on your CDL @ $90.00 a pop, then it was sleep apnea testing. What's next? Submitting your computer for forensic analysis to search for terrorist ties? I said when this all started that it would end up costing us a thousand dollars to keep certified for a $10.00 an hour job. Automatic transmissions aren't the end of it. They won't quit until they have self-driving trucks. Good luck gentlemen. I'm relieved that my time is over.
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The regs removed the enjoyment of driving. All the hoops you have to jump thru for the pay & away from home time make it difficult to recruit any 24 year old. Now the companies have to do like the European companies do now, bring in workers from another country to fill the seats. And then you bring habits & customs that are not only different but offensive to most citizens of the US. I understand change is going to happen, out with the old & in with the new. And I also believe these changes are having a huge effect on the middle class of this country. I believe this change is the driving success of Donald Trump. Not saying he is the next Messiah of politics, but he most assuredly has the attention of the middle class of this country. Time will only tell. von.
 
Google cars have/had an amazing safety record. Last I heard (admittedly it's been a while since I read this) the only accidents they had been in were while the human was in control.

Edit:
Ok I just looked it up and the car didn't pull out in front of the bus it ran into the side while both vehicle's were at slow speed and this is the first accident where a Google car is at fault.
 
Boilerpeddle said:
Google cars have/had an amazing safety record. Last I heard (admittedly it's been a while since I read this) the only accidents they had been in were while the human was in control.

Edit:
Ok I just looked it up and the car didn't pull out in front of the bus it ran into the side while both vehicle's were at slow speed and this is the first accident where a Google car is at fault.
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Thanks, Brother,.....I didn't quite get it right, did I?......So,.....if someone had gotten injured, who would they sue? Would they blame the bus driver for human error?......or the Google car for "inhuman" error? I can just see the lawyers sharpening their knives now......
 
vongrimmenstein said:
The regs removed the enjoyment of driving. All the hoops you have to jump thru for the pay & away from home time make it difficult to recruit any 24 year old. Now the companies have to do like the European companies do now, bring in workers from another country to fill the seats. And then you bring habits & customs that are not only different but offensive to most citizens of the US. I understand change is going to happen, out with the old & in with the new. And I also believe these changes are having a huge effect on the middle class of this country. I believe this change is the driving success of Donald Trump. Not saying he is the next Messiah of politics, but he most assuredly has the attention of the middle class of this country. Time will only tell. von.
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I'm not worried about The Donald getting into the White House. I think common sense will eventually prevail........

But what I am worried about is what happens if he does get elected? I think he'll be like the dog chasing the car and finally clamping his jaws on the bumper at 40 mph.........."......now what do I do?....."

What worries me is the people he'll appoint to be the Secretary of Labor,.......the Secretary of the Treasury,......the Secretary of Defense........the Secretary of De' Fence........Somehow the thought of Sarah Palin as Secretary of Labor, and Kim Kardashian as Secretary of........well, anything... ....scares me badly.....
 
I am sure the personal injury attorneys are already working on a game plan for accidents involving such vehicles. (I have a relative that is an attorney).
 
canaryinthemine said:
I'm not worried about The Donald getting into the White House. I think common sense will eventually prevail........

But what I am worried about is what happens if he does get elected? I think he'll be like the dog chasing the car and finally clamping his jaws on the bumper at 40 mph.........."......now what do I do?....."

What worries me is the people he'll appoint to be the Secretary of Labor,.......the Secretary of the Treasury,......the Secretary of Defense........the Secretary of De' Fence........Somehow the thought of Sarah Palin as Secretary of Labor, and Kim Kardashian as Secretary of........well, anything... ....scares me badly.....
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You bring up a valid point. What type of (Managers) does he appoint to his cabinet & the effect they will have on the Country? Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Like I said time will tell. I do believe the ongoing e-mail investigation by the FBI on Hillary will cost her the election. Bad news when her former assistant has been given immunity from prosecution. Before Election Day this will come back to bite her in the**. I also think she will be indicted by a grand jury AFTER she receives the nomination from the Democrat Party. At best she was a lousy bookkeeper.
 
vongrimmenstein said:
What type of (Managers) does he appoint to his cabinet & the effect they will have on the Country?
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My money says that Chris Christie already has his job lined up in the event of a Trump presidency. I'd love to hear him tell the Ayatollah et al to sit down and shut up myself. Secretary of State would work for me there. I don't think he'll worry about what to do once he's got the tiger by the tail, his ego will carry him, whether or not it's in the right direction is my concern. BTW, anybody want to see my hands?
 
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