Posted on 05/08/2012 4:22:37 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
America’s truckers are known for their independence, often driving alone in their rigs from one end of the country to the other. Now Congress wants to give them company in the form of an electronic “big brother.”
Under a provision buried in the 600-page transportation bill recently passed by the Senate, truckers large and small would be required to buy and maintain “electronic on-board recorders” (EOBRs) that would document their travel time and distance. The annual cost to truckers and trucking firms: $2 billion.
EOBRs are devices that record how long a truck is in motion and the distance traveled. Typically costing about $1,500 each, they can—when combined with GPS capability—also record the location of the vehicle.
The proposal was supported by a number of larger trucking firms, many of which already have such devices installed in their trucks for fleet management purposes. But small trucking firms and independent truckers, who would be much less able to absorb additional costs, strongly opposed the new rule.
(Excerpt) Read more at heritage.org ...
They’ve been able to track them for at least a decade.
A trucker friend of mine turned in his old company-owned truck for a new model that has is equipped with one of these things and he hates it. He travels a route that covers a number of western states and has preferred stops for meals, rest, etc., but often times these days he has to find improvised replacements for all of them because the gadget tells him he’s out of driving time.
They make no allowances for traffic conditions, weather, etc.
I went through a pile of references to these things as well as pictures. There are a number of devices ~ some listed at about $1000 and some as high as $3000. That'd mean as many as 2,000,000 units, or as few as 700,000 units.
With 9,000,000 long haul trucks out there, you might honestly ask, how many of them are on the road at any one time, and that would be a good question ~ so think about it. How many of those trucks are NOT on the road.
Then there's the device at http://www.bluewatersecurityprofessionals.com/TrackstickII.htm
Like every other electronic device on earth the price is getting lower and lower. I remember when the first load cell scales cost $2000 a unit (when puchased in quantity) and now you can get an equivalent scale for well under $1000 ~ and that's after 20 years of inflation.
Truckers used to oppose loadcell or strain gauge technology built into the frame ~ guess they'd rather line up wait for hours at the official weigh stations ~ then states began setting up mobile teams and all at once the onboard devices meant they could avoid the lines and get the trucks rolling faster.
For a lot of this stuff it depends on whether the owners care ~ fleet owners do because it's the drivers spending their money hauling ~ individual owner/operators want to do more hours that are not logged. The spread can be tens of thousands of dollars a year!
Assuming these are the public roads I paid for I'm all for logging them. If they're on their own roads, they can do what they want.
This is yet another of the many, many, VERY many instances where we need to engage in Civil Disobedience. (Think “Sons of Liberty” type arrogance.)
They can bust one, or ten, or 100 but after it reaches 5,000 a week then they get a bit aggravated and start thinking about backing down from the stupid law.
Likewise, I think your car should be equipped with electronics that log when and where you are, how fast you have driven, detect if you have been drinking and auto shut down if you have, track when the last time you had your car serviced and a driving test ever six months for you and an inspection every year for your car. Of course if you only drive on your own road, I’ll waive these requirements.
Bravo!
Bet that bitch-slap to the pro, central-planning, big-gubmint, nanny-statist, supporter, muawiyah, hurt! lol
I say we put tracking devices on everyone in Congress. Most are criminals and thugs anyway.
Just keep pushing fellas. One day this sh!t is going to come to a screeching halt and you shall rue the day.
We need electronic tethers on all members of Congress and names of all persons they come into contact with...including cell phone calls, electronic social media and person to person contact.
The feds are just about to break the backs of truckers! The DOT is the most rotten bunch of federal employees on the payroll today! They are in lockstep with the GREENIES. Diesel at $5/gal and an average of 6-7 miles to the gallon. You figure it out. They are just honest people trying to make a living (and a hard one at that). They have to meet time schedules. A DOT employee can hold a driver up three to four hours if he wants to, even though everything is OK and logs up to date. Being from a trucking family, I can tell you they are trying to kill the trucking industry. People will wake up when there are no groceries on the shelves!
nail - hammer...you got it. A relative works for midsized trucking company, looking at data on speed and travel. These stories are designed to stir the pot.
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