A TMC tale

Now, when the porch is done, what is the proper arrangement? Washer on the right and toilet on the left? Or the other way around? I guess we can use Steiner's setup as a model. Here's an illustration of him starting off the day by staying in the loop. . . .

. . . The bricks scattered around and the TV tray are extra-cost add-ons. The beer is a necessity but, as seen above, TP is strictly optional.

Here's Going Aquatic on the new houseboat:

Maybe Steiner is on the phone with the ol' lady telling her to bring the TP out. You know how those wealthy types are. :lol:

So far, we have a lot of lamenting, inanities and irrelevance. As I frequently do when people come to me with problems, I ask them for a solution. So, what is the solution?

The solution to having indoor plumbing? :lol: A good start would be raising the standards for obtaining and keeping a valid CDL. That would slow down these predatory training companies from taking anyone with a pulse and turning them into truckdrivers without a clue. It also would clean up the available driver pool, weeding out the dregs of society that can't hold any other job and are looking for shelter. Also, -*test*-('")ing for IQ and mental stability would help weed out some of the coolie carriers prey, as right now they seem to welcome the mentally unstable with open arms. Just look around any place truckers congregate and it is obvious. The bonus would be a slimmer pool of qualified drivers which would result in the companies having to up the ante to attract drivers from competing companies.

So far, we have a lot of lamenting, inanities and irrelevance. Sort of like discussing politics, isn't it? As I frequently do when people come to me with problems, I ask them for a solution. If I hire a general contractor and he expects me to solve my own problems, I fire him and hire somebody who can do what I'm paying him for. So, what is the solution? The solution to this: . . .

. . . is to install a golf umbrella. Without the umbrella, it's a bass boat, not a houseboat. As for the solution to the piss-poor wages and working conditions in the OTR segment of the trucking industry, there is none. Wages will continue to decline as cost pressures mount with increased competition in the global economy. As other, better paying, jobs decrease in number, there will be an increasing pool of labor available, and willing, to accept the rigors of OTR in order to support their familes.

I am convinced that if it was much harder to get and keep a CDL, you would see a considerable change in the supply and demand for drivers. If it would require the equivilent of an Associate Degree to ger a CDL, you would see a much different driver available. If you require Continuous Education to keep a CDL, you would not have as many who drive for awhile, go and do something else for awhile and then return to driving, and so on. So, Phil, there are things that can be done, besides giving up and just sit around bitching about it. Of course, drivers would have to want this to happen and I suspect many would rightly suspect that they would no longer qualify, but then, they should not complain too much.

Maybe you have paid attention to what I have said in the past, because this is not the first time I have advocated something similar. I know that OOIDA is trying to get more education required, but I don't think it is as demanding as what I would like to see. It is a matter of requiring professional standards.

Maybe you have paid attention to what I have said in the past, because this is not the first time I have advocated something similar. Maybe you should have paid attention also my friend, as I have been saying the same thing for years. Sorry, didn't know you had the idea copyrighted. :roll: Must be hard to keep track of all the infringements on your ideas, as no one else could possibly be smart enough to think of it on their own. :lol:

I am convinced that if it was much harder to get and keep a CDL, you would see a considerable change in the supply and demand for drivers. They key phrase here is “much harder”. It would have to be so “much harder” that the number of drivers available is significantly decreased. In other words, duh! :roll: If it would require the equivilent of an Associate Degree to ger a CDL, you would see a much different driver available. No doubt about it. We’ll eliminate the farm boys who are driving trucks and who are equipped with common sense but can’t spell and we’ll replace them with people who can spell their names correctly (2 out of 3 times) but couldn’t find their ass with both hands. Just how stupid would an individual have to be to devote two years of his life to obtaining an AA and then go to work for Werner for 30K? If you require Continuous Education to keep a CDL, you would not have as many who drive for awhile, go and do something else for awhile and then return to driving, and so on. Okay. So, Phil, there are things that can be done, besides giving up and just sit around bitching about it. Of course, drivers would have to want this to happen and I suspect many would rightly suspect that they would no longer qualify, but then, they should not complain too much. There are always “things that can be done” but outlining them is meaningless unless you have a workable plan to turn your concepts into reality. The key word in the previous sentence is “workable”. Without that, you may as well stand by the side of the road and yell, “Organize!” at every truck that passes by for all the good that your concepts do. Get back to me when you’ve got that workable plan ready.

I am glad to hear that, even if I was not aware of it. Possibly due to your usual focus on me, rather than anything else. Which I have a tendency to ignore. Unfortunately, the sentiments of Phil are more common. Maybe any improvement will have to wait until federal poliitcians find out that this licensing can be a source of revenue. At least that seem to have been the case here in Florida. It is now costing me about $10K per year to keep my licenses active. If a truck driver had to spend some thousand dollars per year to keep driving and maintain his own liability insurance, it would change a whole lot of dynamics. One of the biggest benefits would be to empower the driver to a much greater extent and you would have to raise wages substantially to attract the people who would be able to adhere to these higher demands.

Unfortunately, the sentiments of Phil are more common. It’s good to know that common sense isn’t dead, after all. Maybe any improvement will have to wait until federal poliitcians find out that this licensing can be a source of revenue. As if a politician existed who hadn’t considered any way possible to keep the trough filled. :roll: If a truck driver had to spend some thousand dollars per year to keep driving and maintain his own liability insurance, it would change a whole lot of dynamics. You’re right about that; if there isn’t a driver shortage now, there certainly would be as soon as you begin taxing drivers simply to keep their licenses. One of the biggest benefits would be to empower the driver to a much greater extent and you would have to raise wages substantially to attract the people who would be able to adhere to these higher demands. Lartian Logic at work again. :roll: How anyone from this planet could possibly believe that a person becomes “empowered” (that’s another California word that needs to be discarded along with “share” and “dis”) when his taxes are increased is beyond comprehension. You never cease to amaze me, Lars.

A car license used to be good enough to drive a truck in many states,now people go through all sorts of hoops to get a CDL, using the lars logic the labor pool should be smaller :lol:

To get a CDL does not require much effort and that is why there is an ample supply of candidates. As far as the "farm boys", there is more to farming than you assume, Phil. But truck drivers operate in a highly regulated environment and I doubt many actually know those regulations. Again, it comes down to trying to improve the situation and I have yet to see anything, other than from PTD, whose post I missed at first. In my experience, it takes more than just handling the steering wheel to successfully make trucking a career and I do not see having an above average ability to read and understand English to be less than desirable. I am sure that if you had to spend two years in school before you can get out there on the highway in a big truck would limit the supply considerably. We may even end up with less idiots posting at trucking sites too. Both developments that would go a long way towards improving the current situation.

View Full Version: A TMC tale