Letters to the Editor

In connection with recent requests by American Trucking Associations and others to release the detailed study information used to develop the Compliance, Safety, Accountability scoring system for carriers, I have come across an that should be interesting for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — creator of the CSA program — to explain.

With electronic logging devices, the hours are what they are. Drivers either have the hours to run a dispatch or they do not. The pressure shifts from the driver having to be “creative” with the log, to the dispatcher being creative with finding a solution to getting the freight serviced.

It’s these smaller motor carriers that should be closely watched to ensure compliance. The big-box carriers are doing good work to ensure they are at the level of safety and compliance required for good CSA scores.

I propose a very simple solution: Whenever a driver has driven 10 hours and is within a two-hour drive of his terminal, that rule should be suspended.

Over the years the same old story keeps coming up: Large carriers are always saying there is a driver shortage. I believe there are carriers with too many trucks.

It is good to see some fleets moving college football teams. These worthwhile causes can benefit from trucking companies putting our best foot forward.

You may want to clarify the following statement from the news item titled “Trucks May Have Tinted Windows, Group Says,” which ran in the April 6 edition of TTNews.com: “Truck owners are allowed to tint the windshields and side windows of a truck’s cab, which could protect drivers from harmful sunlight, the International Window Film Association said.”

I would like to warn trucking executives about electronic onboard recorders and electromagnetic interference, or EMI.

Regarding the March 26 editorial, “FMCSA’s Safety Blunder”: At the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, our top priority is making our roads safer by reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving commercial trucks and buses.

Hidden deep within the massive Senate Transportation Bill, No. 1813, on pages 1283-1284, is a provision that will make owners and directors of corporations personally liable for civil penalties if the bill, which has passed the Senate and is headed for the House, becomes law.