Letters to the Editor

The item in your Feb. 27 issue titled “CSA Scores Help Shippers Avoid Potential Lawsuits” fell regrettably short of your usual standards for objective, well-informed and fact-based reporting on the trucking industry.

This is in reference to the article “Shippers Support Trucking Industry’s Campaign to Get Congress’ OK for Longer, Heavier Vehicles.”

Two items in your Feb. 20 issue were striking in their relevance. The first was an article about how fleets are finally realizing that one size doesn’t fit all applications and are spec’ing equipment to match operational challenges in urban environments.

We are near the end of many years and 150 million miles of trucking in the northeastern United States.

After reading the Jan. 16 article titled “Gasoline, Other Fuels Top U.S. Exports” (p. 24), it occurred to me to ask why we — the United States — are exporting gasoline and other fuels with the obvious demand that is domestic.

In regard to the piece on the new cellphone ban for commercial drivers, I am in almost total agreement — with a couple of caveats.

After all the evidence is weighed, there is only one conclusion: CSA in its present form is not a trustworthy tool for either the FMCSA or the public at large to use in qualifying carriers.

The new hours-of-service rules passed recently by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are a concern for us because our drivers rely on the 34-hour reset as it stands now.

Once again, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation has failed to put forth common sense with regards to longhaul truckers’ hours of service.

I have attended several meetings of American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council where participants have stated they simply want to know how many years a component will last.