A Nutter Letter. Letters Do Work

Today's Thoughts 5/28/12 A Nutter Letter. Letters Do Work
By Jeff Head

Hello,
I am writing to you as a Commercial Truck driver holding a CDL license with concerns about points recently added to my CSA 2010 Score. As luck would have it, I was recently involved in a wreck that was of no fault of any of the three of us that remained at the scene. Not one of the three drivers involved found themselves issued a ticket and as you can see in the police report included, that the fault of the wreck was giving to a flying tire that no one has any clues as to its origin. My concern is that now just for the fact that I was present and involved in the wreck through no fault of my own, I now have points against my record.

This is of concern to me because as an owner operator in the trucking industry, my CSA 2010 score is used to determine my eligibility to find and obtain work. The higher the score, the less likely I am to be able to survive in the business. As the FMCSA has things set now, just because I was there, I get points. This I believe is very unfair and needs to be changed. I take very seriously my role in ruining safe and legal while transporting goods across our great nation. I have worked long and hard as an individual towards this end also. Let me explain.

As you can see by the report that I have included for you and also sent in to my company at the time of the wreck, my actions during the wrecked possibly saved the driver of the Hondas life. This was done by not slamming on my brakes and causing him to rear end me a second time. Being that the first impact removed the safety factor of my ICC bumper, which as you know is designed to keep people from losing their heads in a rear end collisions; a second impact very well might have caused this man's death. Years of professional driving and experience has taught me how to react calmly in such situations.

Now while I do not believe I am entitled to any great rewards for my actions, I certainly do not believe I should be punished for doing the right thing or just because I was there. Not one person that might read this letter can guarantee any better than I can that they will on any given day not find themselves in the same situation. No one should be punished for the actions of others or simple acts of God.

Now, as the author of the book, "Running Legal Blues" and also of multiple articles over the years, (included) I find myself seeing the most interesting changes with truckers concerning CSA 2010 and statements coming from the FMCSA to the effect that they are going to regulate truckers until there is not one wreck between cars and trucks. And that change being "Why try?"

The reason I wrote my book and continue to write articles is to help truckers find their way to running safe and legal. For years I have worked this and with much success, and as safe and legal truckers grew in numbers, the FMCSA continued to regulate without regard as to the difference between a safe and legal truck driver and that of a renegade. So much so that now, even for just being there and taking actions that save lives, safe and legal drivers find themselves with points against them that could ruin their career.

No one, not even God himself could navigate the minefields of over regulation that now exists in the trucking industry. Twenty years ago, I heard the fact that there was nineteen feet of shelf space on the federal level just for trucking, not to mention each state, county, city, and whatever regulatory entity you might wish to throw in here. Can you imagine how many rules and laws have been added since I first drove a truck back in nineteen eighty? All this having the effect that safe and legal truck drivers find themselves bankrupt trying to comply while the renegades just continue to ignore the regulations and truck on.

Why try for me means that I have no intention of continuing my trucking career if all it takes to end it is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why should I invest thousands in new and safer equipment when I know that a mis-place object out of nowhere can be the final straw that shuts me down? If you want safe and legal drivers to remain out here on the highway, then you must protect us from those that would do us harm. Even if that harm comes from an over eager but well meaning government.

One final request please, take the time to understand that there are thousands of us safe and legal truck drivers out here. We may not wear a badge are work for the FMCSA, but we care and have just as much interest in keeping our nation's highways safe as the ones that do.

Thank you for your time.

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