Texas....no more idling
 

As of Sept 1 there can be no more idling of big trucks anywhere in Texas.

My question is....why cant drivers begin some sort of class action suit

against this sort of treatment. :confused:

It was 108 Fahrenheit in Laredo,TX a few trips ago...the cab would most certainly exceed 140

on the inside without a/c.

Why don't drivers organize against this :confused:

haha Probably wouldn't help... The people that make these rules don't care about humans. But get an animal and Idle all you want! At least that is how it was a few years ago in some states. If you had some sort of animal you could idle your trucks. They believe in human cruelty not animal cruelty haha.

Buy an APU or get a room.

Originally Posted by zipy46:
As of Sept 1 there can be no more idling of big trucks anywhere in Texas.

My question is....why cant drivers begin some sort of class action suit

against this sort of treatment. :confused:

It was 108 Fahrenheit in Laredo,TX a few trips ago...the cab would most certainly exceed 140

on the inside without a/c.

Why don't drivers organize against this :confused:

This should be a good lawsuit for OOIDA to pursue. They get away with this type of legislation because drivers don't take the time to write or call their representatives. One reason so many states are passing these laws is due to federal money. They either get more federal money by passing such legislation or have funds reduced if they don't. States need to find their backbone and stand up to these special interest groups and the federal government. If you don't like the laws they pass then it is up to each of us to contact our representatives to let them know how these law will affect us. One thing that might help reduce or eliminate some of this type of legislation is to file a lawsuit against the individuals responsible for this legislation. I am not talking about the state or city but the individuals. If nothing else it will get their attention. All you need to is win one suit in court and a precedent will be set. Once a precedent is set then you can go to other states and do the same thing and cite case law to support your case. The only way to stop this type of ridiculous laws is to hit them in their pocketbook. If you hit them personally then you will get their attention. If it becomes too expensive then they will make changes. Frankly, I am surprised the Teamsters or other unions have not taken this on. It unfairly discriminates against truckers and puts their personal safety in jeopardy. Little has been heard from truckers when they pass these laws.

Yeah right, I was in Texas this week. There is no way thats gonna work.

Has anyone ever recieved one of these tickets? Not someone you know but personally?

Originally Posted by mike3fan:
Yeah right, I was in Texas this week. There is no way thats gonna work.

Has anyone ever recieved one of these tickets? Not someone you know but personally?

No i do not know of anyone getting one in person...

But personally ....I would not pay such a ticket anyways...


:rofl:

If they decided to go into a truckstop and start writing tickets they could write about $50,000 in just one truck stop at any given time. I don't see how these laws can be enforceable. These people like to talk about safety yet they pass these stupid laws which would prevent drivers from getting needed rest so that they can drive safely. They need to have IQ tests for these offices before any of them should be allowed to run for office.

i wonder how that law breaks down, if ur a company driver and cant do anything about a apu, then wtf are u suposed to do?? pa is kinda like texas, they say u only get three mins of idol time..............

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.
Even if they do enforce it, they couldn't. An officer telling a driver that he can't idle in the summer would be like the pot calling the kettle black. I have respect for Texas DPS, but I'd like to see a DOT man tell me I can't idle in the summer time. I'd have to tell him to roll his winders down, and turn off the A/C. :p I'd dare him to try.

Originally Posted by franwake13:
i wonder how that law breaks down, if ur a company driver and cant do anything about a apu, then wtf are u suposed to do?? pa is kinda like texas, they say u only get three mins of idol time..............

American Idol?

...Just idle the truck

When the :bow: cop wakes you up and tells you to turn it off...

Turn it off...:roll:

Soon as he drives away...

Start it back up and go to sleep...:rofl::rofl:

...Repeat the cycle as needed.

Freedom is fun...

Everybody loves to fu** with it :smokin:

Everywhere i see a no idling police i still idle!! Wal Mart is supposedly big on no idle but i've never been told to shut the truck off... In Jersey off the turnpike at travel plazas during the day ran my truck and never told to turn it off.. In Maine, it has a policy from 6 AM to 8 PM for no Idle.. At 12 PM every single truck was idling except for a few when i walked across the parking lot

I've only seen one place tell us to shut the truck off and that was in Baltimore and i can see why since it was near a residential area... Honestly speaking, if i was told to shut off the truck i would do and as soon as he/her went away i would crank it right back up!! Does the people know how does it feel to be in a BUNKER basically with the Windows Down and a couple of BS vents open while its 100 + outside including the heat index!! Like i said, the day i get a ticket, i will go to court for it and i would gladly let the judge know i was doing it for my safety and others that share the road with me to get a good day/night sleep and if that's a problem then gladly send a DOT officers to spend the day with me on a hot day thru my 10 hour break without idling truck and see how well i'll drive well into my day after my clock starts!! In my mind a sleepy and tired driver is just as dangerous as a drunk driver!!

The only way to solve this problem is the government (which i dont see happening) forcing APU's to be made onto every truck from this point out!! Otherwise this a stupid law that is endangering the public and fellow truck drivers!!

Originally Posted by Part Time Dweller:
Buy an APU or get a room.

Hmmm... so company drivers suppose to get a room every day/night??

i just had a vision of Peter Fonda in easy rider :smokin:

Let's just say a company driver is sitting in Laredo, TX during the day with temps of 100+ and he does shut the truck down. Within an hour, he's calling for an ambulance because of heat stroke/exhaustion. The company they drive for won't pay for IdleAire (if it's available where they're sitting) nor will the company pay for a motel.

The question is: Can this be charged to workers comp?

You don't have to be in Laredo to be in 100+ temp. You can be in my backyard. :p


Malaki, I would think that the company or their insurance should be stepping up in that kind of situation.

Originally Posted by Hawkjr:
Hmmm... so company drivers suppose to get a room every day/night??

Of course, we're all rich, didn't you know that??

Which company do you work for again, Kevin??? I sure as hell know I'm not getting rich where I'm at.

It would stand to reason that it is in the intrest of :bow: Public Safety that

a driver get his or her proper rest before beginning a new day. :)

Stupid laws like this should be atleast be put up to public vote. You know most cops idle their cars and run the A/C and I bet this type of boneheaded law doesnt apply to them. How many politicians do you think could survive in a truck cab in a hot climate. I get more disgusted with our politicians every day . The stupid cash for clunkers program is another stupid idea, why not send people facing foreclosure $ 4500.00 so they have a shot at staying in their homes instead of giving folks that arent hurting finacially an op to buy a new car. Sorry for the rant folks but I am getting real sick of all this go green BS.

Hell, 99% of the politicians couldn't handle a 72 degree day while driving nonstop across Iowa or Kansas with absolutely no traffic, let alone sitting in an oven in the middle of a parking lot filled with a hundred other trucks for 10-18 hours in the baking sun.

We need to all ban together and let our voices be heard by DOT and the politicians but that will never happen. Unfortunately it will take deadly crashes piling up before these idiot politicians realize they goofed on this type of law.

or after they pull 15-20 guys out of their non-idling trucks because they died from the heat...

Originally Posted by Hawkjr:
Hmmm... so company drivers suppose to get a room every day/night??

If he company won't provide an APU, then they should supply a room.

But unfortunately, that will never happen, as they give a rats ass if their underpaid indentured mobile homeless servants get good rest or get a ticket for idling.

Originally Posted by Mr. Ford95:
We need to all band together and let our voices be heard by DOT and the politicians but that will never happen. Unfortunately it will take deadly crashes piling up before these idiot politicians realize they goofed on this type of law.

Mr. Ford has it right. WE all do need to band together and make our voices and opinions heard. He is also right that it will never happen.

The DOT needs to hear from more than 60% of all driver's, whom operate OTR trucks equipped with a sleeper berth, and use that sleeper berth to comply with hours of service regulations. The drivers need to request a review of this regulation (§393.77), which was written in 1932 and has had little revision since that time. Drivers need to make it clear to the DOT, that in 1932 there was no "Air Conditioning" available for "Trucks", hence there had been, until now, no need to revise this section of the FMCSR's.

Now, with so many cities, counties and states directly targeting trucks, with anti-idle regulations, and including sleeper berth periods in their anti-idle legislation, WE need to get the USDOT to revise the regulation and clarify the use of "Air Conditioning" and "Cab Heaters" as a safety feature, as pertains to Driver health, Driver safety, and Public safety.

Hearing from a super-majority of (more than 85%) all drivers, (OTR sleeper berth driver's as well as local day cab drivers), would be a plus.


Section 393.77 deals only with cab heaters and defrosters. It does not directly deal with air conditioning or excessive cab heat. IF the DOT worries about winter conditions....it stands to reason that they also worry about summer conditions.

Another thing about section 393.77. When it was written, most trucks were only daycabs, and if a driver was out on "The Road" in that period of our history, those drivers were sleeping in either a motel room located on the route, or in a bunkroom at a terminal along the trucks route.


Part 393: Parts and accessories necessary for safe operation - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration


Just something for all drivers to think about.


Oh yes.....In order to get anybody to listen to you, your statement needs to be clear, concise and well thought out, with proper grammar and spelling.





Just sayin.

Originally Posted by :
Hearing from a super-majority of (more than 85%) all drivers, (OTR sleeper berth driver's as well as local day cab drivers), would be a plus.

What makes you think day cab drivers give **** whether a dweller can idle or not?

Originally Posted by Part Time Dweller:
What makes you think day cab drivers give **** whether a dweller can idle or not?

There's plenty of day cabs that have to wait 3 hours plus that come to my distribution center to get unloaded... I think those guys would give ****!!

and not to mention are precious LTL line haul guys that take their little sleep breaks... i think they give a **** also

Originally Posted by Hawkjr:
There's plenty of day cabs that have to wait 3 hours plus that come to my distribution center to get unloaded... I think those guys would give ****!!

and not to mention are precious LTL line haul guys that take their little sleep breaks... i think they give a **** also

our

:cool::smokin:

Originally Posted by Hawkjr:
There's plenty of day cabs that have to wait 3 hours plus that come to my distribution center to get unloaded... I think those guys would give ****!!

and not to mention are precious LTL line haul guys that take their little sleep breaks... i think they give a **** also

Waiting 3 hours or taking a nap in a day cab with the windows open aside, they still go home to a nice home with heat and air, I doubt they lose much sleep over those who chose to live in a box who can't idle.

Originally Posted by Part Time Dweller:
What makes you think day cab drivers give **** whether a dweller can idle or not?

Yeah..I know...there are guyz who could a crap less about one thing or another. Yet...they are affected by idling regulations just the same.

Where did you hear this about sept 1?

I went looking on the Texas websites, can't find anything about it.

Originally Posted by dle:
Where did you hear this about sept 1?

I went looking on the Texas websites, can't find anything about it.

Here.

I had double check because (living in Houston) I just read the pdf from the state about all the new Sept 1st laws and that wan't one of them. The reason being because it's not a new law, simply a exemption that they let expire.

No matter how, there's no denying the sh***ness of it all.

Holy crap spideeman...that's in GERMAN...

Originally Posted by DaveP:
Holy crap spideeman...that's in GERMAN...

I got a dead link when I clicked on it. Huh...I will try again and see what happens. This time I will preview and test the link! And I won't try to be all fancy this time.

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_ne.../081709-01.htm


It works!!

Maybe I have just have the wrong idea but I kind of looked at Texas as one of the last sensible states that still believed in freedom and most things that made and used common sense,Am i the only one that would have put Texas down as one of the last states to do this? It kind of surprises me. Has Texas been infiltrated by those kind of people?

Originally Posted by jagerbomber3.0:
Maybe I have just have the wrong idea but I kind of looked at Texas as one of the last sensible states that still believed in freedom and most things that made and used common sense,Am i the only one that would have put Texas down as one of the last states to do this? It kind of surprises me. Has Texas been infiltrated by those kind of people?

:eek1: :pissedoff: :pissedoff: :angryblue: Politicians are all the same all across the country! Idiots!!

I was in Bakersfield CA at the Flying J watching guys getting these stupid tickets. They weren't getting them from the CHP though. I was AQMD. Air Quality Management District that was handing them out. They drove around in an old Ford Aerostar Van.

They watch your truck idle for the 5 minutes and then write the citation. They either pound on your door and give it to you or just leave it in the drivers door window.

Its like a parking ticket. You dont have to sign it. At least that is what I saw.

here's an idea,,,,,,,,,, don't go to states that inforce idleing laws. :cool:

Originally Posted by Hawkjr:
The only way to solve this problem is the government (which i dont see happening) forcing APU's to be made onto every truck from this point out!! Otherwise this a stupid law that is endangering the public and fellow truck drivers!!

Not all states will allow you to have an apu. Some must have extra filters or something to be legal to use in their state. That is why some of the larger carriers have taken a wait and see attitude with the apu's. As of now they may come up with something else to replace them. I can see a major class action lawsuit against some of these states if they ever decided to go crazy with writing these tickets. They may just write the wrong guy one and find themselves on the wrong end of a gun. The only way to stop this from continuing to happen is to make it more expensive for them to write the tickets than it does for any profit. This has little to do with pollution and EVERYTHING to do with revenue generation.