Getting Heard
There are many issues floating around Washington DC involving the trucking industry. The CSA system that is a good idea, gone bad. We have the trail lawyers attempting to raise the minimum liability insurance requirements on all truckers. There is the attempt to establish training standards for professional drivers. These are a few of the items affecting our industry being discussed in our nation's capitol.
It is easy to stand around and complain. We can all make comments on social media. Isn't that roughly the same as preaching to the choir? You feel good about yourself because everyone agrees. You're not getting anything done because they all agreed with you in the first place. The challenge and the production is in educating people in power on why you think what you think.
It is easy to Email your reps. Don't email your reps to argue with them. You're trying to bring them around to our side. Believe it or not, they are listening. They don't see trucking the same we we do. We know more about the trucking industry than they do. They hear from the powerful. They need to hear from us. Remember that 97% of the industry is made up of small businesses. Tell them that when you talk to them.
This week I got to meet with Congressman Reid Ribble's field representative Mark Rahmlow about the 
trucking industry. I went in with a list of things to talk about. The new minimum insurance requirement topped my list. Congressman Ribble is a believer in the free market. So am I. Free markets establish insurance premiums and minimums about where they should be. Shippers are not going to let under insured carriers haul their freight. They should set the market, not the trial lawyers who would gain the most from higher insurance.
We talked reforming CSA scoring. I believe that no driver should be punished by the federal government if the courts won't punish them. I believe that drivers should not be punished for non preventable accidents. I passed those beliefs onto Mr. Rahmlow. We talked about small business trucking. He asked me questions too. I offered to be a resource if they have any questions.
Then I took Mr. Rahmlow out to sit inside my truck. He was able to get a feel for what it is to be inside of a truck. He asked me questions about ELDs. I explained to him how my collision mitigation system worked. We talked about driver image. He knew that I am a runner. He finished his first marathon last year. We will both be running the half marathon in Green Bay this year. We talked about 
the FB group, truckin' runners. I complained about the Bureau of Labor Statistics furthering a negative stereotype by using a morbidly obese trucker as its trucker model. They wouldn't use a picture of plumber's butt for plumbers would they?
We spent about an hour together talking about trucking with a little marathoning mixed in. It is not that hard to get heard. You have to speak up. Elected officials want to hear from their constituents. I can't say the same thing about the Bureau of Labor Statistics who haven't returned my email.
I would like to thank Scott Grenerth of OOIDA for trying to coach me. Thanks Scott!