The Good Old Days.....Or Were They?

Last week I dropped in Topeka with 1 1/2 hours to spare and headed toward Tulsa for my next pickup. I couldn't pick up in Tulsa until the next day and I figured that was a good thing since I was starting to run short on hours. Only 16 left for that day and the next so I decided to cut the day short and pulled off into an old, familiar haunt, the BETO Junction truck stop. It's been many years since I spent any time here so I decided to just walk around and check things out. Like most places the old mom and pop truck stop has been bought out and transformed into a chain truck stop. T/A has it now and the old ambiance is gone.

I spent many a night in here grabbing a piece of homemade apple pie and some good old fashioned ice cream. Back in those days in the middle of the night there would always be 5 or 6 tired truckers like me doing the same thing. We'd talk about where we were headed, coming from, going to, or any of a dozen topics. Anything just for conversation. Mostly what you'd see in here back then were bull haulers or meat haulers and everybody had to be somewhere yesterday. I had probably picked up a load of beef out of Liberal or Dodge City, Kansas and headed east. Wasn't anything back then to pick up a load at about 8:00 PM Tuesday night and have to be in Boston, New York, or Rhode Island by 5 or 6 AM on Friday. I'd come out of the truck stop and set the alarm for about 2 hours, get up and roll. You'd pull out of here and kick it up between 80 and a 100 mph and let her roll til you got near Kansas City. The only traffic you'd see on the roads at that time of night were other truckers and they were doing the same thing you were. If you passed the Highway Patrol he'd usually just flash the lights at you to warn you and keep right on going. If you did get stopped you'd just give him one of the "few" driver's licenses you had and keep on rockin'. Once daylight came around you'd keep your speed down to around 75 to 80. Logbooks were just a nightmare and very seldom were they right. I was stopped at the scales 6 times in a period of 5 weeks for them to check my books. I finally asked the scale master in

Truckers Chapel at Beto Junction T/A truck stop

Missouri why did I keep getting checked? He told me the company I was with had the best tractors and trailers on the road and never was there a safety defect found on them, but you could bet 2 out of 3 drivers logbooks were way behind. They knew the companies that had to really roll, mostly because of time sensitive product you were carrying. When you did sleep it was usually about 2 or 3 hours over the wheel. You normally didn't get in the sleeper until they were unloading you. That was good for 4 or 5 hours. Then do it again in the other direction.

Sounds dangerous, huh? Not really. Traffic was virtually non-existent after about 11:00 PM. Weren't nearly as many deer and other animals getting onto the roadways. And the drivers were a different breed back then. They would crash themselves to keep from hitting another vehicle, even if the other vehicle was at fault. We also knew our limits. We knew the roads we were traveling on and could tell you every bump, dip and rock. We knew when we had finally had enough and it was time to shut it down. Dispatchers also knew that we knew and would very seldom argue if you told them, "Enough." The trucks running like this were extremely well maintained. Brakes, tires, springs, shocks everything was top of the line as were the trucks. Back then the freight rates were about the same as they are today. Only then you had fuel prices below a dollar a gallon which left a lot of profit to maintain your equipment or purchase new equipment. New trucks were a fraction of what they cost today. Most people I knew very seldom kept a truck more than 3 years. They could afford to trade.

How does this compare to today. Well for starters we do get a fuel surcharge today. It's in no way enough to keep up with the cost of fuel. Also some shippers, since they are required in their contracts to pay surcharges, will reduce the freight rates so that you don't see a lot of difference in the total rates. You hear drivers hollering about, "Don't pull cheap freight." I do have a limit I won't go under but I also have a family and bills to pay. A lot of owner operators give me a hard time about deadheading 200 miles to pick up a load. If that load is paying good rates and including the deadhead miles and I'm well over my bottom line, yeah I'll go get it.

We also don't drive nearly as fast today. Too much traffic and too many idiots on the road. Also too many truck drivers that don't have the common sense and/or experience to get out of the rain. Back in those days cars respected trucks. It seems back then everyone knew what it took to control and stop a truck. Today that respect is gone. I run quite a few short runs through the back roads and at least two to three times a day I have people run stop signs, pull out of driveways, pass on yellow lines on hills and curves, anything you can imagine just to get ahead of the truck. Most of the time just to go a half mile and turn left. People don't have a clue what it takes to get this truck stopped, not to mention what it can do to the product you're hauling when you have to brake hard. I put a dash cam in my truck just for these idiots. If I ruin a load to keep from running over you, expect to get a piece of paper delivered where I'm suing you to recoup damages. My insurance deductible is $1000 and I will not take that hit alone. Remember I now have your vehicle description and usually your license plate, along with the time and date the incident occurred. A lot of drivers are going to these systems now. You want to sue me because a rock came up off the road and hit your windshield? Pay back is hell. Keep in mind that about 10% of the trucks on the road are now installing cameras for their protection. This number is rising quickly as the costs associated with the cameras has come down. It is a small price to pay for our peace of mind. Trucks were easy pickins' for ambulance chasing lawyers who knew it was cheaper for the truck to settle without going into court and fighting, even when the driver was in the right.

Now days I keep my cruise control set at about 63 mph. I do this mainly because that is where the "sweet spot" is and my engine is most efficient. I'm saving fuel. Some companies have speed limiters where their trucks are limited to 60 with the cruise on and 63 standing on the accelerator to override it. Most over the road trucks also run electronic logging devices which makes sure we are running our legal hours. Some people (mostly old timers) don't like it. Sure there are times when I wish I could throw it out the window but, for the most part I have no problem with it. Some companies are using it to harass their drivers by knowing exactly when they can come back on duty after their 10 hour break and call them with loads that have to be "picked up right now." It doesn't matter that the driver had nothing scheduled so he sat around the truck stop bs'ing til the wee hours of the morning and has only been asleep a couple of hours. Your log says you can go, so go.

Drivers are also shoved through schools so fast now just so the company can put a butt in the seat they're not really getting the over the road training they need. Most "at fault" crashes drivers are involved in happen within the first two years of driving. It takes years to get comfortable with the differences in a truck and a car. Just because you think you're Earnheart Jr behind the wheel of your 4 wheeler doesn't even begin to translate into safely hauling 80,000 pounds down the highway. There is too much time in the classroom and not enough time behind the wheel at these schools. Yeah we all had to learn someway but, the schools are there taking good money from these kids to teach them, so teach them what the road is all about. Most companies have over a 100% turnover each year. A lot of this is because these people just don't realize what it is like to live as a rambler with little home time.

I've never been one to sit in an office all day or work in a factory somewhere. Sure I could have probably made more money elsewhere but this country is wide open and I enjoy seeing it. Yes I do miss my wife and now that the truck is mine I do get to spend a lot more time at home with her.

So which were the better days, yesterday or today. I guess it's really a trade off. There are a lot of things I miss about the old days on the road, mostly the camaraderie with others that you don't have today. But today I enjoy the easier lifestyle. Not having to always be somewhere yesterday. Not having to be wide open everywhere you go. I mostly enjoy the fact I do get my rest these days. Maybe that's from old age catching up to me. I don't know. I just know that things seem a lot easier these days.

Not A Good Day For A Birthday

It's Tammy's birthday. Her 22nd. Birthdays are days of great cheer. Especially in our younger years. We drink, we eat, we laugh. All our cares are gone for this one day while we ponder a year gone by and another, even brighter year, on the horizon. We celebrate this special day with our family and friends. Tammy is working on this day. She's a bartender at a sports bar outside Dayton, Ohio. Far from home, she is still surrounded by friends. This particular group of friends will jump at any reason to have a celebration. A birthday, Tammy's birthday, is really special for them and now they have a reason to throw the party to end all parties. They love her and she loves them. They are her regular customers. Yes they're her customers, but each is also a dear friend to her. What a great reason, and place, for a party.

Tammy

Not tonight. Not this year. The bar is eerily quiet and somber. There are some silent tears from her customers as they sit nursing their drinks and wondering what the future now holds for each of them, their families, friends, and our country. Even the biggest, baddest, most boisterous is quiet tonight. His eyes wet with tears he doesn't want others seeing. They are quietly crying, reflecting on, some praying for, those lost today. People they don't know. People they've never met and probably never would. Yet people they developed an instant bond with, as did the rest of the world. They are in shock, confused by the sights they've seen today. All eyes continue to be glued to the television tonight as they will be for days to come. Tammy is on the phone with her mother 500 miles away in South Carolina crying, along with her mother, for all those lost. "What a way to celebrate my birthday, and all the rest to come." You see, this birthday is September 11th, 2001. She was young but understood the impact this date will have on the American public for years to come. Hopefully, eternally.

It's Tough To Get Old...But It Does Beat The Alternative

Where did this guy go?

I remember when I was young my dad got up one morning complaining about being sore all over. I asked him what happened. He told me, "I must have slept wrong." What? It's sleeping. How can you screw that up? 4 easy steps. 1)You get in the bed. 2)You lay down. 3)You go to sleep. 4)You wake up. It's so easy that a bed doesn't even come with instructions. What's so hard about sleeping that you can't do it right? I've even fallen asleep standing up, in class. And that was after the teacher told me to stand against the wall because I fell asleep at my desk. I've never had trouble falling asleep and I never woke up sore. That was until about a year ago. Now I frequently wake up sore all over. Sometimes being sore is the reason I wake up. How does your neck get sore from sleeping? Or my arm? Or my back? I don't think I'm doing anything different. Even going to sleep is sometimes a pain. My legs get to kicking like I'm running a marathon.

Oh yeah, and where do these bruises come from? I think somebody is beating me up in my sleep. I can get in the shower and get out with bruises. What the ???? The other day I was cooking and felt something wet on my arm. I looked down and it was bleeding! I had a small cut that I have no idea where it came from. This old age thing sucks.

If I were a car I'd be headed for the scrapyard. I can't get started in the morning. I squeak when I move. I have occasional leaks and I make strange noises for no apparent reason. I've had the occasional tune-up but that don't help. My exterior is shot and I really hate to think what the interior is like. As my mom would have said, "I look like I've been rode hard and put up wet." I went to the doctor for a physical and while I was getting dressed he went outside and spoke to the wife. He told her, "I don't like the way your husband looks." She replied, "I don't either but he's handy around the house."

I guess I deserve it. I didn't take care of myself at all when I was young because, to tell the truth, I never figured I'd make it this long. I figured I would be dead by the ripe old age of 35. Anyone who has known me for any amount of time knows what I'm talking about. I had to be right on the ragged edge all the time. I think they call it a "Type A" personality. In fact A plus. Now that I'm older I look back and really do wonder how I made it this long. I believe I was the original, "Hey y'all. Watch this," guy. Fast cars. Faster motorcycles. Crazy women. Even my profession as a cop. I wasn't satisfied to be just a patrol officer, which is dangerous enough. I had to be a Detective, an undercover officer, where I was living on that line all the time. I figured one of these would have gotten me years ago.

When it's my time I don't want people walking up to the casket and saying, "My, don't he look good." No....I want them to walk up, look in, and say, "Oh crap. Did he get hit by a bus?"

Another part of getting older is the loss of my memory. It's bad enough to run into someone and can't think of their name. I'll be working on something, walk to the shed to get a tool, and can't remember what I came for. I'll walk around in there for awhile just looking around thinking if I see it I'll remember what I was there for. Finally I'll give up and go back to whatever I was doing. Eventually I'll need that tool again and make a second stab at going after it.

I still love my fast motorcycles and cars, and well, the wife makes sure I don't have to worry about the crazy women anymore. They still turn my head occasionally and like I tell her, "Just because I'm on a diet don't mean I can't look in the refrigerator." But she's good to me. It don't matter where I get my appetite as long as I eat at the house. Retiring and walking away from my job as a Police Officer was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. To leave something that was ingrained into me, was a part of me, was rough. I still get that adrenalin rush every time a police car goes by lights flashing, balls to the wall. Oh yeah, go git em boys. But I knew I was getting slower. None of us want to admit that we're getting older and slower but police work is a young man's game. If my reflexes are off a fraction of a second it could cost me or, worse yet, someone else their life. I have friends who are as old as me and are still in it and are still great at it. I just wasn't going to risk it.

When the Lord says, "Come on, it's time to go," I'll be glad to leave this old body behind because I know it's all used up anyway.

I will continue refusing to let life pass me by without living every minute of it. It's a little slower now and the things I enjoy are things I didn't pay enough attention to when I was younger. Quiet nights at home with the wife. Time with our Church. Kids, Grand kids. Friends. Family.

I am still learning to appreciate the slower life and finding things that were always there but I never slowed down enough to look at, and enjoy.

It's time for me now to Live, Love, Laugh, and Enjoy life in an all new and amazing way.

It May Be Bleeding And Battered, But Patriotism Is Very Much Alive

Schneider Operating Center, Edwardsville, Illinois. Monday, May 20, 2013, three am central time. I awoke to the sound of some serious rain and wind hitting my truck. Just what I need, more bad weather. It seems that's all I've had the past few weeks. I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep knowing I had to be up and out of there in a couple of hours. I finally got up the nerve to roll out of bed about five-thirty and attempted to get myself together for what I knew would be a long day. I needed to be in Topeka, Kansas before noon to drop my loaded trailer and then head to a small town outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma to pick up in the afternoon. I don't know why but I woke up with this terrible feeling of dread. There was an eerie feeling in my head and I couldn't seem to figure it out. It must be the horrible weather.

As soon as I pulled onto interstate 270 headed west I knew my misgivings were going to be accurate. A car cut between me and another truck, almost clipping both of us. The rain was still falling, but not a hard as when I first got out of bed. As I approached the Mississippi Bridge I started seeing signs that the two right lanes were closed due to construction. Great. Traffic is always bad along this stretch and now they're going to cut it off. The traffic was already heavy and as I approached the closed area I was driving in the last right lane that was open. At this time I noticed a set of headlights headed up the right side of me. The idiot is trying to beat me to the start of the construction. We're way too close. I turned on the emergency flashers and hit the brakes. There was traffic on the left of me, which he knew, and nowhere for me to go. I knew he couldn't make it and hoped that vehicles behind me saw my flashers and saw what was happening. Instead of trying to stop, he accelerated hard and took out two of the construction barrels. One went to the right and the other went across in front of my truck and into the left lanes. I didn't hit it but the other vehicles started bouncing it all over the interstate. Bumper pool with construction barrels. The driver that caused all this never even looked back.

I just looked up at the sky and asked the Lord to please get me through this day. In the distance I could see emergency flashers in the rain and they appeared to be in right lane. I moved over one more lane to the left. As I got closer it appeared to me I could also see....white lights? What the....? I know that no one in their right mind would be trying to back up in this weather and traffic. Sure enough, another idiot, this one backing up on the bridge which was about a mile long. I do hope they made it, but I don't know. Twenty miles and three near misses. Yep, this is going to be one hell-of-a day. I kept my speed down considerably until I was about ten miles west of O'Fallon. Even then the rain was still bad enough I kept the speed down around 60 even though it's a 70 mph speed zone. Thankfully most people by now had realized this was nothing to play with. Occasionally some crazy would pass like he had somewhere to be yesterday, but for the most part everyone was driving like they had some sense.

As I got just west of Columbia, Missouri I noticed a single headlight headed eastbound. That's got to be a car with a headlight out. Nobody would be riding a motorcycle in this weather. Wrong again, it was a bike. I looked closer thinking I recognized the banner across the windshield. For the first time today a smile came across my face. The banner was definitely one I recognized. "Patriot Guard Rider, Standing For Those Who Stood For Us." He's dedicated. He was bundled in leather from head to toe, probably riding about 45 to 50 mph but still moving. I continued to smile thinking about him and wondering where he was headed. About five miles further I passed three more PGR bikes headed east. I couldn't help but thinking of the old post office motto, "Neither rain nor hail, sleet nor snow..." The rain was extremely hard off and on and there were lightening strikes all around. Once the lightening flashed and thunder struck so close to me it caused me to jump in my seat. The weather app on my phone had started before I left Edwardsville and hadn't stopped. There were flash flood warnings and severe thunderstorm watches and warnings. I didn't want to be out in this mess in a my truck. I could only imagine how these guys felt riding bikes. But they had a "mission" and nothing was going to stop them.

I stopped in Booneville, Missouri to fuel and by the time I got back on the interstate the weather had eased. The wind was still blowing but the rain had turned to a fine mist. The lightening was all but gone. After getting back underway again I started passing more and more bikes. Some were one or two lone riders and then some were groups of as many as twenty. This continued for the next hundred miles. The farther west I drove, the better the weather became. Just west of Kansas City I hit the Kansas turnpike and about twenty miles out I saw about thirty people standing on an overpass facing west and holding large American flags as more an more riders were headed east. I had to make a quick pit stop and called Diane and told her, "You're not going to believe what I'm seeing." It was really hard to speak as so many bikes went by flying the American flag. I was only there a minute or two and I pulled back out to continue my run. As soon as I got back on the interstate another overpass that was just covered with people waving flags and cheering at the bikes passing underneath. Then I saw it. Police had every entrance to the turnpike blocked and there were what seemed to be thousands of bikes. This is what the people were cheering for: ROLLING THUNDER, THE RUN FOR THE WALL. The sight of all these patriotic Americans, both those on bikes and those on the overpasses and sides of the highways supporting them, was completely overwhelming. Those who couldn't join them enroute to DC were coming out by the thousands across America to cheer them on and show their support. I got choked up at the sight of all this and couldn't even speak. I thought I would have to pull to the side just to compose myself. I had a lump in my throat and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I knew I was going to have to write about this. In a period of about 4 hours my day had gone from horrific to awesome.

Little did I know my emotional roller coaster was running away and wouldn't let me off for a couple of days.

I continued on the last thirty miles to Topeka and dropped my loaded trailer. I picked up an empty and headed toward Tulsa, Oklahoma. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Every one knows my involvement with the Patriot Guard Riders and the American Legion Riders.

As I got farther south the weather started turning again. My phone started with the weather alerts. Severe thunderstorm warnings and flood warnings were coming two or three every five to ten minutes. The wind started picking up dramatically, blowing my empty trailer all over the road. I was listening to Fox News on the satellite and they were doing a pretty good job of staying with the weather. They discontinued normal broadcasting. I got an alert on the phone of a tornado on the ground near Tulsa and at the same time Fox told of a massive tornado on the ground in Moore, Oklahoma. I didn't know where Moore was off hand and grabbed my map. I was figuring it was close to Tulsa. I found it pretty quick and realized it was about 80 miles from me.

Weather as I was headed toward Jenks, Oklahoma from my Dash Cam.

I continued on just wanting to get to Jenks, Oklahoma where I would get rid of this empty trailer and find a place to hunker down. I was able to do just that before the weather got really bad where I was. As I got parked the news was becoming more dramatic with the unfolding events in Moore. I was glued to the satellite radio. Storms came through where I was parked and it seemed for a short while we would suffer the same fate as Moore but it passed quickly.

While the tornado was on the ground, news we were hearing was devastating. Multiple deaths and the destruction of an entire town and two schools.

At the same time news was also coming in of heroes. People were flooding the scene trying to look for those missing and in need of help. Neighbors were helping neighbors. They were going door to door. We heard of teachers covering children with their own bodies to protect them. We heard of Police, Firefighters, and Emergency Medical personnel doing what they always do when needed. We started hearing of everyday citizens doing whatever was asked of them.

Bloodied teachers helping children in Moore, Oklahoma

This is patriotism in the truest sense. Love and Devotion to country. This is what America is all about. During times of adversity we pull ourselves up by the boot straps and do what is needed. Moore, Oklahoma is a suburb of Oklahoma City and has seen more adversity than most of us will ever know. On April 19th, 1995 they lost friends and family in the Oklahoma City bombing. Many residents of Moore worked there. On May 3rd, 1999 a tornado with the highest winds ever recorded, 302 mph, touched down in Moore killing 24 and doing over 2 billion dollars in damage. The residents of this area will once again pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start again. While under this tremendous stress they are still looking out for and helping each other. The citizens of this country will help and stand with them. They are not alone and we have let them know that we are here. People and money is pouring in from everywhere. If that's not Patriotism, I don't know what is.

When our servicemen and women returned from Vietnam they were discharged and released into the world without help to readjust and for the most part were despised and avoided. They weren't told where to seek the help many needed and employers refused to hire them. I was in from early 1972 through the end of 1979. Almost eight years of service to my country and was not even told so much as goodbye. I received my honorable discharge in the mail since I had taken terminal leave and was home on my actual discharge date. I never received any information on benefits I was due or anything else. Thank goodness I had plenty of support from family and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Today the government may not be doing what they should for our vets, but by God, the citizens are. There are numerous foundations to help those in need and today our citizens aren't afraid to extend a helping hand and even just say, "Thank You."

Funeral for Deputy Alton Creech, RCSO

 I received a couple of photos on Tuesday showing the Patriot Guard Riders at the funeral of Deputy Alton Creech. I didn't really know Deputy Creech well but I knew he was a motorcycle officer with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office and a ET3 in the U.S. Naval reserve. He was serving his community and the country he believed in and we shared a love of Law Enforcement, the Navy, and our motorcycles. The funeral was attended by a contingent of Patriot Guard Riders and the population of Augusta, Ga turned out in droves. Again, that is what patriotism is all about. Love and Devotion to country and those who protect us.

This is the second Motor Officer Richmond County has lost in just over a year. I know how heartbreaking it is to lose a brother or sister officer and how hard it is to recover. They will move on in spite of the hurt. They are a dedicated group of officers and they have a wonderful backing from the population to help them through.

Graveside Service for Deputy Alton Creech, RCSO

I guess I'm starting to just ramble now. The past few days, as I said earlier, has been an emotional roller coaster. It's now Memorial Day and I'm sitting at the Operating Center in West Memphis where I've been since yesterday about noon. I still can't deliver until tomorrow afternoon so I have way too much time to sit and think and that's never a good thing.

Schneider "Ride Of Pride" Truck for 2013

On this Memorial Day I'm sitting here looking out over a sea of orange trucks and trailers. I am proud to be associated with a company that believes in, and supports, our service men and women. They actively recruit veterans, knowing they have the discipline and drive to accomplish the task at hand. They also honor those who've fallen as witnessed by the "Ride of Pride" trucks they put on the road each year with a deserving veteran driving them. They do one a year with this year's being pictured. Again patriotism up front and in your face.

Patriotism is still alive and well with most of America. There are still pockets who don't care. As I sat thinking about who are those people that don't think about anything past today and the first group that came to mind was our young people, teenagers. Almost like she was reading my mind, a post came up on Facebook from my granddaughter. It read, "I love having my FREEDOM!!! Happy Memorial Day to all the women and men, who have served and are serving our country! Thank you! :)" 

Thank you Haley for helping make an old man believe there is hope in our young people.
Love You,
Papa

To all my friends, family, and readers: Have a great Memorial Day and when you say grace over that Bar-B-Que, say an extra prayer for the families and friends of those who died protecting our right to live in a free and wonderful country.

Blue Lights In The Mirror, What A Way To End The Day

Saturday, April 6th. This is the kind of day that makes rolling a truck across the highways of this nation special. The weather couldn't be much better. It's cool, but not cold with slightly overcast skies. I've got old 70's rock and roll on the satellite radio. Traffic is light. I'm pulling a light load with a new energy-efficient trailer which means I'm getting great fuel mileage. I travel through some of the most beautiful country in the United States as I cross interstate 40 through Tennessee, all four hundred fifty-one miles of it. Rolling mountains all the way across and into North Carolina. I was up early this morning at 4:30, 3:30 central when I started out.

I-40 Bridge coming into Memphis at 3:30 am (CST)

I got to Hurricane Mills, Tenn at about 7:00 am and had a wonderful breakfast at Loretta Lynn's Kitchen.

The rest of the morning and into the early afternoon was wonderful. Great day that could only be better if I was on my Harley. But then....

A North Carolina Highway Patrol car slowly passes me, backs out of it and falls in to my left side as he travels just behind me. Blue lights start flashing. I'm driving with the cruise control set at 63 in a 70 zone, in my lane not weaving and clearly wearing my seat belt. Nothing is wrong with my truck and I'm not doing anything wrong. Oh wait, yes I am, I'm driving a truck. Just being behind the wheel makes me a suspect. What crime? It doesn't matter. I see an exit ramp about 1/2 mile from where I am so I let off the cruise and turn on the emergency flashers so he knows I am pulling over as soon as I get to a safe location.

It's a young trooper who tells me to open my passenger door. He steps on the running board and looks around inside the truck. He's very nice. Very professional. "I need the registration on the truck and trailer, your driver's license, medical card, and log book. I stopped you to do an inspection." I asked what prompted him to stop me and was told, "Nothing, I just thought I'd do a random inspection." Can you imagine the uproar if this were happening to people in cars? No probable cause. Not even reasonable suspicion you're doing anything wrong or in violation of any laws. Just, "I thought I'd do a random inspection."

I came away from the stop with perfect inspection but terrible disposition. What a way to screw up the perfect day. Even though my truck is, like me, getting older with a lot of miles I try to keep it in top notch condition. It is serviced and a complete preventative maintenance is done between 15 and 18 thousand miles. My son owns a diesel repair shop, ServiceFleet, in Augusta, Ga and him and his mechanics do all my routine maintenance work. They know that if I don't pass an inspection because of something they missed it will be hell to pay.

I do it by the book. I run completely legal and compliant. My log books are electronic and help keep me 100% legal. I run at or below the speed limits. This not only helps from a safety standpoint but the reduced speeds, especially on the interstates, reduces my fuel costs and puts money in my pocket. Just one nickel per mile is $125.00 per week based on an average of 2500 miles a week. That's $6500 per year just by keeping my speed lower and not idling the truck. Safety pays.

I understand safety from all my years as a law enforcement officer. I know not all trucks are not well maintained and not everybody is going to run by the book. I am as concerned as the next person by this. It's my life and that of my family who must share the roads with these people so don't get me wrong, I do get it!

My complaint is not about trucks being inspected. You will never hear me complain (loudly anyway) about a routine inspection at a scale house or other location set up specifically for checking all trucks. My complaint is a Fourth Amendment issue. Why do I lose my rights against unreasonable search and seizure just because I happen to be sitting behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer?

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), was decided by the United States Supreme Court 45 years ago and was a landmark decision which held that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures are not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and frisks him or her without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer has reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person "may be armed and dangerous."

The Terry Court recognized that ''not all personal intercourse between policemen and citizens involves 'seizures' of persons,'' and suggested that ''[o]nly when the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen may we conclude that a 'seizure' has occurred.''  Years later Justice Stewart proposed a similar standard, that a person has been seized ''only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.''

 http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment4/annotation03.html> 

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguably one of the most liberal justices, more recently wrote the opinion for the unanimous court in the case of Arizona v. Johnson 555 U.S. 323 (2009) which in part read: "During a traffic stop... passengers are seized under the Fourth Amendment once the vehicle they're in, when stopped by the police comes to a complete stop on the side of the road..."

I put these references in to show that we are not afforded the same rights under the Bill of Rights as every other citizen, including criminals.

Look at the references. Under Terry a police officer must at least have reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime...to be stopped in the first place. As I was driving along I fell into none of the categories and the officer had no reason to think any of these had, were, or were going to be done.

Once I was stopped "by show of authority" I was not allowed to leave. Can you imagine how far under the jail I would have been tossed if I had told him I didn't have time for the inspection and needed to continue on. This constituted a seizure under the strictest meaning of the word since I was in no way "free to leave."

Even Justice Ginsburg agreed that once a vehicle is stopped on the side of the road, "passengers are seized."

Like I said I understand the need for safety on our highways. A truck in the wrong hands is like a firearm in the wrong hands and will eventually kill. But will stepping on the Bill of Rights help anyone or is it like the President with his gun control agenda? All this is doing is creating a nation of criminals. Even if we are doing it the best and safest way possible we are still treated like criminals. We are "profiled" just for driving a truck.

How many other professions have entire law enforcement agencies, federal, state and local, dedicated to nothing but policing their profession? I can't off hand think of any. The Federal government has the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that does nothing but regulate trucks. Each state has it's own truck enforcement division, whether it be called Transport Police, Dept of Transportation, Public Utilities or many other names they are all the same. Even local law enforcement have jumped on the band wagon in recent years assigning officers to nothing but truck enforcement. We have to obey all motor vehicle laws that the normal citizen does but, we have Federal, local, and state laws on top of those. I hate to say it because I heard it so many times over the years, "The city must be short on funds this month so you're writing more tickets," but a lot of this is a revenue grab.

Now we also have the FMCSA putting out new regulations or changing regulations almost daily and we are supposed to keep up with them.

Under it's newest rule, CSA (Compliance Safety Accountability) we are charged with things we have absolutely no control over. CSA was implemented over the weekend of December 2011 and is supposed to be a Safety Management System. CSA is currently being challenged in court but is still in use as the lawsuit proceeds.

CSA is flawed on many fronts but the most outrageous is in its Evaluation. "Evaluate safety performance of carriers and drivers and identify behavior patterns that may result in unsafe operations."

Read that again "....that may result in unsafe operations." This isn't saying that I have operated unsafely, only that I may, sometime in the future, operate unsafely due to their less that well thought out criteria. If I had a clearance light burn out during my trip when I had gotten stopped for the "inspection" I would have gotten points accessed on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the worse. They think because this light burned out somewhere along my route I should have caught it and therefore I'm a danger on the highway.

I don't even have to do anything wrong. I am assigned points for anything that I'm involved with whether I'm at fault or not. Even if I am given a warning ticket it will be placed on my CSA record and held against me without due process of law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. You can't go to court and fight a warning ticket so you have no recourse and you still get the points accessed.

One of the best examples of what can happen was stated by the Vice President of Safety for Groendyke Transport, Steve Niswander, during an inverview. "A driver can have a bad score, yet be a great driver. If, for example, a car driven by a drunk driver crosses the median and hits the truck head-on causing the death of both the driver and their passenger, you have an alcohol-involved accident with two fatalities. That will go on the driver's CSA record and it will blow their score clean out of the water through no fault of their own."

Did you read that? Scary huh? Let's try that on a passenger car. After Church you took the family to Grandma's house for Sunday fried chicken. The strongest thing you've had to drink is some of your Mom's great sweet iced tea. Now you, your wife and your two children leave and head on home. As you're driving along through town a drunk driver running 70 mph runs a stop sign hitting your car and killing everyone in the car but you. Of course the drunk driver walks away with minor injuries. You have just been involved in an alcohol-related accident with three fatalities. You've just lost your entire family and now you will also lose your job, and home because of something you had nothing to do with other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the points are accessed against you just for being involved. Can't happen. It could if you were behind the wheel of a truck.

I heard a story on the radio awhile back about a woman driver who had over a million miles of safe driving. No accidents, no tickets. She was stopped in traffic due to construction and even turned on her emergency flashers to warn other motorists. Someone texting and driving and not paying attention hit her truck in the rear killing themselves. Over ten years of safe driving didn't count. She was fired and can't get another job because of this incident on her record although she did everything right.

I could go on and on but I won't. I'll leave it here.

I'm not a lawyer but I do have a deep and passionate love of the law. This is my opinion based on research I've done. I'm a retired cop who's just trying to provide for my family now by driving and owning a truck. I'm not a criminal so please quit treating me like one.

PS: Thanks to a great organization like OOIDA for standing up for the little guy who can't to do it alone.

The Trucking Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, and on all the roads,
Truckers headed home, having emptied their loads.
Headed east from Atlanta, with the hammer down,
To play Santa for my Baby, back in J-Town.

There was Dickie in a Freightliner, Gary a Mack,
Two Centurys, then a Pete, with a tanker out back.
And Terry with his log truck and me in my Pete,
We were in the middle, we had the best seat.

When under the hood there arose such a clatter,
I hit the shoulder to see what was the matter.
Out the door I was gone in a flash,
Throw open the hood, find out what I'd trashed.

The smoke, the oil, it was all such a mess
I couldn't figure it out, I tried my best.
When headed west but what did appear,
A mobile service truck, amber lights flashing clear.

The young man driving was slender and quick,
My prayers have been answered, he could've been St. Nick.
The truck turned in the median and back he came,
Hollered at his helpers calling each one by name.

"Ray, and Dillon, and Donnie too,
This truck is trashed, this driver is screwed.
To the back of our truck, let's get our tools,
A computer, some gloves, and a turbo too."

Then in a twinkling, they were under the hood.
Wrenches flying, man are they good.
As I shook my head and was turning around,
He jumped from the truck, landing with a bound.

He was dressed in a uniform from his head to his feet,
It was covered in dirt, oil, water and grease,
A box full of tools he had in his hand,
The look on his face, one determined young man.

His eyes looked right through me, as by me he ran,
And fired up a generator in back of the van.
He returned with more tools and a box filled with parts.
I don't care what it costs, as long as this baby starts.

A harness full of wires he held tight in his teeth,
As he stripped each end from under it's sheath.
He had a smile on his face as they laughed, joked and talked,
Me, I was nervous, up and down the shoulder I walked.

He was slender and fit, along with his crew,
Each seemed gifted, they knew what to do.
A wink of his eye and a nod of his head
soon gave me to know i had nothing to dread

He spoke not a word as they finished their work,
He climbed in the truck and hit the key, it started with a jerk.
He gave his workers each a high five,
As he revved the engine, then from the truck he climbed.

He jumped in his van along with his crew,
I asked about the bill, what do I do?
But he yelled from the window as he drove out of sight
Merry Christmas to You and to All a Good Night


                                        By: Tony D Taylor

I Voted, Now Back to Work.

Well, time to go back to work. I'll be heading to south Georgia and then on to Tennessee and down to south Texas. I don't have a clue as to when I'll make it back home but it probably won't be in time to cast my vote. I will not let this year go by without at least having some say in the elections. The wife and I headed down to the County Elections office first thing this morning and cast our votes in early voting. Done. I love it!

Taking an impromptu poll of family and friends I found that only about 1 in 20 are even registered to vote. This is horrendous. Voting is not only your right, but a duty. Of the 19 who are not registered a few of them are the ones yelling the loudest about no jobs, rising gas prices, stagnant economy and any other thing you can think of. SHUT UP! If you don't vote then you have no say. You don't have a right to complain.

I can't believe the excuses. The biggest one is that, "My one vote ain't gonna mean anything." YES IT DOES! Lets take a look at a few in recent history.
1) This year: Rick Santorum defeated Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses by 34 votes out of 121,503 total votes cast. A margin of only 0.28%. Of course Romney went on to win the nomination overall but this was the closest GOP primary in history.
2) United States Senate election in the State of Washington, 2000. Democrat Maria Cantwell defeated Republican Incumbent Slade Gorton by only 2229 votes out of 2,461,379. A margin of less than 1 percent.
3) 2010 Lakeview, Ohio School District was won by only 2 votes out of 3,570.
Several state electoral races have come in at under 1/2 of a percentage point. We won't even talk about Bush and Gore in 2000 where it was 0.009%.
Don't say your vote does not count.

Talking to our daughter this morning I asked her why she doesn't vote. "I don't keep up with the issues enough to stay informed," was her response. You're a young, bright, college student. The future of this country depends on your generation to be informed and keep up with the issues. You're an accounting major. It seems like the economy would be first and foremost on the minds of all your classmates and yourself. I know that you look at more on that computer than Facebook. Flip through the news pages. There aren't too many newspapers left anymore but get the news from someplace and not just one source.

When Diane and I started dating I was still an Investigator with the Johnston Police Department. She had never voted, and other than workplace gossip, she didn't have a clue as to what went on in her own town. She was amazed that I was getting called out at all hours of the day and night for robberies, murders, any, and every, imaginable crime.  She told me after only a few weeks, "I didn't know all that went on here." She just got up, went to work, and came home. Now she is one of the most informed people I know. She developed an honest interest in what went on not only in our town and county, but the entire country.

That is just what everyone in this country needs to do. Instead of just walking around looking at the sidewalk, look up, look around, see what is happening. Find out why your gas prices are rising. Find out why your groceries have gone up about 37% in the last two years. Your gross income is the same as it was last year, so why am I seeing less in my paycheck?

What I'm asking is to take the time to get informed and get out and vote. Your vote does matter.

On another note I wish the best to my friends who are running for office this year: Sonny Cox, Coroner Greenwood County, Bob Fisher, Greenwood County Council, Sonya Spray, Aiken County treasurer, Donnie Myers, Eleventh Circuit Solicitor and Shane Massey, SC State Senate.

Sonny, Bob, and Sonya I can't vote for you since I don't live in your counties, but I do wish each and every one of you the best of luck and I know you'll do great things for your citizens.