Response to Rigged IV: “Asleep at the wheel”

To:          USA Today

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From:    Jack Porter: GPorter Group

[email protected]

RE:          12/28: Rigged Part IV: “Asleep at the wheel: Road-weary truckers risk lives on the job”

 

Once again, I will register a clarification on your misleading headline! I’m quite sure this rebuttal will fall into the same USA Today ‘Trash Barrel’ as my last rebuttal about Port Drivers did! But, I will also post my clarification on social media.

Are you kidding?, “Road-weary truckers risk lives”, posted on the front page of your newspaper once again. The body of the article does detail the Port of LA, which it obviously deserves, however, the headlines, and all the main stream media like CBS, picked up the headline only!

There are over 1 million Trucking companies in the United States, and I work with some of the best. I assure you that 90% of the Trucking companies today are doing everything in their power to make sure the roads they share with the motoring public are safe. While some rogue Container companies are obviously catching all your attention about safety, I urge you to cover the news that is affecting the safety of the roads. Start with the new Electronic Log Mandate that was put into effect on December 18, 2017.

As referred to in your article this mandate was put into legislation to increase safety and reduce driver fatigue. As you identify it as a hammer on these PORT fleets that are running illegal, you don’t cover the real story! While this Mandate was instituted in February 2016, many of the Fleets that the motoring public see on the roads every day instituted the program voluntarily 4-5 years ago. Along with the ELD’s, the Trucking Industry is investing millions in safety technology on new semi trucks. While the Rogue Port companies and Non-ELD Fleets may choose to run illegal, they are also the ones that don’t have the investment in the new Truck Technology. USA Today should give equal time to the Safety of Trucking!

Do your research on the Trucking Industry Safety Record before throwing the whole Industry “under the Port Driver Truck!” Truckers do not “Risk Lives”.