If those guys are getting tested and passing, something is up.

Additionally, I’m not so sure you can simply lump every port onto the same pallet. Speaking as a driver who has actually been employed shagging containers out of a port I can assure you that not all ports are serviced by “junk trucks”.
The trucks we drove, as well as those of every other company contracted, were well manned and maintained. The operations, speaking only of the company for which I worked, were the most professional I’ve encountered over the last 29 years.

As far as any other regulations were concerned; although we weren’t required to keep a formal log, we were required to conform to all the regs; including HOS. If, for example, we worked a long day our morning start time might be delayed to ensure that a minimum of 10 hours off-duty between shifts was maintained. We were also randomly drug tested and, no, we didn’t “know it’s coming and prepare for it” as Mark assumes. (Based on what facts, I wonder?)

Are there problems at ports and railheads? Absolutely and I’m not trying to minimize them. But I think it’s a mistake to draw sweeping conclusions based on limited observational experience and a single article in the L.A. Times. It’s an interesting subject for discussion but it seems there’s a huge difference between what most people “know for sure” and what they’re assuming with few or no hard facts.

And don’t get me wrong, just because I’ve worked at one port I’m not setting myself up as any kind of expert, either. I’m just indicating that each port and railhead needs to be addressed individually. I happen to see increased traffic in and out of these facilities as having high potential for the creation of good short-haul jobs. It’ll take some effort, to be sure, but the potential is there and, judging from the response Tim’s Life After the Open Road got, it seems as though a lot of drivers would be happy to have a good job that allowed them to live a more normal life.

Since most of the freight is short-haul, these trucks and drivers never get out where they have to risk a weigh station-or enforcement. But I was gratified to see, one day last spring, Illinois DOT working a major enforcement effort at the Centerpoint Intermodal Hub (the old Joliet Arsenal property). Since there’s only one way into the complex, at least eleven Dot cars were out there, with creepers on the side of the road, putting a huge bunch of them out of service. The major tenants at Centerpoint are paper companies and big box retailers-they have to know they’re shipping freight cheaply just because of these illegal rigs/drivers.

People will do what they have to do to survive-but every one of these guys endangers public safety and lowers the wages of the rest of us.Who’s at fault? I’d say the big Fortune 500 companies who utilize these poor saps-usually thru a 2nd or 3rd party logistics company. There have got to be some high-priced lobbyists in the mix somewhere. So, where IS CRASH and PATT?

What’s really bad is I would guess that there is a much greater chance of an accident in the crowded metro areas where they are operating than out on the open highway.

Usually it’s not shady repairman getting these guys either. If one breaks down, all of their buddies stop to help with the duct tape and bailing wire. There’s no investment in a luxury like a mechanic doing road service.

How often do you think these guys get drug tested? If they do, I’m sure they know it’s coming and prepare for it.

As far as the Mexican ports, you can read this post that addresses the Super Corridor that’ll be served by Mexican ports.

I’m not surprised that the L.A. Times ran an article highlighting the problems at this particular time; there’s been a lot of discussion regarding the new regulations and their impact on the drivers currently making their living driving junk. The L.A. Times has been a big supporter of the new regulations so I’m sure they’ll want to do all they can to sway public opinion their way.