To whom it may Concern.  

Over the years, Safe Truck Drivers Of America have been requesting higher training standards for new drivers that enter our industry. For whatever reason, we have been ignored. We the signers of this petition respectfully request that not only new and more stringent training standards be implemented, but also new and higher quality drivers are found to go through this training.  

This simply can no longer be ignored. On 3/26/11 a driver of an eighteen wheeler was killed when it rear ended another eighteen wheeler driven by a three week trainee traveling at only five miles per hour while his trainer laid asleep in the sleeper berth. The trainee was reported to be disorientated and confused in clear conditions while traveling through mountainous area in Wyoming. Yes, you read that right. The trainee was reported to be disorientated and confused in clear conditions. 

I personally have met drivers that after one week of training could not even maneuver their trucks at the dock but were allowed to roam freely on our nation's highways. Drivers that are made trainers just after three months of experience themselves. This simply is not enough time to learn how to handle a large truck on our nation's highways. Not enough time to learn and understand FMCSA regulations and the just plain common sense that it takes to operate such a large vehicle on the highway. 

I also question as to why we need these new drivers. A few years back, large companies were proud because they finally got their turnover rate fewer than one hundred and sixteen percent per year. Today drivers with twenty and thirty year clean records or turned away in favor of less experienced drivers.  

The number one reason for this is because the better a driver gets at their job and the more knowledgeable they are about the laws regarding the trucking industry, the less they are worth to the large companies. The large companies need drivers that will do as they are told regardless of the law or what's safe. The new drivers are expected to last about two years until they finally get enough experience and start saying no. This circle needs to come to an end. It is also a circle that has been documented many times in the industry publications yet simply ignored by the powers that be.  

The number two reason is simply over regulation of the industry. Drivers simply are either being pushed out or simply giving up due to the fact that they can no longer meet the overly politically correct regulations that at a high rate of speed keep popping out at an almost daily pace. It simply is not possible to keep up any more.  

Safe Truck Drivers Of America Respectfully ask once again that proper driver qualifications and training standards be implemented into the trucking industry. We ask that actual drivers chosen from the entire industry, not just a small group from large for profit companies or organizations be included in the process of determining what exactly these standards should be. We ask that we, Safe Truck Drivers Of America, be allowed to do our jobs, that job being keeping those we share the highway with alive.

Help improver truck driver training. After you sign the petition, Please write and call your Representatives today.

Respectfully Yours

Jeff Head

 Author "Running Legal Blues"

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