The Canadian Hydrogen Energy Company (http://globaltech.ca) has developed a system that can be installed in existing technologies that would increase fuel saving by 10 percent (guaranteed). One great aspect of this system is no storage of hydrogen is necessary. The unit is an on-demand system that uses distilled water. In addition to improving fuel efficiency, the release of greenhouse gas emissions, with this technology, would be reduced by about 50 percent.

We invite truck drivers to learn more about hydrogen by visiting the http://www.h2andyou.org.

You completely missed my point about judgement, but I think we can all understand why.

Anyone can say a job requires more skill than one can imagine. However, saying that all jobs are equal because of it is nonsense. Even though it is harsh, it is the reality of the world that truck drivers will always be looked down on. I could go on, but would rather let you respond to these points first.

I am not a trucker, but I do know (because I was once responsible for a fleet of over 40 trucks) that it takes more than being able to turn a wheel. Operating the truck itself can be mastered by most folks with some training. Like flying planes (which I do for fun, and sometimes for work), judgement is key. Not all truckers have enough of it, but I don’t think they deserve you insulting them with such a broad brush. Truckers also have to have many other skills to deal with maintenance, material safety, and a large of tax and licensing bureaucracy. Add to that the time away from friends and family, and it is not something any idiot can do.

I wonder what sort of brilliance it takes to do what you do? Only someone with a serious lack of sense would believe what you do about the oil situation. Even the most ardent peak oil devotees should know better than that. Perhaps you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the web.

I’m sure trucking takes tons of skill. Turning a wheel can get pretty hard after a while. Just because you do it doesn’t mean it takes tons of skill; it means quite the contrary.

Dan K.

You are only understanding half the supply and demand thing. For over one hundred years, high oil profits have created the motivation for further exploration and production. They continue to do so, just like every economist will agree.

The problem is interference by several government industries foreign and domestic which are creating externalities which are reducing the desire to take the risk of expansion or forbidding it outright. This prevents expansion and drives up the price by keeping a lid on supply. Every economist will agree with this, too.

Lastly, trucking is more complicated than being able to drive, and driving a big rig takes much more skills, has inherent risks, and is hard work. Not any idiot can do it, and if you drive a car, you would be best to hope that the truck next to you is not driven by an idiot either.

soupdog,

Nationalizing the oil companies will only worsen the problems. You need to pass along the higher prices to your customers. If you can’t be bothered to put up with the trouble of asking for more money and hussling for more business then get out of the game. That is the hardest part of the job.

Keep up your present state of mind, and you will just give yourself a heart attack or stroke.

Here is some $150 an hour advice for free. When your suppliers raise your price, shop the market. If you can’t get a better value, then raise your price to your customers to compensate. Just remember, when your prices fall, if you don’t lower your price, your customers will eventually find out and dump you. That’s the way a free market works. For any other type of market, please read about post WWII Soviet economy at your local library.

And to all you people complaining that trucking doesn’t pay enough, go out there and prove that you deserve that bigger paycheck. Anyone can drive, so naturally the pay is going to be crap (also supply and demand). if you want more money, go ahead and get a real job.

If the large companies are using predatory pricing to force out the small guys, then you have legal options. If you are tired of all the subisidization of other transport, then call your congressman and tell them to stop it. Better yet, vote for someone against market manipulation by the government.

No, Yo, if I paid half my wages to get to work I would ask for a raise and start looking for another job. If enough of the other workers did the same, then the wage would rise without a strike. The part of trucking I don’t understand is how “independent” truckers can be unionized. It’s an oxymoron.

The shortage of oil is precisely the reason for the oil companies’ profits. They own millions of barrels of oil that are still in the ground. The shortage of oil coming to market leads to higher prices, which should lead to more drilling. Unfortunately, too much of the process is now government controlled throughout the world so the market cannot quite work as it ought. People whose ideas of economics are in line with the thinking of the union folks are actually the ones causing all the problems. They both believe in the economics of scarcity.

If enough drivers quit, there will be a shortage of truck drivers, and the price will increase. However, if you charged $20/ mile then the shortage of drivers would end, and/or inflation would cause the $20 to be would be enough for a burger and fries.

I wish you and your husband the best. I wonder though, if he is “independent” why does he need to strike? I don’t get how the whole thing works with truckers. Personally, if someone offers me a job at too low a price, I reject it. If I collude with my competitors, I am breaking the law. Sounds to me like “indpendent trucker” is an oxymoron.

The current price of diesel is a direct result of government interference on EVERY level. Perhaps when your husband is at the next union meeting, he can ask why the government officials they paid for with their dues stopped the oil companies from building more and higher efficiency diesel refineries. If their union had been supporting pro-business, rather than pro-socialist candidates you would likely not be in this position now.

One of my best friends is about to give up teaching. She realized a few years back that the teacher’s union had quite directly worked to get liberals in power that, in turn, lead to laws, regulations, and court decisions that have now made it impossible to do her job. There is no discipline in her school at all anymore. She finally figured out that the net benefit of the union is negative.

My husband has been an independent truck driver for over 13 years and for the most part loves his job. It takes a certain kind of person to be a truck driver, you gotta love it to do it. For the most part he has made a good living for us but lately it has been tough.

I don't think many people that are not in the trucking business understand how tough it is for these drivers. The fuel is going up, everything you buy is going up (just check your local stores prices and compare them to a year ago, or heck even a few months ago!)yet the pay rate for not only the truckers but for just about everyone I know is not keeping up. I cringe when I have to fill up my van can you imagine what its like for the truckers.

It wouldn't be as bad if the rates for their loads would increase as steadily as the fuel increases. Yes the fuel surcharges help but they are not enough. Sometimes I think people forget that its the truck drivers that bring to them just about EVERYTHING they use every day of their lives. What do you thing they would do if those things stopped being delivered to them?

This country could not survive without the independent truckers, its time they get some respect and some backing. I hope everyone does decide to stick together and strike it probably won't solve much but maybe it will at least make people open their eyes and see things a little more clearly.

The primary reasons for rail losing out to truck are the income tax (and other payroll taxes) and NIMBYism.

Rails can’t get near cities anymore, so that is easy to understand.

The tax thing is all about the total cost to move anything being based more on man hours than fuel efficiency. Even at $10/gallon, the cost of transfering from truck, to rail, to truck again is not competitive due to the insanity of taxing productivity over consumption.

My BS detector is going off. I can understand if he is paying STATE taxes in multiple states. But I doubt he is billed twice for the same FEDERAL tax. And to him, that looks like double taxation.

A state demanding their taxes for using their roads makes sense. Otherwise in some areas a truck could cross the state line, fill up, then come back.

I suppose that states could implement a tax solution on diesel like New Zealand has. In NZ, you pre-pay a tax for kilometers on your diesel vehicle. They then give you a windshield sticker that states what the mileage can go up to.

States could, with a transponder system at their borders, trigger a mileage tracker system that then bills their owner. With current technology, a tracker could also use GPS to track which state a truck is in, and how many miles it has driven in that state.

If the states (Canada too) got together and standardized on how to track and collect, then the tax agencies themselves could pay for these devices and still come out ahead.

The independents would have a easier time striking for a higher pay rate per mile from the major freight carriers than getting taxes rolled back.