The Dangerous Side of Green
It's been a rough couple of weeks on the road. Things took an unfortunate turn a couple of weeks ago when I believe I might have cracked a rib. Trying to cut a bolt seal off of the trailer with small pair of bolt cutters (which was all the customer had), I placed one handle of the cutters against me for leverage and pulled the opposite handle toward me. The bolt won that contest, as I felt a pop that took my breath. I've been sporting an ace bandage since then, but the discomfort is fading.
The freight schedule of late has been brutal, so any time that can be used to rest is time well spent. Yesterday, I left a small town just east of Chattanooga,with a load that positively had to be in New Jersey this morning. The sooner I got stopped yesterday, the sooner I could start driving today. So I did what I did on active duty, ...I got it done. Didn't stop to eat, took my break and was up ready to roll at 2:30 this morning.
Making the delivery an hour early, I found a truck stop so I could take the rest of the day to get some needed rest. One problem: It's 90 degrees and the law prohibits idling the truck to stay cool. Amazing, isn't it? It's perfectly legal to have heat stroke, I suppose. But trying to rest while sweating like Bill Clinton under oath just isn't working. I am absolutely exhausted and have to wonder how safe a driver will I be tomorrow, having gotten little or no sleep due to triple digit temps in the cab? I would be tempted not to move the truck until I've been able to rest, ...but it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow and sitting here till autumn isn't a good option.
Sharp reflexes are necessary if one is to navigate an 80,000 pound vehicle in a region where people drive like they are on suicide missions. Of what consolation will it be to the survivors of a family I wiped out that, well, I did my part for the environment the night before? Whatever noble impulses inspired the "No Idling" laws, it's always the unintended consequences that come back to bite. How many lives is the green agenda worth?
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Comments :
May '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
I'm always reminded of the criminally stupid refusal to clear the explosively flammable underbrush in California and, recently, Australia.
Jul '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
I've been dispatched to calls in the past complaining about the noise of idling trucks near residential areas at night. That's a little more understandable, but still...it gets sick hot here, even at night.
How does this idling rule work if you have a refrigerated load? The frozen peas get shielded from the heat but the driver doesn't?
Aug '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Wylee Coyote: How does this idling rule work if you have a refrigerated load? The frozen peas get shielded from the heat but the driver doesn't? · Aug 4 at 2:16pm
Sleep with the peas?
Jul '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Sleep with the peas? · Aug 4 at 2:32pm
Now I wish I had used fish in my example, to give you a better set-up. :(
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Wylee, that's exactly the case. If the freight is temperature sensitive, it will be protected. Drivers, on the other hand, let 'em suffocate. These no idle states also enforce their laws in sub freezing temperatures. These laws of course, were concieved and implemented from the comfort of a climate controlled building.
I recognize that my fatigue level is ridiculous at this point, so will choose my words carefully, ...but a book could be written on the sub-human status that many drivers are relegated to in various precincts.
By the same token, I should hasten to add that whatever deprivations those of us on the road endure, they fade into utter insignificance when compared with the sacrifices our troops make daily for us. My worst day in trucking is incomparably better than many of the days our military members go through.
Jul '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Wait until they tackle the sin of idling in traffic.
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Wylee Coyote: How does this idling rule work if you have a refrigerated load? The frozen peas get shielded from the heat but the driver doesn't? · Aug 4 at 2:16pm
Sleep with the peas? · Aug 4 at 2:32pm
Midget, thank you! I needed the laugh. Glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read that or I would have hosed the whole place down. Unhappily, I don't haul the refrigerated vans or I would have to give your idea serious thought.
Shhhhhh,... don't tell anyone, but I'm idling the truck right now. Everything in here is melting, so I'm trying to salvage what I can. Thus begins my life of crime....
Jul '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Up here in the North, there was a move afoot to ban idling in very sub zero temps: ie, even if you plug in your vehicle to keep the engine block warm, you still have to idle for awhile to unfreeze the REST of the motor (including the fanbelt) before moving the car . Anyway, we have a small enough population so that we all know where the Prime Mover lives: right downtown, so she doesn't need to use her car to get to work. Therefore, her proposal didn't pass through the usually clueless City Hall, since most of THOSE people live in our suburbs, and have to drive to work.
Anyway, have a good sleep. Crime Pays!
May '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
I think it comes back to your/my/our choice to spend our own fuel dollars for whatever purpose we wish: warming an ice cold vehicle in winter, cooling a rig in sweltering Tennessee, or leaving an idled SUV in a Milwaukee sinkhole (true story). I'd better check the "no-idle" states so I know where I'm officially offending.
May '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
I propose that we take up a collection and buy Dave this item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PORTABLE-ICE-CHEST-COOLER-CAR-VEHICLE-AIR-CONDITIONER-/290346811161?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Air_Conditioner&hash=item439a04bf19
I pledge the first ten bucks and volunteer to act a purchasing agent.
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Duane, you are very kind. Last summer my a/c went kaput in Florida. It was upwards of 115 degrees in the cab. So I put 20 lbs of ice into my ice chest, attached a portable fan just over it, and blew the cool air toward the sleeper. It lowered the temps in here by less than 10 degrees and the ice melted in less than two hours. Eventually, the company paid for a motel while the beast was in the shop.
They used to have Idle Air stations at truck stops that would funnel cold air into the truck. But the business evidently failed. By the time a driver paid for Idle Air at several bucks an hour, paid at least $10 for a meal, and another $10 for a shower, he had shelled out the equivalent of a motel bill, which pretty well negates having trucks with sleepers in the first place.
May '10
Re: The Dangerous Side of Green
Blue ice pouches! How about something like these 12 volt TE coolers with a fan added, right by your head? We used to use this technology in my old aerospace days to cool infrared detectors for missiles.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1311&_nkw=12+volt+cooler&_sacat=See-All-Categories