This story was first published Jan 21, 2008, in the L.A. Times, and is reprinted at this link from Stan Deyo's website, with pix.

If these unsafe trucks are already known to be running day hauls on California freeways, breaking down at a rate of 600 per year, causing accidents, and nobody can stop it, then who is going to be able to monitor the Mexican long-haul trucks coming over the border into California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas?

Many of us have no idea this world exists. But as the economy puts the squeeze on everybody, could this driver's story come closer to home?

http://standeyo.com/NEWS/08_USA/0801...rt.trucks.html

 

That was very interesting. Good reading everyone!!!

 

"Many of us have no idea this world exists"

I'm in the L.A. area and see the dump truck bussiness going the same direction.
I've never seen dump trucks so overloaded as I've seen in recent years. Overloaded and lack of experiance and people can die and do.

 

Very good article. In addition to their crap trucks these guys have no respect for people (trucks) waiting in line and will do whatever they can to jump the line. They've managed to bring the Tejiauna city limits up to I110.

 

I don't see anywhere where it says Mexican immigrant.

The media always does a wonderful job of sensationalizing things. There will always be the businessman that complains he doesn't get enough $.

Note the load they talked about, $320 for 80 miles, that is $4 a mile.

I wonder what the status quo is. Do these loads pay too little, or do these guys just don't know how to run a business?

 

I run local and my cost per mile is over $4 a mile. It's about $4.50 a mile. That would mean he's running in the red. The only hope is that shippers and consumers can be educated with the facts and discover that trucking companies will not operate safetly under the current circumstances. Sad fact is, they do and don't care. Not to mention that the truckers themselves need to relize this and do something, I can only hope.

 

Allan....80 miles for the trip would be the one-way paid miles, which means Miguel was driving a round trip in the neighborhood of 160 to 165 miles...maybe a bit more, depending on which part of Rancho C he was dropping in. It would be pretty tough for him to do 2 trips a day, every day, to Rancho C, simply because of traffic between the Port area and Rancho Cucamonga, which is bad on a good day.

As for the truck repair issue..it's the same problem all across the country, and it covers all the ethnicity's as well. Shipper's do not want to pay a rate, that will cover repairs to the trucks, as well as cover wages for the driver, if they can possibaly avoid doing so. Especially when it comes to containerized freight. If they actually had to pay a realistic rate, they would have a fleet, and operate the trucks themselves.

 

The guys name is Miguel. That's Mexican or at least somewhere south. It says he gets paid $8.90 an hour. That means he's hauling way too cheap.

 

Sure it's a mexican name, implying a mexican background.

But that does not mean he's a mexican immigrant.