Rest assured drivers, the FMCSA is on the job. That’s the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. No, they didn’t “rule” on HOS – hours of service – or anything else significant. But, as I read the press release, thanks to “our” government, we can all sleep better tonight. “Crop-share tenant farmers will no longer be considered for-hire and implements of husbandry and will not be regulated as trucks under the terms of the announcement issued this morning by the FMCSA.
The Illinois Farm Bureau’s IFB) Kevin Rund says today’s decision wipes away mountains of uncertainty for farmers faced with serious decisions about motor carrier safety regulations (MCSR) and how their operations could function legally. The Illinois Farm Bureau will be hosting FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro and her staff over the next two days visiting farms and agribusinesses.”
I wonder if the FMCSA folks will be flying commercial out to the fields or might be using an official Department of Transportation jet? Maybe some USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) officials will join them and make it a party on our tax dollars.
Today, I’m not to keen on “our” government. Bill O’Reilly says they’re “all” pinheads, and I couldn’t agree more. The stock market “tanked” – down 500+ points – and so did my day. One of our Facebook “friends” got stopped at the Donner scales in California and got shut down with brake problems. I’ve been there – know the feeling. So, I’ve written a couple of posts on what to do if you’re injured or have a “health” issue. I mentioned the “hole” between unemployment and SSDI – Social Security Disability Income.
I went online – deep in the cloud – to the Oklahoma Unemployment Commission – to find out how my “claim” is going. You MUST use Internet Explorer to “work” their website – not Firefox, not Opera, not Chrome or anything else but IE. They also tell you that using a cell phone isn’t the preferred method to call them. It’s clearly 1999 in 2011 in Oklahoma. After “temporarily” downloading the latest version of the dreaded IE, I found out my “claim” had been denied – no reason given. I would have to call them and wait on hold for an hour or more to talk with one of their droll, humorless “attendants.” I’ll wait to see what they mail me and then aggressively appeal the decision – over $4500 is at stake.
Next, onto another one of “our” government agencies – the Social Security Administration. It took me a week, but I finally completed the ten page form detailing the last 15 years of my life as an OTR truck driver, including every job and itch that might have been treated by a clinic or doctor somewhere. I was going to mail the “package” back. But, ho, ho, there is a local social security admin office about 10 minutes away. My son offers to drive me over there – I walk inside and ask the sleepy guard where can I “drop” this “official” government envelope. Charlie Brown XZXZXZ look. Ut oh, I did it now. Now he has to fire up a brain cell or two and think of an answer.
Uhhhh? We don’t have a drop box. I ask if I can drop it at one of the windows. Uhhh? Well, I guess, but you have a take a number and wait you’re turn. I looked at the “tote” board and I would be -23 after what looked 523 other people wanting answers. So I hopped back in the car and my son drove me to the nearest post office. It was 1 miles away. I paid $5.25 to mail the official government envelope, that was postage paid by Security Administration Administration, by certified mail, via the official government postal service, 2 miles back to where I just was. It should take about three days to get there.
I have more forms at home to complete for Florida’s Children and Family Services for the whole food stamp thing. I can’t wait. Their office is a few miles away, but I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll mail them. I’ve now used the post office more in the last month, than I had in all the time I drove a truck. The whole computer – internet thing, despite all the impressive high priced government websites, is shunned by their employees, the telephone still being the preferred method of doing business. Totally outside comfort zone. But don’t call on a Monday or a Friday, you’ll never get through. The rest of the days, long waits on hold. And, never drop anything by, certainly not without an appointment. I’m sure it’s the same with the FMCSA.
Are truck drivers, with their experiences with the DOT, law enforcement and bureaucracies at shipper and receivers, better able to cope with the nonsense with other entities? Not really.
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