If you are involved in any aspect of the trucking industry you would have to have been living in a cave with no WIFI to not know about “Jason’s Law” also known as the safe truck parking bill which seeks to provide secure areas for truck drivers to rest or wait until they can unload their trucks.
The bill was introduced by Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) in 2009 after the tragic murder of fellow truck driver Jason Rivenburg who was shot for a measly $7 while he waited to deliver milk parked in an unsafe area.
Most of us have now become familiar with the tragic story and are aware that his courageous young Wife Hope has been the champion for this bill on behalf of all truck drivers despite her loss. Hope Rivenburg endured the death of her Husband, gave birth to twins just days later which made her the sole parent for 3 babies in March of 2009. She inspired many of us in the trucking community by pursuing this bill for safe truck parking in addition to enduring a painful murder trial in South Carolina where she had to face her Husband’s killer , explain to her toddler Son Joshua why his Father had not come home and tirelessly collected petition signatures to raise awareness for the issue of adequate and safe parking for truck drivers.
The bill called “Jason’s Law” had to be re-introduced to the 112th Congress and its corresponding bill number is now H.R. 1803 (LINK: Open Congress: Jason’s Law H.R. 1803 )
On June 23, 2011 Hope Rivenburg asks you to participate in a national call in day to support “Jason’s Law” H.R. 1803 beginning at 9:00 am EST to raise awareness and support for this issue.
She has a Facebook Page called “Jason’s Law for Truck Driver Safety” where she posts updates and a Twitter tag @JasonsLaw . Please mark your calendars and make note of phone numbers to call your representatives on June 23, 2011 to participate in the designated national call in day to Washington D.C. to support H.R. 1803, “Jason’s Law”.
I am including links to help you educate yourself on how the the bill has been rewritten so you can create your personal choice of talking points when you call to speak to your elected officials.
You may also choose to email your representatives in addition to calling them and this often helps to gauge whether you are being heard by receiving a response letter or if you are being ignored or blown off. In my experience I have found it helps to both write and call. When calling, I specifically ask to speak to the “Transportation Staffer” regarding my Support for H.R. 1803 also known as “Jason’s Law”.
Here are some guidelines to keep it simple:
To write or call your Congressman you can use the link I have provided below to enter your zip code at the top right side where it says “Get Involved”. This will give you a list of your elected officials where you can select the “representatives” for your voting area to view their contact information such as phone numbers and email address. (LINK: “Contact Congress” )
You can also use this link directly to the “House of Representatives” to locate your representatives and you should bookmark them for future projects. The main switchboard number is (202) 224-3121 and you should be prepared to provide your zip code and the bill number H.R. 1803. 
Whether you will be calling or writing, please prepare yourself with relevant information. I am including the archived radio broadcast with Congressman Paul Tonko and Hope Rivenburg from last week which you can listen to in order to review what has changed with the re-introduction of the bill H.R. 1803. (Link: Jason’s Law Update with Congressman Paul Tonko & Hope Rivenburg on “Ask the Trucker” Radio Program )
You can track the bill and write your representatives with the easy link included on the Open Congress website. (Link: Open Congress Jason’s Law H.R. 1803 )
Here are some additional tips to participate in the national call in day for Jason’s Law on June 23, 2011.
Remain courteous and respectful but refrain from over doing it. Do not use vulgarity, profanity, or threats. Being rude will only discredit any valid points you make later in your letter or verbal presentation.
It should go without saying but unfortunately I will add a reminder that making implied threats ARE NOT protected speech and this can get you a visit from the Secret Service. Simply stated, don’t let your passion get in the way of making your point.
Say who you are and list your credentials as a driver or concerned citizen. Be prepared to be asked for your zip code and address. Generally, a congressional member has staff in place to document all calls and they track voters from their districts so do not become paranoid by this question.
If you will be writing a letter or email you should understand that anonymous letters go nowhere so it is important to include your correct name, address, phone number and email address. If you don’t include at least your name and address, you will not get a response.
State why you are calling and/or writing which is to support H.R. 1803 and that you would like to know if they have heard of the bill. Ask them how they plan to support it and tell them that you are ready to help them raise awareness and support for the bill. Let them know that you would like them to co-sponsor the bi-partisan H.R. 1803 “Jason’s Law” safe truck parking bill. Use specific examples or evidence that support why safe truck parking is important from your perspective as a professional driver or an advocate for highway safety. Let them know that you will follow their actions with regards to this important piece of legislation for highway safety and make sure you thank the member for taking the time to read your letter/email or taking your call.
Understand when calling you may not be able to reach the Congress member directly and have to speak with a staff member, preferably a transportation staffer. In any case, make sure your call and purpose was documented. Be polite and ask questions of them to be certain they are communicating to you everything that is being done to support this bill. You can gather good information about the integrity of the staff from these calls so listen well and thank them for their time.
Do not demand a response but if you get one make sure you read why or why not the representative has chosen to not support the bill and make a new strategy to contact them again to persuade them to support it. These are your elected public servants and there are times they seem to forget they are supposed to be working for those who elected them. Also, if you do not get a response at all you should take that as an example of a public servant who has definitely lost their way and you should evaluate that the next time they are up for re-election.
Following your participation in the designated national call-in day for “Jason’s Law”, please go to the Facebook Page and post what responses you were given so that Hope can track progress and create a follow up strategy to gather more support. (Link: Jason’s Law Facebook Page )
Tips for Writing to Congress:
Properly address your letter with the following heading and address the topic of “Jason’s Law” H.R. 1803 in a typed one-page letter formatted in a three-paragraph letter structured like the one below:
The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Name) House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
Say why you are writing and who you are. List your “credentials.” Ask them to help us raise awareness for “Jason’s Law” H.R 1803.
Provide more detail with facts but not overly emotional. Provide specifics rather than general information about how the topic affects you and others. Use the correct bill number and cite it in your letter. (H.R. 1803) “Jason’s Law.
Close by requesting the action you want taken such as for them to co-sponsor “Jason’s Law”, pledge their support for the bill so it will be passed and let them know this issue is urgent.
Again, be polite and Thank them for taking the time to read your letter and sign it in a respectfully manner.
Sincerely,
Professional Driver who Votes
If you are active on Twitter and Facebook you can go one step further during the national call in day by posting requests for support on the pages of you elected officials and “Tweeting” requests for support.
Remember, that Twitter chatter goes into Google and it’s hard to ignore. Facebook unity has also been very helpful and censorship in social media is frowned on so it helps to raise awareness and gather more support but do it in an intelligent manner.
You can find Facebook and Twitter accounts by going to Google and entering the representative’s name on twitter. For instance: Google “Paul Tonko on Twitter” and you will find this Congressman’s Twitter tag and be able to see if the tag is active by looking at the date of the last tweet. You can also use this method to locate a Facebook “LIKE” page for an elected official.
This is your official invitation to join Hope Rivenburg for this industry unifying event on June 23, 2001 from 9:00am to 5:00pm EST to ask for Bi-Partisan support in Washington D.C. for “Jason’s Law” H.R. 1803 . Truck Drivers shouldn’t have to lose their lives waiting to deliver milk because there are not enough suitable safe places to park and rest for the night.
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