some texas redneck posted:

Saw this more than once on I-10 and I-20 the other day.

Fart Pipe posted:

Dudes I need some hot steamy trucker help. I'm going to be driving a 16ft moving truck and car dolly from Seattle to Connecticut around the middle of February next year. I know nothing about crossing the mountains in the winter. Is that something where it would be better do drive south down the coast before going east? What's the best way to penetrate the mountain range in the winter?

Fart Pipe posted:

Dudes I need some hot steamy trucker help. I'm going to be driving a 16ft moving truck and car dolly from Seattle to Connecticut around the middle of February next year. I know nothing about crossing the mountains in the winter. Is that something where it would be better do drive south down the coast before going east? What's the best way to penetrate the mountain range in the winter?

Fart Pipe posted:

Dudes I need some hot steamy trucker help. I'm going to be driving a 16ft moving truck and car dolly from Seattle to Connecticut around the middle of February next year. I know nothing about crossing the mountains in the winter. Is that something where it would be better do drive south down the coast before going east? What's the best way to penetrate the mountain range in the winter?

Javid posted:

There are places on 80 in Wyoming that close so often they went ahead and installed permanent gates they can shut at will. Let that tell you something about your odds.

Fart Pipe posted:

That's true but I'm not sure how much work it needs yet. Its also a 98 Beetle though it is a TDI.

Javid posted:

Driving a car would suck substantially less in the same conditions.

West SAAB Story posted:

.. apparently not.

CommieGIR posted:

Its a Jetta with a Beetle body. If he was driving an actual air cooled monstrosity through the snow, then it might suck more.

West SAAB Story posted:

Trying to huddle around the one small bastion of heat that you must give to the evil capitalist window so you might see where you are being propelled? VE WILL HAFF NOT OF THIS! ZE VINDOW REQUIRES ALL!

Javid posted:

To avoid the nasty poo poo you're driving a loooooong way out of your way. Pretty much unless you go all the way to Bakersfield and take 40 across you're looking at good odds of snow you may or may not be prepared for. Are you feeling good about chaining up that thing, including the trailer, on the side of the freeway in the snow?

My first time chaining up was actually on Sumner, the first big pass you'll run across if you decide taking 90 is a good idea. If so, have fun!

CommieGIR posted:

Its a Jetta with a Beetle body. If he was driving an actual air cooled monstrosity through the snow, then it might suck more.

CannonFodder posted:

If he was driving a 60s Beetle across the high plains in winter I'd be more worried about the wind launching the car off the road.

CommieGIR posted:

Saw a couple flipped Vanagons and Beetles off I-70 in Wyoming, I suspect they were traveling together.

quote:

ARLINGTON, Va.,� A coalition of trucking industry groups warned the D.C. Council that provisions in the recently introduced Sustainable D.C. Omnibus Act of 2013 would have �significantly harmful effects on the District�s economy and on the quality of life of District residents.�

The provision would ban registrations of new diesel-powered vehicles: commercial trucks, buses, automobiles and fire trucks after 2017. This ban, because of interstate registration compacts would effectively outlaw any new diesel-powered vehicles from crossing the District line.

�We�re very concerned that this provision, which is unnecessary to achieve the goals of the overall bill, would have a number of adverse effects on the residents and businesses in our nation�s capital,� said Bob Pitcher, vice president of state laws for American Trucking Associations. �If enacted as written, there will be serious disruptions to the supply chain for DC � which receives the vast majority of its good via truck.�

In a letter to the Council, ATA along with the American Moving and Storage Association, Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Maryland Motor Truck Association and Virginia Trucking Association, warned that there several possible outcomes of the proposal, all of them negative.

�Most likely, the District will find itself not benefitting from advances in safety and emissions technology more found on newer trucks, meaning progressively older and older vehicles will be delivering to the city,� Pitcher said. �Shippers may also choose to receive smaller, more frequent deliveries in smaller gasoline-powered vehicles � many, many gasoline-powered vehicles to add to one of the nation�s already most congested cities.

�However, it may be as time goes on that carriers may simply choose not to send trucks into the District at all,� he added. �While inconvenient for District residents, the ban on diesel trucks will certainly be a boon for the economies of Maryland and Virginia who stand to benefit from D.C. residents looking elsewhere for essential goods.�

In 2012, trucks moved 68.5% of all U.S. freight by weight, and delivered 100% of all consumer goods in the country. More than 80% of communities rely solely on trucks for their freight needs.

�We encourage the D.C. Council to drop this provision in order to safeguard the economy and quality of life of their city,� Pitcher said.

InterceptorV8 posted:

I think Washington DC should stay the course. Godspeed Washington DC, Godspeed.

madeintaipei posted:

That's hilarious. How the gently caress do people think poo poo gets to their grocery stores, for example. I'm kind of used to people taking poo poo for granted in that regard. I mean I can kind of understand it, I didn't even know jobs like mine existed before I started working them. But drat, do people who drive for a living get totally passed over in any conversation. Like people saying how great it would be to tax gas/diesel more, like the stupid Jalopnik, "Hurr, more gas/space on the road for our weekend cars ". Then you've got the "zero idle" laws, piss injectors, etcetera, ad nauseam. Own you own truck or business, gently caress you! No one cares that your operating costs keep rising, get hosed! I mean keeping emissions low and economy high is important, but all that crap costs money.

Aaaand now I've just ranted about that in the trucker thread.

InterceptorV8 posted:

Milk and Meat come from cartons in the stores, DUH.

Raluek posted:

Fart Pipe posted:

The Onion, I hope.

InterceptorV8 posted:

FYI Kids, there isn't any Santa, but there is a fat guy in a red truck that serves the same function. Can you please tell your parents to stop cutting me off, otherwise you fucks aren't going to have Christmas this year.

0rganDonor posted:

Seconded.

Disgruntled Bovine posted:

What the gently caress is that from?

Watommi posted:

Also, nasa.gov/orion says the mockup capsule left on Dec 11, and will arrive in San Diego in early January. WTF? That's like a 3 day drive max. Are they stopping for photo ops every 25 miles or what?

quote:

Auburn lawmaker draws fire for comments about truck drivers
By Lindsay Tice, Staff Writer
Published on Thursday, Dec 12, 2013 at 12:12 am | Last updated on Thursday, Dec 12, 2013 at 5:05 pm
The Maine Republican Party on Wednesday released an email in which State Rep. Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn, railed against noisy trucks and questioned the intelligence of truck drivers.

"... one look at them and you can see they probably dont (sic) have a whole hell of allot (sic) of brains in their heads," Bolduc wrote in the email.

Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage said the email was written in November and forwarded to the Republican Party a few days ago. He said the email was originally sent to multiple officials, but he declined to say who those officials were. He also declined to say who gave the email to the Republican Party, saying that person feared retribution.

Savage called the email angry, aggressive and offensive.

"I think I'm shocked that Rep. Bolduc thinks so poorly of the hardworking people who drive trucks for a living," Savage said.

In a statement released by the House Democratic Office on Wednesday afternoon, Bolduc acknowledged that he had written the email.

"My email was over the line," Bolduc's statement said. "I apologize for expressing my frustration in such an inappropriate manner."

In its release, the Maine Republican Party redacted the beginning of Bolduc's November email. It highlighted the last paragraph in which Bolduc complained about truck noise in his Riverside Drive neighborhood.

"We need more police survalence (sic) to crack down on this s**t," the email said. "They rumble past our homes before they get to the bridge and to turn onto mill street (sic) especialy (sic) those god damed (sic) lumber trucks. They release those breaks (sic) and our floors and windows rumble and the sound scares pets and children in our homes. You would think the drivers would have enough common courtesy not to do this infront (sic) of residential homes but then again one look at them and you can see they probably dont (sic) have a whole hell of allot (sic) of brains in their heads."

Bolduc, who is certified as a social studies teacher, went on to demand action.

"I want something done about it pronto," the email said. "I want a cruiser stationed on this road (you can use my driveway) every day between 630 am and 8pm (wich (sic) is when the traffic is running) for a week and i (sic) want to see citations stacking up or ill (sic) have every damned resident of this town who lives on a busy road in that city council chamber!"

Savage called the email "out of bounds."

"I'm fairly shocked at the way that he thinks that he can throw around, sort of his belief in his own power, that he can throw it around and dictate to people what he wants them to do," Savage said.

Bolduc did not return calls or emails seeking comment Wednesday.

It was unclear whether he meant the November email to be viewed as a letter from a state lawmaker representing his constituents or from a private citizen with a gripe. The email was sent from his private email account and was signed, "Sincerely, Brian Bolduc" without his title of lawmaker.

Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte and police Chief Phil Crowell said they were among those who received the original email and both said they considered it a citizen complaint.

"Brian's a resident and he has the right to raise concerns around municipal issues," LaBonte said.

Crowell forwarded the email to Auburn City Manager Clint Deschene in November to make him aware of the complaint. Deschene said he also considered it to be an email from a resident.

As far as the tone and language some found offensive, Deschene said, "When I get emails from residents, I try not to draw those types of conclusions. An email's an email. I address it appropriately no matter what the content or how it's delivered. I try to handle them courteously and with respect."

Crowell said he had received three complaints about trucks in the past year, two of them from Bolduc � including the November email. He said an officer monitored the area with a decibel reader but could not find a problem.

Brian Parke, president and CEO of the Maine Motor Transport Association, recently learned about the email. He said truck drivers try their best to be courteous and professional, but "unfortunately, for every industry there's those insensitive few who give the many considerate professionals a bad reputation and it appears this might be the case with a few truckers in the emailer's neighborhood."

However, he said, "As far as the tone of the email, it's unnecessary to malign an entire group of people just because of the actions of a few."

Jodi Quintero, spokeswoman for House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick, said the speaker agreed that Bolduc's email was out of line.

"The speaker was pleased to see Rep. Bolduc retract his comments," Quintero said. "The email clearly crossed the line and Rep. Bolduc was right to quickly retract the statements and make that admission."

State Rep. Corey Wilson, an Augusta Republican and a truck driver, said he'd like more. He wants Bolduc to consider resigning.

"(The email) shows to me he doesn't care about the working-class people, which is what Maine is founded on," he said.

ltice@sunjournal.com

Maine Democrat State Rep Lets Rip: Truckers "Don't Have A Lot Of Brains In Their Heads"