More people should learn trucker math

How many people know exactly what they pay in taxes at the pump or where their fuel taxes go?

While everyone has the free will to look up the answers to those and other pertinent questions, chances are that most people don’t. In many ways, the motoring public lives under a gas-and-go rock.

Increases in the price of fuel can be a wake-up call for some, but not everyone sits down and does trucker math.

Trucker math? What’s that? Perhaps if a few more people thought about their transportation costs the way truckers do each day, they would have a better understanding of how and by how much they are taxed.

Trucker math could be beneficial whenever our lawmakers propose tax increases or new ways to generate revenue. Is a tax increase good? Is it bad? What would it pay for? Again, trucker math.

There’s a discussion happening on Capitol Hill that could cause a whole lot more people to learn some trucker math. It’s called VMT.

Some lawmakers believe that a tax on vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, would generate revenue even as fuel consumption decreases.

So far, VMT has been studied in states like Oregon, but the U.S. Congress has a ways to go to develop a collection system and prove to the public that personal privacy won’t be compromised.

But make no mistake. If a VMT were to become a reality someday, and people were forced to think about taxes by the mile, more people on the highways would learn to do trucker math.

Think of your cell phone bill. You pay a flat rate and if you go over, you pay by the call. With VMT, you would pay a flat rate per month or per year, and by the mile if you go over a certain number.

There are those who believe a VMT tax would replace the fuel tax, but history tells us that taxes rarely get rolled back once they are on the books. Therefore, the likelihood of overlap in the taxing mechanisms would be realistic, if not likely. Would double taxation make more people take notice?

At any rate, I think a VMT tax would lead to more people learning the same math that truckers use each day to survive.

Dr. John reaches out to truckers

OOIDA’s Call to Actions blast out of our Missouri headquarters frequently. They are e-mailed or sent any way we can get them to you. If you don’t have a computer, phone or address, we’ll send you smoke signals.

When we think an issue needs your attention, we move on it, notifying big numbers of people and doing it fast. Mostly, it’s regulatory or legislative or maybe a fraud alert. But this week, a CTA went out from headquarters that was a bit different than most. But the importance level was up there.

PDMD’s Dr. John McElligott got permission from OOIDA President Jim Johnston to do a Call to Action to “fellow members and brother drivers” in Dr. John’s own words.

Here’s some selected parts of that communication:

Most of you have heard of Professional Driver Medical Depots, PDMD. Our providers and I have treated thousands of you at our medical depots across the country. I am glad to say that, with the help of OOIDA and Nemo Entertainment, we have seen a difference in the health of our drivers. We hope you will keep up the momentum and continue to let us help you.

Now the tables are turned, and we need your help to survive these difficult times.

Just like many of you, PDMD has struggled and has almost fallen many times. But by the grace of God and you drivers, we managed to survive week-to-week and month-to-month.

When Bill Godwin, a trucker, had the dream of helping truckers on the road with medical clinics, it fell on deaf ears. Well, that was not the case with me. 10 years after talking with Bill, my family and a few friends borrowed enough money to open PDMD No.1 in Knoxville, TN and then another one in West Memphis, AR.

In Arkansas, OOIDA helped fight the politicians in Little Rock to stay open and we won. The Medical Board said drivers don’t need these facilities. “They can go to existing offices across Arkansas.” Well, when 20 trucks parked in the parking lot of the President of the Board’s office, they changed their minds. These drivers make the difference, and PDMD has saved many a driver from losing his or her career.

So as you can see, PDMD and OOIDA have always been partners along with other independent truckers across this great nation.

This need for passion goes even further than our medical care for drivers. We are in Washington on many occasions so that we can educate the bureaucrats about drivers who keep America moving.

Sad to say, most don’t have a clue what professional drivers do. If not for Bill Godwin, OOIDA and Dave Nemo, few in Washington, DC, and state capitols would even know a professional driver.

PDMD is on the brink of being successful and is also on the brink of closing. I hope you won’t let this happen. Together over the past three years we have helped save many lives, families and careers. Let us together continue to do what we love to do.

So I, Dr. John, and all of our dedicated staff at Professional Driver Medical Depots are asking you, the professional driver, to stop and let PDMD do preventive maintenance on you from time to time just as you do on your big rig. This PM will help PDMD stay open and grow across this great nation.

At PDMD we know that America travels by truck. And we will let anyone who asks us, whether in Washington, DC, or El Paso, TX, know that truckers are the backbone of this great country.

Thank you for your support,

Dr. John

Life Member of OOIDA

Semper Fi