Land Line Media Blog

The environment and longer, heavier trucks

2012-01-31T15:02:00.002-06:00

I don’t know where the proponents of longer-heavier trucks get their environmental statistics from, but perhaps the greater mystery is why some agencies and lawmakers take the bait. Large carriers and a certain prevue of lawmakers and agencies continue to say that putting longer, heavier trucks on the highways will conserve fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A single tractor would

Recommendation to MRB: use your heads

2012-01-27T15:44:00.001-06:00

The Medical Review Board is a tricky group to follow. The MRB, a panel of appointees that make medical recommendations to FMCSA, didn’t meet for most of 2010. They followed that up, however, with serious action late last year, and look to make 2012 their most aggressive year yet. Appointed by the U.S. Transportation Secretary, board members make sweeping announcements, yet they still

A chicken in every pot and a longer, heavier truck on every interstate?

2012-01-26T14:44:00.002-06:00

When it comes to Big Trucking’s claim that trucks with more axles will be the future of trucking AND save the nation, it’s not hard to kick all the glittering claims to the curb and ask some stumping questions. One consideration that is being overlooked but can’t be ignored in the debate is how your everyday motorist – your wife, your mom, your next door neighbor – are going to safely

The wordsmith’s lament

2012-01-24T15:41:00.002-06:00

It’s funny how hard we try to constantly reinvent our language, always searching to replace the words we use. Some are totally serviceable words and we should keep them. Others make my head explode and should be on one of those “Words That Need to Be Banned” lists. In covering the trucking industry, it’s easy to get sucked into using certain words. When so many topics stubbornly stick on

Playing politics with highways

2012-01-20T14:46:00.001-06:00

We’ve heard promises of a new surface transportation bill for years, but lawmakers have kicked the can down the road a number of times. And now, with this being an election year, we can expect a healthy dose of party politics in debates over roads, bridges and transportation jobs. As in generations past, Republicans and Democrats still seem to agree that transportation is the lifeblood of the

Something is rotten in Fort Dodge

2012-01-09T15:17:00.001-06:00

Years ago, I worked the city council beat for a local newspaper. Some of those nights can be pretty boring. There are the reporters lounging around on the back row, pencils poised for a worthy development or sparkling quote. Having been there, I always appreciate a lively city council story where “the people” speak up. Here’s such a report from the Fort Dodge Messenger News in Iowa. It was

Get involved: Your state lawmakers are back at work

2012-01-03T15:13:00.001-06:00

Only days into the New Year and state lawmakers around the country already are converging at statehouses to address issues of significance to their state. By the end of this week nearly 20 states will be back at work. This is a great time to open up the line of communication with your elected officials. In the months ahead, much discussion is

Land Line’s top 10 blogs of 2011

2011-12-29T15:29:00.003-06:00

Many of you read our daily news, listen to our Sirius XM show and read our magazine. We also deliver several thought-provoking and popular commentaries each week in the way of blogs. It wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t even know what a blog was. This year, we posted 84. Our entire Land Line staff writes blogs, as does our staff from our OOIDA satellite radio show “Land Line Now.” Several

A call from the North Pole

2011-12-22T11:07:00.002-06:00

Two, four and nine. Those are the ages of three kids in one of the trucking families who would have had little under the tree if not for a surprise gift of $700. The cash came from an unlikely benefactor. Calling themselves the “Christmas group,” a small troop of volunteer truckers raise money for other truckers in need. The effort has now has grown into an extraordinary group called

Shorts, flip-flops and reindeer games

2011-12-21T15:13:00.002-06:00