Letters to the Editor: Katrina's Aftermath and Fuel Concerns

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o me, the greatest effect on our operation is the availability of fuel and its price. I feel strongly that we need to thank the environmental movement for this mess.

Because of the strict demands by environmentalists, the cost of new refineries has been raised to a level that makes building them prohibitive. I understand we have not built any new refineries in 25 years.

No one wants these plants in his or her backyard, so they end up on the Louisiana bayous. Now, 25% of our refining capacity is in south Louisiana, where dangerous tropical storms come almost every year.

I hope someone realizes we need to come to some kind of agreement where industry and the environmentalists are friends and not enemies. There can be all the economic activity any country would want, but if you cannot breathe the air it is useless. However, you can have the cleanest environment and if fuel costs $20 a gallon, you also have nothing.

Yes, we will rebuild New Orleans and all the refineries in the area. However, we need to use some common-sense approaches to the problem. Build some facilities in other parts of the country so that we can have a stable fuel supply and price.

Gary Hull

i>Over-the-Road Driver

ennings, La.

While watching the TV news showing the delays people experienced while getting out of Houston, I did a few simple calculations about traffic flow. (Note: I am not a traffic engineer, so my numbers may be suspect.)

I observed “heavy” traffic on the order of 100 cars per mile (counting all the vehicles passing in the oncoming lane for a one-mile interval). For two lanes one direction, that is fairly dense traffic. On that basis — assuming three persons per vehicle — 18,000 people per hour pass a given point (assuming 60 mph average vehicle speed). On that basis, it would take more than 100 hours to evacuate 2 million people.

Increasing the number of outbound lanes helps. Even so, reduced speeds, people stopping for fuel, etc., compound the problem.

I am curious as to how much thought was given to this problem by highway or Homeland Security officials.

Dennis Taylor

i>Mechanical Engineering Consultant

olumbus, Ind.

When fuel takes food from your table, the fun is over. I truly believe that one week of every truck in America sitting idle would make a change — the produce rotting, the fish smelling and the toilet paper not being there would give America a look at what a trucker does for the public every single day.

Fuel eats us alive. We are doing all this for free, because the fuel company and the fuel tax folks got what little we had left. Brokers are offering loads that pay 78 cents a mile. When I turn it down, some poor trucker on the next line takes the load.

We cannot and should not allow ourselves to be robbed of just making a living. Drivers, owners and, you bet, brokers need to get the real picture. We have the right to park these rigs. We need to let the world know how important the service we offer is and, yes, how valuable we are. Truckers, unite and we can make a difference.

Cherie Martin

i>Owner

kid Inc.

asper, Ga.

These letters were published in the Oct. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.