Letters to the Editor: Fuel Prices, Sleep Apnea

These letters appear in the April 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

Fuel Prices

I am interested in the feedback on fuel prices displayed in “Letters to the Editor.”

Unfortunately, most of the letters did not focus on two salient facts affecting the price of oil. The first is the dismal exchange rate of the U.S. dollar versus the euro, and the second is world demand for petroleum products.

Is it not a fact that the United States hasn’t built a refinery in 40 years due to NIMBYism? I believe a lot of the problems concerning the price of fuel are dictated by monetary policy as well as politics — local, national and commercial.

The United States traditionally has enjoyed cheap fuel, but I consider it a thing of the past, as we are entering into a different phase of transportation.

Yes, the consumer is going to feel the pinch and food prices are going to soar, probably reaching parity with those in Western Europe, where diesel fuel is about $2 per quart as transport companies pass on the overhead incurred in moving products.

Only recently have we seen a resurgence of interest in auxiliary power units and bunk heaters and simple wheel alignment to reduce operating costs. These factors have been high on the list for euro-zone operators for years. Even today, I still see a high percentage of “out-of-aligned” tractor/trailer combos on highways. These oversights are simply robbing operators of money in tires and fuel.

Dennis Williams
President
Linden Engineering Inc.
Golden, Colo.

We concentrate on the huge businesses, such as Shell and Exxon, etc., but when are we going to concentrate on the tax that is added to the cost of fuel and passed on to trucking companies and owner-operators, driving up the cost of fuel by a minimum of 45%? Let’s get the states involved, also. After all, the tractor-trailers pay the largest road taxes and toll taxes.

It is time to take action against all the guilty, not just the oil companies.

Tawana Schultz
Director of Safety
TMS and Associates
McKinney, Texas

The price of petroleum fuel and products is smothering the entire country’s markets and economy, if not the world’s economy — not the credit or the mortgage industry debacle.

The rapid increase in the price of these products is sucking the remaining life out of our medium and small businesses. Those are the sectors of our economy that were still continuing to show growth and are most vulnerable to the rapid increase in the price of fuels. If the increases in petroleum fuel prices had taken place over a longer period of time, they might not have been as devastating as those we are getting ready to see.

In my opinion, this is not going to be a quick fix that can be solved by our elected officials wielding political threats to the other party or even to our foreign petroleum products suppliers. This is the new world market economy at work, squeezing out inefficiencies.

As in the past, we will get to the other side of this big bump in the road, but more than likely it will come with a big cost — a significant reduction in our small- and medium-sized businesses, as well as a much-changed standard of living for our medium- to lower-income workers.

Dennis Beierle
Chief Financial Officer
Southwestern Motor Transport Inc.
San Antonio, Texas

Sleep Apnea

I applaud the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for making plans to establish screening and testing criteria for drivers with commercial driver licenses who may be afflicted with obstructive sleep apnea. This is a serious medical condition that, if left untreated, not only is a leading cause of accidents but also serious injuries and/or death.

After using a CPAP breathing machine during an extensive eight-month field test on my Volvo 780 truck, I can personally attest to the dramatic health and lifestyle improvements I have experienced. I not only feel better and have more energy, but am also more productive and feel much more rested. I also believe I am a better, safer driver, too.

The good news is that coming out of the initial field trials, my employer, Swift Transportation of Phoenix, has decided to take a leadership role to screen and treat 1,000 drivers annually. It is, by far, the largest and most comprehensive sleep-apnea treatment program for CDL drivers in North America.

For safety-minded, employee-friendly employers who are serious about bettering the overall health and well-being of their drivers, obstructive sleep apnea is a serious safety and health issue that cannot be ignored.

Kenneth B. Armstrong
Senior Driver-Trainer
Swift Transportation Co.
Waterford, Mich.