subject: JB Transport and the Process of Change [print this page] JB Transport and the Process of Change JB Transport and the Process of Change
Last time, we started to look at how the trucking industry is an interaction between varied interests with safety and efficiency at their core. We used the rough example of a small town enforcing noise ordinances on passing truck and freight transport traffic. While noise ordinances on freight carriers and heavier trucks don't directly deal with safety, one could make the case that such restrictions protect the hearing of the town, or reduce the distraction level and thereby improve safety, or maybe (this one is a little more of a reach) the distraction caused by noisy Jake brakes on passing freight transportation vehicles is enough to interfere with solid sleep at night, and, as a result, sleepier townspeople would be more inclined to having accidents throughout the day. Of course, we could continue to list reasons why this specific restriction on the trucking industry is in place, but the point is that by an intersecting of interests, the townspeople and the trucking companies, a compromise was made to allow both truck traffic and some degree of peace and quite for the town.
This example is just one of many that have certainly played a role in the way the trucking industry and freight transportation have evolved into the forms we see today. We used the oil spill and the topic of safety to set the stage for this discussion. It provided a very clear example as to how the interests of some can dramatically impact others. The failure of safety measures in places where they were vitally important has resulted in something that will change life along the gulf coast for a substantial amount of time. This served as an apt introduction to the issue of safety and the freight transport industry, where flatbed trucking, ltl trucking, heavy haul, and just about every other type of freight transport interacts in unique ways with many other people and places. The result of these interactions is an ever evolving industry that flexes to meet the needs and interests of everyone involved.