What would be a good reason, for long haul truckers to get off the highways, and put their loads on trains?

There are a number of reasons for a long haul trucker to get off the highways. He drives too many hours without sleep and becomes a danger. He uses too much gas and pollutes the air. He destroys the highway itself.

Removing much human error and lowering the traffic and deaths on our highways.

Well when the government pays truckers not to truck as it has paid farmers not to farm, maybe someone will be interested.

@seventhSense
When they get into a wreck, it is usually so bad, many are killed.

Great question. One train can move the same load that 280 long-haul trucks would carry. It can move a ton of freight 423 miles on a single gallon of fuel. Trains are far more efficient, and have far fewer fatal accidents per mile traveled, than trucks. Truck transport should be confined as much as possible to delivery on routes that trains cannot service.

@anartist I don’t see the government paying the truckers not to truck. And I don’t like them paying farmers not to farm either.

On the other hand. What about the jobs, road taxes since they pay most of them? Where would we put all of those people that lose their jobs?

@Rangie I didn’t say it was a great idea, I just said it had been done, and had been done to raise the value of the crop by making it scarcer, I believe.

@anartist sorry if I misunderstood. I think raising the value of the crop is not a fair way to handle things. Nor is sinking barges of food in the ocean. But, getting back to the trucks. It a difficult decision as there are pros and cons on this issue.

Because suddenly railroads lead to the front door of every business everywhere. Is this how you thank the trucker that delivered your computer to the store? Just imagine if all drivers were as serious and professional about driving as most long haul truckers.

So you saw that ad from Norfolk and Southern about how much more efficient and nonpolluting rail is over trucking, Meh…Can’t we just all get along?

@CodePinko No not at all, I really don’t have an idea of what would be the best. I wanted to know what some of you thought. I am in the middle of this one. I like trains, but not at my front door. hehe. Didn’t see any ad.

The most obvious answer, since we have a highway system and, for the present at least, want to keep it, is to develop newer and better engines, starting with greater fuel efficiency, and ending with an alternative power source.

@anartist Well, I know there are some extremely smart people in this country. Only problem is there is so much red tape to cut through the great grandchildren of the developer will have to enforce it. Only it will be outdated by then.:) Crazy isn’t it?

There needs to be some kin do of compromise. Clearly we need trucks to go the last few miles to and from the destination as rail cannot be everywhere. Clearly a full train is the most efficient way to move cargo over long distances from one depot to another.
We need a study that takes both into account and as well as the true costs of loading and unloading that includes the trucker’s time.
If I want to send something from my house to my neighbor’s, the truck can’t be beat.
If I want to ship coal from the mine to the power station, rail can’t be beat.
There has to be a point where the two intersect and cost will be the determining factor.

Move all the truck stop hookers into sleeping cars.

Well guys as a trucker I can tell you guys haven’t tried to ship anything on the Rail Road. They used to have Freight trucks that belonged to the railroads but they just can’t COMPETE with trucks because unless your shipping Coal or Shiploads of grain from the midwest to a port city you never call the RR you call a truck! The railroad can’t deliver to your Customer and they are SLOW as dirt! The railroad is subsidized while trucks pay 10s of thousands each in TAXES

You can’t put Tomatoes on a train! They’d be rotten a week before they got to the store! They Lose things like 4 carloads of peaches that are supposed to go Chicago and wind up in miami.

You guys are wrong about safety too the media just doesn’t report the trainwrecks like they do the trucks. You get hit by truck you got a good chance of living but you get hit by a train you get dragged over half a mile!

You guys aught to read a little history about trains! There’s a reason they’re nearly all gone. They were mismanaged to Death still are! You lose the longHaul truckers and you will STARVE!

The compromise you guys are talking about has been done it’s been balanced for a hundred years and the balance will remain correct without anyone doing anything. The RailRoad takes the business it can make money on and the truckers take everything else! Some of those truck cos were hauling freight before there were trains (figure that out) before there were trucks!

You don’t pay trucks to not haul you just don’t call them and they go broke and are gone which a lot did the last two years. You guys are philosophizing about your own biggest problem which is trucks going broke but don’t worry O is going to replace them with Mexican Trucks and when that happens some more you guys will be singing a different tune of woe.

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