Truck drivers “slow roll’ down I-75 to protest
SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - About 15 semi-truck drivers drove 45 miles per hour down Interstate 75 Saturday morning in a protest called a Slow Roll.
Drivers are hoping to grab the attention of politicians across the country to change new technologies causing problems in their industry.
A new Electronic Logging Device (ELD) records drivers’ hours, speed and breaking patterns among other things.
Transportation officials implemented the computerized device to promote safety, but drivers say it regulates when they work - and that's creating problems for them.
“Used to be 25% of drivers drove at night, 25% drove during the evening, 25% drove during the day and 25% drove in the early morning. Since the ELD has been here a little over a year, we’re all pretty much on the same schedule,” said driver Rob Goodwin.
Goodwin explains the schedule changes have led to more traffic in cities, less parking at truck stops and an overwhelming amount of semis along the side of highways.
Before the ELD, drivers had 14 hours to make an 11-hour drive and decide how they worked in a break. They say the ELD takes away their power to control their hours.
“Can’t pause your clock, can’t stop your clock, can’t do nothing with it once it starts that’s all you’ve got for that 24 hour period,” said Ohio truck driver Todd Campbell.
Drivers said once their 11 hours are out on the device, they must pull over and stop until their next workday begins or be fined.
"My daughter called me and said, ‘Dad you coming to my recital?’ and I said ‘I can't,’ ‘Well why not you promised me?’ and I said ‘I'm out of hours’," Troy Ferris said. Ferris had no choice but to pull over about 18 miles short of his hometown until his next shift to drive began.
The slow roll also aimed to bring attention to the need for better training among new commercial drivers.
"We want there to be hours required for you to even get your CDL (Commercial Drivers License). We want there to be at least a minimum of hours behind the wheel with a trainer out in the real world before you're turned loose,” Campbell said.
Drivers are planning to continue slow roll protests leading up to April 12, when thousands of drivers around the county are expected to turn off their trucks for a ten-day protest.