Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Newsletter presented by Truck Parking Club. In this issue, FMCSA wants to ban lease-purchase contracts, driver privacy win, trade under Trump, and more.
Predatory?
The lease-purchase problem — Trucking lease-purchase contracts are under fire as the Truck Leasing Task force calls them a system to harm drivers. FreightWaves reports, “the 51-page report, issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF), was sent to Congress and to the U.S. transportation and labor departments on Friday.”
“Conservatively, over 200,000 truck drivers have been affected by predatory truck lease-purchase programs.” – Truck Leasing Task Force Public Court Data Subcommittee
What is a lease-purchase contract? They act similar to rent-to-own deals where you pay a down payment as well as a monthly payment. At the end of the term you own the truck.
However, you can’t do whatever you like with the vehicle and are typically forced to run freight from whomever you leased the truck from.
Therein lies the rub. Critics of the programs say it is a scam and you’re paying a carrier to move freight for them.
Kaitlyn Long, task force member and chief economist for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, says that it isn’t just a bad deal for the lessee, it also harms the industry. She told the subcommittee that lease-purchases are problematic for the following reasons:
- – The current system is set up to harm drivers.
- – There is a financial incentive for trucking companies to continue the practice.
- – It harms the entire supply chain and drives down wages.
- – Litigation is currently a driver’s only avenue for relief.
- – Driver education needs improvement.
Why does it drive down wages? It lowers the barrier of entry. In fact, many drivers argue that becoming an employee driver is a far better deal for truckers.
Can anything be done about it? Even the task force thinks it may be difficult to get congress to act on a ban, but they do provide some recommended alternate actions. You can read all about those here.
OOIDA’s Lewie Pugh will be on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? this Friday to discuss this issue as well as Trump’s order to freeze FMCSA regulations.
A win for driver privacy?
Lytx
BIPA – Three years ago a class action lawsuit was filed against Lytx for violating Illinois’ biometrics law with their inward facing dashcams. Now FreightWaves reports, “the settlement in the case is $4.25 million.”
Well the exact size of the class in unknown, anybody who drove a vehicle in Illinois “equipped with a Lytx DriveCam Event Recorder (‘DriveCam’), and for whom machine vision and artificial intelligence (‘MV+AI’) was used to predict distracted driving behaviors” is eligible.
Lytx denies any wrongdoing but the court found them liable for collecting and storing biometrics like a driver’s facial geometry. In addition, drivers were not informed about how long these biometrics would be stored for. The lawsuit states that it amounts to constant AI surveillance.
What’s more is that this could open the door to more BIPA lawsuits. The law firm of Troutman Pepper Locke wrote in a blog post that the courts could, “see a panoply of putative class actions, leaving countless companies scrambling to develop workable defenses.”
Read the full story here.
Gimme shelter
KBZK
Blown away – Nearly the whole country has been besieged with a cold front this week that saw historic snow falls stretch across the Gulf of America. While places like New Orleans and Pensacola were scrambling to get ready for the snow, the midwest was whipped with wicked winds.
“They are worried about their safety, they are worried about their health. So we ask them not to drive into this risky weather.” – Moti Balyan
On Tuesday, 70mph gusts shut down I-90 in both directions through Livingston, Montana. That’s when new truckstop owner, Moti Balyan, sprang into action.
According to KBZK, “Moti owns a one-stop shop off I-90—a diner, casino, gas station, and truck stop all rolled into one.” He’s only been in town a month, but has seen I-90 shut down three times. He says that he is happy to let drivers stop at his location as it keeps everyone safe.
Moti told KBZK that with more wind in the forecast, drivers should pull off at his stop. “When they are so frustrated, they are tired. We have nice clean restrooms, we have showers, we have food, we have a casino, we have a C-Store. So we have all the facilities for the people to stop by here. And we are fortunate we are able to serve the people.”
Meanwhile, in New Orleans
X
WTT Friday
OOIDA to Trump: Ditch the speed limiter mandate – Friday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!? OOIDA’s Lewie Pugh talks about why his organization is urging President Trump to ditch the speed limiter mandate. We’ll also find out what the freeze on FMCSA rulings means for drivers and fleets.
Surfact is building the next generation of freight trackers. We’ll meet their CEO and founder, Per Magne Helseth.
LoadPartner is making your next TMS open-source. We’ll find how they’re breaking down the walls on closed systems with their platform when Garrett Allen and Chase Osbourne drop by.
Plus, all the latest headlines, trends and viral weirdness since our last show.
Catch new shows live at noon EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube, or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player and at 5 p.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Road Dog Trucking Channel 146.
MAFA
WTTGear.com
MAKE AMERICA FREIGHT AGAIN – We are so back. Head on over to WTTGear.com to get our newest merch! Use code WTTFans for 10% off.
Now on demand
Southern storm freezes freight; Trump freezes FMCSA regulations; theft trends
Overhaul CEO on $55M in funding to fight fraud; Adam Wingfield’s master class
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Dooner
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