Back in the days of Saturday morning westerns, I loved the situation where the bad guys almost got away only to be headed off at the pass – a situation filled with high excitement and a particular inevitability.

Today, in an age of infomercials and televised extravaganzas, when much of what is broadcast demands our attention but doesn’t deserve it, trucking industry executives are growing nervous. They are mumbling, “Let’s head them off at the pass.”

What is the root of this nervousness? Who is it they wish to “head off,” and why?

The bad guys who must be intercepted are American truck drivers.

The root of the executives’ nervousness lies in the new hours of service rule. All of a sudden it has dawned upon these titans of transportation that the supposed increase in lost productivity, and therefore lost wages that drivers are experiencing, might cause drivers to begin thinking of how they are paid. Industry leaders are afraid drivers might conclude that it is past time they were paid an honest and fair wage for all that they do.

In the hallowed halls of the trucking industry, this will not do.

As drivers race toward eventual enlightenment, very nervous executives are racing to “head em off at the pass.”

The “pass” is the paycheck. What will occur at the pass involves a smoke screen of control, fired from the barrels of deceit.

In an attempt (owners say) to offset losses to driver productivity and earning capacity, many trucking companies are offering their drivers substantial per mile pay increases.

In a press release announcing a three cent increase, Russell Gerdin, founder, president and CEO of Heartland Express, stated: “This is an industry wide challenge and Heartland is in a position to meet this challenge in a number of ways. The driver cannot bear the brunt of this (new HOS rule) from a financial and a production standpoint. Heartland drivers will move forward instead of backwards so that as a company we can face this change. Heartland always has and always will take care of our drivers.”

Think about it: Since when do companies raise employees’ pay in the face of decreased production? In this, the most capitalistic country on the face of the earth, it just is not done.

Drivers, witnessing decreasing paychecks together with the inability under new rules to further “sweat” their labor (work longer hours for the same total pay), might realize that their time has arrived. Since hours are now so stringently limited, it is time they were paid for every hour they actually put in. It is time for change.

Company owners and executives dismount and take cover. Their only hope is to blind the drivers with smoke before they can see the truth. And what better form of smoke than greenback dollars – many fewer dollars than an hourly wage coupled with overtime pay would cost.

America’s truck drivers are entering the pass. Trucking companies are waiting in ambush along its flanks. Smoke is beginning to rise.

John Hayman, vice president of safety and risk management at Paschall Truck Lines (PTL), fires directly into the incoming drivers:

“PTL continues to put drivers and owner-operators first. The company appreciates their hard work and loyalty and will continue focusing on providing them with the best opportunities in the industry.”

Effective immediately, company solo drivers earn up to 47 cents per mile and company team drivers earn up to 48 cents per mile. In addition, PTL owner-operators are receiving a 3-cent pay increase for all loaded and empty miles plus fuel surcharge. The pay increase is just the beginning of many more awards and bonuses drivers can look forward to in 2004.

Boyd Bros. Transportation lets loose and announces a new increase in their overall driver pay program. The new package includes raises in per-mile pay for company drivers and owner operators, as well as increases in layover and detention pay, which are designed to address issues with the new hours of service regulations.

Truckload carrier CFI joins the battle and announces a significant pay increase.

“This unprecedented pay increase is one way CFI intends to insure that our drivers are financially protected from the impact of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new hours of service regulations that become effective January 4, 2004. This is the most aggressive driver pay increase in CFI’s 52-year history and we believe it will ensure that CFI will continue to retain and attract the safest and most professional drivers in the trucking industry,” said Glenn F. Brown, chairman and CEO.

As the rate of fire increases and smoke begins to blind us, we leave our fellow drivers to suffer the withering onslaught from on high. Is there any hope for our heroes? Or, is there a particular inevitability at work here?

Guy Bourrie has been hauling on the highways for 20 years. He lives in Washington, Maine, and can be reached at [email protected].