You can complain about the DOT at the truck stop or on social media until you’re blue in the face, but you will probably have to go old school to get your voice heard in Washington.
According to the National Court Reporter’s Association, letter writing can be a very powerful tool in swaying lawmakers: “The most direct way of impacting a legislator is through a letter writing campaign. The more letters a legislator receives, the more important the issue becomes. Even with noncontroversial issues, it is important to write letters because if there is no evident public consensus, they are likely to rely on the letters they did receive as the consensus. Letters also visually show who and how many people the legislation will effect.”
Lawmakers hold immense power over the lives and livelihoods of truck drivers, but how often do you think that they actually take the time to talk to the people that they govern?
CDLLife reader Steven Brown recently sent us a copy of a letter he penned to Paul Ryan as an example of how he and other truckers can take a stand on rule making and legislation that may have a huge impact both highway safety and on how well drivers can earn a living to take care of their families.
You can read Brown’s letter in the documents below. And if you’re inspired to write a letter of your own, this link has some great tips to help you make maximum impact.
[su_document url=”http://cdllife2017.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Truckers-Letter-To-Paul-Ryan-1.pdf” width=”700″]Trucker’s Letter To Paul Ryan[/su_document]
[su_document url=”http://cdllife2017.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Truckers-Letter-To-Paul-Ryan-2.pdf” width=”700″]Trucker’s Letter To Paul Ryan In Washington[/su_document]