October 10, 1993 - Four happy young teens with big dreams and supposedly a long life ahead to chase those dreams, headed merrily down a dark Maine freeway.
The young driver, Jeff Izer, along with his three female passengers: Angie, Katie and Dawn Marie, were probably excited about the impending evening events. The curses of mortality are not something the average teenager in this situation would be talking or even thinking about. Rather, the joys of life and the fun of living it would be a more accurate description of their likely conversation. It is not difficult to imagine them joking around and laughing as they drove.
Even the mechanical problem Jeff experienced with his car was probably not more than a minor inconvenience. It had, after all, overheated before. All they had to do was stop and wait until it cooled then proceed to the next exit where they could add water and continue on their way.
Jeff nor his passengers likely ever saw the big truck coming up behind them. The impact was so sudden and so severe that they probably never knew what happened. At any rate, the struggles and joys of mortality, for them at least, ended abruptly that crisp autumn night.
For their parents, the struggles of mortality became a near unbearable burden. First, horror and shock, softened only by an almost surreal feeling of disbelief, emptiness and even denial. Next, the inevitable questions: Why my child? Why now? How could this happen? Then finally, a search for answers, justice, and hopefully closure.
One of the blessings of American life is the guaranteed right of innocence until proven guilty. In this case the truck driver was accused of falling asleep at the wheel. A previous log book violation even provided circumstantial evidence to support that accusation. On the other hand, some of the witnesses who had seen the broken down car before the wreck stated that it was parked at an angle and partially blocking the right traffic lane of the freeway. The truck driver himself was not sure. With no strong evidence either for or against him, the truck driver was released without even a traffic ticket.
To the parents of those four unfortunate teens this was a cold slap in the face. In their eyes this man had murdered their children and was now going to get away with it. The nature of man and his kind in all cases of adversity is to identify and, if possible, punish or rid ourselves of the sources of our grief. This is a fact, which, though not necessarily righteous from a God fearing perspective, has been true since Cain murdered Abel in the forsaken garden of Eden. These parents in this situation were no different. They sought justice which would hopefully bring closure to their unbearable pain and emptiness, so with a strong desire to make their sons' death mean something more tangible than just - the end, and maybe even a remote desire for revenge, the Izers founded P.A.T.T. (Parents Against Tired Truckers).
To the trucking industry, the formation of P.A.T.T. was also like a cold slap in the face. From their point of view this was just another anti-truck group intent on making life harder and less profitable for the drivers and their companies. The rumors began to fly and at the same time that the world was hearing about the lies and dirty deeds of a similar organization - the then railroad funded C.R.A.S.H. (Citizens for Reliable And Safe Highways), the trucking industry was looking for dirt on P.A.T.T., and in some cases claiming they had found it.
P.A.T.T. on the other hand seemed to be tossing some dirt of their own. Often their facts seemed distorted and self serving. Even the Summer 1998 issue of P.A.T.T.s' quarterly newsletter has an article claiming that, "Our loved ones are being killed at a rate of 13 a day, 5000 a year, in truck related crashes.". The trucking industry is quick to point out that what this article leaves out of those facts is that the largest percentage of truck related crashes are, by far, more often the fault of private motorists and not the truck.
That particular article aside, the same newsletter points out many things that P.A.T.T. has, and will continue doing, in order to make the nations' highways safer for both the trucks and for the private motorists. Those things include: enforcement of rules requiring shippers and receivers to handle all long-haul freight so that drivers would only drive. Inclusion of drivers under all provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act; which would mean, among other things, that drivers would be compensated at time and a half for working more than forty hours per week. They are also striving to convince states to add more parking spaces for trucks along the interstates, with no unreasonable limits on the time drivers are allowed to remain in the spaces currently available. They have lobbied 21 states which impose limits as low as two hours on truck parking. Two hours does not provide enough time for drivers to get a safe or legal amount of rest.
Recently P.A.T.T. met with the O.O.I.D.A. (Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association), who conceded that they have a lot in common. Also, the new president of the American Trucking Association, Mr. McCormick, who speaks regularly with Joan Claybrook, founder of C.R.A.S.H., says, "The people who support these groups have suffered, they are very sincere and I am not going to criticize them.". He also intends to meet with P.A.T.T. to discuss their concerns.
Today it is apparent that the rift between P.A.T.T. and the trucking industry is narrowing. Though there is still some bitterness and skepticism from both sides, both sides also admit that the other has some valid points. It seems likely that these two historically opposed groups will continue to grow closer in many common goals.
Steve Izer from P.A.T.T. sent me a response to this article which you can read at, izer.html
For more information about P.A.T.T. and it's goals, you can check out their web site at: http://www.patt.org. Or you can email them at: patt@gwi.net