MACON, Ga. — Truckers use their horns to communicate out on the highways. It's a piercing sound that moves through the air, and Todd Anderson says he wants the message behind the horns to be heard.
"I used to love to get up and go to work... that love has kinda of left," said Anderson.
Fifteen years ago, Anderson became a truck driver. And two years ago a new federal rule went into place.
"Drivers are forced to race a clock," Anderson said.
Federal regulations require semi-trucks to have an electronic logging device or ELD inside the cab. A clock is set for 11 hours and when time runs out, drivers are done for the day and must pull over no matter where they are.
"We are sometimes forced to violate the rules, to find some place to park, and then we're parked on a shoulder, on an on-ramp, on an off-ramp. That's no place to get rest," Anderson said.
ELD's are supposed to keep sleepy drivers safe. Anderson argues it works the opposite way.
"Everybody's seen a truck on the shoulder. It's a danger. It's a danger to the driver and the public," Anderson said.
On Saturday, Anderson and 20 other Central Georgia truck drivers honked their horns in protest, hoping to better working conditions for their field.
"Some of us are after the ability to find a place to park where there is food, showers, restrooms, not on the shoulder, not on the ramps. If we have control over that clock, it gives us a better ability to do that," Anderson said.
For now, these drivers roll peacefully down the interstate, honking to make a change until someone listens.
A third party group named Black Smoke Matters made up of around 400,000 truck drivers is organizing a national strike to call for practical legislation that considers drivers' views, improves training and common sense standards and addresses availability of parking and load/unload times.
They are planning a nation-wide protest on April 12, asking drivers to shut down their trucks for the day.