captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> hello. i'm llewellyn king, the host of "white house chronicle," which is coming right up." but first i wanted to talk about reconstruction, the infrastructure. a big surge of infrastructure, reconstruction, which now seems to be maybe the best bet to revise the economy and put people to work while we sort

out what kind of world we are living in and where the jobs are. nothing is more important than transportation. railroads, but especially roads and bridges. if you drive on any interstate today, you will see it -- clogged with cars. but almost wall-to-wall, long lines, big trucks. delivering their goods and services that we all need and desire. but we do not have a very coherent transportation policy. maybe we do not have a coherent policies in a lot of things, but transportation is on the table and demanding attention. that is extremely exciting, because while we have as people been preoccupied with computers, all other machines, all other gadgets, everything else mechanical and electronic, has also been evolving.

ergo, today's truck is not your father's truck. this old cadillac, what a wonderful thing, once symbolized the american dream. but it is not today's automobile. to examine where we are going, both in policy and especially in technology, today we have one of the world's great experts on transportation, particularly american dissertation. his name is bill gouse, william gouse. we will be back to discuss all of these things, and our wonderful toys. look at this. a wonderful track. great, great toys. you used to design trucks, and i cannot wait to hear. we will be back. >> many have spoken out on the need to transition to a clean energy future. at exelon, we are acting, to

displace 1,500 tons of greenhouse gas, and operating low carbon electricity in the marketplace. at exelon, we're taking action and seeing results. >> "white house chronicle" is produced in collaboration with whut, howard university television. and now your program host, nationally syndicated columnist llewellyn king, and co-host linda gasparello. >> hello again, and thank you for coming along. bill gouse, my guest, is going to discuss with me transportation. how did you get involved in transportation? >> well, i guess it is around

the early birthday of mine. i got a truck when i was 2 years old. >> this truck? amazing. and i take you are an adult now? >> i play with these things. i call it that because i'm a designers in -- a designer and policymakers. >> where do we see them? there are so many on the highways, they seem to put out too much diesel excrement. sometimes they cut us off, and sometimes, when we pass them, we suddenly get blown off the road when the prevailing wind comes around the side of the truck and we are not anticipating it. >> we sort of have a strange love/hate relationship with it, because everything we have comes on that. a train does not pull up to the cul-de-sac of my house. something has to come by truck at some point. so we need our stuff. we need our medicine, our food, our diapers. our grass seed that we're going

to do fall seating. unfortunately, everyone, though, needs trucks, and as our population grows, we need more. we're just going to keep needing more as more people have freight that needs to be delivered. >> i take it this truck is more than 50 years old? >> the model may be. the actual toy was bought by my parents. a tonka toy, some people may remember those. >> tell me the characteristics of this. >> this is a classic mechanical truck. hardly anything, barely more than a battery on board. >> no synchronization? >> probably did not have heat or a radio. it certainly did not have a

clock that worked. >> we are requiring it now. >> it is a shame. >> we are dealing with state of the art, probably a bedroom on it, may be a refrigerator. >> it might hook up to wifi at a truck stop. this model is 10 years old. this was launched, and it has more processing power than nasa used with a pentium on board. it is very clean. >> what does that power do, that processing? >> well, for one thing it is an incredibly safe vehicle. the controls breaks, rollover propensity. it has sophisticated emissions, controls -- sophisticated emissions control system. in fact, the air going in here is likely dirtier than the air coming out here. >> that is quite a claim.

>> it is also quite comfortable. the technology would have enjoyed in our cars with climate control, very quiet inside where we can whisper to talk to our passengers, it is translating to that also prefer the driver environment, it is less fatigue. think back when you would watch "drive by night" with humphrey board racked -- with humphrey bogart. ambac what is it doing to the roads? is it cheering them up? >> no, -- is it chewing them up? the bank note, the suspensions are very good on the roads. i think the truckers would like to have everything a level playing field. the truckers, the truck makers and the truck drivers. the truck operators. the truck makers want to

compete with their technology, their quality, on a level playing field. so they would like to have whatever regulations are in place, the same for everything. as for the truck operators, whether it is the driver or the big fleets, they want the same. they also won the enforcement the same. they do not want the road that truckers that cut you off getting away with it repeatedly, and they do not want bald tires. it is safe, economical. they do not want the bad apples spoiling it. >> there is not a person driving the highways that has not seen the police stations for trucks, the way stations. what happens at the way stations? all the -- the weigh stations? why does it have to be weighed after it is loaded?

>> that is a brilliant question. it knows its weight from the computers. the key we do not have is, how does that truck tell the police officer what the weight is? that has not happened yet. but that is going to come. as for two on in the weigh station, if you take a picnic there and watch some the, you might see a police officer walking around the truck, climb underneath it with a flashlight and a ruler, measure the brakes, measure the tires, check all the lights. they would do a complete inspection of that. when they are done, they will give it a little gold star like they got in elementary school, a good job. it will be on the door. the next truck looks at it and says i got one of those stickers and i will skip that one. i will go to the one that does not have it. >> where is all the way?

>> is best to carry a full truck then not. >> but some things are very heavy, a load of gold you will not fill the truck with it. >> know, you would not. and you cannot. there is a term called a cube. there is a gross out, which sounds boulder, but -- >> i am in the gross out cap. >> it will be full of potato chips, it will be full of those, but in the middle will be christmas trees. >> we would see these enormous trucks because there was no weight. how do you deal with that. do you make the truck? you cannot make it wider it isn't 8'6"the requirement?

>> some states have special rules for commodities. truck regulations are often very local. what works in west virginia will not be the same in massachusetts. what happens in wyoming or michigan in the winter might be different than that state in the summer or another state in the summer. so it changes constantly. there are issues regarding the axle, coal, lumber, timber. to keep the productivity of the trucks going. >> we are going to take a moment to identify this station for the benefit of our listeners on sirius xm radio. this program can be seen -- heard on saturdays.

i am llewellyn king, the host of "white house chronicle." i am talking to bill gouse, an expert on transportation. we are focusing primarily on trucks today because the trucks in our future, trucks and our presence -- and i shall be dodging a few as i drive home tonight -- you can also see this program around the world on english-language stations of voice of america. i would like to do a special shout bkat, channel 12, in renton, washington. we are so glad you're with us. back to trucks. what about the romance of driving trucks? when i was a young fellow, everyone said drive a truck, you make tons of money and you see the world. now i hear that people have kidney trouble, they are cramped, they have terrible

frustration from traffic, and there are strings goings on, including drivers in prostitution at truck stops. >> there is some of that everywhere in every industry, and i think trucking has its roots back to sort of the romance of being barge operator where you did not have your boss looking down your shoulder every day, and your horse, you took care of, and your back and did all the business but you enjoy being with your horse every day or the tractor, as the case may be. it is a beautiful country, the united states, and north america, to drive through. to get in a truck like this, and over-the-road, -- hall machine -- long-haul machine -- i made the mistake of taking a truck into manhattan.

that was unpleasant, frustrating. to do that every day would be quite a tough job. it would certainly negate all the beauty of driving through the west and seeing united states. >> when you reverse a truck -- i see this one has wheels that turned -- you turn in the opposite direction, which is always rather strange. i just watched -- and i have towed boats and horse trailers. i can do it. i'm amazed how these huge rigs back right up to a loading dock. because it seems to me that when they build hotels, all buildings to not understand that trucks have to get in there. so you have a cramped loading dock. how do they acquire those skills? >> practice and talent. and dedication.

i will tell you, i am a licensed truck driver, and i'm licensed for up to triples. i will not run one, two, three. i do not like to go back when there it is 0 back there, let alone one, too, or three. you can get into trouble if you are an amateur like myself. that is testament to the skill of truckers in our country. those highly skilled truck drivers are driving around with us amateurs all the time in our cars, texting, drinking coffee. >> speak for yourself. >> well, you are on the train, are you? >> that is true. and i'm on the train. >> maybe driving is not our vocation every day. is there's and that is key. >> i like that point. a young man moved back to ireland where he was from originally, and the reason he

came to america was to buy an american motorcycle. but he said about motorcycling -- and i thought it was very valid -- it's a great recreation and terrible transportation. i used to own a single-engine airplane, and i can say the same thing about that. it is not the best way to fly an airplane. the best way is for the purpose of flying the airplane only. so i guess driving a truck is about the same. >> it is. it's your job. you are focused on doing a good job. you're not thinking as you are driving the truck, what am i going to do at the office today? that is the office. it is a different mindset. >> one thing that we all here, every day, the 61 every day -- there seems to be one everyday in the washington area, a truck that jackknifes if they are so

clever, why are they jackknifing, and why does a computer not say, oops? >> one step worse is the roll over, which is quite tragic. >> can you demonstrate with this? >> well, with a rollover, what happens is the truck will do a very fast maneuver, maybe to avoid something, and the back end will start to roll and lift up. once this starts to go, this driver may not know it is starting to go yet. once it starts to lift, it goes over, it's a very sudden, snapping, horrific event. if you are a tractor and you have been killed, a 50% chance that it will happen in a rollover event. i had the privilege of working -- >> i thought you were going to say that you were had the privilege of rolling over. ambac i have done it. -- >> i have done it.

>> when i was a kid, i thought fire trucks were about starting fires, and that is why they were read. tells you something about me. i'm not sure i understand it. >> well, fire trucks racing to save someone's home or life have a high propensity of rollover. we were looking at that, how to fix that technologically. now the newer trucks have in them sensors that, when this truck starts to lift up, the fuels the engine, takes the fuel away, applies individual bricks, and bring as the back and back down. and the driver learns from this from a warning on the dashboard. >> we are seeing other

vehicles, and i happen to know that you and i like trains as well as trucks. in fact, we are transportation fanatics. we like things that go places. >> we do, and people do. >> it increases the sense of independence and freedom. if you can get in the train, get on a car, get on a bus, you are free. it used to be that you could not be the village that you were born in unless you were wealthy. and horses are a terrible transportation. also, just the vehicle itself can be a place where you have your space. one of the things we are seeing is a revival of intercity -- inner-city buses. we had a wonderful bus system in the united states until they deregulated airlines, and airline transportation became inexpensive and the famous

greyhounds and trailways did not totally go away, but the collapsed in size and reach. now they are coming back. what is this all about? is it better buses? is the market's saying there is a demand? where was that banned for 30 years? >> all of the above, except it has not quite been replaced yet except commuter airlines are serving smaller communities at great expense. but for the inner city bus you referenced, up and down the east coast, the west coast, proliferating around the world in competition with rail, there are a luxurious, well- upholstered, wifi, restrooms -- >> and no smoking, which makes a big difference. they were absolutely foggy. i did not smoke in those days, and i took that as being part of bus transportation.

>> it may have been in the past, but now they are clean and it's cheap. oh, my gosh. >> i have talked on this program about going to new york on $15, $19. >> and they're making money on it. the internet is bringing it. the internet is facilitating this completely. it is easy, inexpensive, instantaneous way to buy a ticket and learn about the route spurred on your smart phone -- in fact, that is your ticket. you can walk up to the bus, do not even have to make a print. you can show them the ticket you bought for $15. >> you and i talk about putting rubber on roads, implicitly rubber for automobiles. what about the roads? there in shock in shape, aren't they? >> we're talking about adding

more rubber, and probably 100 million more people in the next 20 years. always more. constant growth in this country. so, yes, that is the problem. capacity has always been a problem. building new roads or using the existing roads more cleverly, increasing the productivity of them, is an ongoing challenge. >> i am listening, but i'm interested in how much of that we can divert on to trains. we see the back of trucks on trains all the time. a grand were that nobody totally understand. we have one train in america that takes cars that i know of, one that runs from the city to florida. does it make sense if you are going to any other city to go by train with your car on board? say, boston or chicago, or

chicago to points west? is there no future in beefing up rail transportation, carry cars, long distances so that we clear the roads at all? >> that is a problem that is complicated from the business case because of course you can have your car down there. you can drive it probably cheaper or fairly close to the price and almost the same time and not have to get on the train. that is a marketing problem. the other thing is, if you want a car and want to take the train or the plane, we have a vast rental car network in this country, much bigger than other nations in the cities. some places in the world, you go and there will be a rental car agency at the airport. it is a complicated ordeal. here you walk out in you get a car in a few moments. it is amazing. >> that is true. bill, how do we stop doing this

over the countryside? the more roads to build, the more traffic. the beltway around london, they said it was going to solve all the problems come and the first day it turned into a parking lot and remained jammed, crowded with cars that were sucked out of garages that had not been driven in six, eight months, suddenly on this circular roads. if you build more roads, you get more vehicles, so you need to build more roads. how do you deal with that? >> that is just life right now. if you build more roads, businesses will grow and people will get houses. if the economy is growing, people will utilize it. >> and the environmental impact of the large multi-lane roads

are ugly, visually unattractive. they cannot make a lovely country lane it out of a six- lane highway. it does not work, does it? >> it is really bad if you're on the 405 in l.a., though. that is the bloodiest -- that is the ugliest. >> you had better not go to sleep because that would be lethal, but you can see this road going in front of you for 20 miles. it is an open, but they did not learn how to put some bends in it to make more interesting to drive. back to trucks. europe has a much more complete rail system than we do. and yet, all sorts of small countries and small cities are complaining by these big trucks running between paris and -- i

do not know -- milan, going through otherwise seedy carriers, going through tunnels, mountains. it is like zombies coming out of the grave, the trucks are coming and they do not like them. your say we can do nothing about that? >> i am not saying that we cannot do anything about it, but the progress is steady and forward. people still want stuff. if they stopped wanting stuff, there would not be the trucks. you might want to drive your car on a country lane as a hobby. they're doing this because somebody is paying them to haul stuff, so there is a need for that. the technology to make the infrastructure we have got more productive and impacted -- to impact it -- it is quieter -- and that is it green? -- >> is it green? can you make them hybrids?

>> we probably will see more hybrids in the city now. some municipal maintenance activities. a hybrid market for stock-and- go type commercial vehicles is growing, and the technology is rapidly advancing. >> bill gouse, the man who lovestruck. it has been a joy to have you. >> delightful to be here. >> particularly when the poor, tired drivers are -- that, i think -- >> not honk when you drive by. let them snooze. >> i do not halt when i drive by. we will be back next week with another edition of "white house chronicle." captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> many have spoken out on the need to transition to a clean energy future. at exelon, we are acting. by 2020, we're committed to displeasing 50 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through greening our operations, helping communities reduce emissions, and offering more low carbon and activity in the marketplace. at exelon, we are taking action and seeing results. >> "white house chronicle" is produced in collaboration with whut, howard university television. from washington, d.c., this has been "white house chronicle," a weekly analysis of the news with insight and a sense of humor, featuring llewellyn king, linda gasparello, and guests. this program may be seen on pbs

stations and cable access channels. to view the program online, visit us at whchronicle.com.