Company fined $14,450 for rig on bridge (phillyBurbs.com)
Swift Transportation Co. of Phoenix, Ariz., was fined $14,450 on Wednesday because one of its drivers drove a 28-ton tractor-trailer over the deteriorating, 3-ton-limit, canal bridge on River Road in Upper Makefield, police said.

Probably close to 40 tons on a 3 ton bridge. I’ve been lost before, and Philly or anywhere in PA isn’t a good place to be lost in. Or maybe someone told him to go that way. In any case, you get what you pay for. (Cheap pay for inexperienced drivers.)

Originally posted 2008-08-24 03:30:00.

Originally posted 2006-02-24 18:12:54.

Truckers could pay $216 in Trans-Texas Corridor tolls
If the first leg of the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor is actually built paralleling Interstate 35, it could be a very expensive toll road for big trucks.

The Waco Tribunereported that the Texas Department of Transportation’s master plan calls for charging trucks 58.5 cents per mile.

If that were the case, it would cost $216.45 to run the full 370 miles of the corridor – nearly four times what four-wheelers would pay.

A manager with Old Dominion Freight Lines told the Tribune the company plans to send its trucks on the existing I-35 and avoid the tolls altogether.

Four-wheelers on the Trans-Texas Corridor would pay 15.2 cents per mile.

It’s not about saving money, it’s about destroying America’s sovereignty. I knew this before, this only confirms it.

Originally posted 2006-12-06 08:22:47.

FMCSA: high driver turnover and crashes linked
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration concluded from a recent study that driver turnover has an impact on crash involvement for commercial truck drivers.

I’ve changed jobs more than a few times.

The wrecks I’ve had, (small fender bender or backing into something) have been when I was new to driving, not new to a company. Trucking is trucking. Driving for a different company means different customers and unfamiliar areas, but most OTR drivers go to new places all the time.

One reason for the study is FMCSA’s goal to reduce the large truck fatality rate by 41 percent from 1996 to 2008, or in other words, a rate of 1.65 fatalities per 100 million miles of truck travel.

Truck fatality rates have been on a downward trend for the last several years. They make it sound like turnover is the sole cause of truck wrecks.

“The purpose of this study, therefore, was to gain a better understanding of the extent to which truck crashes during long-haul, over-the-road operations can be linked to churning among commercial drivers, and to identify strategies with the greatest potential to improve driver retention and safety.”

FMCSA found that a Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) driver with two or more different jobs in two years had a higher risk of being crash-involved than a CMV driver with less than two different jobs or a more stable employment history. The risk is gradual at first, then accelerates as the job change rate increases.

If you have more than two different jobs or more in two years, there may be something else going on besides just job hopping for greener pastures.

FMCSA identified six areas where specific changes hold the potential to improve driver retention and safety: selection and hiring; training procedures; dispatch operations; working conditions for long-haul operators; safety-related rewards and incentives; and improving perceptions of the truck driving profession.

Thank goodness for the FMCSA! Thanks for stating the obvious. Wonder how much that study cost us.

Originally posted 2008-10-29 04:00:00.

If you’ve checked out my resume, you’ll notice I’ve had more than a few jobs and a couple of different careers. With all my talk about how drivers need to take advantage of this Capacity Crunch it’s time to put up or shut up. 

The office in Vegas shut down their Special Commodity division fired a bunch of employees and moved the drivers and equipment to the corporate office (after being offered straight household jobs which we declined). First I was pretty stunned, several friends were among the fired. It’s been six months and I’ve kept an open mind about working for the other office, but also have kept an eye out for something else.

The best jobs in trucking are often the ones not advertised. I started at Graebel with the help of a friend that knew the GM in Vegas and I was hired with no experience in household or pad wrap freight.

You will never see a Brand X advertisement in a magazine. After talking to a company driver and an owner operator of  Brand X while we were all getting loaded at the same place, they really loved working there and made more money than me for the same load. I’ve tried to talk to this company’s drivers every chance I get, but being a small company, it’s been tough. Everyone I have talked to has loved Brand X. The owner, the company, equipment, especially the pay, the whole nine yards.

After several months of talking, research and thinking (plus I was
giving the new Graebel office a chance) I filled out their app and even
stopped by the Brand X only terminal and headquarters and talked to
their staff. We were hired as soon as we walked in the door, literally.
They said we were hired and then we still talked for a bit about the
company and my experience.  I know recruiters lie, but this sounded
pretty good and confirmed things I had heard from other drivers.

I think we were hired so quickly because we were coming from a
company that dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s. Plus they have a
couple of Graebel drivers already and might get a couple more (besides
us). To make the good first impression we dressed nice and washed the
truck and trailer even though it was going to rain later that day.

I gave Graebel our notice and was told I was getting a new contract
in March and should wait. There’s nothing really wrong with Graebel and
certainly nothing we can’t live with, but from all indications we can
do better at Brand X. Waiting another month wasn’t going to make that
big of difference in the big picture.

In looking back, I should have finished the load we were on and started
right away with Brand X. Staying another month didn’t gain me anything,
but we were due and ready for some time off and I can put the truck in
shop. Finish the other appointment I have and be ready to go without
starting a new job and then saying, "Oh, by the way, we’ve got to be in
Vegas next week". This way we are ready for whatever they throw at as
without worrying about the truck or personal stuff.

During that time I checked out another company where a friend was
working that paid really, really well (hauling exotic cars).  They keep
the number of their drivers low and don’t have much turnover. They were
only going to hire a couple more than close hiring again. I think the
recruiter was speechless when I told him thanks for the opportunity,
but no thanks. I’m sure they don’t get too many people that turn them
down. But I honestly think we can do just as well where we are going
and not have to learn something knew or have any initial expense (for a
PTO) or a learning curve or possibility of claims. I don’t have to
worry about claims now and won’t at Brand X.  I’ve known household
guys that had a lot of claims and they can really eat your lunch.
Claims are part of the household and car business, but why put
ourselves in that situation if we don’t have to.

We are not employees building
seniority or vestment I told Graebel that regular freight companies are
getting close to the same price per mile when we haul the Spec Comm, plus some even
offered permits and other perks. We could go from dock to dock or even drop and hook and not
have to worry about blankets or decks or any of that crap. I don’t mind
doing it if we’re compensated, but why do the same work for less than someone else is willing to pay?? I’m all for company loyalty and all that. But closing the Vegas desk showed that this corporation has no loyalty, it’s all about the bottom line. It’s not personal, it’s business. That works both ways.

The household season will soon be upon us and that means more than the
usual money, but more work too. Our household experience consists of
taking the overflow or what the primary driver didn’t want to take.
It’s usually sitting on the dock of a Graebel warehouse waiting for us.
All we have to do is back up, load it and go. One or two or more of
those on a trailer to the destination warehouses to unload. At what I
thought was a really good rate per mile.

At Brand X we will get even more per mile plus more for labor if we
want to, labor is optional, most of the time we don’t mind and it’s
good money. At Graebel we don’t have to load or unload, but lately if
we want out of there in a timely manner, we do it ourselves and get
paid.

I like small companies. Graebel Las Vegas had the best of both. It’s
time to move on for number one, more money $$$ We need to take advantage of
this upswing in trucking as much as possible so we can be prepared for
the next downswing. Second, better equipment. I love the trailers at
Brand X – lift gates, fiberglass ramps, side doors and a few extra
lights.  I think it will be a good move. Loads will be better paying
and more interesting. We are already making plans to buy a trailer to
get a bigger piece of the line haul at Brand X. One thing at a time
though. We will keep you updated and check out our personal page at Adventure In Trucking.

Originally posted 2005-03-23 04:34:00.

I get treated like dirt and looked down on like I was lower than scum.

It could be worse, I’m not wearing a name tag slinging burgers or a mop somewhere.

I have nothing, but I owe nothing.

Society needs me. Not every driver can be home every day or every weekend. I work weekends and holidays like they were any other day.

I can help someone in trouble along the road, I can kill a family of six in the blink of an eye.

Kids look up to me as their parents drive by cursing.

I’m tied between government regulations and trying to keep the customer happy and still make a living.

I can see the wonder and excitement in kids eyes as they stare upwards towards the cab, their arms pumping up and down pulling imaginary air horns, wanting to hear the real thing.

I am part of a culture that everyone sees, but no one understands.

Truckers still have that same mystique and romantic image of cowboys of long ago. Just like cowboys, people see the best of the job. The travel and adventure. The handling of a massive piece of equipment like it was another limb.

And like cowboys they don’t see the boredom and loneliness. The long hours, the hard work and small pay. I don’t get paid much, but I work a lot so it adds up.

The road turns from being a driver’s passion to a driver’s addiction. Just like any other addiction, it’s a love / hate relationship.

I have a several million coworkers, yet I work alone.

I am cursed when driving too slow, I am cursed when I’m driving too fast.

I am feared, I am respected, I am hated and despised. But I am still depended on to help others when asked.

I am King of the road with ethics of the Knights of the Roundtable. Yet I am looked on as killer and vagrant.

I am not responsible for my coworkers. But, when one of us makes a mistake, it is a mistake done by us all.

I am blamed if something is not on the store shelf. But I don’t get credit when the shelves are full.

I cause the accidents, I prevent the accidents. I can save a life or take a life.

No one watches over my shoulder, but I still have tremendous responsiblity. I am my own worst critic and slave driver.

If I made a list of positives and negatives about this job, the negatives list would be ten times longer then the positives. But I love the positives so much that the negatives aren’t that important.

My coworkers like myself, are independent, yet dependent on one another sometimes for survival. Most times just for companionship.

My mistakes can make the evening news. My accomplishments are taken for granted.

I have abandoned the material and “normal” world. I have nothing, yet I have everything.

I have not abandoned society. I work in order for society to be what it is, yet society has abandoned me.

I am not religious, yet I am incredibly spiritual. Seeing all the wonders of life as well as all the death and destruction, one can not help but believe there is someone higher and someplace better. I firmly believe that
I am unconditionally loved and forgiven in spite of the wrongs I have done. That Jesus died in order for me to have that love and forgiveness.

I have that love and forgiveness, understanding and acceptance in heaven. A little of that here on earth would be nice. I am finding out that finding someone to share the above mentioned life and to give that love and acceptance unconditionally must be asking even God too much. If it happens, it happens. If not I’ll still survive.

I am, and try to be the Simple Man. A man with honor and integrity. A Simple Man that knows the difference between materialism and realism and the importance of relationships. All relationships.

The importance of people and those relationships are first and foremost. The relationship of family and friends, to the janitor or waitresses. I feel that I treat everyone with the respect any human deserves until given reason not to.

Wayne Weisser, Driver.

Originally posted 2008-05-18 08:35:26.