As a result of the news story run by Austin, Texas, NBC affiliate KXAN about CoopsAreOpen.com, there are some rumors floating around.

One of these rumors is that Texas DOT is looking for us (and by us, I mean us here at CoopsAreOpen). They’re not. If they were, we’re easy to find. Just click “Contact Us” and send us a message.

Another one of these rumors is that CoopsAreOpen.com is giving truckers a bad name. We’re not. We provide truckers with as much information as possible about weigh stations, rules and regulations, and enforcement procedures. Information doesn’t give truckers a bad name. Organizations like CRASH and PATT aren’t going to like truckers whether we provide the information or not.

For those of you who’d like the real scoop about CoopsAreOpen.com, come look through the site, leave comments, contact us, and join our message board. You’ll find out that we provide you with a platform to share your knowledge and to learn from what others know.
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Tags: Texas DOT, Weigh Stations, Rules And Regulations, Enforcement Procedures, Truckers

If you park in a Massachusetts service plaza at the start of a long trip, you’d better hope you’ve got someone at home watching your mail for you!

Considering the lack of truck parking in New England, we think the Massachusetts State Police is playing a dirty trick on truckers who are parked in service plazas. If they want to issue parking citations, they should inform the trucker he should expect a ticket in the mail or issue a warning only ticket. Mailing tickets with extremely small response margins to over-the-road truckers without warning is simply another way to squeeze money out of truckers through late fees.

Even if you don’t have a parking ticket waiting for you when you wake up or return to your truck, you may have a ticket waiting in your mailbox. And if you don’t respond to the mailed ticket within 20 days of the violation, you may have late charges to deal with- the instance discussed here did not result in late charges, but a longer delay in payment might.
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Tags: Truck Parking, Massachusetts State Police, Service Plazas, Parking Citations, Over-the-road Truckers, Parking Ticket

You’ll find plenty of articles out there giving advice on how to get a better job in trucking. This one focuses on how to ensure you’ll get one you’ll hate (or wind up hating the one you’ve got). The 7 steps here are guaranteed to land you a trucking job you’ll hate.
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Tired truckers are everyone’s problem. And no trucker wants to drive tired. Some truckers insist that if you plan your trip properly, you should always be able to find parking. Other truckers understand that no matter how much you plan, truck parking can be elusive. Truck stops fill up, usually later than earlier. But truckers can’t force themselves to be tired according to a plan. Laying in bed wide awake when your plan calls for sleep doesn’t make for a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, looking for a place to park is simply part of being a truck driver.

Most drivers avoid parking in weigh stations like the plague. It’s understandable. But, if you’re tired, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. The following is a guideline to some states’ policies toward truckers parking at weigh stations- what’s allowed, what isn’t and what the truckers can expect.
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Tags: Tired Truckers, Truck Parking, Truck Driver, Weigh Stations

Truckers have had to comply with environmental regulations around the country by shutting off their engines (anti-idling laws), paying more for supposedly more environmentally friendly truck engines in newer trucks, and switching over from low sulfur diesel to ultra-low sulfur diesel. Now truckers who run refrigerated trailers (trailers that can be temperature controlled through use of a refer unit) are up against more anti-diesel legislation from the state of California. Of course.

The way things are going, we’re pretty sure APU/generators will be next on the chopping block…
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Tags: Truckers, Environmental Regulations, Truck Engines, Low Sulfur Diesel, Ultra-low Sulfur Diesel

Becoming and successful owner operator in trucking isn’t as simple as buying a truck and heading out on the open road to meet your financial goals. You’ve got to understand trucking if you want to make it work. If you just go blindly into the world of the trucking owner operator, you’re very likely to fail. To be a successful owner operator, you’ve got to think the way a successful owner operator thinks.
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Tags: Successful Owner Operator, Trucking Owner Operator, Owner Operator

Truckers who pick up freight at ports around the country will soon have a new card to carry. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) will be mandatory for any person requiring unescorted access to any secure areas of Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) regulated facilities. That means, you’ll need the TWIC “smart card” to get into maritime ports around the country.

To get a TWIC, you must provide biographic and biometric information such as fingerprints, sit for a digital photograph and successfully pass a security threat assessment (background check) conducted by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA). If you already have your hazardous materials endorsement on your CDL, the background check you already took for your hazmat endorsement will apply. You shouldn’t need another background check. This will qualify you for a reduced enrollment fee.
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Tags: Transportation Worker Identification Credential, TWIC, Maritime Transportation Security Act, Security Threat Assessment, Background Check, Transportation Safety Administration

Well, it appears that the rumors are true. Until today, we’d only heard about drivers being thrown out of IdleAire parking spots. But today, we were asked to move. And, upon further investigation, we discovered that IdleAire attendants have the authority and can make you leave an IdleAire parking spot if you’re not using the service. In fact, they are supposed to make you move.

We pulled into an east coast Petro truck stop and parked in an IdleAire spot. An attendant came up and asked if we were going to use the service and we said we were not. The attendant politely asked us to move to a non-IdleAire parking spot. We counted approximately 20 empty IdleAire spots- but leaving the “Quiet Zone” wasn’t a problem, since the non-IdleAire parking still had a lot of empty spots.

We decided to get to the bottom of it and find out what’s really going on. The following information has not been confirmed by IdleAire corporate, but it comes straight from the mouth of the most enthusiastic (and presumably knowledgeable) IdleAire attendant we’ve met- bordering on militaristic.
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Tags: IdleAire, IdleAire Attendants, Petro Truck Stop, Quiet Zone

There’s just something about trucking that you don’t find in other fields.

There’s camaraderie. Some would argue, with validity, that in recent years, that feeling of “us” has dissipated. But there’s still an “us” in the trucking world that an outsider just doesn’t get to see. We’re all out here doing the same job- trucking, flat bedding, car hauling. Essentially, all kinds of truckers are out here traveling, away from our homes and families, and rarely appreciated for what we do. You may hear two truckers arguing on the c. b. radio and threatening to fight, but, as the trucker stories go, those two are likely to get out of their trucks in a rage and wind up headed in to the truck stop restaurant to grab a meal together. Some of the things that make trucking special are our language, our way of acknowledging one another, the code we live by, and our appreciation of common courtesies.
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Tags: Trucking, Flat Bed, Car Haul, Truckers

Winter often means snow-covered and icy roads. Experienced truckers know that the lighter the load, the less traction the tires have. But even trucks hauling heavy loads can lose traction in the snow and ice. That’s why many states will put chain law into effect. Chain law requires truckers to put tire chains on their tires in order to gain more traction. Usually, when chains are required for trucks, cars are also required to use chains or snow tires.

Chain law is publicized by road signs and state road condition portals- websites, road condition hotlines, and the like. You’ll usually only see chain law go into effect on mountain passes, but states can require chains on any roadway that encounters dangerous winter travel conditions.

Some states require that truckers carry the minimum required chains through the winter months, even if they aren’t planning to chain up. Many states may allow cables instead of chains, but most will require truckers to carry chains. Cables are generally frowned on for being less effective.
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Tags: Experienced Truckers, Chain Law, Road Condition, Winter Travel Conditions