Keeping on top of changes in the trucking industry is quite a job. Weigh stations, construction zones, and trucking industry regulations keep many truckers scratching their heads. Listed here are some recent updates to help truckers navigate the roadways.
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Kentucky has a lot going on this April- from construction projects to law enforcement blitzes. Bottom line; keep your eyes peeled, your ducks in a row and your life on the straight and narrow.
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When truckers know there is a weigh station ahead, they will get into the right lane to be ready to exit. If they have a transponder in their truck for a pre-clearance service (PrePass, Best Pass, Green Light or Norpass), they may not exit, but they’ll get in the right lane until their transponder gives them “the green light.” Sometimes the weigh station is closed and the truckers don’t have to exit the freeway.
But when truckers don’t know there is a weigh station ahead, they may get caught out in the left lane. If they are passing slower moving vehicles (most likely other truckers who have slowed down in preparation to exit to the weigh station), they may have to do some tricky driving to get over into the right lane in time. Or they may miss the exit altogether and pull over on the shoulder of the freeway. These truckers walk into the scale house with their paperwork in hand and their heads hanging low.
You can blame the trucker for not being prepared in those instances, but what about weigh stations that have been closed down for a while? What about new weigh stations or scale houses that aren’t marked correctly on the trucker atlas? Truckers want to be prepared, but sometimes there are factors that at truck driver just can’t control.
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Thumbs down to Stephen Franklin and Darnell Little, the authors of the Chicago Tribune article Bone-Weary Haulers Raise Risks on Road (subheading: As truckers struggle to make ends meet, they push the limits of endurance and highway safety).
The article, published December 10, 2006, uses anecdotal stories, incomplete statistics and ignorance of the trucking lifestyle to paint truckers as sleepy menaces. A more appropriate title for the article might be “The Hassles Truckers Handle Make Trucking Hard.” But that wouldn’t be nearly as eye-catching. Read the rest of this entry »
When you decide to buy a truck there are some simple steps you can take to be sure you get the best bang for your buck. If you go into a truck purchase blindly, you are likely to pay too much and get much less than you hoped for.
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More and more, I hear brand new truck drivers contemplating the lease purchase programs many companies are now advocating. It never ceases to amaze me how these companies will target new drivers. Swift Transportation and Prime Trucking are two of the most aggressive lease purchase companies out there, but it seems all of the companies have jumped on the band wagon.
After all, why wouldn’t a trucking company want to pass along the costs of fuel, purchasing a truck, truck maintenance, truck insurance, permits and health insurance? Not to mention, they no longer are expected to provide a 401k plan with company match. And they get to charge the driver much higher prices than market value for a truck that won’t be worth much at the end of the lease.
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There are a lot of good trucking companies out there. I have known company drivers for US Express, USA Truck, Schneider Trucking, Werner Trucking, and LTL trucking companies like Yellow Freight and Roadway Express that were really knocking back the cash. I personally have worked for Continental Express and Digby Truck Lines and did quite well. But for some drivers, working for someone else just isn’t enough…
The problem for some is that the lure of the open road tricks them into becoming owner operators before they are ready.
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Trucking jobs aren’t just about driving. When you think of a job in trucking, you think about riding down the big road, living the American dream, steering and gearing.
But there’s more to trucking that sitting behind the wheel.
There’s regular old freight trucking (dry goods like toilet paper, cereal, packages). But there’s also flatbed trucking (steel coils, pipes), refrigerated trucking–called reefers (temperature sensitive goods like ice cream, frozen dinners, produce), tankers (liquid or gaseous substances like gasoline, milk, and propane), and car hauling.
All of these require special knowledge and training.
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There seems to be an obsession with poultry in the trucking industry. No, I’m not talking about chicken fried steak, I’m talking about Chicken Trucks and Chicken Coops and all kinds of other chicken-related terms in the truckers’ vocabulary.
The general public may not know about it, but truckers talk turkey a lot.
Anyone who has ever listened to the CB radio knows that truckers have a language all their own. If a rookie driver or a vacationer dares to tread on the truckers’ territory, he’ll find out quickly that he isn’t one of the flock yet. It’s what you say and how you say it that gives you away.
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