A Truckers Health

As a driver I personally had let my health take the back burner to my driving career. When I started driving I teamed with a family friend, we ran a weekly route from North Carolina to the West Coast and back. Running team with a veteran driver help me learn how to be a safer driver unlike many of these 3 week training programs. Me and Gurney teamed until 2002 when he had a heart attack. I then was joined by another good friend with whom I teamed with until 2004. Just in my teaming years I can recall alot of times
Me our my Co-Drivers health took the back burner to the load we was hauling. I can recall back in 2001 when me and my first co-driver was in the Bay Area of California when our alternator went out. Like any reefer hauler we tried to run our truck off the reefer to get the truck off the highway. While hooking up the wires my Co-Driver tripped off the cat walk after getting tangled in the air lines and came crashing onto the pavement head first. Once I realized what had happened I rushed to his side to find him bleeding really bad and in alot of pain. But like most of us he wiped of the blood and managed the best he could to get his job done. We got our truck fixed and came back to North Carolina only to find out for 2 days he was riding and driving around with a broken wrist and 2 broken ribs. Another time I recall was back in Nevada in 2003 when I had a abscessed tooth really flair up. The pain very intensive and the swelling seemed to grown more by the hour. I finished my 3 day trip and got home with my left eye swelled completely shut. These are just a few times I've seen either me or someone I knows health take a back burner to our career. What puzzles me is WHY, Why do we let our self fall behind all other. Why do drive for days in pain or sickness just to deliver a load? No one will ever know but it happens daily. This is the reason I for one support Newer and Harder Medical requirements in the trucking industry. I am currently off the road due to a lack of care for my health and well being. At the age of 31 I am already having major health problems from to much care for my job and the all mighty dollar and so little about my Health. So I would tell any driver in this world that Harsher Medical requirements are WONDERFUL because it will force you to give a damn about you self.

The Economy and the Driver

As a driver has the economy hurt you? I bet the answer is yes more then its no. The economy seems to be kicking alot of people in the rear. I've herd so many drivers say they have lost pay, miles and even jobs. Now we all know the economy has hurt alot more then trucking but the effect it has had on our industry could be blogged about till the cows come home. I recall back in January when a local lumber company that employed over 200 driver laid off everyone of them, and in the small town I live in it was the talk for weeks. Many of these drivers found jobs but a few still remain unable to find a job. Living in the North Carolina we have already seen a major hit with some many factories leaving the US that it has taken the economy in North Carolina and really twisted it. But the main thing that want to blog about today is how a veteran driver can loss everything really fast in todays economy. In August of 2008 a driver I know really well went to work for a company in Las Vegas NV, all seemed ok with his new job. He was getting miles and getting paid good money. Well this all changed in April of this year when his life of hard work started to crumble. In April he was still working just as hard as before doing the same amount of miles, but he started getting calls from the company telling him his check would be a day late. And by the end of May they were a week late. He was looking for another job and had not found anything as of the end of June he was in the worse mess of his life. He came home for some home time and was off a few day when he got a call that his paycheck had bounced from 3 weeks earlier and then 2 days later another call that the check from 2 weeks earlier had bounced. So he called up his company and said "Ok here is the deal I have $2300 worth of bad checks and you will need to pay me for this before I go back to work". Well this is where the story really gets me pissed the most. He made the call on a Wednesday, on that Wednesday the company calls our local sheriff department and tell them that they had not seen or herd from in over 2 weeks. They also send a wrecker for his truck and tell him as the wrecker is taking the truck "I don't owe you a Dime". Then the next day he finds out no only did the company give him 2 bad checks they stopped payment on his Last 2 as well. And on his last paycheck that he was to get the day after they picked up the truck they just didn't send it or send any kind of excuse just didn't do it. So now this driver is holding over $5000 in Bad and stopped payment checks. He has looked and looked for work and always gets the same story "Due to the economy we are not hiring". After he used what he had in savings he still lost his car, and nearly his home. He is married and has 2 sweet kids and they are losing everything due to one Scamming POS company. After doing a little digging my self I found out the owner of the company is the president of many Pediatric charitys. How could someone like that be such a low life. I know the economy has alot of you drivers down but keep up the fight and it will all be Ok hopefully!

Heavier Trucks, Right or Wrong?

There is a lot of talk about raising the current 80,000 Lb weight limit that trucks are currently allowed to haul to a staggering 100,000 lb Weight Limit. The more I hear about the growing number of people supporting this issue the more the knot in my stomach grows. I sit here and ponder on the issue of the stupidity of these supporters or could it be just as simple as a 5 letter word that has never had a good impact on anything in life "GREED". How many
lives have been ruined by greed? How many people have lost their lives over greed? I personally don’t think we have room in the trucking industry for any more greed. Just for example let’s say 100,000,000 Lbs of freights gets loaded daily, this means it would take 1250 trucks currently to move this freight. Now you raise this to the 100,000 weight limit now you only need 1000 trucks. Which we all know there’s a lot more than 1250 trucks on the road. So My Question is what do these 250 drivers do that no job? With the economy in such trouble and companies closing their doors daily leaving so many drivers jobless, I don’t think this is a chance we as Americans need to take. But the issue goes even deeper then the amount of jobs that will be lost. What about safety? How many trucks have you seen with smoking brakes over the years? You add 20,000 Lbs of weight to truck already coming down Vail Pass with smoking brakes you are sure to increase the business at the local funeral home. What about that car that cut the driver off and he barely missed them, if they had on 20,000 Lbs more would they of still missed that car? What about that bridges that are bogged down with 80,000 lb trucks already, does that mean we will see another Bridge fall like we did on I-35 In August of 2007? More weight makes no since to me and I think it not only very selfish of the supporters to ask for heavier trucks but also flat out STUPID.

Pilot Travle Centers Buys Flying J

First off Here is a Link to the Full Story if you would like to read it for yourself. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/14/ap6654912.html

I will say that this story did take me by complete surprise. I knew Flying J was having a bit of financial hardship after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection back around Christmas. I for one feel that one of Flying J's down falls was no longer accepting Comdata. Comdata is used by 87% of companies in today's interstate commerce transportation system. I’m quite sure if a company like Wal-Mart no long accepted Debit cards, they too would soon be on the same track as Flying J. Flying J had a great chain of truck stops but I for one was never a big fan of their truck stops. I only stopped at Flying J when there was nothing else available. I have always driven for a company that used Comdata so I really never had a need to stop. After eating at the food venues inside a Flying J a time or two I realized I didn’t care for their food. The Country Market wasn’t nearly as bad as the Pizza Place and Chinese Place most Flying J's offer. But as far as driver services the Flying J ranked top on my list as driver friendly. But as far as my feelings go I would rather stop at a Pilot rather than a Flying J. My only problem with Pilot is they offer mostly fast food, but over the last years I’ve seen more Denny's inside Pilots. And my second and last issue is their parking lot size. And buying the Flying J I feel this would make a perfect Pilot as Flying J's normally have more room and all Flying J's I’ve seen have had a Big restaurant inside. So go Pilot, Don’t Stop buy TA too.