Been trucking all week

Well, I did survive my first week back as a OTR driver. It has been 5 years since I did any kind of over the road driving. But I did manage to survive the first week back, I only ran about 1500 miles but it was enough to put me back in the groove.
Boy, has a lot changed since I was out on the road. Seems there is a lot more trucks on the road than used to be. Maybe it is just me, but seems this talk of strikes has got MORE trucks on the road.

My company is just a small company of about 10 trucks, and as far as I know we are not shutting down. Although the owner would like to shut down, but for now they are making money. So it seems pointless to do it now to them. As for me, well I have no say in the matter as I just got back to work I need to keep rolling.

But anyway back to me being back on the road now. If you comment to anything on this blog, and I don't see it before Sunday it will not get posted until the following Friday. I don't have a lap top yet, so posting here will only be done from the house.

I read somebodies comment on another post that said the poster didn't believe I was a truck driver, that he thought I was a desk jockey...The poster also said it was because I didn't allow the comments to show up until I moderated them...

I want to clear this up. The reason when you comment on the blog it goes into moderation, is because I don't think you as readers would want to read how to enlarge your penis in 5 days or something like that. Or get a bunch of links to porn posted on here. I set the comments to moderation to keep out this kind of internet trash!

All comments so far have been posted, and will get posted as soon as I am home. Sorry but this is how it has to be.

Anyway thanks for reading, and posting your comments some have been a riot and others have been eye opening keep them coming!

My Rant about some wannabe Truck Driver advocates

A advocate as defined by Wikipedia is - one who speaks on behalf of another person, especially in a legal context. Implicit in the concept is the notion that the represented lacks the knowledge, skill, ability, or standing to speak for themselves.

I have visited many, many truck driver related forums over the passed few years. I have seen all kinds, from ones who believe they are gods gift to truck drivers to others who just want to make a dime off of truck drivers, visitors etc. whoever will click their advertisements. I thought I had seen them all, but apparently I had not.

I have never indicated to anyone, that I was or planned to try to be a advocate. I am a truck driver just like the rest of you all who have read my blog. I know it seems that I have been blogging more than I have been driving, but that is a whole other discussion. I through this blog together just so truck drivers did not have to spend precious time searching the web for various news of interest to them.

Yes I do have ads listed on this site, but hey why not everyone else is doing it as well and sometimes some pretty neat stuff pop up on the ads.

I joined one particular truck driver related forum a few years ago. I thought it was the best thing ever. I ended up making several post and contributing to it, and was given a position as a moderator. But in order to moderate even the slightest thing that i would see wrong had to be "discussed" between the other up teen million mods on that site before a decision was made.

OK, so I played along with their games. But then it came down to where I was thinned out as "not being a team player" in other words some other mods and the admin were mad because I was online to much and was catching many of the spammers, and quote from the owner "Not spreading the work around". Meaning nobody else got to do anything.

So I asked to be demoted to a regular member. Well upon doing so, this "owner" of this forum talked me into purchasing my own forum software and starting a CB Forum. I agreed to only if he would help me get it started and he agreed. I myself do not have many skills at html and things.

I purchased it, along with a domain name and hosting and he installed it for me. OK, now I started posting and fixing it the way I wanted, it was mine. He ran his forum for truck drivers, he talked me into starting a CB Related forum, what else would come to mind with CB radio's? Truck drivers! so I posted a section for truck drivers. He was furious, and asked me not to go against him with this section of the forum.

It became time to upgrade the forum software and I asked him to do this or at least help me with it, his answer was he was too busy and that I should do it myself. So I had no choice but to try and do it myself, well that didn't work as I succeeded in causing my forum to go offline. So I went in search of someone else to help me out. I found someone and explained to them what happened. They agreed and helped me (it took maybe 5 minutes).

In return the other forum admin "banned" me from his site, said I stabbed him in the back! WTF? I asked him to help me he said he was too busy so I searched and found someone to help me, in which he found several thing's this so called friend had done to my forum that were completely wrong.

I finally figured out what was wrong, he didn't want any competition. Because it would cut his pay he was getting off the members of his forum.

He always since he opened his forum, kept preaching he would keep the forum free for ever or shut it down. Well I see he has a donation link up, and also has started getting paid advertisers to join, pay him some big money so they can advertise to the members. Use to be listed on his forum if you joined then the ads were not shown to you. Guess what the ads are still there even after you join, because he gets paid big money for this.

Oh another thing when you look at who is online at his forum, it will read like there is 800 online or some big ass number. Folks there is a setting in the software that will allow for a user to be shown online for as long as the admin wants. This is a tactic to elude visitors that there are a lot of members online all the time. But if you scroll down and look out of the 800 or so that maybe online only 50 or 60 maybe 100 had posted that day. Folks, looks can be very deceiving.

He claimed to have started the forum because of JB Hunt a company that he says he drove for....for 3 weeks. How can you tell how any company is in just 3 short weeks? I will not mention what forum this is, because many will figure it out anyway. I don't have to mention who the owner is, because that is easy to figure out.

But now as fuel prices are outrageous, and many truck drivers going broke as well as companies. He stated several times he WILL NOT support the shut down until it gets bad enough. I think he stated fuel would have to get to $5.00 per gallon! Then he goes on to post how truck drivers today are nothing but whining wussies and did not have the balls to come together and stand up and fight for what is right.

But then he turns right around and wants to poll the members asking if they favor a strike. Again saying truckers are spineless and not enough balls to do it. But says if the poll turns out for it he would back them and support it. Yea, only as far as getting a bunch of new members to come into his site, to make him more money.

Then he turns on the biggest advocates (OOIDA) truck drivers have, and calls them spineless, that they are only in it for the money. Because they will not support truck drivers shutting down. But before he always pushed for everybody to join, because he got fringe benefits for getting people to sign up using his name and number. I know because I did too when i was a member. I forget what it was but you get so much off your membership the next time around if someone signs up using your name and number. I really can't remember I only had about 4 to sign up using my name and number.

I suppose it paid him some money after his membership was paid for. Folks if truck drivers shut down and get what they are asking for, you are still going to need a voice in Washington and OOIDA is just that. OOIDA can't tell you to shutdown they could and would be sued for doing so. This is something you the drivers are going to have to do on your own.

I want to add one last thing, be cautious of A LOT of forums as they are only out for two things. That is members and to make money off members.

April 1 2008 Truck driver Shutdown is it going to happen?

This same subject comes up every year, about the same time of year. When freight is slow and drivers are worried about payments and such.
A group of Truck Drivers have tentatively set a date of April 1, 2008. Will this be enough time to get any action done?
Is this the right thing to do? A lot of talk has surfaced about a Truck Driver Shutdown for April 1,2008 and I believe there will be a lot of truckers shut down by this time vac, and days off will be taken.
If you are thinking of joining this, then you need to at least deliver the freight you have on your truck. You can be held liable for the load if it is not delivered. This will affect everyone us in one way or another.
If you are not going to join or you cannot join in, then you can still do your part. You can slow your truck down, to about the speed limit or maybe 5 mph under. This will get everyone's attention, and will save on fuel. You run your log book just like if you were being stopped every 5 minutes by the DOT.
Run it legal and log it legal, while sitting waiting to unload or load log it on line 3 (on duty not driving) this will burn your hours, in turn you will have to stop and pull over and take a break.

Show your support Drivers!

Some independents are still making it, but I'm guessing they are making it, from pay check to pay check. These guys are living on a dream, they probably got really small truck payments or no truck payments at all.
Are they going to be able to fix a major repair to their tractor if it happens? What about if it is time for them to replace the equipment? Can they afford to do so? I doubt it, I mean yea while they were out there driving that "older" truck that was paid for. Now they are having to make payments on a newer truck. Well that eats what profits they were getting up.

You might sit and read this and say, will shutting down really cause the price to go down? Will the pump owners really care?
It doesn't matter if they care or not.

This is a really good piece I saw on a forum earlier to answer the above, I will quote it.

The point of shutting down is to force the government and the public to take notice and respond to what is going on. The oil companies won't be the first to scream. Those who want to get their freight moved will be.

The rich folks who are investing in oil and driving the price up will be quickly moving their money to something else, as a result oil prices will drop.

Remember, just in the past week, gas consumption dropped only 1/10th of 1%, and oil prices dropped from 112.00 to 104.00 per barrel in a matter of a couple days. If investors think there will be a serious shutdown, they will be yanking their money out between now and April 1st. Just watch the price of oil between now and then.

ATA chief advocates speed limiters to reduce fuel in letters to feds

ATA President and CEO Bill Graves has written letters to the heads of two federal agencies promoting speed limiters as a way to cut fuel costs and to the Bureau of Land Management advocating development of oil shale and tar sands resources in the U.S. to increase domestic oil supplies.

In his comments to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator John Hill and National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator Nicole Nason, the American Trucking Associations chief noted that trucking could pay up to $135 billion for diesel this year, compared with $112 billion last year, adding that “One highly effective way to reduce fuel use by the trucking industry is to lower vehicle speeds.”

He added that ATA in October of 2006 had submitted petitions to FMCSA and NHTSA requesting that newly manufactured trucks be required to install speed limiters set at no higher than 68 mph.

“For each 1 mph that a truck’s speed is reduced, there is approximately a 0.1 mpg increase in fuel efficiency,” he wrote, adding that ATA “requests that NHTSA and FMCSA immediately grant ATA’s petition and expedite rulemaking in order to take advantage of both the fuel and safety benefits that a speed limiter requirement will produce.”

In his letter to the Bureau of Land Management, Graves said, “To ameliorate the volatility of diesel prices, ATA believes that the federal government must take immediate steps to increase the domestic supply of crude oil and refined diesel fuel in an environmentally responsible manner.”

One way to do that would be to develop oil shale and tar sands resources in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, he said.

Source

5 tractor-trailers pile up near Wendell; 3 injured

WENDELL - A collision involving five tractor-trailer trucks caused a colossal mess and many headaches for motorists on U.S. 64/264 near Wendell on Thursday afternoon.

Three people sustained injuries that were not considered life-threatening as a result of the pileup, but eastbound traffic backed up for nearly five miles, investigating State Trooper D.C. Pate said early Thursday evening.

The wreck occurred about 3 p.m. on U.S. 64/264 near Wendell Boulevard, the Highway Patrol reported.

Two rigs that were each hauling another rig had come to a stop in traffic when they were rear-ended by another tractor-trailer flatbed hauling steel beams.

"It was a mess," Pate said.

Three of the rigs that were hit sustained a total of about $20,000 in damage, and the impact caused diesel fuel to leak onto the roadway. Emergency workers quickly contained the spilled fuel, and none of the vehicles were carrying hazardous materials, Pate said.

The steel beams on the tractor-trailer flatbed shook loose during the wreck and crashed into the cab of the truck, causing about $30,000 to $40,000 in damage, the patrol reported.

The four rigs were headed to White's International Trucks in Wilson, where they were to be sold. The tractor-trailer that troopers say caused the accident is owned by Watkins Trucking Co. of Birmingham, Ala., Pate said.

The driver of that tractor-trailer and his wife, Milton Lewis, 51, and Cathy Lewis, 38, were both taken to WakeMed's Raleigh Campus. Emergency workers also took one of the rig drivers, Marvin Krohn, 59, of Sylvania, Ohio, to the hospital, Pate said.

Milton Lewis was charged with failure to reduce speed, Pate said.

Source

Owner-operator organizes fuel protest Monday near Pittsburgh

Owner-operator Don Waltenbaugh of Pennsylvania has organized a daylong event to demonstrate just how bad it’s getting out there for truckers struggling with high fuel prices.

Waltenbaugh, an OOIDA member from Vandergrift, PA, has organized a 24-hour protest – a “shutdown” in his words – scheduled for Monday, March 24, on his property on Alternate 66 between Vandergrift and Ford City, PA, northeast of Pittsburgh.

“This is a one-day shutdown for solidarity,” he told Land Line.

Waltenbaugh said he has parking for 60 trucks and would like to see people from multiple sectors of trucking and hauling.

“I want people from all facets – towing, dealerships, the excavation business. I want them there,” he said.

Source Continues

Pilot Travel Centers opens medical clinic for truckers

Pilot Travel Centers LLC and Roadside Medical Labs and Clinics held a grand opening today for a retail medical clinic at the Pilot center at 7200 Strawberry Plains Pike near the Interstate 40 interchange.

Knoxville based Pilot, the largest travel center operator in the country, and Alpharetta, Ga.-based Roadside Medical announced in December plans to create a national network of clinics to meet the needs of professional drivers.

In a statement on its Web site, Roadside Medical says the “clinics meet the specific needs of the trucker while driving down healthcare costs for the entire industry through regular preventive care, practical lifestyle and wellness programs, and full DOT compliance testing and reporting.”

Pilot and Roadside opened their first clinic in Cartersville, Ga., in January.

The clinics are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Source

Arkansas Trucking Association Calls for Hearings on Diesel Fuel Prices

The Arkansas Trucking Association said Thursday that it is petitioning the U.S. Congress to investigate "record high diesel fuel prices" that "threaten the cost-effective flow of goods in the United States and the general economy."

The associations' board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to seek congressional oversight hearings into the causes of diesel prices that have reached about $4 per gallon.

Lane Kidd, association president, said Congress should act now to ward off an economic crisis.

Story Continues

I-95 Reopened in Philadelphia

Authorities have reopened a three-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia after a more-than-two-day closure to shore up a damaged concrete support pillar.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Gene Blaum says crews are being told to move aside the barricades and allow grateful Thursday morning rush hour commuters to roll onto the major East Coast artery for the first time since Monday night.

Source

Motorcyclist Dies, Truck Driver Arrested

Texas truck driver Peter Mbugua was arrested Tuesday, for 2nd degree manslaughter for a fatal traffic accident that happened earlier this month in Boone County.

Mbugua, 60, was arrested in Wylie, Texas on a warrant obtained by investigators through Boone County Circuit Court, after a collision between his tractor trailer and a motorcycle claimed the life of a motorcyclist.

At approximately 1:35 p.m. March 4, police said, Mbugua was driving a tractor trailer owned by Safari Trucking of Texas, exiting southbound I-75 at Richwood, when he realized he couldn’t stop for the red light at the end of the ramp.

According to police, Mbugua steered the rig onto the left shoulder to avoid ramming the stopped traffic on the ramp and attempted to go straight through the intersection and onto the entrance ramp directly across the road.

Joseph Lonneman, 22, of Walton, Ky., was eastbound on Richwood Road/KY 338, riding his 2002 Honda motorcycle approaching the intersection.

Police said that Lonneman, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, laid the motorcycle down in an attempt to miss the truck but was hit in the intersection.

Lonneman was taken to University Hospital where he died at approximately 4 p.m.

The initial indications were that the accident was caused by faulty equipment on the truck and trailer.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department Accident Reconstruction Unit determined Mbugua was aware of the faulty brakes prior to the accident.

Second degree manslaughter is a Class C felony, punishable by 5-10 years in the state penitentiary.

Source