Trucker vs. Lawyer

A lawyer and a Truck driver are sitting next to each other on a long flight.

The lawyer is thinking that Truck driver are so dumb that he could put one over on them easily...so the lawyer asks the Truck driver if he would like to play a fun game.

The Truck driver is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, and says that the game is a lot of fun. "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5.; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500." he says.

This catches the Truck driver's attention and to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.

The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the Earth to the moon?"

The Truck driver doesn't say a word, reaches in his pocket pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now, it's the Truck driver's turn. He asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?"

The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all references he could find on the net. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail.
After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the Truck driver and hands him $500. The Truck driver pockets the $500. and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes the Truck driver up and asks, "Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?"

The Truck driver reaches in his pocket, hands the lawyer $5. and goes back to sleep.

Don't mess with us Truck divers!!

Re: post from Truckersforum

CHANGE CAREERS: Become a Truck Driver

Are you unemployed? Or have you worked in an office for years and want something different to do to earn a living?Are you unemployed? Or have you worked in an office for years and want something different to do to earn a living? I know Doctors, Lawyers, Police Officers, CEO’s, etc. who have decided that after years of service that they were either tired of it, or just didn’t think that their field was worth it anymore.

They are now truck drivers, going all over the country sight seeing and getting paid for it.Anyone can be become a truck driver, provided they are not felons and are not alcoholics or drug abusers. All you have to do is get in touch with an accredited truck driving school. Most company’s now that will only hire from these type of truck driving schools.

Just as when you try to go to work anywhere nowadays you must pass a pretty extensive background check to even be considered for these truck driving schools. Once you get accepted to the school, the first thing you will be required to do is a Drug Test. This is the first of many Drug Test you will endure through out your new career as a Truck driver.

The next step is a DOT Physical, this requirement is to make sure you are physically able to be a Truck Driver. You may want to read through what is involved in the Physical because this is what disqualifies most people from getting into a Truck Driving School.Now that you have this out of the way, you must find a way to pay for this school. Some companies will give you a pre-hire letter. This means that they will offer to pay for this school upfront but you must agree to stay on employed with them until the debit has been paid, usually within a year or so. They will take this out of your check, each week.

Now you have your pre-hire letter and everything is set, the school has called you and set up a time for you to get started. Most schools will provide you with a way to get to the school, and a motel/hotel for you to stay in while in school. Of course you are the one paying for this. They will most likely provide transportation to and from their school to the motel/hotel and DOT physical and Drug Test.Let’s say you will arrive on Sunday before school begins on Monday. You get checked into the motel/hotel, go swimming, get something to eat etc. but do something relaxing.

Because when the school begins it is grueling, they only have 3 weeks to teach you.This is broke down into part classroom work and then part yard/road training.

Here is a table I created from PTDI a school that come highly recommended.

1. Basic Operation - includes Orientation, Control systems, vehicle inspection, basic control, shifting, backing and docking, coupling and un-coupling. 18(22) hours of classroom and 24(29) hours for range and street/road driving. 2. Safe operating practice for Basic Operation - includes visual search, vehicle communication, speed management, space management. 8(10) hours classroom and 17(20) hours street/road driving. 3. Advanced Operating Practices - includes night operations, extreme Driving conditions, Hazard perception, Emergency manuvers/Skid avoidance, Skid control and recovery, Passive (unmarked or uncontrolled) railroad crossings. 14(17) hours of classroom and 3(4) hours of yard/driving. 4. Vehicle Systems and reporting malfunctions - includes Identification and Maintenance, Diagnosing and Reporting malfunctions. 6(7) hours of classroom and 0(0) hours of yard/driving. 5. Non Vehicle activities - includes Handling and Documenting Cargo, Environmental issues, Hours of service requirements, Accident procedures, Managing life on the road/Personal Resources, Trip Planning, Communication Skills.43(52) hours of classroom and 0(0) hours of yard/driving.

This is a total of 148 hours minimum and 178 hours maximum. This school will teach you the basics of truck driving, they will most likely teach enough to know to get your CDL License.So if you can pass a Drug Test, and DOT physical and are not a felon or a drug abuser, and you want to change careers give Truck Driving a chance.

Trucking is a thankless job

I have been thanked several times in my years of driving a truck. Let's see if I can remember a few of them.
I was involved in a huge accident on I-77 southbound back in 2004 just south of Wytheville,VA. I came upon the "New River Bridge" and the traffic was stopped because of a accident on the bridge. I got my truck stopped about 20 feet from the accident without hitting anyone or anything. The person driving the little car just in front of me "Thanked me" for not running over them.
When out of nowhere a tractor trailer came barreling down the hill behind me, he did not get stopped. He hit me in the back of my tank, did I forget to mention I was pulling a tank? Oh sorry yea, it was full of ACETONE 7000 gallons to be precise. The other driver totaled his truck and my tanker, but thankfully there was no leak or spark.
A company I was supposed to deliver to one time, had to shut down because I refused to run over my hours on my log book in order to make a delivery. Some of the workers "Thanked Me" because they got to go home early.
I made several early deliveries on some major high dollar hauls, and have been thanked for doing this also.
No, I really know what you are saying, about it being a "Thankless Job". Every time there is a accident involving a tractor trailer (we) get blamed for it. Does not matter that the four wheeler that got crushed, it's driver was on the cell phone or reading a newspaper, or putting on her makeup, or doing work on the computer, all while driving down the road at about 15 over the speed limit.
We as Truck Drivers are looked down upon by society, as a lower life form. It has been like this and will be most likely forever. Even though in times of disaster we are lifesavers. Disaster strikes, besides the Red Cross and Fema and the Emergency people, who else gets called into action?
Truck Drivers, we drive all hours of the day and night to deliver water, and supply's to disaster areas. But are they thanked for it? Yea, maybe right at that moment. But a few weeks later that same driver might be delivering in the same town and he/she gets treated the normal way, with no respect because you drive that truck.

New Web site launched to help truckers passing through Alabama

Alabama has rolled out a new Web site for truckers to serve as a one-stop portal for truckers passing through the state. It will include safety issues, road rules and notice of Alabama regulations - all topics that have been discussed at length in recent years after several major tractor-trailer accidents on state roads.

The state's Information Services Division launched the site, www.trucking.alabama.gov, this week with many other features, such as online payment of trip and fuel permits and maps of the state that identify welcome centers, rest areas, emergency road closures and more, said a news release.

"Trucking is integral to all facets of the Alabama economy," said Jim Burns, the state's chief information officer. "We want to make traveling in and dealing with Alabama as convenient as possible for truckers so that they can transport goods without undue delays or hardship. The trucking portal provides everything needed in a convenient, easy-to-use location and it shows our appreciation for the vital contributions to Alabama that are made by the trucking community."

Set up of the site was free to the state through its contract with Alabama Interactive. Source

Smoking ban angers truckers

Alberta truck drivers are angry the province's new smoking ban prevents them from lighting up on the job because it considers work vehicles workplaces. Many say the new legislation is an unenforceable violation of their rights.

"I think it's insane," said Don Sayers, a long-haul driver who frequently crisscrosses Alberta. "I respect people that don't smoke, but that's my home. I'm on the road sometimes for three weeks, a month and a half."According to the legislation, known as Bill 45, employees of trucking companies can't smoke in their cabs, even if used sporadically or if they contain a sleeper.

The legislation, however, applies not only to trucks, but to all company vehicles, government vehicles and private industry vehicles: any vehicle that can be shared by more than a single employee.

Fines for those who violate the legislation range from $1,000 to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 to $100,000 for companies.

Sayers said it's often impossible and unsafe for drivers to stop and smoke along highways, and said most drivers voluntarily butt out when sharing cabs with non-smokers.

"It's an infringement on my rights," Sayers said. "This smoking thing has gotten out of hand."

"It affects anybody in a commercial vehicle, really, because you can't smoke anywhere," said Michael Samuels, a Calgary-based driver lighting up outside the Road King truck stop Friday night.

According to the Tobacco Reduction Act, which came into effect Jan. 1, a workplace includes all or any part of a building, structure or other enclosed area in which employees perform their duties, including work vehicles.

Work vehicles are any vehicle owned or leased by an employer and used by employees during the course of their job.

It does not include owner-operator Murray Schrader's semi, however, which he alone operates and which he uses to haul produce between here and California.

"This is my home and no one can tell me what to do in my home," said Schrader, smoking, from the cab of his rig at the Nisku 24-hour truck stop near Edmonton.

That sentiment is shared by his colleagues, said Schrader, whether they own their vehicles or not.

Schrader said the majority of long-haul truckers smoke out of habit, and to battle the fatigue that can come with the solitude of long hours spent on the road, which can be as much as 13 hours at a stretch.

With deadlines and schedules to meet, he said, added stops for cigarette breaks are going to affect production in an industry that's grappling with an escalating shortage of commercial drivers.

According to Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, the new law makes sense.

"It's a confined space and that means people are at an increased risk of exposure to second-hand smoke," Hagen said.

"It's a safety issue and smoking while driving is an additional safety risk."

Hagen said he believes companies should help hold their employees responsible to the new regulations.

"There may be some enforcement challenges, but I also believe that most people are law abiding," he said.Source

Engine emission labels required after Feb. 14 in California

Beginning on Feb. 15, California will require every truck traveling in the state to have “Engine Emission Certification” labels as part of the Golden State’s roadside inspection program. Drivers whose trucks don’t have the labels will risk facing fines up to $300 immediately and $500 if “proof of repair” isn’t provided within 45 days. The labels are created by the engine manufacturers only. Kenworth trucks with Cummins engines have had the labels affixed for years, Jeff Sass, a spokesman for Kenworth, told Land Line on Thursday, Jan. 10.

Roger Gault, technical director with the OEM-backed Engine Manufacturers Association, said OEMs are waiting to see how many service calls California’s new rule generates at truck dealerships.

Most engine labels are probably still on truck engines, Gault said, although older trucks, especially with rebuilt engines, may have problems.

“When you start thinking about a product that’s 20 years old, a 1988, it may or may not still have its emission control label for a variety of reasons,” Gault said. “The labels are ‘permanent,’ but over the course of time,’ it may not have an engine label at all.”

If too many drivers are cited, OEMs and their association will hear about it, Gault said.

“When somebody shows up at one of our dealerships with a pink slip in hand saying, ‘hey, I need this emission control label in hand or I can’t go anywhere,’ dealers need to be able to get that information,” Gault said.

The Engine Manufacturers Association works often with CARB on truck issues. The manufacturers’ group has heard from many independent service companies and mechanics concerned that they won’t be able to legally rebuild engines for trucks entering California, because they don’t have an emission label recognized by CARB.

“That’s creating a stir in the rebuild business,” Gault said. “We’re trying to work through all of these issues with ARB as the enforcement of this rule begins.”

Gault said that barring a rebuild, most truckers won’t have a problem keeping the labels on.

Most OEMs began affixing the engine labels during the 1970s, Gault said, and many labels are metal plated, and are glued or riveted to the engine.

“They’re pretty robust,” Gault said. “Engine manufacturers historically have realized that it’s very important – not just for emissions compliance – but really for the serviceability of the product.”

It’s possible that CARB’s label requirement may not help the environment. Several older engines may well have the label in place, Gault said, although they’re old enough and include enough replaced parts that they’re emitting high levels of greenhouse gases.

“There’s a lot of pretty old engines that are still running around,” he said, “whether they are in California or anywhere else.”

Woman Dies in Houston Wreck

A Byron woman died this morning in a fatal accident at the intersection of highways 41 and 49. Cpl. Sean Alexander of the Houston County sheriff's office says the wreck involved a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer.

He said the woman driving the pickup died. She has not yet been identified.

He says charges are expected against the truck driver for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign.Source

Truck driver dies in wood-chip accident in Freetown, Mass.

A 41-year-old New Hampshire Truck Driver died yesterday in a workplace accident, the police said. The police responded to an emergency call at 9:12 a.m. from Haynes Trucking, a wood chip storage site at 13 Ridge Hill Rd.

The man, identified only as a driver working for Haynes Trucking, became trapped in a large volume of wood chips. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The police said that the tractor-trailer driver had delivered a load of wood chips to the site. The trailer has a conveyor to help unload the chips.

The chips apparently became stuck and the driver, without turning the conveyor off, climbed into the trailer’s bed trying to dislodge the chips, but sank into the chips, the police said.

Freetown police, the Massachusetts State Police and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health are investigating the incident. Source

So you think truck driving is easy?

I know all of you, whether in the USA or not have seen truck drivers.
They are what make the world go around. If it were not for a truck driver, driving all night and day then people would not have anything.
I hear people all the time, laugh and make jokes about truck drivers. But until you have been in a truck drivers shoes, and done a 1/10 of what he or she has done then you need not make any jokes.

Yea, I know the requirements to become a truck driver are not much. All you need to do is be able to speak English, read English, and be able to write in the USA.
Also you must not have a felony record, or be mental.
Training going through truck driving school is easy enough, it only takes 3 weeks, and you are almost guaranteed a CDL license.
It gets very hard after you go through school,believe me. I have heard people say, "But all you do is sit behind the wheel and drive, how hard is that"?

Well let's see here...

You have finally made it through school, and now have been hired with a company.
You report to the company for orientation which will last for up to 5 days, and most company's will only give you maybe $25.00 per day for this. Some company's won't even do this.
Of course the feed you lunch, and put you in a cheap motel, and provide you with a van to take you to the terminal and back to the motel.

The next 5 days you are drilled about company policies, DOT policies, securing your loads, doing the paper work for your company and the DOT. Plus you must within these 5 days also get a physical and DOT drug screen.

Let's say you are lucky enough to get through this part of it.
Now you are officially a hired employee. Guess what?

Nope you are not officially hired, you are a trainee for a prospective company.
This means you get to go out with a driver trainer for as long as he or she thinks you need to go out with them.
Basically you will do all the driving, and do all the paperwork. While the driver trainer sits over in the passenger seat and makes a bookoo of money.

That's right he or she will make allot of money, you will not.
Ok so now you are paired up with a trainer, usually this guy or gal is coming off a break at the house, so he or she is usually running as late as possible.
Trying to get that very last minute with the family.

So you are stuck either waiting at the terminal for he or she to show up, because the company has had you to check out of the cheap motel already.

Well the trainer finally shows up, now when the trainer arrives you learn there is a problem with their truck.
So the trainer reports it to the mechanics, they begin to work on it. You in the mean time are still waiting to get moved into the truck, with all your thing's stacked up around you.
No place to take a nap or sleep as you have been up all day so you are still waiting.

Finally about 4 hours later the truck is finished, now you can finally move your stuff in it.
Guess what? The trainer also has his or her stuff as well. Will it all fit? Yea, but it does not leave much room.

By now it is 2:00 AM in the morning. Do you think you and your trainer is going to pull out of the terminal and go to a truck stop and go to bed?

Nope they got themselves a load that picks up at 6:00 AM.
The trainer will go to bed after they see you drive down the road.

Now you arrive at your pick up point, you wake the trainer up and you proceed to check in with security.

You get to the security office and your trainer has been here a thousand times, but you have not.
Security will make you go through their little check in process, filling out your name, getting a name tag, watching a film,etc.

You get through this process it is now 7:00 am. Remember your load was supposed to be picked up at 6:00 am. You are now 1 hour into your run, and you are not even loaded yet.

Security directs you to the shipping office, you go in there and give them a pick up number, guess what?

It is the wrong number, so now you get to go call your dispatcher, usually there is a phone located in the break room clear on the other side of the building. Yea, I know allot of you have cell phones. Well cell phones are not permitted into allot of places.

You and your trainer walk to the phone, you dial the dispatchers number, and you hold.
Your dispatcher might have to handle 20 or 30 drivers, if they all got the same problem as you well you will be on the phone for a while.

45 minutes later they answer takes them a couple of seconds to give you the right number because maybe all they missed it was by a number.
By the time you walk back to the shipping office it is now 8:00 am or after.

You give the new pick up number, and it works but since you are 2 hours late to pick up, now they will have to try to squeeze you into their loading time.

So you go to your truck and wait until they call you on the CB radio.
Guess what? You have still not gotten to go to bed, you have to sit up in the seat and wait for them to call you.

Finally after about 4 or 5 trucks all of which pulled in behind you get loaded, they call you to park in a loading dock.
Guess what?

Your load is not ready, they tell you to go to sleep and they will wake you when they are finished.

5 hours later they wake you, you are loaded. You sign the paper work and you are off.

Oh yea, you did not get paid anything while you set there from 6:00 am till 1:00 pm.

Now you get to go find a scale to scale your load to make it legal to go down the road. You get to a truck stop, and you get to scale the load out before you can get fuel. If you got fuel first you may not be able to scale the load for legal.

You scale the load, and then you can get fuel..this may take a couple hours depending where you are at.

You have gotten 5 hours of restless sleep, after being up all night and all day the day before.

You can still drive because you are legal to drive for 11 hours. You have only driven 5 hours so far up to scaling the load out to legal.

Now you have finished fueling and now you prepare to start off on your journey.
Get your map out,do your log book and take off.

You can legally drive for 6 more hours, so the trainer has you to head out.
You finally reach your destination, 5.5 hours later your eyes feel like sand paper from lack of sleep, hunger,and you smell from lack of a shower for 2 days.

You basically have to do the same thing when delivering as you did when you had to pick the load up. Check in with security, after there 15 or 20 minute safety chat then you head up to the receiving office, only to find out because you were so late getting there that you must wait.

So again you sit and wait for someone to hollar at you on the CB radio. It may be a few hours, then you finally get to back into a unloading dock.

Now is when the fun begins, you get deal with the dock supervisor who is a real PITA, he has been at work all day and is real frustrated. So for fun he says this load must be palletized of great!

This means that you must go inside the trailer and breakdown the pallets because they are maybe one layer too tall.

Or you can hire a lumper to do it for you, most companies will pay for this as long as you get it authorized first.

Well after 5 or 6 more hours you finally get your load unloaded.
This is probably 12:00 midnight by now and going on 3 days with no sleep,no eat,no shower, and guess what you still have a half hour of driving left to hopefully get into a truck stop and parked.

So off you go, trainer says there is a truck stop up the road a ways head it for there.

Only to pull into it and the lot is almost completely full. You finally find a parking place and get parked, now it is close to 1:00 AM you have to have a shower, get something to eat and try to get some rest.
You are on your first 10 hour break.

Welcome to truck driving buddy, this has been your first load of many to look forward too.

In all reality it is probably not as bad as I described it, but it is not a walk in the park either.

So give them trucker's a break next time one accidentally drifts into your lane, he or she may have been up driving for a long time without rest.

Colorado chain-up bill passes House

A Colorado bill increasing the fine for chain law violations, supported by the state trucking association but opposed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, overwhelming passed the House and now has been sent to a Senate transportation committee.

The bill was born out of frustration with lanes blocked by truck accidents caused by not using chains, especially on Interstate 70. House members passed the bill 56-9 on April 2.

The Colorado Motor Carriers Association plans to testify in favor of HB 1229, now that its concerns have been satisfied, said association spokesman Greg Fulton. The association also will push for more enforcement of chain laws on I-70.

The bill increases fines for truckers not using chains when chain laws are in effect from $116 to $500. It also increases the penalty for blocking a lane because of an accident caused by not using required chains from $500 to $1,000.

“It’s a good compromise,” Fulton said. “It addresses the safety and welfare issues. We’ve set the table for compliance.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation will commit $2.5 million to improving spaces to chain up trucks to make them more like a work zone. They will be lighted and more spacious, with signs alerting drivers they are entering a chain-up area and to slow down. Courtesy patrols will be increased to help with chaining problems, such as losing traction.

The state patrol has agreed to require trucks entering Colorado’s mountains to bring chains with them, and the state DOT has agreed to improve its decision-making process for declaring chaining laws in effect.

OOIDA’s website called the bill a “revenue-generating legislation” with fines that are too heavy. Colorado roads are not wide enough to provide safe chain-up areas, and the state DOT has provided no schedule of when improvements of chain-up areas even will begin, OOIDA said.

Language deleted from the bill would have subtracted four points from Colorado CDL holders for chain violations.

Source

Stolen Wedding Gowns Recovered in Mexico

Remember that truckload of wedding dresses that was stolen in Arizona on its way to a charity sale in West Hollywood? About half of the dresses have been found, in Mexico.

U.S. border officials found more than 1,000 gowns last week in a tractor trailer attempting to enter the U.S. The gowns are valued at more than $2 million. The driver of the 40-foot-long trailer was arrested and the rig was impounded.

The gowns were originally stolen from the parking lot of an Arizona hotel in November. They were on their way to a fundraiser held by the Making Memories Foundation, which grants the wishes of women diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

Source

Trucker logs 1 million miles without a wreck WTI Transport employee says his strategy is leaving early

TUSCALOOSA | Most days see 59-year-old truck driver Willie Barnes up and hard at work well before the sun, tying down loads, running a pre-check on his tractor-trailer and planning out the day’s haul.

When he does hit the road, usually during the pre-dawn hours, it is with plenty of time to make the 300- to 500-mile trip safely.

“I don’t wait until the last minute," Barnes said. “I always give myself a couple of hours to play with."

A common-sense philosophy, but one that has helped lead Barnes to an uncommon achievement: more than 1 million miles traveled without a recordable accident.

“I just can’t say enough about the accomplishment," said Steven Rumsey, CEO of WTI Transport and Barnes’ employer. “You just don’t ever hear of it."

Ford Boswell, spokesman for the Alabama Trucking Association, agreed.

“A million miles without an accident is pretty remarkable," Boswell said. “The fact that he did that with one company is also a pretty outstanding feat."

Actually, 1 million miles is a conservative estimate.

“He’s probably got 3 million-plus miles, but all that we can go back and record put him over a million," said Rendy Taylor, president of WTI Transport on 51st Avenue and Stillman Boulevard.

Source continues