Trukz simulation game is almost as real as it gets

If you have ever wondered what it was like to be a truck driver, hauling loads up and down the highway. If you have ever wanted to do this and didn't want to quit your job and do it for real, then Trukz - A trucking simulation game is for you. I would bet it to be the best game about truck driving I have ever seen.
There are games out for truck driving, but not simulated truck driving. Where you have to actually pretend to purchase, your truck, CB radio, GPS unit, tools, tires, wheels, fuel filters, etc. the list goes on and on.
I am a truck driver in real life and it is almost just like having two different jobs!

I am a driver at this company Eagle Logistics , it by far is the best company I have seen on Trukz. I have been here for a couple of days, and already have money saved up. All the senoir drivers are very helpful, and there is no BS that goes along with games and such. Or at least I have not seen any yet.

I started playing this game a couple of weeks ago. I found a link to it on truckersforum.net, it is a addicting game. It is the most realistic game about truck drivers, and what we do that I have ever seen.
The best part of it all is that it is free to play! When you join you name your truck driver, and then they deposit $5500.00 into your account. This so you can buy your first truck and accessories to help you haul loads to different cities in the USA, Russia, Australia there may be more continents but this all I have seen so far.

When you first join TRUKZ, it also has a private message system for the game. You will receive a few pm's from company recruiters asking you to join their company. Just like in real life! You do not have to join a company if you do not want to, you can be a independent operator if you like. But joining a company will make you more money, as they can offer discounts for purchasing trucks, fuel, repairs, accessories, even tickets! They also get contract loads which really make you the BIG bucks!
The game has been online for a year or so, but I still believe it to be the best one for truck drivers and want to be's ever!

Remember to check out Eagle Logistics when you go to Trukz and register.

Final rule makes no changes to hours-of-service regs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has answered the Court and its critics, crafting an hours-of-service regulation that leaves all of the current requirements intact.

The final rule, expected to be published in the November 19, 2008, Federal Register, continues to allow property-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers to drive up to 11 hours within a 14 hour, non-extendable window, following at least 10 consecutive hours off duty. The rule also allows motor carriers and drivers to continue to restart calculations of the weekly on-duty limits after the driver has at least 34 consecutive hours off duty.

The rulemaking is in response to a July 2007 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that vacated the 11-hour driving limit and 34-hour restart provision. The Court’s decision was the result of two court challenges filed in early 2006 by groups headed by Public Citizen and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).

FMCSA issued an interim final rule in December 2007, keeping the regulations in place while the agency gathered public comment and additional data. In the final rule, expected to be published tomorrow, FMCSA cites numerous studies and surveys as well as data gathered for the 2007 interim final rule and 2005 final rule as justification of the current limits. FMCSA has set a January 19, 2009, effective date for this final rule.

JJKELLER

California’s reefer rule won’t be enforced beginning next month after all

The California Air Resources Board announced Tuesday that it was delaying enforcement of its “Transportation Refrigeration Unit” rule until at least June.

The rule affects all owner operators and motor carriers pulling reefers in the Golden State – no matter if they are based in California or not.

California is the only state allowed to create emissions standards stricter than federal ones, although it must obtain a waiver from the EPA. After such a waiver is granted, other states can adopt California regulations.

The state has waited on the EPA for two years. Some media reports have speculated that the new presidential administration will lead to several California waiver requests being approved next year.

On Tuesday, CARB said the rule will be enforced by June, or six months after the waiver is granted after Dec. 31.

To comply with the rule, reefers operating in California must meet CARB’s “in-use performance standards,” which phase in requirements every year for reefers 7 years and older. For instance, on Dec. 30, 2008, transport refrigeration units and TRU gensets built in 2001 and earlier must meet the new standards. In 2009, 2002 and older models must meet the new standards.

Also, owners of reefer units must register with CARB and report information back to CARB’s headquarters. The reefer registration will be required by late January.

More information about the TRU rule is available at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/tru.

Monroe County deputy dies in crash with tractor-trailer

CONCH KEY -- Traffic Enforcement Deputy Nick Pham was in a festive mood Wednesday, talking about holiday plans with co-workers at lunchtime before getting into his unmarked Monroe County Sheriff's Office car to patrol the Florida Keys' roads.

At 12:20 p.m., Pham, 38, died in a collision with a tractor-trailer while apparently making a U-turn to chase a vehicle violating a traffic law, according to witnesses and the Florida Highway Patrol.

''It was just very unfortunate,'' said Debbie Tousignant, who witnessed the accident while she and three family members were driving east on U.S. 1 near mile marker 62. ``The car turned in front of the truck, a U-turn, and that was it. There was no time for the truck to stop.''

The 2007 Freightliner 18-wheeler driven by Thomas S. Hollingsworth, 43, of Sarasota, slammed squarely into the driver's side of the 2008 Dodge Charger driven by Pham.

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Contractor for Boston’s Big Dig may pay $21 million in damages

One of the largest contractors on Boston’s underground highway project has agreed to pay $21 million in damages – if it can come up with the money.

The Insurance Journal reported that Modern Continental Construction agreed to the settlement in connection with a fatal ceiling collapse in a Big Dig tunnel and the expense of repairing leaks throughout the tunnel complex.

Modern Continental, however, is now in bankruptcy court so it will be up to a judge to decide how much the settlement will amount to.

Speed limiter regulations published in Ontario

Provincial officials in Ontario have officially published regulations for mandatory speed limiters on heavy trucks.

As previously confirmed by transportation officials, speed limiters will be mandatory beginning Jan. 1, 2009, on all trucks 1995 or newer with a gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds. The regulation applies to trucks that travel Ontario highways regardless of where they are from.

The regulations, published online on Monday, Nov. 10, require the maximum setting of a speed limiter to be 105 kilometers per hour, or 65 mph. Ontario’s major highways have a maximum speed limit of 100 km/h, or 62 mph, but other provinces and U.S. states have higher speed limits.

The regulations will appear in the Nov. 29 edition of The Ontario Gazette, the official publication for government rules and regulations.

Ontario officials say enforcement of the regulations will begin with a six-month education period. After that, officers can cite truckers caught going faster than 105 km/h for not having a working speed limiter.

Owner-operator associations in Canada and in the U.S. oppose government-mandated speed limiters. Large motor carrier associations tend to support a government mandate.

Officials with the U.S.-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association are preparing to file a formal “notice of intent” to challenge the regulation on a federal level in Canada.

Click here to read the Ontario regulations.

E-ZPass and truck discounts coming to Ohio Turnpike

Truckers who have E-ZPass toll accounts will see a slight decrease in tolls when E-ZPass goes live on the Ohio Turnpike in late 2009, officials said.

The Ohio Turnpike approved a plan Monday, Nov. 17, to incorporate E-ZPass discounts for heavy trucks into a plan to increase tolls for passenger vehicles and all cash-paying customers in 2009 and again in 2012.

Ohio Turnpike Executive Director George Distel said the toll plan is about increasing revenue in a tough economy while keeping heavy trucks on the turnpike.

“Obviously, we’re trying to increase the use of E-ZPass and also encourage the heavy trucks to use the turnpike and discourage them from using roads that run parallel to the turnpike, so that’s the idea behind reducing the rates slightly for the heavier trucks,”

Distel said the commission hopes to have E-ZPass up and running by the fourth quarter of 2009.

Between now and then, the commission will have three public hearings regarding the proposed rate changes. Commissioners hope to sign off on the new rates by March 2009, Distel said.

A turnpike spokeswoman said the current truck toll for a 240-mile trip on the turnpike is $33.50. When E-ZPass goes live, truckers with E-ZPass accounts will pay $32 for the same trip, while truckers paying cash will pay $40.

Passenger-vehicle tolls are schedule to increase under the plan, but will not be as steep for E-ZPass account holders.

Click here for more information. Scheduled public hearings are:

• 6:30 p.m., Dec. 10, City of Toledo, One Government Center, Toledo, OH;
• 6:30 p.m., Dec. 16, Board man Administration Building, 8299 Market St., Youngstown, OH; and
• 11 a.m., Jan. 12, 2009, Commission Administrative Building, 682 Prospect St., Berea, OH.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission is also accepting public comments via e-mail at toll.comments@ohioturnpike.org, or by regular mail or fax at the following address and phone number:

Ohio Turnpike Commission
Attn: Public Affairs Department
682 Prospect St.
Berea, OH 44017

Fax: 440-234-3881

Kenworth plant in Renton, WA, to lay off 430

The plant that builds Kenworths in Renton, WA, is laying off hundreds of workers until the economy turns around.

The Seattle Times reported that, as of last year, the company was building 18 trucks a day in Renton. A Paccar spokesman estimated that retail sales of heavy-duty trucks will reach only 150,000 in the U.S. and Canada this year, down from 176,000 in 2007 and 322,000 in 2006.

The director of economic development for the city of Renton said that as many as 430 workers will be sent home.

Dispatcher warns truckers in Pennsylvania to reroute or face fines

A truck dispatcher for a company near Parkesburg, PA, said she’s tired of watching truckers being targeted by local police for mistakenly turning onto a “no truck” route.

She said she’s seen as many as four trucks in one day pulled over and cited by police for turning onto Route 372 into Parkesburg on their way to the industrial park in Atglen, PA. She said the problem is that there are no signs posted that it’s a no truck route until after they’ve “committed to the turn.”

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More truckers band together to bypass Mount Vernon fuel stops

Since two Texas-based trucking companies announced last week they were no longer going to fuel up in Mount Vernon, IL, because of the 2-cent-per-gallon tax on diesel – but not on gasoline – several other trucking companies and owner-operators have made the same decision.

Even though some admit they may be taking a risk and paying a little more for fuel a little further down the road, truckers said they are bypassing Mount Vernon because they are tired of being “picked on” as a revenue source while their trucking businesses struggle to stay afloat.

In September, the Mount Vernon City Council imposed the tax on diesel and an increase in their restaurant/beverage tax – both affecting truckers – which is expected to generate nearly $900,000 in additional revenue. Mount Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley told Land Line Magazine in August the money was to be used to fund an overpass interchange project.

However, Mount Vernon City Manager Ronald R. Neibert told Land Line Magazine recently that the additional revenue was needed for the city’s emergency services. He said in the past two years the Mount Vernon Police Department assisted truckers at least 784 times, including those who “have been robbed or harassed by prostitutes and drug dealers.”

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