As the trucking industry was expanding in the 1960′s there arose a shortage of qualified drivers and additionally the public was seeing more and more accidents because of untrained personnel taking the reins of a big truck. The public said we need to better regulate truck drivers, their driving time and make sure they are qualified to drive such a large vehicle before turning them loose on the motoring public.

Truck driving schools were born with the U.S. Government even allowing the GI Bill to pay for schooling at a qualified truck driving school. Because of the lucrative money that could be earned there arose a number of schools that were just not very good. Many were just shams and didn’t give the prospective driver proper training. Most truck driving schools were for 2 weeks or the most 3 weeks. The training would consist of learning the basics of how to do paperwork, log books and pass the CDL test, although in the 1960′s all one needed was the same license as required to drive a taxi, but as time went on the testing moved into a CDL and finally into a CDL with Hazardous Material qualification. The HAZMAT test is much more difficult than the CDL as should be. I don’t have any problem with the need for schooling and testing, because for the trucking industry and the truck driver to succeed it is vital. Furthermore, with the possibility of loss of life, injury or threat to our country it is imperative that additional truck driver training be mandatory. Yearly review should be required by all companies.

Many truck driving schools were shut down so the need arose for trucking companies to start their own schools promising prospective truck drivers a job if they complete the school. Most would require the prospective truck driver to sign an agreement to stay with the trucking company for a specified time or they would have to repay for the training. All that sounds pretty good to most prospects, but what happens is often abuse to the new truck driver and here is why. Most of the large companies that hire newly trained drivers have a very high turnover rate with as much as 200% per year meaning that they turn over their entire fleet of truck drivers two times per year, but there are several that stay with the company which means that there is actually as much as a 300% turnover rate of new drivers.

What can happen is that a company will look at itself and say if we can charge $5000.00 or more for the truck driver training we can make a profit 2 different ways. We can make money on the schooling if they leave early and we can send them to places where they have to wait for long periods of time such as 3 or 4 days or where they have to load or unload the freight themselves knowing that older and more seasoned truck drivers wouldn’t go there.

Trucking company profits are squeezed more than ever now some (not all) turn to the backs of the truck driver to make the profit by making the employment unpleasant for the drivers as they get closer to the contract date to have the schooling be paid in full. The truck driver will then leave and go elsewhere and the cycle starts over for the company, but he will owe for the schooling. I know it sounds like it doesn’t make sense for a company to do that, but a company can make 5k or more for the schooling, hire younger truck drivers with less medical needs that only kick in after 90 days. Additionally, they can haul cheaper freight to places that other companies won’t go because the new truck drivers don’t have much choice and their wages are cheaper since they are on the bottom end of the pay scale with the company. The driver then quits and the cycle starts over.

My view is for eto closely look at all schools closely asking many questions. Listen to what they say and compare. Finally make a decision based on what is best for you in the long term.

Rod

Several years ago the automotive industry decided to save money by switching to a front-end drive vehicle and it immediately
created a problem when you actually lose traction. It is true that they do well in snow by being able to move when the
rear driven vehicles won’t go, but the answer to that problem has always been “weight” or lack of weight in the back. Pickup
trucks have almost no weight in the back of them and are extremely suspect on “any” surface during an emergency and more so
if the roads are hazardous. The easy rememdy is to keep some weight back there all the time even during the summer and that
goes for cars as well. A bag of sand or two works well for extra weight. They won’t slide very easyily and can be removed easily as well.

Pickup trucks have 2 things going against them. The weight is on the front end and the vehicle is mostly lower in the front
making the backend even more light and when you need to suddenly negotiate a skid you have very little with which to work.

My advice is to put in a couple of sand bags in the back and only take them out if you need the space for hauling something
then immediately put them back in because it may save a life or more than one. If you have some weight there it may not skid
in the first place and if you do the additional weight with help you to get it under control faster or at least an opportunity
to prevent the accident.

Speed accompanied by loss of control often times mean an accident, but by proper manuvering and preparation you may avoid the
accident. When the loss of traction occurs a driver will let up on the accelerator and/or hit the brakes. When that happens
weight is even more concentrated on the front of the vehicle because the nose of the vehicle dives toward the ground and the
back of the vehicle is lifted upward and therefore has little to offer to avoid the accident. When you put weight in the back
and brakes are applied the vehicle will still have some weight on the back and it shouldn’t nosedive as much. Practice helps
a driver to avoid accidents. Is it any wonder new drivers have more accidents, but a vehicle without proper weight
is almost impossible to control by a seasoned driver.

Two other things you can do to help you during hadardous weather is to let a little air pressure off the tires. Most use
radial tires now and they work better when the entire tire is gripping the road even better than traditional tires. They
will also grip the shoulder of the road better with less inflation. Now manufacturers will tell you to not do that because
tires will over heat and could possibly blow on you, but radial tires don’t heat very much anyway and especially tubless tires. That isn’t to say you should underinflate a tire, but what would that be. In my opinion you shouldn’t run with less than 30 in the rear tires and 32 in the front.

During the times when tires had tubes in them the tire needed to be very rigid to keep the inner-tube from moving inside the
casing and causing friction and thereby heat and they could blow on you. More weight, more tire pressure, less weight, less
tire pressure. Front tires need more pressure than rear tires because of the additional weight. During the summer you can run
pressure in the tires because of less inclement weather.

During hazardous weather slow down. I don’t mean to sound like the authorities, but take some speed off, but don’t drive so
slow that you are blocking traffic. I try my best to be by myself (not anyone close) as much as possible.

Next post we will talk about slick roads and you may be enlightened.

I began by looking at those at the fuel pumps and discussed them at length. It was kind of difficult for me because I wouldn’t drive for any of them, but I was trying to answer his question in a positive way, but finally I was able to ask questions myself.

I began my questions with this one: “Why are you wanting to become a truck driver”? He answered, “Money”! That was the answer I thought I would get so I buried deeper into his life. It seemed that I now had his trust so I asked him another question: “Can you make ends meet working at where you now do”? He answered, “Yes, if I work harder”! I asked another question: “Do you have a family and do you love your wife”? Again he answered, “Yes”! I believed him! I asked another question: “Could you work longer hours at this job or perhaps get a part time job and still stay at home”? Once again his answer, “Yes”!

I asked all those questions because I wanted to share this information with him about the trucking industry and what would be required of him and his time as a truck driver and what impact it would have on his family as well as him as a professional truck driver.

I told him that once a person becomes a truck driver his life and his family life is changed forever, because once you enter the lifestyle making more money it is very difficult to leave it so it is a trap. He needed to understand that he would be working up to 70 hours per week on “log time” rather than 40 and then go home each day, but the 70 did not include staying away from home for a week or two at a time. I let him know that the per hour ratio of income didn’t match his current income. I did share with him that once he paid his dues and was able to get a job for a local company he could come home each night.

We talked about once he got home and wanted to rest that his wife would want to spend time with him and she would want to go places and do things, but he would be wanting to rest for the most part. I shared with him that if he decided to become a truck driver in the continued pressure cooker of the trucking industry he needed to look long term with a goal of finding a school that would really teach him about the trucking industry and help him land a good job where he really does have good equipment and an excellent chance to stay with that company long term. I shared with him that many trucking companies slip-seat the trucks meaning that as soon as he brings that truck in for time off he very well will not have that same truck when he is ready to leave. I told him that is a problem because you will not be familiar with the new unit and it may need work that you won’t know about.

One really big thing I shared with him about the trucking industry was that yes the take home money will be more, but you have a lot of road expense. He would need to spend $20 to $30 per day to live on the road. If he would spend $150.00 per week it would mean that he would have to make around $250.00 before taxes to have that $150.00 to spend. I told him he could get by some cheaper, but not much and if so the food would be poor quality.

Everyone should weigh every factor closely when making a decision to become a truck driver. It sure can be rewarding seeing all the countryside and knowing you have helped to move America along in a small way, but there is a price to pay for success. He decided that he would not pursue the trucking industry and said, “Thank You”!

Rod

]]> http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/07/do-you-really-want-to-be-a-truck-driver/feed/ 4 rkendric http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/trucki-driving-choices-for-the-new-truck-driver/ http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/trucki-driving-choices-for-the-new-truck-driver/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:33:23 +0000 rkendric http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/?p=5 ]]> A new truck driver asks himself what company should he ultimately seek as an employer.

First of all a new truck driver fresh out of a truck driving school has far less options than does a seasoned driver providing the seasoned driver has a good driving record. That does not mean that a new driver within the trucking industry can’t get a good job. The new truck driver will just have to search a little more and a little longer for that better driving job. When I decided to enter the trucking industry in 1970 I had a goal of not hurting myself or anyone else, not having any accidents, make a difference in the trucking industry with a good attitude and make all the money I could while away from home. To date I have succeeded in my quest, but I have been lucky. Each trip a truck drivers makes without having an accident is one that has skill and luck. We can control and improve our skill, but luck is different. Make no mistake truck driving is a dangerous job.

If two driving jobs are available that you are considering look at where they deliver, possible wait time, miles to the destinations and how many paid stops per trip. It they pay strictly mileage I would take the job that gives more miles and that run more East West if you are going to be gone for a week or more rather than one that runs to the East Coast. For me the East Coast is a big NO, because I don’t like going there, because of limited truck stops, short delivery and shipping times, difficulty of terrain, etc., but a lot of times the pay is a little better to go there.

The bottom line for you is the benefits provided to you along with your NET take home pay. If company A requires the truck driver to pay more of the health insurance premium than does company B then with all things equal company B is the best choice on that factor.

A truck driver should always remember that time does not necessarily mean money, but money means time so a wise choice for the formula of wages + time is what you are looking for. A truck driver can spend whole days or more than one day waiting to load or deliver with a lot of companies and sometimes you can make the decision that a shorter run is better for you rather than a longer one. For instance on Wednesday afternoon you had a choice to select a load with less miles delivering on Thursday evening or Friday morning rather than at 4 P.M. Friday, because the late Friday delivery lessens the chance you will get reloaded for the weekend. If you stay out on the weekend you want to be driving all weekend rather than sitting waiting for a load.

One other thing is the equipment available to you. A truck drivers home is his truck. A truck well maintained means more miles and less stress. When looking for employment with a trucking company I always ask this question: “if my front tire is out of balance will you immediately have it balanced for me”? If they say we will as soon as you get back into the terminal may be the wrong answer if you are to stay out several days or weeks before returning to the terminal. The reason for the wrong answer is that a truck drivers life is full of stress and you don’t need a truck shaking like crazy for thousands of miles and the trucking company should want their trucks safe for the driver. The wrong answer would make me cross them of my list.

Rod

]]> http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/trucki-driving-choices-for-the-new-truck-driver/feed/ 0 rkendric http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/reasons-to-not-enter-trucking-industry/ http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/reasons-to-not-enter-trucking-industry/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:15:04 +0000 rkendric http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/?p=3 ]]> This article focuses on reasons to not enter the trucking industry as a truck driver.

Thirty seven years ago when I entered the trucking industry the traffic was minimal compared to today’s traffic. Even then when one traveled on the Eastern seaboard from Boston to Virginia the traffic was very heavy with trucks lined up one after the other moving in unison sort of like a moving road block. More traffic lanes have been added to accommodate the additional trucks and cars, but much more needs to be done for an even flow with more roads, pass through toll booths, expanded receiving and shipping hours for the drivers at their destinations and really important is many more rest facilities and truck stops for the truck drivers.

The trucking industry is not set up well for the truck driver in that special interests along with cities, citizens, traffic laws, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act) and last but not least are the shippers and receivers at many facilities.

Any person entering the trucking industry is in for a shock of reality rather than the romantic and money making view paraded before them in advertising and slick truck driver recruiters. They promise you great equipment, plenty of miles, great home time, non-forced dispatch, great benefits, personal dispatchers, “you are captain of the ship, you decide when to run and when to shut down”, and finally, “we want you to run ‘legal’, because we don’t tolerate those that run illegal”.

Many trucking companies offer truck driver training that cost a bundle, but you won’t have to pay anything if you will sign a contract to drive for them for a specified amount of time.

All of those things are powerful tools to one that is looking to enter the trucking industry trying to earn a decent income and with today’s economy more and more are giving those advertisements more consideration. What I want you to do as an individual is look more closely to see if that is what you really want to do for the rest of your working years, because once you make the choice you are in an entirely different environment with a different outlook and a lot of responsibility on your hands and it is difficult to move back into the general workforce for many reasons.

You will be the proud possessor of a shippers product destined to be received intact and in perfect condition while negotiating the highways fraught with peril for the truck driver. You will be responsible for your trucking company and their equipment and then you must not only avoid accidents, but must avoid speeding tickets, Department of Transportation personnel and weight scales. Then your life is henceforth decided by rules the Rules of Service guidelines for “On Duty Time and Driving Time” by entering such in a log book.

The ATA (American Trucking Association) is a group of trucking industry executives that work the halls of congress looking out for themselves rather than the driver.

In coming articles I will discuss each of those problems in more detail. Happy motoring.

Rod

]]> http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/reasons-to-not-enter-trucking-industry/feed/ 0 rkendric http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/hello-world/ http://truckingexposed.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/hello-world/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:03:34 +0000 rkendric ]]> I am extremely interested interested in Trucker safety for themselves, but also for the motoring public.  The two go hand in hand for sure.  After 38 years and over 5 million safe miles I was very shocked by an article written for a publication touting using the left foot for braking a truck.  He was saying it is a very safe way to cut down on time between the recognition and action stage.  In his favor I applaud his attempt for safety, but I feel there is a problem with his logic.

He was saying a truck driver should cover the brake pedal with his left foot while his right foot is on the accelerator, but the problem I have is that while doing so four things happen.  First of all the truck driver has to either shift his body to the right in the seat or sit uncomfortably in the seat while covering the brake.  I feel that it also puts the lower back in more of a strain, but the other things that comes into play for the truck driver is his foot is farther from the clutch.  Another thing happens in that now the back has to accept a very quick move back into alignment.  The third and most dangerous thing for the trucker and the other motorists is the sudden need to not only have the foot on the brake, but use the clutch at the same time.  The last thing we have to consider for the driver is that he has to tell his feet what to do rather than react to the situtation.

If everything should happen in a nice and easy manner everything could happen without an emergency, but in the time of an emergency learned reaction takes over and that is what we should be using, in my opinion.

What I suggest to any trucke driver or anyone else is to always use the cruise control if possible.  You can make adjustments with your hands if it seems you are approaching  a vehicle or would get to close before a passing motorist clears your truck enough to get in the passing lane.  While the cruise control is set you are relaxed and your right foot and left foot are in position for action.  I always cover the brake pedal when other motorists are around and if I suspect it is safer to disengage the cruise control I do.

In all my years of driving the single most thing a truck driver can do to relax while in transit is to use the cruise control.

There is no fool proof method to prevent accidents for sure, but being aware (as he said) of how your load is loaded is another way to make the road safer for everyone including the truck driver.

If a truck doesn’t have a clutch the pedals align differently and in that instance I would agree to cover the brake with the left foot.  I do that all the time with my personal vehicle.

A trucker has to do many things to make the road safer for himself and one size doesn’t fit all, but always remember to give yourself all the room possible.  I feel a secret to my success in all my years sitting behind the wheel of a truck is to get by myself meaning that sometimes I have to push a little more to get ahead and alone, but that isn’t always possible.  If stress causes you to get nervous or short tempered try to find a place to stop for a short time.

Rod