Trucking for The Long Haul

Balancing the Load

2012-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

I get truckers calling in all the time to tell dispatch that they are loaded over weight. I ask over axel or over gross and they can`t really tell me. Here is a quick lesson in balancing the load on your unit.

In Canada you are allowed 5500 kg on a single set of axels and 17000 kg on a tandem set of axels. That means for a standard tandem tractor and tandem trailer you can haul a maximum of 39500 kg. If you check your registration, 39500 kg is listed as your licensed vehicle weight. If it is then you cannot legally haul tridem axel trailers without a permit. So here we are talking about 5 axel vehicles only but the same principles apply to other configurations.

The first variable that plays into your vehicle weight is your fuel tank. Trucks can have up to 300 gallons of diesel. I good rule of thumb is that diesel weighs about 4 kg per gallon. A full tank would weigh about 1200 kg. If you are a typical owner operator your truck burns about 1 gallon of diesel every 5 or 6 miles. Therefore, your unit gets a little lighter with every mile you run. Typically, you burn 80 KG of fuel for every 160 KM of travel. This means that you have to be careful when you scale the load to be aware of how much fuel you have on board. It is possible to fuel up just before a scale and put yourself over weight. On the other hand, if you are overweight and the scale is 300 miles away you can estimate how much your fuel weight will be reduced by the time you get to the scale. Control, as much as you can your fuel purchase before or after your loading, depending on what you know about the load and trip.

When you scale your load, it is important to write down the weight of each axel and then add them up. If they total more than 39500 kg then you are over gross. No amount of axel sliding can make the load legal. I have found that if you are a few hundred pounds overweight, often the scales will let you pass if you have distributed the weight evenly across your axels. However, the only real solution is to work with your dispatcher and return to the shipper to have the excess weight removed.

So assuming that your load is under your gross weight, you have 2 possible opportunities to legalise the weight of the load. Sliding your 5th wheel and or sliding the trailer axels. Sliding the 5th wheel will move weight between the steer axel and the drive axel. Sliding the trailer bogies will move weight between the drives and the trailer.

Here is an example: let’s say you scaled 5000 kg on the steer, 20000 on the drives and 10000 on the trailer. You need to move 3000 KG away from the drives. You have 500 KG that you can place on the steering axel and 7000 KG you can put on the trailer axel. So you first move would be to slide the trailer axel forward toward the drives so more of the weight will fall on the trailer axel. In this example, that will probably solve your problem. Some experience with the kind of equipment you operate will tell you how far the move the trailer bogies. If your cargo load was closer to maximum capacity, you may also have to shift some weight onto the steering axel by sliding the 5th wheel forward.

This is a simple example on how to balance weight. Remember there are other considerations, like axel spacing and vehicle handling considerations that determine how far axels can be moved but at least her we have shown how to manipulate the load weight across your vehicle axels.

The Road Not Taken

2012-02-22T20:20:00.003-08:00

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

I keep files on all our accidents and with the 2011/12 winter season here I have been reviewing them to see what preventative knowledge can be gleaned from the mistakes made. I focus to single vehicle accidents because in theory they are completely preventable. Even with just the one vehicle involved the vehicle recovery and repairs, cargo damage and lost time are typically a ¼ million dollars and can easily exceed 1 million dollars. No matter how much the accident costs, it can change your life forever. I try to imagine what the drivers involved learned because experience is the best teacher, but it is also the most expensive. With a very small nod to David Letterman, here is a list of the 2 best pieces of advice that I can offer for free because I know the guys that paid the price.

1. Notice and anticipate changing road and weather conditions. After an accident I interview each driver to get a statement and debrief them. I often hear a statement to the effect of I came around the corner and there was black ice, or I came to a section where the road was close to the lake and... . However, this advice also covers the accidents where drivers failed to pay courtesy to the load. You need to consider how heavy the loads is and which axels the load is sitting on. I also hear driver statement like I didn’t realise all the weight was on the trailer axel or my load was only 10000 pounds.

Pay attention to the road conditions. Somehow, every time a driver hits ice it is black ice. Remember black ice is called black ice because it looks black instead of the grey colour ice normally takes on in pavement in winter. It looks black because there is no air trapped between the pavement and the ice because the pavement was warm enough to melt the ice to water, letting it fill in every crevice in the pavement and displace the air. It only forms in temperatures a few degrees above or below zero centigrade. All other ice on the road is just ice or compact snow. It is all is slippery. Look for signs like lack of water spray from tires, shaded areas that look wet, and other vehicles loosing traction.

For centuries men of adventure learned to read weather signs to keep safe. We have come a long way from red sky at night sailor’s delight and red sky in morning, sailors take warning. Don’t let a heated and air conditioned cab make you oblivious to the weather outside. Listen to weather reports, call highway hotlines, and speak to others on the cb. That leads me to the number one piece of advice.

2. Don’t continue when it is unsafe.

I have had drivers say to me that they were scared to continue. I ask why they did and the answers are often really lame. For example, all the truck stops were full or there were no places to stop. Those aren’t good reasons to continue when you feel it is unsafe.

Just last week we had a rollover near Lethbridge, AB. Our empty truck was blown off the road. Just because there was no snow, it doesn’t mean road and weather conditions are not dangerous. In this case the driver isolated himself to local conditions and missed the travel advisory issued specifically warning large trucks. Once he was in the problem weather, his options were really limited. Really the only way to avoid this kind of accident is not to run in the problem weather. However, you can’t make that decision if you are not paying attention to local weather and road conditions.

Don’t be afraid to discuss the conditions with other drivers, your dispatchers or your safety supervisor. Everyone becomes hesitant when faced with a scary situation. Be sure if you are going to face a treacherous situation, don’t do it when you are tired. Driving at night in the winter will often expose you to the coldest and most changeable road and weather conditions. Your biological clock will want you to sleep between midnight and 6am. That also gives highway crews time to work the roads. If necessary follow a plough. If you can’t get some rest. And make a fresh start in the morning.

So how do you pull over and park and still keep your job. The easy answer is to communicate. Every business can solve problem based on what they know. What they really have problems with is uncertainty. Don’t avoid saying you need to stop. Call dispatch and state clearly where you are what the conditions are and that you don’t consider it safe to continue. Make arrangements for when you will call again, so dispatch can keep the customer updated. If dispatch puts pressure in you, call your safety manager. A good safety manager will stand in the fire with you.

Why I Hate Scale Inspectors

2012-02-22T20:16:00.001-08:00

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood. -Henry Miller

There is a constant tension between in the trucking business between driver and scale inspectors. People outside the industry see the conflict as tension between evil truckers making money by disregarding public safety vs. the scale inspector’s enforcement of regulations keeping truckers in line. Inside the industry we know that is just silly. A professional driver has more at stake and more reason to be safe than a non-professional driver. No one ever made money in trucking with a business plan to run unsafe equipment and break laws.

The real tension between Scale Inspectors and truckers arises out the fact that the Inspectors are required teach drivers about the very laws that they are trying to enforce. This tension causes soft information to be passed to drivers because a driver is never sure if he is breaking a rule but they aren’t enforcing it today or he is actually doing the right thing.

Let me make it clear, I don’t hate scale inspectors. I respect the good men and women that enforce the NSC. I don’t hate the institution. I hate the situation. Drivers that have a hate on for NSC enforcers should know that in my experience the scale inspectors feel protective of Truckers. I have seen many times that NSC guys provide assistance to find missing drivers or pass on messages to truckers in cases of a family emergency. In fact in the north, the scale operators are a major lifeline for truckers as there are so few ways to communicate. I know inspector’s that have- on personal time -provided log or pre-trip training to drivers. Often they take truckers safety very personally and feel a sense of failure with every truck accident wondering what they might have done to prevent it.

Driving a truck is complicated, even ignoring competition and the marketplace and physically handling the rig. Simply trying to learn the national safety code (NSC) and obey the parts that apply to you is a major undertaking. Depending on the political climate of the day, inspectors will be trained to see their role as primarily enforcers or primarily instructors. Pity the driver who is encouraged to ask questions by one official and then treaded like a criminal by the next one he approaches for information. Not just that, the government has a devil of a time trying to make enforcement consistent from scale location to scale location.

Another crazy making thing is the jurisdictional fragmentation of enforcement. In California, trucks are limited to 55 mph per hour. In parts of Texas and some other states, 75 mph is the top speed. In the USA you are required 10 continuous hours off duty to be rested enough to be safe. In Canada, you can be safe with only 8 continuous hours off. There are contradictions and inconsistencies in the regulations all over the place, and mixed messages on the regulations only make them appear more insane. No wonder most truckers are jaded and resist safety training.

Here is one example I see all the time that should illustrate the problem. On your log there is a blank to record the shift start time. 9999 out of ten-thousand drivers have no idea what it is for. Some leave it blank; some put in the time they do the first pre-trip of the day, and still other have really creative uses for it. The blank to record a shift start time is meant to record the start time of the grid on the log, not your shift. Most of us see a 24 hour day as midnight to midnight. However if your shift starts at 4 pm, you would have to use 2 pages to record each day’s work as typically your day would run past midnight on to the next log. The shift start blank allows a driver to start the grid at 4 pm instead of midnight by simply recording 4 pm in the shift start blank. That way his daily activities are recorded on a single log sheet. Despite the thousands of logs I have seen with the start time error, not once have I ever seen a warning or ticket over it at a scale. The lack of warnings or tickets makes it seem to the driver that he is using the blank correctly. That makes it really hard for guys like me to train the driver because, and I have heard this 10 million times- the scale guys don’t have a problem with my logs.

The problem with this little blank is complicated further because there is no such thing as a standard log book. Some log books show the blank as just a blank and for most drivers midnight is the correct entry. Some log books show it as a blank but with the notation, midnight unless otherwise indicated and for most drivers, don’t put anything there. Still others actually show midnight at the log start and still allow the shift start time to be changed.

So why worry about a little detail like this. Mostly we need to worry about details like this because the NSC , like all laws spell out specific details so that people know exactly what to do to be compliant. A better question might be, what difference does it make anyway? Maybe more importantly, we should ask, what has it got to do with being safe. The truth is -nothing really. Logs can easily be verified to outside documents like fuel receipts, scale crossing and the like to determine the time on the grid. There is no real reason to rely on a driver’s notation for when his grid starts, other than it makes it a little easier to understand the single page at a glance.

However, when a carrier inspector comes to do a facility audit, every page without a correct start time is a demerit in the inspection. Coupled with some other problems this could land a company an unsatisfactory safety rating. This is a black eye for the company and for the industry and I think a major cause the public perception that trucks are dangerous and need to be controlled. However in reality, we should really consider first; if the item is really a safety issue and second; why does it need enforcement when there is no possible benefit to the law breaker.

Luckily for us the BCTA has been meeting with the Provincial government for almost a year over these kinds of issues. They may not find a solution, there may not be one. However, at least the regulators are receiving feedback from our industries point of view. I expect from those meetings the regulators may come to see more clearly the part they play in creating confusion and non-compliance.

By the way, the TSCBC has made some serious progress on our website www.safetydriven.ca. Check out the new resources and warehouse hazard locator. While you are there sign up for a twitter account and follow Lisa as she keeps you updated on all things trucking.

Today`s Silk Road

2012-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way.

Wayne Dyer

I just returned from another trip to Edmonton, where I first started trucking. It was good to connect with my family and my roots in trucking. Some days my job seems rather mundane and it is nice to have a break in routine and remember the things I love about this industry. The truck show season is over, the kids are back in school and sometimes the job only seems to be about low pay and long hours. Taking a moment to look at the beauty of trucking might inspire us both a little.

From the very first day I loved Trucking. At Seventeen I was sent with the “meat manager” (a senior driver who catered to the needs of the packing plants) to be his Swamper to load a couple reefers full of boxed beef. I was proud that I had joined the ranks of working men and because the packing house also supplied a loader, I got to chat all day about the packing house. I slung those heavy boxes of beef with real gusto- for about the first hour. Then reality set in and it was a real grind to last the day. I gotta tell you I was really beat after that first day. But I learned about everything that happened in the meat plant. On breaks, my loading buddy even showed me around the coolers and the killing floor. I will never forget the smell of ancient fat and antiseptic or the impression that the entire plant was a cave and the lack of windows and low lighting. Trucking is a great way to see the insides of other industries.

My next day was the beginning of my education as a dock hand. The physical labour was brutal. We worked in minus 20 and in plus 30 degree temperature. On busy nights we would have 16 men and a single forklift. In those days freight got moved by people with very simple tools. Very little freight was palletised. Heck, pallet wrap hadn’t even been invented yet. Yet, crazy as it seems what impressed me most, and still does, was the beauty of the cross dock operation. I loved how we would report for work at 5 pm and start unloading the trucks that had been picking up all over the city. I felt somehow that I had inside knowledge of all the businesses we served. Others saw the signs or visited the retail spaces. We Truckers actually saw the inner working of all the businesses.

From 5 pm to 7 pm the freight would be unloaded from all over the city and placed on the dock. Then from 7 to 9 the dock would be emptied as we loaded the freights into trailers bound for across Canada so the trucks could depart. Then from 9 pm to 11 pm we would fill the dock again with the freight inbound from all parts of Canada and the USA. Then at 11 pm until we were done we loaded all the freight on the dock into the trucks that would deliver it all over the city the next morning. To me it was like a square dance with the dock as a stage as we partnered freight with trailers. It became a familiar, but gruelling, dance.

The lead hand was like the caller and if he did a good job the night seemed so much easier. When he did a bad job we had to work twice as hard with no space for the freight being unloaded. You really had to dig for the freight you were trying to load. It was like a bunch of spastic square dancers bumping into each other in the middle of the floor...

I remember week after week while unloading toilet seats and rat traps and roasted nuts being astounded at how many mundane articles we take for granted and are just in the store when we go there. The world really does move by truck.

It amazes me that this dance is repeated all across the country. Manufactured goods move from central Canada west, food stuffs and raw materials from the west moving east. It still astounds me that we can cost effectively move a load from Toronto to Vancouver in a little over 50 hours. The Japanese might be the world leaders in miniaturization, the Chinese in cheep mass production but in Canada we ‘kick ass’ in trucking. We’ve got world class roads, trucks, telecommunications, and drivers.

For thousands of years, men of adventure left home by foot, horse, camel or ship to experience a life better than what they had. They sought knowledge; fame and fortune. We, in trucking, are tied to those who went before us to travel the Silk Road or ride the trade winds to the Spice Islands. I know our trade winds are mostly paved and mapped but the motivation to push a truck down the highway is the same motivation that drove those adventurers, to seek a better life and escape the limits of our current confining life.

Sure I get a little frustrated when I try to explain the personal use box on a log book for the millionth time as I am sure that you do when you have just busted your hump to get a load to the customer –on time- and all they can do is say they won’t have a door for you for another hour or so. That is the time you have to remember that you are an important part of a world class industry; with ancient traditions. Be a little patient and remember; even Captain Cook was killed by natives when he tried to deliver some beads and pick up a little fresh water.

Exhausted by Regulations

2011-09-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

"We are seeing the birth of a new perspective of the world, where ecology and economics are two sides of the same coin."

- Leif Johansson

Late in the 60`s, when I was wee little fella (honest) there was a show called 'Here Come the Seventies'. It was one of those wonderful news entertainment shows that speculated about the future. The sixties, among other things, was the birth of environmental awareness. It became so hard to breathe in some cities that a new word was formed from smoke and fog. I remember seeing film footage of the smog in Los Angeles with people talking about how there was so much smog that they had lost their view of the mountains. Smog became a household word very quickly. The show predicted that (if this trend continued) in the seventies we would all be wearing gas masks with oxygen supplies when ever we left the house. They must have hired the same writers that predicted we would all have jet cars and be flying to work by the year 2000. It seems that they were both wrong.

In the early seventies, growing up in Alberta, pollution seemed nothing to worry about. We did not have much but fresh clean air and sunshine were not in short supply. The introduction of unleaded gas and catalectic converters in 1975 was seen as silly. Almost every one I knew with a new car used a chisel and knocked out the unleaded size restrictor so that they could use the cheaper leaded gas in their new cars. I probably would have too if I could have afforded a new car but my 64 Pontiac Parisian land yacht ran just fine on leaded. In today’s environmentally sensitive culture I would like to think we would not have disabled the anti-pollution technology, but who knows.

Shortly after that I went into trucking. The expansion of free trade and globalization and trucking deregulation resulted in trucking’s share of transportation of the market growing larger and larger. We proved our efficiency over other transportation modes. At the same time we became larger and larger polluters. Our share of airborne pollutants grew faster than our market share; we were regarded as a major source of industrial pollutants.

Over the years environmental regulations have been forced upon us. We have see both engines and diesel fuel modified to cause less damage to the environments. Fuel has been modified by having the sulphur removed to lower and still lower levels. Just last year we saw a legislated move to biodiesel in BC. In 2007 engines were modified to reduce particulate from exhaust and 2010 engines are equipped with means to eliminate NOX (nitrous oxide). The final result is that the exhaust from a 2010 truck is cleaner than the air in some major cities.

Looking back, we truckers have had to learn how to drive differently as the new engines run at lower rpm. Learning is expensive for everyone. How can we spec equipment, maintain it, retrain mechanics and purchase the new tools needed without breaking the bank. We need to learn the new duty cycles and optimise preventative maintenance schedules. I think we have done it pretty well. Sometimes (well -most of the time) we did it kicking and screaming with reluctance, but overall we have ,as an industry, performed well environmentally.

The problem is that the industry has also been besieged by a troubled economy. Everyone, especially owner operators have been extending maintenance intervals and equipment life cycles. The newer cleaner equipment is more expensive to purchase and maintain. Better to keep the old truck you have and nurse another year out of it than bite the bullet, mortgage the farm and buy something new. Unfortunately, and unintentionally this has much the same result as defeating all the pollution control equipment in newer trucks.

It seems we are being hit with new regulatory changes all the time. Why? Well diesel exhaust is a major source of atmospheric soot and fine particles, which is one of the elements of air pollution that is implicated in human heart and lung damage including hospitalizations, chronic obstructive lung disease, and chronic bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer. Our legislators have determined that the thereat is large enough and the technology is inexpensive enough that even older trucks should be out fitted with the means to clean particulate matter from their exhaust.

California believes the problem is so severe in the Los Angeles basin that it basically banned old trucks from picking up at the port of Los Angeles. In BC we simply have to retrofit our older trucks. BC Compliance circular 02/10 indicates http://www.cvse.ca/CTPM/Com_Circulars/2010/100420_comp_circ_02-10.pdf every truck with an engine model year between 89 and 93 to be retrofitted with devices that reduce exhaust particulate matter by 20%. They estimate the cost at between 1200 and 2500 dollars depending on the vehicle type. First note that the regulation refers to the engine year, not the year of the truck. If you have put a newer rebuilt in the truck, you won’t need an upgrade. Second, some vehicles are exempt, for example X plated vehicles and farm equipment.

Note that the law requires you to have the retrofit done by October 1 this year. However from what I understand, enforcement will primarily be done through the CVIP program. That means that your truck won’t pass inspection if the device is not installed. I know the retrofit is a large chunk of change for an owner operator but there doesn’t seem to be any way to soften the blow to your wallet. So if you are feeling like you just ran a marathon of regulatory and equipment changes, you have. And the finish line, like all the finish lines in business, has been moved just a little further. However, this new law in simply a continuation in a direction that was set long ago and a necessary part of industry sustainability. Better to be exhausted by regulations than diesel exhaust.

Log Book Rules And Enforcement

2011-09-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

-Thomas Paine

Nothing about a pro trucker’s job will bring about more impassioned responses than the unfairness of log book rules and enforcement. I could go on for a couple of pages about how good or bad log books are. I think it is unreasonable to expect a driver to have to keep track of his life in 15 minute segments but part of my responsibility as the person responsible for the national safety code at our company requires me to enforce those laws. And listening to years of log book arguments has never changed the fact that driver’s daily logs are simply required.

I think that drivers do themselves a disservice when they talk to each other about breaking the rules, especially about log books. I recently went through an NSC audit with a client. He is a small carrier who has managed o build his company to 10 tractors and 25 trailers running mostly short lanes. Unfortunately, he failed the audit. Not because of what he did but because of what he didn’t do. He simply did not pay attention to driver logs.

His equipment was well maintained and he had good maintenance records. They had only had 1 preventable accident five years. What was the big issue? Drivers Log Books. He basically failed the audit because he did not monitor drivers Hours of Service. He, like most drivers, thought that if the drivers were not getting tickets at the scale they must be doing all right. Now his company has a black eye of a failed safety audit that will affect his clients, his insurance and the survivability of his company. Each of those drivers is affected as well as they have weakened their company, their reputation and in some cases, their bank account.

Logs definitely impose limits on behavior and for the most part those limits allow you to live a better life and be safer on the road. If you understand log enforcement better you may be more motivated to comply with HOS. I hope that will make you safer but at least t will keep you from paying more fines.

First, let’s look at enforcement at a driver level. Drivers find it relatively easy to hoodwink a scale officer and pass through an inspection without triggering a violation. I think that drivers who get caught for log book violations at scales are, for the most part, either unaware of the mistake they have made or have run into or open scale they thought would be closed. Before all you drivers pat yourselves on the back for being able to hoodwink the scale officers remember that the scale officer has very little to work with. The scale officer can only look at todays plus the last 14 days and only the records that you have with you. Fuel vendors and other establishments that sell to truckers often collude with drivers and remove the time stamp from receipts compounding the problem

In addition, the scale officer is often working with very limited resources and sometimes is alone. It takes time to properly investigate and check records and they are more interested in blatant offenders and finding unsafe vehicles where they can have an immediate effect on highway safety. Rarely does a Scale officer write a ticket for the incorrect form and manner of a log so even if you are missing a required item of information you may simply run “under the radar” at a scale.

Now, let’s look at enforcement at a carrier level. By far the most log book violations are caught at a facility audit. That is where a carrier safety inspector examines all of the company’s safety records and payroll records. Trust me, nothing runs under the radar at a facility inspection. If you fail to include a required item on a log book page for the 2 month audit period, you could receive 60 tickets for the same offence.

The carrier safety inspector will examine all records for completeness and then correlated them with each other to ensure the documents agree with each other and the mileage records of your truck. Basic log book checking involves making sure the log books corresponds to a bill of lading, and a payroll record, with the fuel receipts used to track the route. However, supporting documents can also be used. I could not find a list of supporting documents in time for publication for Canada but here is the list for the USA:

• Weigh/scale tickets

• Port of entry receipts

• Delivery receipts

• Toll receipts

• Agricultural inspection reports

• Over/short and damage reports

• Driver and vehicle examination reports

• Traffic citations

• Overweight/oversize reports and citations

• Carrier pros

• Credit card receipts

• Border Crossing Reports

• Customs declarations

· Vehicle repair invoices

• Telephone billing statements

The interconnectedness of the paper flow of the modern economy makes it impossible to falsify any single document without leaving a trace. And don’t be fooled. Just because your fuel receipt does not show a time, a carrier official at a facility audit can obtain the time on the transactions. Everything is computerized in this economy and every computer transaction is time and date recorded regardless of what is printed on your specific piece of paper.

Log book violations are NSC violations and show up on your abstract in BC and Ontario. I’m not sure about Alberta. In the USA, the new CSA 2010 Standards collect this type of information nationally on drivers and it is available to carriers. In addition to soiling your reputation, Log Book fines are expensive and can even result in you being placed out of service for 72 hours in your truck at a scale, no matter how remote and inadequately serviced the location is. Log tickets issued at a facilities audit are issued to the carrier, not the driver so they don’t show up on your record. However, all carriers that I know have provisions in their contract to pass this type of fine back to the owner operator.

Next time you are thinking about ways to ‘modify’ your HOS records and “stick it to the man” you may want to think again. You might think it is a common practice, you might think it is “not wrong’, you might think that you won’t get caught. Just thinking those things won’t make them true.

Wear Your Seatbett

2011-06-24T10:15:00.001-07:00

Last month I was parked with my wife in front of a restaurant in Chilliwack. We decided move to the YMCA. This was about a 40 second drive of 200 yards around the corner. Wouldn’t you know it; I got caught in a seatbelt check and got a ticket for not wearing my seat belt. Boy was I embarrassed. But when you think about it, better embarrassed that injured.

I always try to wear my seatbelt (other than that one time..I swear…well mostly). It makes me feel safer by holding me in the seat. I do a little 4X4 exploring on the weekends and bouncing along a logging road or a dried up river bottom teaches you that seatbelt use is necessary to keep control of your vehicle.

I was looking on the web and found a 2006 study on seatbelt use found that only 59% of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers (in the USA) wear safety belts. I think the percentage may be a little higher in Canada but not much. From my experience truck drivers feel safe in the rig so they are less motivated than car drivers to take personal safety measures. They either tell me that they are sitting for a long time and feel the belt is restrictive or that they are getting in and out of the truck a lot and find it bothersome.

Trucking is a hard business. It is hard to make money, hard on your nerves, hard on your body. Ultimately it is hard on your health. Please take every measure possible including wearing a seatbelt to preserve your health. One thing a seat belt gives you right away is that it helps you to keep an alert posture, better for driving and for your health. It also gives you peace of mind in that you will be ready for anything that may come your way in traffic.

No one plans when to have an accident. I knew a driver that missed a poorly designed T intersection in bad lighting and drove through the stop sign, off the highway, through a 6 foot ditch, across 300 feet of farmland and into a house. He was lucky to survive but broke his back and sustained permanent damage. When I interviewed his co driver about why he thought they did not stop in the field, he had to tell me the driver was not wearing his seatbelt. When he hit the ditch he was thrown out of his seat, bounced off the roof, across the truck and on to the floor behind the passenger seat. This is another example of where a seatbelt would have prevented the injury and prevented the truck from hitting the house.

In the event that you have to take evasive maneuvers, your seatbelt will keep you in the driver’s seat able to reach all of the petals and controls at your command. My friend Alex was driving near Ogden UT on a 3 lane divided highway. A 4 wheeler parked on the inside meridian tried to ram him in an apparent suicide attempt. Alex’s quick reactions and evasive driving caused the truck to jackknife and roll but the 4 wheeler was struck a glancing blow on the rear corner instead of in the center. The 4 wheeler survived and Alex sustained only a few scratches. The rapid turning of the truck would not have been possible without a seat belt and Alex, for sure, would have had serious injuries.

The last year I could find stats for were 2006, again for the USA. Of the 805 truck drivers and passengers who died in truck crashes, 393 were not wearing safety belts, basically half. If you are driving team, use a belt in the sleeper. Again from my experience the person most likely to be hurt in a truck crash is the guy not wearing a safety belt, even if in the sleeper. Waking up as part of the dash is a reality on the highway. The person wearing a belt is rarely hurt beyond scratches or a little soft tissue bruising.

Trucking is a hard life. Wearing a seatbelt makes it a little easier on your body and your mental stress. The seatbelt will kelp you stay in the driver’s seat and in control of your vehicle. In the event of a crash, the seatbelt will prevent serious injuries and often your life. Like the slogan says. ‘If you’re not wearing a seatbelt, what is holding you back’?

By the way, look for more ways to keep safe, save on WorksafeBC fees and try the new truck descending simulator at the BC TSC website http://www.safetydriven.ca/

How To Keep A Good Driving Record

2011-06-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last week I did my monthly analysis of our NSC profile. For those of you who haven’t heard, each trucking company has an abstract for all of the National safety code violations committed by their fleet. It works much like your drivers abstract. All National Safety Code violations, Highway Traffic Act Violations and Motor Vehicle Act violations that are committed in a vehicle with an NSC number on the side are recorded on the carriers NSC profile.

We all think that we are good drivers. I don’t drive truck and drivers know more than I do about some aspects of their job. However, I get to see things that most drivers don’t. I regularly experience things that you, hopefully will experience seldom. Contained in this report is the collective experience of many driver and one thing I thought you might like to do is to compare an aspect of your job performance like, pre trip inspection results, against other typical drivers.

Every time you are inspected at a scale, a CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) inspection is done. These inspections are standardised across North America so a scale in BC looks at the same components and holds them to the same standards as any other state or Province in Canada or the USA. If you are found to have an out of service violation in any jurisdiction, the violation eventually makes it on to your NSC drivers abstract and your carriers NSC Profile.

The first thing to note is that we were inspected enough that if the inspections were random, our trucks have a 1 in 3 chance of being inspected every month. So all things being equal, you should expect to only get inspected about 4 times a year. The inspection process however is not random. It does have a random aspect to it but typically the trucks pulled in for inspection have some kind of visible defect like a stop light out or a bleary eyed tired driver.

In order to stay compliant as a fleet we need to keep our inspection failure rate under 10%. This is really a minimum standard. The provincial average is closer to 5%. If you got inspected 4 times a year and only failed one in ten inspections you would get an OOS (Out of Service) inspection about once every 2 and a half years. This would make you a compliant driver but to be within the provincial average you would need to go 5 years without an OOS inspection.

So now we understand a little about the frequency and OOS rate for inspections. Now let’s look at the OOS failures and who got them. I find it astounding that on our fleet 65% of the NSC point that were assigned in these failed inspection went to 6 drivers. These drivers were inspected at a much higher rate and failed at a much higher rate that their contemporaries. Conversely, many of our drivers are seldom inspected and have gone 10 years or more without an OOS violation.

Assuming that you know how to do your job and by that I mean control your truck and keep your daily loge you can improve your record on OOS violations. It is simple and you may already know it without realizing it. The enforcement of trucking rules is 1) limited and 2) targeted. This means there are 2 ways to collect fewer NSC abstract points. Stay compliant. If you get inspected, be perfect and pass. This way is very challenging. It takes time knowledge and experience. The second way most never think about and it is to, avoid being inspected.

I don’t mean sneaking around scales. CVSE inspectors, police, scale master all have limited resources and will gladly ignore you unless you unless you ask for their attention. Your behaviour causes them to inspect you. Almost every OOS inspection we had showed multiple problems, most of which were easy to see and called attention to the unit. If you speed you are demanding enforcement. If your logs are not current, you are demanding enforcement. If your lights are not working, if your hubs show oil, if hoses are hissing air or tires bald, expect to be pulled in. You don’t have to be perfect, just good enough to not draw attention.

Another option is to register for the free Weigh2GoBC transponder program. Here you will purchase the ability to occasionally bypass scales with a loss of freedom to ‘alter’ your logs. (I think that’s a good deal).

Some guys will read this and accuse me of blaming drivers for maintenance issues that the carrier should look after. I`m not. In order to get your class one license you were required to demonstrate that you could perform a vehicle inspection. That was because you are required to ensure that your vehicle is safe to drive before you drive it.

When you do that inspection, pay particular attention to brakes, tires and lights. These are the components that are most visible and most subject to constant change. Don`t speed and keep your log current and like 90% of our drivers, you will not have an out of service inspection, log book ticket or speeding ticket. Remember the trucking regulators cannot inspect every vehicle and that almost all of their inspections are targeted in that they have to see a reason to inspect you and your truck.

By the way, look for more ways to keep safe, save on WorksafeBC fees and try the new truck descending simulator at the BC TSC website www.safetydriven.ca

Seeing Things

2011-05-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

Truckers – because even firefighters need someone to look up to.... a bumper sticker

Most of what I read about driving commercial vehicles is about stopping them. This article is no exception other that I want to focus a little on where to look. Recognising a hazard is very important in a commercial vehicle because it takes so long to stop.

First let’s take a look at the components of stopping time. Commonly your stopping distance is the sum of these 4 factors:

1. Perception time

2. Reaction time

3. Brake-lag time

4. Actual stopping time

Assuming that you are reasonably alert with adjusted brakes and on flat ground , the time it takes to recognize a hazard, react, and apply the brakes can take three seconds. Taking this into account, at 60 mph your vehicle will travel about 250 feet before the brakes engage. Your vehicle will travel an additional 200 feet after the brakes begin to slow you down, bringing your total stopping distance to 450 feet, seven times the length of an average tractor-trailer.

If you are a pro trucker you are already working hard to make sure that you are alert and your brakes are adjusted. You are already adjusting your speed for road shape and conditions. The big variable is perception time. Almost anything can affect your perception time. Lately, there is a big focus on sleepy drivers, distracted driving and impaired driving because they all affect the driver’s perception and reaction.

Perception is a strange thing. First of all it is contextual. If you are walking down the street and see a hundred dollar bill lying on the sidewalk, I’m confident that you would pick it up as a valuable find. However someone who was a member of a primitive tribe that did not use money and bartered for every transaction might only see a worthless piece of paper.

In the same way a really skilled driver will recognise a problem traffic pattern developing and react before the problem occurs. An inexperienced driver may see the same traffic pattern but not recognise it as a possible problem and then be involved in an incident with devastating consequences.

A pro trucker actively scans and manages the space around the vehicle. The pro trucker scans the 6 areas around the vehicle that need managing looking for small, manageable problems so that measurers can be taken to keep them from becoming big problems. Here are the areas around the vehicle and some of the things that you need to look for.

Above the truck there are many potential problems. I once knew a driver that caused an accident because he did not know the measurement of his trailer height in both meters and feet and so went he went to go under a 15 foot overpass he stopped on the highway to check and see if he would fit under. Stopping in the interstate to check was a bad idea. More common opportunities for trouble above the truck are building awnings, branches and power lines. Know how high your load is and watch for hazards.

Behind the truck there are hazards too, and I’m not just talking about backing up. Tailgaters are a big problem for you to manage. When you are being tailgated, increase your following distance to create a slightly bigger buffer in front so you won’t have to make a hard stop. Give plenty of warning with signals for any move you make. Often if you slow down a little the tailgater will pass but again be careful as the tailgater may not make the best choice about when.

Under your truck presents hazards you may not even think of especially in strange yards. Look out for tire hazards that could cripple your vehicle. If you are starting out in a yard or repair shop, ensure no one is under the vehicle or still working on it. On the highway, watch for indications of traction problems. For example, ice can be indicated by a lack of road spray or white foam will indicate the slippery scum of exhaust oils that occurs when a dry road first becomes wet.

Left and right of the vehicle have blind spots that need to be managed. Constant scanning of the whole field of view-including the mirrors- lets you see and ensure that every vehicle that enters your blind spots come out the other side. This is a huge potential cause for accidents especially in stop and go traffic where lanes merge. Make sure your mirrors are clean and properly adjusted. Even then you will need to squirm in your seat sometimes to see everything.

Where most of your attention belongs and most of the hazards come from are in front of your truck. Ideally you will be scanning far out and in close changing your focus and looking for problems in the environment you are entering. The best truck drivers are driving their truck and everyone else’s vehicle as they compensate by performing like a pro in a sea of amateurs and posers.

The active pro trucker is constantly evaluating speed against space and the road conditions, today’s load and the handling characteristics of it, traffic density, weather and fuel efficiency. He is constantly formulating contingency plans that will compensate for other driver’s unexpected actions and taking responsibility for everyone safety despite the fact the he has the heaviest, slowest and largest vehicle on the road.

Road Rage

2011-05-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

One of our drivers arrived here the other day with his arm in a cast. According to his version of the story he past another trucker in the mountains on his way to Alberta and the other driver followed him to his next body break. When he was returning to his truck the other driver confronted him with the belt ratchet iron and said something to the effect of I’ll teach you not to *@”^! pass me that way -and beat him with the iron ultimately breaking the arm our driver was using to protect himself from the blows. I am being a little vague on details as fortunately the police attended and the other driver was charged. This is the worst example of road rage that I have ever been personally involved with.

At the PacHwy border crossing trucks snake through a line, like people in a bank on payday. The line funnels down to the number of open border booths so that drivers have to merge again and again until they get a chance at a booth. This process is usually about an hour long but can take twice as long on a busy weekend. Every summer I have one or two small fender benders at the border. One of our trucks hits or is hit by another truck while in line. I can’t believe that the emotions of 2 professional drivers can cause these slow speed accidents. While slowly inching forward in line neither one can allow the other to simply go first because its “my turn”. That is a perfect example of the damage a sense of entitlement can do to your safety.

Driving emotions can be said to range from Defensive to Aggressive. Defensive driving behavior included things like accepting (not taking) the right of way, signaling your intent, making eye contact with other drivers. Aggressive driving behavior includes not signaling, weaving in and out of traffic, tailgating, excessive light flashing and horn blowing. Aggressive driving turns into road rage by degrees. Aggressive actions such as rude gestures, verbal insults or deliberately driving in a threatening manner will feed the rage emotions of both the driver and the victim. Road rage can lead to assaults and collisions...very serious ones.

Here are some things that you can do to reduce your emotions when you are behind the wheel.

Get a good night’s sleep. Dozy drivers also tend to be grumpy drivers.

Plan your trip. Have enough time to get where you’re going, but also to make safe, not rushed, lane changes and easy, smooth maneuvers on and off of ramps and exits. Doing your best to get there on time means doing your best to get there first and on time when possible. Dispatchers will complain about an adjusted eta but you have to be the captain of the ship.

Relax! No matter how mad you are at the nut that just cut in front of you, your both still in one piece… No one is hurt…try to keep it that way.

Don’t “educate” other drivers. The most common mindset for road rage is the need to “teach them a lesson”. Instead of falling victim to this mindset, simply realize the truth: You are both licensed members of the public that have equal rights to use the road, even if you are a professional driver.

Be positive. Only your attitude can ruin your trip. The person in the other car is a person just trying to get to their destination, like you. It sounds stupid but I like to think that a car that goes zipping by me is carrying an injured child to a hospital and I know that I would be doing the same thing if it was me.

If a driver is doing something really dangerous, safely try to get a plate or unit number and call 911. If it is another trucker, call the company. The name on the tractor is best and often trucking company’s trade trailers. The call only makes sense if you can identify the vehicle and can describe the action. Avoid making value judgements on the behaviour and you will have more credibility.

No matter how technically we talk, the simple truth is that an angry driver is not a safe driver. The angry driver is thinking about what he is angry at instead of focusing on controlling his vehicle. If you get into a conflict with another driver don't compete or retaliate because that leads to escalation. If someone's driving annoys you, don't try to “educate them”, leave traffic enforcement to the police. Remember not to take other driver's mistakes personally and lastly be a pro and say, “Sorry” if you make a mistake. An apology will reduce the risk of conflict.

The art of the pickup

2011-05-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner. Red Skelton

I was talking to a driver in my office about a pickup he made that went terribly wrong. The more I talked to him the more I realised that he had simply become complacent about a critical aspect of his job. Drivers, especially owner operators’ work long hours with few breaks and lots of pressure. Burnout is common and one of the reasons drivers quit a job and even the industry. Like a marriage that has gone stale the magic had gone out of his relationship with his job. I’m not sure if he needed more reality or more fantasy to rekindle the romance so for all you really experienced guys in the same situation I will try a little of both.

First the reality; This driver went to a customer`s yard and picked up a loaded trailer. When he went to seal the load the trailer door were unlatched. He missed the fact that the trailer has been smashed into the bollard pushing the trailer kick plate up so far the eyes for the door hooks were too high to accept the hooks. When he tried to close the trailer doors they would not close. Two other drivers tried to help him close the trailer and they could not. They did not recognise the amount of damage because he had already moved the trailer. He decided to wrap wire around the doors to keep them closed and drive across town to the carrier’s yard and get a little help from the mechanic to bend the door into place. At no time did he call dispatch or talk to the company whose yard he was in.

By not speaking to anyone and moving the trailer away from the scene of the accident he cost the company over 8000 dollars. He cost himself $2500 and a wasted day.

Now the fantasy; let’s say he was in a bar called “Happy hour” looking to pick up a girl instead of a trailer yard picking up a trailer. First he would scope out the scene. He would get the lay of the land -so to speak -and note the hot chicks, who was with whom, where the dance floor is and where the shortest line-ups for drinks is. He would do all this before even approaching a girl. If our driver had done that instead of just grabbing the “girl” he would have noticed the yellow bollards lining the back of the row of parked trailers. He would have noticed that the shunt truck in the yard had a hydraulic fifth wheel. He would have noticed every other trailer in the row had closed back doors except for his. But truckers are eager, victims of their biological needs to hook up and hit the road.

Now would be the time to actually “check out the chicks”. Depending on his taste (and how late it is on Saturday night) he will focus on the special attributes that he can see and find someone that looks good at a distance. When someone looks interesting from a distance he will cross over and strike up a little conversation or perhaps ask her to dance. This provides an opportunity to check out the lady in more detail and see what might be an issue in a longer term relationship. I know drivers get lonely. There is no need to reject a lady for having a clearance light out or needing a little adjustment. However since you are going to down the road with her, you need a bit of a critical eye.

The danger is that you will be seduced by the lure of miles. I need miles. More miles. I only get paid for miles. I gotta grab her and go. Unfortunately, the best time to discover a problem with the relationship is right at the beginning, at the pickup when you are most filled with lust.

It’s time to start thinking with the ‘safety gear between your ears’ and apply the mental brakes. Before you seal the deal and move the trailer, work with what you know. I might be a bit of a prude but not being able to close the door is a show stopper. You can’t start a trip with that kind of problem in the relationship.

Think about it. Why do I have the only trailer with the doors popped open? Why can’t I close them? If the door is straight what else is bent? The trailer floor? How come this bollard is in the way? Why is the bollard so close to the damage? Why is it lower than the damage?

Bingo, mental flash bulb. Perhaps the yard jockey with the hydraulic fifth wheel backed the trailer into the bollard while the fifth wheel was raised. It’s time to call your wingman. Get dispatch involved. Get the yard supervisor involved. Look for the yellow paint before the trailer is moved. Fantasy or reality, use whatever works for you to rekindle the romance with your job. Usually fantasy is cheaper.

Make yourself a BLT (brakes, lights, tires)

2011-02-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

As I have often said 'professional is profitable' and a profitable pro trucker keeps his vehicle in compliance. Really, equipment safety and compliance simply depends on a driver looking after three basic things: Brakes, Tires, and Lights. The most important of these three are brakes. Remember, performing a crucial Pre-trip inspection cannot be done by a machine. A driver that can do them quickly and well will always have a job. An owner operator, who doesn't do them well, will always be broke. Don't let common misconceptions keep you from inspecting your truck and making sure your brakes are safe.

Pro–Truckers know to perform proper brake inspections and adjustments. They know if they don't, eventually they will go broke, be fined into compliance, or hurt someone else. Also there are a lot of truckers out there that want to be pros but have some of the details wrong. Here are some misconceptions that I run into from time to time.

Firstly, some truckers believe that if they perform a tug test after coupling they have tested the brakes. Wrong. Truthfully the tug test, where a driver applies the trailer brakes and tugs at the trailer with the tractor is really a test to see if the 5th wheel has locked. Even badly adjusted brakes will often hold well when cold. The tug test does not test that the brakes are in adjustment or even working. It is not even a conclusive test that the 5th wheel is locked as a driver should still perform a visual check on the 5th wheel jaws, after a tug test. As unpleasant as it sometimes can be, a driver still needs to get under the trailer and check for things like brake shoe thickness and pushrod travel and adjust as necessary.

Secondly, some truckers believe that with automatic slack adjusters, the brakes will always 'automatically' be in proper adjustment. Wrong. This is a scary partial truth. In order for 'automatic' slack adjusters to work, you must start by manually adjusting your brakes to the proper pushrod travel. Then, every time you take a rest stop, make three hard brake applications. The hard brake application will cause the 'automatic' slack adjuster to adjust and keep the push rods top the proper travel. However, you still have to inspect the slacks during your daily pre-trip simply because sometimes automatic slack adjusters malfunction.

Fortunately, a not automatically adjusting automatic slack adjuster is just a manual slack adjuster. If, when you started your trip, you had to adjust the slacks, it could have been because the previous driver did not do the hard brake application often enough during his trip to make the adjusters adjust. However, if you start with them adjusted, and you make the hard brake applications and they still go out of adjustment, the slack adjuster needs mechanical attention and will need manual adjustment until it is replaced.

Thirdly, some truckers believe that you have to be a mechanic to adjust brakes. Wrong. Every US state and every Canadian province, except Ontario a driver is required to adjust his own brakes. In Ontario, brakes have to be adjusted by a certified air brake 'technician'. This little quirk in Ontario often becomes translated in driver rumor mills as "I am not allowed to adjust brakes – that is a mechanics job". I have this discussion with drivers a lot setting them straight that it really is a driver's job.

Every class one driver has to take and pass an Air Brake course where they were taught about pushrod travel and slack adjustment. The driver is expected to understand the working of the airbrake system and make adjustments as necessary or refuse to drive the vehicle. At a scale in BC, if your brakes are found to be out of adjustment the driver will be asked to adjust the brakes before he may continue. If the scale officer has reason to believe the driver is not competent at brake adjustment, the officer can fill out a form and have your license put on hold until you are retested and found competent.

At a scale, or god forbid, at an accident the driver is the one held accountable if the slacks are not in adjustment. For goodness sake, be a pro and make sure yours are in adjustment.

The final common myth I want to talk about here is that no one does a pre-trip inspection so I won't either. It is believed by the same guys who think that no one keep really truthful log books. This simply is not true. In the fleets that I have managed about 20% of the drivers get 80% of the violations. Most of the drivers by far are compliant. Maybe they speed a little, maybe they hide an hour here or there on their logs but they do keep to the spirit if not to the letter of the law. They do accept that there are reasonable and legal limits to safe and profitable operation. Unfortunately, the drivers that don't do a proper pre-trip and inspect their brakes are the same drivers that also get speeding tickets, get equipment violations, breakdown en route and have accidents.

A good pre-trip that includes a brake inspection helps to set a pro-truckers attitude. He is in control of his vehicle, and himself. He is thinking about performing the job at hand and doing it safely. Don't let misconceptions like these hurt you and your bottom line.

Think about your new fleet

2011-02-24T16:00:00.000-08:00

Last week I came back from a short lunch break to find an upset husband and his crying wife in my office. After a couple of minutes I discovered the problem. The husband applied to join our fleet as an owner operator. He qualified and went through the training and was ready to roll, however, his old company would not release his truck. As a tractor simply cannot be registered to two fleets at the same time they were stuck. The husband was upset because he did not understand that we could not register his truck until the old fleet released him, and the wife was upset because she understood that they were losing money everyday the truck sat. They had been sitting for 3 weeks with no end in site. This guy, like most owner operators don't realize that when they contract to a fleet, that fleet becomes the registered owner of the truck (for pro-rate purposes) and can effectively stop them from transferring their truck to some other fleet. Keeping a truck on the fleet when the owner has expressed a wish to leave is a cruel and unfathomable practice that should not be used except in the most unusual cases, but it does happen if the owner operator is not aware and protected. In this case there was not even a written contract between the truck owner and the fleet and so the owner operator was completely unprotected. I could not help but wonder how the truck owner willingly got into such a difficult position. I guess he just did not know what he was risking.

I called the owner of the fleet in question, and of course he had a long story about how the operator was no good, had damaged his equipment, and owed him money and on and on. Finally, I cut in and explained that the operator was free to work for whomever he chose that he could not earn any money unless his truck went to work somewhere, and that the place to deal with these types of disagreements is in court. I suggested that he do (what most responsible fleets do) hold back some funds and release the truck, then they would still be in a powerful position but the owner operator would, at least, be able to earn income. It shortly became clear that the old fleet owner really just wanted to make leaving his fleet so difficult that the owner operator would stay.

We worked out a deal by helping the old fleet with the administration of a minor accident and the truck was released and registered to our fleet.

Right after they left my office I got a call from another owner operator looking to place his truck on our fleet and the first question he asked was "How much do you pay a mile?" This was really the only question he had. That made me think. What should an owner operator look for when he chooses a company to work for? How can he minimize the risk of changing fleets?

With the shortage of drivers and owner operators in the market today it is worth your while to shop around for a good place to contract your truck and apply your skills. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, be wiser when choosing a fleet to contract with and then you can go to bed happier and wealthier anytime.

Let's look around a little first. Look at the trucks already on the prospective company's fleet. Are they newer or older, clean or dirty? Are they well marked and easily identifiable or do they look temporary, or as if they have something to hide? Remember that no company has ever survived long with the business plan of using dirty old trucks to do cheap work. Successful companies want to be identified and take responsibility for their actions so they can get rewarded accordingly and their reputations can grow. Speak to other drivers. People you know will know someone that works there or has worked there. Or say "Hi" to a driver if he is picking up or dropping off in the same yard as you. Listen to all comments, good or bad, but remember to ask why and consider the reply. I have had some drivers tell me they think a dispatcher is great and always fair and some drivers quit because they hated dealing with the very same person. If they say the dispatcher is an 'ass'-go ahead and ask for an example or story of what happened so you can decide yourself if it was all the dispatchers fault.

Remember to consider the clients of the company. If you keep seeing them at the docks of reputable companies, that is good. It means the revenue stream is good and the reputable company has already done some of your work as they evaluated the fleet and have decided to establish a trust relationship with it.

How long have they been in business? You know that trucking is a difficult business. Be wary of trucking companies less than 5 years old. It takes time, one small success after another become stable in this industry.

Is their office in a house or farm or do they have a proper industrial building with dock access. Branches with local sales presence in the markets they serve is also important if you want to make sure your truck is busy and that that you will have some backup with problems on the road.

Don't let any one of these factors or even any one truck or one driver color your impressions either good or bad of an entire company. Try to get an overall impression of the company and try to determine if the business seems to be growing or declining. Above all you want a growing fleet, but not one that is growing too fast. Consider all of these things before you get serious about considering a fleet to join.

Little Things Mean A Lot

2011-02-24T15:19:00.001-08:00

There are 2 questions that are simple and yet almost every professional truck driver never thinks about the answers.

1. What is the most common cause of driver injury?

2. Where are you most likely to have an accident?

Well the most common cause of driver injury is a fall. Sometimes we trip over debris we are working around, sometimes we fall getting in or out of the cab or trailer, and sometimes we fall off the deck or load we are trying to tarp or tie down. One of the reasons that a fall is so common is nobody takes them serious. After all everyone has tripped or slipped or even fallen from height with the result being more embarrassing than physically injurious. However, some of these small falls can change your life. One of our drivers stepped down from a tractor onto a parking barrier and shattered his ankle. He was off for 4 months. One of my driver’s wives tripped on a misplaced sidewalk stone while walking one weekend and has been off work for a year and has had 3 surgeries.

Please be aware there is real risk in these small falls, wear supportive foot ware with appropriate traction. Maintain 3 points of contact when climbing.

The most likely place for an accident is a Yard, be it a truck stop, or trailer yard or parking lot. As government agencies shorten the hours we can legally drive, we park more. The amount of parking space has not grown to keep up with the need. Truck Stops and Yards are crowded. Yards are where trucks interact with pedestrians. Yards are private property and so traffic signage is often poor or not obeyed. Drivers are often tired, near the end of their day and focused on fueling or finding a spot to park. By design you have to come within inches of buildings and other trucks. All of these things add up to a higher risk of accident per mile that most drivers don’t even think about.

Like falls, parking lot accidents are often more embarrassing than painful. However, they can be expensive and even disable yours or another driver’s vehicle. Last month someone backed into our truck in a truck stop when attempting to park. The corner of the other guy’s trailer went through our grill and radiator damaging the air to air and transmission cooler. In all, this accident cost almost 16 thousand dollars and 4 weeks downtime.

Be aware of the danger. Be carful in truck lots. Focus on the big picture of what is around you not just on single task of parking. It is less embarrassing to get out and look than it is to hit something.

Truck yard driving and climbing in and out you your rig are not the “glamour” activities in trucking. But as a professional driver you need to be aware of the danger and hone your attitude and skills for the common dangers.