Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

As a driver, I am certainly aggravated with some truck stops because of the cleanliness of they showers. I went into a large truck stop last week, which will remain nameless but the name sounds like “Pie Lot” to take a shower. The people were very nice in the beginning and smiled from ear to ear when I was greeted at the fuel desk. The young man there said that I would have to wait for a shower due to there being a long line of people needing one.

I waited more than 20 minutes before getting a shower key and when I went into the shower room, I was disgusted by what I saw. When I first go into a truck stop shower, I look at the sink and shower stall before I do anything else. Inside this shower stall I noticed white soap residue all over the floor and on the walls. Also, I looked closer and saw black and green mold growing between the tiles and in the corners. Read the rest of this entry »

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As truck drivers we spend literally thousands of hours looking out a windshield. Most of that time is spent just listening to the radio or CB, generally wasted. With XM and Sirius we have a much broader entertainment selection but for the most part it is still just mindless banter. All of this wasted time can be spent in expanding your mind and learning. It has been shown that an active mind delays the onset of diseases like Alzheimer’s. I have always enjoyed reading but that is really hard to do while going down the road, but a few years ago I discovered Audible.com. Audible is a great source for audiobooks on-line, just download the book to your iPod or other MP3 style player and it gives you access to a world of great stories. Audible offers a subscription deal of 2 books a month for about $22, I find this is more than enough to keep you listening for a month. Some of the recordings are quite long, Truman is over 50 hours by itself. They do have abridged versions of most of their books if you are looking for a short read. Check them out for yourself.
I’m always looking for ways to pass the time behind the wheel, audiobooks are just one way that I have found to keep my mind busy and learning while going down the road. I also listen to podcast and will go in to them more in another post.
Stay Safe out there;
Don Rogers

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I know we imagine ourselves doing this at every red light downtown. Racing to the next light.

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Clint Bowyer sat on the pole for the Sylvania 300. He then dominated the race by leading 221 of the 300 laps. The Jack Daniels Chevy was just Hooked up for all but the last 50 laps when the car started to tighten up. This is Clint’s first Nextel Cup win. Clint was heard to say in victory lane “This proves we earned a spot and we’re here for a reason. This is Nextel Baby! I’m not going to kid you, I was about to throw up on those last thirty laps. What was funny, I was starting to feel a vibration but I didn’t know what it was. It was just that you hear every rattle, banging and everybody racing. I was watching ahead hoping and praying that nobody crashed. “

Jeff Gordon finished second followed by two time series champion Tony Stewart in third. The race was a good one with lots of paint being swapped and a few frustrations being vented. Rain washed out practice Saturday so Nascar Threw a “Competition Caution” on lap 36 So the teams could check their tires and adjust the setups on their cars. Clint Bowyer’s Jack Daniels Chevrolet was tight so they took on four tires on lap 37. Lap number 68 Ward Burton spins out and rear ends it into the wall in turn 3, Looked like a flat left front caused his spin.

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I think my opinion lies somewhere between Porter’s and Renee’s. I’m not thrilled about it, but just like the Canadian trucks, it’s going to happen. Most arguments the opposition uses can be used to get rid of the Canadian trucks too. Everything from security to the lower paid drivers.

US trucking, in my opinion has so many more pressing problems, from the legal importing of too many drivers using h2b visas that flood the market and drive down rates to US companies running around with unsafe trucks, no insurance and even no authority. Including the ATA, PATT and a host of other groups trying to keep us from working. We could use some more enforcement on our own industry instead of blaming old problems on the new participants.

Some said American truckers weren’t going to be allowed (or want) to drive in Mexico. Well, here you go, someone thinks it’s not such a bad idea -

First U.S. trucker hauls shipment into Mexico
By Gabriela Rico
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.15.2007
The cross-border trucking program, which went into effect last week, became reciprocal Friday when a truck belonging to an El Paso-based company crossed into Mexico through Nogales on its way to Ciudad Obregón, Sonora.

Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution became the first U.S. trucker to haul a shipment across the U.S.-Mexico border. The truck crossed at approximately 9 a.m. to deliver a load of plastic resin, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or FMCSA.

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Drivers Daily Log should be a required program for anyone with a computer in a truck. This is more than a computerized log book. It does so much more. I’ve been a user for a several years. When the new rules came out in 2004 and all the changes since then, while everyone else was confused, I always knew if I was legal or not. I mentioned Drivers Daily Log before in my Business Software post, but it’s worth mentioning again in more detail.

Hours of Service

Canada has gone through the same Hours of Service upheaval as we have. If you drive in the US and Canada you have to switch to the Canadian and back to the US rules (and soon Mexico) depending on what country you’re driving in. Canada recently had their Hours of Service rules change and without going into detail, they’re more than a little confusing. The guys at DDL keep all of these rules up to date including rules for intra-state drivers in Alaska, Florida and a few other states that have their own rules for in-state drivers.

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Clint Boyer has the pole position for Sundays Sylvania 300 at The Newhampshire International Speedway. Clint took the Jack Daniel’s Chevy For a lap around The flat track at 29.206 seconds, and 130.412 MPH. Clint is also in the “Chase For The Nextel Cup”. He clinched a Chase birth at the race in Richmond Virginia By finishing 12th in the Chevy Rock And Roll 400.

The driver of the Jack Daniel’s Chevy is from Emporia Kansas. He has driven everything from motorcycles, Street Stocks, modified’s, and was discovered by Richard Childress while running in the “ARCA REMAX SERIES” at the “Nashville Superspeedway”.

Clint boyer started out driving the number 21 Reese’s Busch car, sharing the driving duties part time with Nextel Cup star Kevin Harvick. He earned one pole, four top five finishes, and seven top tens. Not bad for a rookie huh? In 2006 Clint Boyer was named the driver for the number 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing, setting him on the path to four top fives, eleven top tens and a second place finish in the “Raybestos Rookie Of The Year” standings. He is in 12th place heading into “The Chase” and is a good bet that he will give even points leader Jimmy Johnson a run for his money.

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With all the talk about Mexican truck issue, something different -

Kiwi trucker busted in big US immigration scam
The trucking industry says a shortage of New Zealand drivers is being made worse by promises of a higher income overseas.

This comes after a Kiwi truck driver sunk a major immigration scam which officials say allowed hundreds of foreign truckers, mostly New Zealanders, to illegally enter the US.

The unnamed driver was caught sneaking across the Canadian border with an official letter saying he was waiting for a visa renewal to work for another firm.

But it was found to be on of at least 260 visas illegally supplied by a local politician.

I’ve always said the Mexican truck problem is minor compared to the immigration and visa problem we now have.

Trucker from New Zealand sneaking across the Canadian border. It doesn’t get any better!

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Now this is a cool job! Getting paid to burn rubber in a big rig!

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Sunday, September 16th 2007 marks the start of the “Chase for the Nextel Cup. The New Hampshire International Speedway will host the Nascar Nextel Cup Series as The top twelve drivers start their bid for the now famed cup. Over fifty teams will probably attempt to qualify for Sunday’s race But only forty three will start the race worth a total of $5,319,880.

New Hampshire International Speedway is located near Loudon New Hampshire, and is a 1.058 mile oval. Sundays race will be 300 laps for a total of 317.4 miles. With banking in the turns at around 7 degrees, and 2 degrees on the straightaways, loudon is considered a flat track. The race record is 112.078 mph set by Jeff Gordon in 1998. The qualifying record is held by Ryan Newman, who turned a lap at 133.357 mph back in 2003. Kevin Harvick took the pole in last years race and also went on to win the race.

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