Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

of people in wheelchairs. I am a compassionate person. I believe in society making necessary “accommodations” for people that need it. I even, for a time, supported affirmative action.

For minimum wage, I taught retarded adults in a group home how to live better in “normal” situations. And for folks with physical disabilities, I believe it’s acceptable for them to be boarded first on aircraft so they can be seated and their “equipment” safely secured during flight.

Where there are steps into a commercial establishment, doctors office, government buildings or a home, a ramp is essential for wheelchair access. And public transportation - bus or rail- should be mechanically “adjusted” so that a wheelchair can get on and off as easily and quickly as possible.

But in my experience, especially lately, all this extra “assistance”  and “codling” for people “needing” wheelchairs has gone too far. I know it’s the holiday season, but bah-humbug, I’ve had enough.

I reached my limit having just returned from a vacation where I had the displeasure of interfacing with numerous wheelchair bound men and women and their “pushers”.  In several cases, the wheelchair was accompanied by a “posse” that included 5 or more family members and “friends” trailing the “disabled” individual. Just like baby chicks following the mother hen. The person in the wheelchair, the pusher and the “team” behind, deemed it acceptable to bypass everyone else in route to their final destination whether it be an entrance, exit or the front of the line at the buffet. 

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I went to the Wal-Mart near Harrisburg, PA and that familiar red bucket and bell ringer was at the door. I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel different this year about that red bucket and other charities. After thanking God for being not only able to work, but working at a fairly decent job and here I am looking to start with a better company, instead of facing no employment at all. I’ve been unemployed before with no prospects or light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not a good place to be.

My wife recently began working as a case manager determining people’s eligibility for food stamps and State assistance. She comes home with a few stories of people trying to scam the system, but there are a lot of people that are truly in need.

More and more people are either having a hard time or have a family member or friend that is having serious problems making ends meet and it’s only going to get worse.

The only answer is we have to take care of each other. This is not the government’s job, no matter what the pinheads in Washington say.

I don’t give as much as I should. I leave decent tips and I’ll fall for some panhandler’s story once in awhile, but I need to do more. I did put a dollar in the bucket and figure I can put in again at the next one. It’s easy to forget that there are people worse off than me, especially when I’m so centered on surviving and getting out of debt myself.  The only thing I can do is to try and do better at giving.

I’ve worried for a long time about people of today losing their ability for rational thought. I’ve also worried about the same length of time about all jobs being outsourced to Asia. An article in today’s paper, however, gave me hope: it was about a Chinese college student being bitten by a panda when he climbed into its enclosure “because he wanted a hug”. That got me to wondering . . .is it something about a rising standard of living that makes these people too stupid to live? If this is the case, then we might eventually get our jobs back when China becomes a dumb as we seem to have gotten.

About The Tools

There’s another cultural phenomena I’m wondering about, too. . .I guess you could call it “tool rage”. One day last week, I came across two small AP news bits about road rage-with a twist:

From Washington State:
“A 32-year-old Port Orchard man is accused a throwing a large wrench at another vehicle Friday while driving on State Highway 16. Witnesses also traveling westbound on the highway said the man had been passing vehicles and traveling at a high rate of speed when he threw the wrench “for no apparent reason,” the statement said. . .The wrench shattered the driver’s side window, sending glass debris flying through the Port Angeles man’s vehicle before striking him in the left shoulder. . .”. Read the rest of this entry »

I saw a few snowflakes today. I am honestly surprised that I did not see a bunch of people running to the store to buy bread and milk! What is it with snow storms that makes everyone want to buy bread and milk anyway? What recipe calls for just bread and milk? Okay, sorry I went off on a little tangent there. But seriously, since I saw the snowflakes today I thought “Wow, how many people are going to be driving like idiots because they saw a snowflake?” What better time to discuss that! That I thought maybe we could share ideas and tips for staying safe during snow/ice/sleet.

I had the wonderful experience last year, as we rode in the big truck, of experiencing snow in Michigan. The roads completely covered to the point where you couldn’t see them at all. I was scared because it was the first time I had been in a situation like that, everyone else was chatting up storm like it was no big deal.

Somewhere near Coldwater, Michigan earlier this year!

Seeing the slide offs worried me but then I saw why big trucks were sliding off. When you have a road that is covered with snow and untreated, why do you want to drive like an amateur? Do you not realize that not taking some kind of precaution is going to end up in a very bad result?

So where does one start with winter driving? I did a search, again, and had to laugh at one article that addressed what to do if you started to skid in a big truck: “1.  Pray 2.  Scream.” Of course after that it says “Just kidding!” Very cute. Read the rest of this entry »

Spot markets are basically everyone’s leftovers. If a customer doesn’t have a preferred carrier to haul a shipment, they will place it on the Internet. If a truck needs freight and isn’t near a regular customer, they place themselves on the Internet. Hopefully the two hookup, make a deal, freight gets where it’s supposed to go and the trucker gets paid and everyone is happy.

If you’re tired of trying to find something useful in all of the free recruiting rags at all the truck stops? Try the magazine that’s put out by Internet Truckstop, the intenet load board. What is really insightful is they track trends in freight and truck availability. It’s from the freight and truck availability on their website, but if they’re not the largest load board on the net, they’re one of the biggest. Their freight and truck trends seem to be more meaningful than ATA’s numbers that come out once a month. Stats are a few months behind, but they all are.

There is a monthly fee like most load boards, but they keep a copy of their magazines online (Sep/Oct). The viewer isn’t the best way to read online, but it works. Read the rest of this entry »

I was bored so I started surfing the Internet and found out Indiana is not the only state that is ticketing aggressive drivers.  I found out the Oregon is doing this as well. Their program is called “TACT” - Ticket Aggressive Cars and Trucks. Then I found out, the FMSCA has a link dedicated to TACT along with a lot of information on the program! Who would have known?

According to the website the “official” states participating are: Washington, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Those that have locally funded/supported programs are: South Dakota, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The rest of the states are technically listed as “MCSAP non-commercial motor vehicle traffic enforcement.”

The FMSCA link has several things you can visit to learn about TACT including: FAQs, Action Planning, states that are a part of TACT, a forum, safety partners, resources, funding, and news just to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that fuel prices are below $3 everyone is driving, freight is moving, truckers are happy and we can live happily ever after. So everything’s good now, right? Diesel and gas are at their lowest levels in a long time. Good thing all of those fuel strikes happened! This is why any talk of striking for fuel prices drives me up a freakin’ wall, because even if truck strike for fuel prices actually did work, now what? There’s more than fuel prices involved here, always has been. The latest freight numbers from the ATA are from September and they’re still on a downward trend.

Now what? The election is over, things seem to be picking up a bit but not much. The government has big plans to fix the economy, the credit crunch and even the big auto makers. The government was one of the causes of this problem so you would think they would know how to fix it. But has the government fixed anything? Ever? Read the rest of this entry »

I see a trend, and it is one that is probably not going to go away.  It seems that we just don’t want to do anything for ourselves anymore.  Now this might not apply to you and your family.  It does not apply to mine.  But it is affecting my family daily.

I am a gray-haired parent, my husband and I having skipped a generation, becoming parents when others were starting down the road to grandparent-hood.  So we have memories of childhood routines and rituals that today’s parents do not share.  Young people easily grow weary of stories of how things used to be in the good old days.  I admit I do like to talk about it, but I try my darndest to not end every story judgmentally, with such statements as, “Things were sure better then.”  I may think it, but I don’t say it.  I will leave that decision to the listener.

My humble opinion is that things were simpler and less expensive, and every bit as fun, when I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s.  Take a child’s birthday party, for example.  I have always enjoyed doing parties for my children in our house, planning party games and making our own party invitations and decorations and baking our own birthday cake (or cupcakes, as the case sometimes is.)  As the kids get older they do more and more of the game planning and decoration making.
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Since it’s getting close to Thanksgiving time, I thought I would do a little research. I have always heard that the reason people want to nap after the big Thanksgiving meal is because of the turkey. If you are a Seinfeld fan, you will recall an episode where Jerry and George feed this woman a huge amount of turkey and then give her a box of wine to drink so she will get sleepy. The whole reason for them to do this was to play with her vintage toys.

Since I am not the best at science, unlike my boys, I did a little research and found out that it is NOT turkey that makes a person sleepy after that big Thanksgiving meal. In fact, one reason you get sleepy is because of the huge meal in itself. We all tend to overeat on Thanksgiving, it seems to be the “one” day we allow ourselves to splurge when it comes to eating. Or should I say pigging out?

According to one of the articles I read, it states: “So, why are you sleepy after a big turkey dinner? It’s a combination of the type of food, amount of food, and celebratory atmosphere.”

It goes on to talk about the famous L-Tryptophan that is in turkeys. This little amino acid apparently has a sleep inducing effect. However, the article does state that it takes more than just that to make a person sleepy. There are several factors involved: the amount you eat, alcohol, and relaxation.  If you eat something fatty or high in carbohydrates it slows down the digestive system. When you eat a big meal, all the blood rushes to the stomach to help digest the meal, making us feel oh so sleepy.

So the myth of turkey making you tired has been exposed. The next time you are at the buffet and eat just a bit too much, know ahead of time you will be going back to the truck a bit sleepy!

I found my graphic at: http://www.criticallayouts.com/component/option,com_rsgallery2/Itemid,330/page,inline/id,16844/catid,741/limitstart,10/.

I know that most drivers do not have any spare time on their hands but if you do and you want to promote a positive image of what a driver’s life is like, I suggest becoming a Trucker Buddy!

Trucker Buddy is an organization that started in 1992 in an effort to not only educate children about truck drivers, but also to show how truck drivers have to use the things they learned in school as an every day part of their career.  Things like geographical skills, mathematical skills, social and historical skills, and of course even reading and writing.

My husband has been a part of the program for around five years now. He is not the only that gets enjoyment out of the seeing the letters that he receives either. Our family gets involved. We share a little bit about ourselves with the class and answer questions they may have about the trucking business and our family. One of the biggest questions we always seem to get is how things are dealt with at home while my husband is away.

We try to teach the kids interesting facts about the states we have visited and I always look for neat postcards for them to have. I really enjoy the classes very much and usually make handmade stockings for the class every year complete with goodies inside!

I highly recommend Trucker Buddy if you have a few spare minutes (some teacher’s do communicate via email!) and would like to promote a positive side to trucking!