Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

After my rant about service, this isn’t guaranteed by a long shot, but it’s there for an emergency and one more source of info. Flat tire? Dead battery? Need a tow? In a strange area? Go to truckdown.com. Their website can be accessed by cell phones and other small screens.

I had to get a steer tire put on after I ran over a pallet in a parking lot. I thought I was going to miss it, but hit the corner just right and it sliced the sidewall. I’ve done dumber stuff, but at least not lately.

My first source for emergency service is the book that lists all the truck stops. It has phone numbers and lets you know if the truck stop has road service or a garage or a number of other facilities. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 18% [?]

The trucking industry is complex, not appreciated by or understood by society-at-large and is filled with people that will do anything for a dollar; thus driving down rates and compromising safety in an effort to stay ahead of the other guy.

I am a proponent of re-regulating the industry to some degree. As much as I am a capitalist and have a fair and pragmatic view of the free market, deregulation has adversely affected some of our most prosperous and technical advanced markets. And in the end, deregulation does not create a more competitive market, but just the opposite. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 25% [?]

Have you ever been to the truck stop at exit 193 on I-70, in Ohio? If you have, you’ll know what I mean when I tell you it’s the average dive truck stop. I stop there occasionally because it’s rarely crowded and I can get in and out quickly. The employees will actually return a “Hello” when you speak to them too, unlike the Pilot down the road.

I admit to not caring much for some truck stop employees, but after last night, I will always keep an eye out to help them.

There was a lunatic that came up to my truck asking for a cigarette. Odd looking character and he was dancing around a lot. He hissed at me when I told him to get away from the truck. There was something clearly wrong with this guy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 25% [?]

I’ve mentioned Google Docs before here mainly using Google Docs as a backup for documents and spreadsheets or being able to see and use your documents on different computers. Any time I say, “documents”, it also means spreadsheets and presentations.

Until now, it hasn’t been the easiest process to move your current documents into Google Docs. Google has just released a Windows application (here) that makes it super easy to upload documents to Google either by drag-and-drop or from the Right click menu.

You can also email a document as an attachment to your secret Google account and it will automatically create a google document. After you have your regular Google and gmail accounts, go here to find your secret uploading address with instructions.

Google Uploader

Popularity: 14% [?]

I couldn’t resist, this is too funny.

Inexperienced driver uses bad judgment; crashes on day two

…on his second day on the job, he attempted to make a narrow right turn, but didn’t have enough space. He wound up taking out a Dunkin’ Donut sign, which then fell on a parked car.

Stoughton, MA, Police Sgt. Paul McCallum said a pickup truck with a trailer, much less a semi, could even have had a tough time with the turn,. “It’s hard to believe this guy tried to pull this off,” McCallum told the Stoughton Journal. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 26% [?]

There’s no argument that Railroads can ship freight cheaper and some freight moves better by rail than by truck. Bulk commodities like coal, oil and even large quantities of grain. Actually, large quantities of anything can move better by rail. Part of the problem is the railroads are suffering some of same problems as trucking, its infrastructure is old and they have a driver shortage! And until recently rails had too much freight and trucking was taking up the slack.

Eric’s Freightdawg blog points this out

All Michael Ward (CSX CEO) had to say was “another great quarter and another great year”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 21% [?]

According to the ATA things are going to get worse before they get better -

The Road Ahead for Trucking Stocks
The slowdown in tonnage volumes is projected to continue into 2008. “Based on the latest economic data and the expected slowdown in the economy over the next few quarters, we anticipate lackluster freight volumes at least through the first half of 2008,” Headley said.

Tonnage trends have been abysmal since August, and coupled with the higher cost of fuel, disaster for quite a few truckers’ income statements in the coming round of earnings releases is all but a foregone conclusion. We still have a long-term bullish perspective on trucking industry shares, and believe that there will be a wave of consolidation, but feel that the backdrop could get much worse before it begins to get normalized.

Most everyone has figured that out by now. This same article goes on to say that JB Hunt is their favorite among the trucking stocks because of   Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 18% [?]

Over the last couple of years I’ve been following the development of the Scuderi Split-Cycle engine with skeptical interest. The four-stroke internal combustion engine, first perfected by Nicolaus Otto 120 years ago, is a study in simplicity and, because of that, has proven to be a design on which it’s difficult to improve; though many, including Rudolph Diesel, have tried. Whether or not the effort put forth by the Scuderi Group will succeed is yet to be seen but, to say the least, it’s certainly interesting.

According to some recently concluded theoretical testing - all indications are that the Scuderi Split-Cycle engine, which can be configured for either diesel or gas operation, is as much as 30% more efficient than current designs and produces 50% to 80% fewer NOx emissions.

Update: 1/25/08

I’ve been offered an opportunity to interview the President of the Scuderi Group for the next Trucker Tech Podcast. Details are still being worked out so there’s no guarantee it’ll happen but, just in case it does, I thought I’d offer Life on the Road readers, contributors and authors the opportunity to submit questions. If you’re interested, just leave your questions in the “Comments section” along with the way you’d like to be credited if your question is used (i.e., Phil from Life on the Road).

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 57% [?]

You’re kidding me right? Now? In this economy? I can’t stand it when I see a driver shortage story in the news. Like most of the truckers that have some kind of web site or presence online, I get a lot of questions from people wanting to get into driving and thanks to stories like this listed as news the object is to confuse and play on people’s desire for a job and adventure. Just because something like this is in a newspaper or anywhere else, listen closely, closer, get a notebook out to write this down, ready? IT’S A PRESS RELEASE! NOT A NEWS STORY!!!

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 26% [?]

And I’m not talking about Mexican trucks. Why aren’t the teamsters, PATT and even OOIDA standing up and complaining against these trucks?

Unsafe trucks stream out of L.A.’s ports
Pushed by thin profit margins, many drivers rely on shadowy fix-it men or skip repairs as they elude inspectors.
By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 21, 2008
Miguel had more reason than usual to be anxious as he drove his aging big rig out of the Port of Los Angeles’ bustling China Shipping Terminal. By his own admission, his 24-year-old truck was dangerously overloaded. The suspension was shot, the tires nearly bald. Over his CB radio, other drivers barked warnings that the California Highway Patrol had set up several checkpoints nearby.

“I’m worried,” said Miguel, a 47-year-old independent operator who requested anonymity to avoid trouble with the law. “If I get inspected, I could get put out of business,” he said, easing into traffic while scanning for the CHP. “Something real bad could happen at any moment on the road. I’m doing the best I can. It’s a vicious cycle.” Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 19% [?]