Life on the Road - Trucking News Blog

Good Sunday all. Are you home and off the road today? Did you attend a Church or Temple ( or Mosque) of your choice? You’ll feel better, trust me. What’s that? You’re hung over, stuck in a futon with someone named Wanda? And you have a tattoo? Well, to each his own. As far as I’m concerned, despite being in sweltering Texarkana TX, in the back of a Texaco station, I have the day off. It’s 34 hour shut-down time. I haven’t had to do that in a long while. It means flatbed freight is truly way up and I might be able to buy that Motorola Droid X soon. And a new GPS. And that new $189 Kindle. And send my mom some money. Holy smokes, I think I’ll go back to bed. But I’m starving and the Subway here is calling out to me. “Oh, Marshall, sweetie, this is your egg white ham and cheese flatbed sandwich calling you, dear heart, come to me – now.” Damn, I can’t resist that. I’ll be back in a few minutes.

That was good. Yummy and healthy. Remember, no chips – go with the yogurt. And NO cookies! The interesting thing is that inside this dump is a “classy” cigar store. It’s closed today, but it looks like it has a good size walk-in humidor. I have no clue what it’s doing here inside a gas station. There are no signs for it outside that I can see, and looking at the “patrons” who fuel here, who go inside for a wiz or to order a sub, well, they don’t like the type to indulge in a fine cee-gar. I used to love a Cuban or two, but I’m sure if I lite up anything near me, I would explode, that being with all the meds I’m using. LOL. So, no cigars for me. There is an awesome black high tech really cool looking travel humidor that would hold 4 Cubans for $19.95. Maybe some other time.

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I-40 is a mess again – two days in a row. And the “goobers” of the TN State Police were busy screwing traffic up again. Westbound was backed up for miles before mile post 101. Road construction, massive destruction, cops and robbers amiss, nobody has a clue. A driver on the CB (over some moron broadcasting horrible country music) said there has been bridge work for the past two years. Two years? Where is this, Georgia?

“They’re diverting traffic off the exit and then back on the other side.” Seems reasonable. There is TN gumshoe (trooper) sitting off to the side in the opposite direction of traffic with his annoying blue lights flashing. Does this idiot realize that 99% of the driving public has no clue what his purpose is? He needs to get his fat trooper butt out of his goober-mobile and do something – like make sure the idiot 4-wheelers don’t come illegally flying down the right side breakdown lane and kill someone, like, oh, let’s see – the trooper.

After an hour sitting there in the 103 degree swelter, “we” creep up to the point that we were supposedly to be “diverted” off the interstate. And low and behold, there is one “cone truck” picking up, guess what? – cones. That is all that is happening. There are two TN troopers overseeing this “operation.” Traffic is at a virtually dead halt because of this foolishness. No construction, no accident, no calamity, no “police activity.” 1/4 mile westbound, on the other side, is a fender bender. More TN goobers with their big dumb hats, clipboards and measuring wheels. Traffic is backed up for 5+ miles. 1/4 mile further down the road, on the eastbound side, is yet another accident. Nothing serious. Tow trucks and three TN troopers working the scene. Traffic is backed up for, what seems like, forever. Miles ahead, there is a another plump trooper wedged into his squad car parked on the side with his blue lights glaring, doing absolutely nothing. And, 99% of the driving public has no idea what he is doing.

Speaking of goobers, I’m parked at a Texaco “truck stop” off I-30 in Hooks, TX. There are signs all over – looks like a moron used construction paper and crayon – demanding $10 a night payment for parking. On the door to the Subway, there must be five more handwritten threatening signs ordering truckers to pay the $10 fee “or else.” Oooo. I was going to stop at the “J” twenty miles North, but I need a Subway sandwich for my diet. I didn’t notice the “$” symbol in the truck stop guide until I got here. I’m debating moving back up to the “J.” A company truck just pulled in – I’ll see what he’s going to do. It’s just not right to make truckers pay so you “people” can bring over some more of your ugly relatives, so they can buy more Super 8′s and gas stations. Right?

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Happy Friday 13th LOTR followers. For those drivers that are fortunate enough to get home this weekend, have fun. For the rest of us, America’s freight rolls on. There was a 1 vehicle “accident” on I-40 westbound east of Nashville this afternoon. Traffic was backed up 5+ miles to the West and 8+ miles to the East. The TN State Police did their usual miserable job of managing the situation and what in other states, on other roads would be nothing, this “event” lasted hours longer than it should have.

Speaking of TN, I truly resent that the 55/65 and 55/70 mph speed limit “split” is still in effect there. When OODIA stops wasting their time with barbeques and giving out awards nobody cares about, maybe they’ll get down to business and get the speed limits safe for truckers in TN. Split speeds anywhere are totally unsafe. And, back to the 1 car accident, there was no reason for any backup in either direction, but it was the worst case of “Oh, let’s stop and take a look at what’s happening.” These folks are as dumb as bowling pins and the truckers trying to “control” traffic are no better. Shame on all of you.

As I was trying to make time down to Texarkana, I got a call from dispatch telling me there is a HOT load that will be at our Dallas yard tomorrow night. So forget Texarkana, head straight to Dallas, drop the trailer and wait for the other load that needs to be delivered to Wausau WI next Thursday. Next Thursday? The rationale behind all this is “we” don’t have enough drivers to “handle” this load. Well, isn’t that special. Problem is, I’m low on hours. I will have 8.5 left on my 70 tomorrow afternoon and need to shut down for 36 on Sunday. I’m about 600 miles from Dallas. Long story short, turns out someone else will handle it and I will proceed on schedule. That’s the photo I took of the 1 car accident. The driver was air lifted out hours earlier. I don’t know what his/her condition is.

Moving on, my hatred of Facebook continues. I have 57 e-mails from people who are asking to be friends. I have no idea who the heck they are. I would love to comply, but Facebook has me on “hold” from adding friends because I’m abusive and annoying. This constantly happens to me. I can’t wait to meet someone who works for Facebook. I intend to shove their head in a bucket of ice water. Facebook along with Twitter are no better than the bowling pin morons who sit on the interstate waiting to see a 1 car accident. I find the fact that Facebook allows the use of profanity, repugnant. There is some intelligent “conversation” occurring, but the rest of the nonsense is no better than childish CB chatter. I’m now hearing of some influential and popular media folks pulling out of Facebook and concentrating on building their web sites and chat rooms. The photo to the left is just after I “cleared” the 1 car accident heading west – look at the other side standing still – OMG.

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At this moment, I’m parked for the night at a Shell station off I-81 in Balleyton, TN. I’m glad I’m off the road. Outside, there is a torrential lightning rain storm going on. It’s been a longer day that I anticipated and I’ve had enough of it. There are 3 truck stops at this exit, but I chose the smallest where there was a lot with no painted lines and a small clean Subway. I’m always amazed when truck drivers are “allowed” to park on their own and how nicely things work out. I was at a place last night, in PA, where there was only a large dirt lot and everyone seemed to get along just fine and park their rigs safely in an organized fashion. If I could, I’d paint over every line in every truck stop with black paint and guaranteed, things would be so much better for us all.

Right now, I’m under a military load with nine helicopter engines on the trailer. All nine are “hermetically-sealed” in special steel “pods” to protect them against the elements. From the time I checked into the transportation office until I got loaded was an amazing 45 minutes. I used to haul oversized military loads for Trism – tanks and portable bridges and such – years back and it used to take 1/2 day or longer to get loaded. And the paperwork involved was horrific.

Jacksonville FL was the worst place to pick up anything. Material would come off the ship heavily damaged from the war in Iraq. Then they would have to figure out how to get it on my trailer. The entire process was totally inefficient. The personnel were rude. Those were days I just assume forget. The company I’m with doesn’t do military loads generally – I don’t know why I have this one, but it’s a nice change of pace, and with heat being as high as it is, I didn’t have to tarp the load.

Times have changed from those Jacksonville days. And, I have to say, that the women in the US Army are hot! Female soldiers of every rank were everywhere on the base today, far outnumbering the guys, and that was fine with me – I love a girl in uniform. On a more serious note, I was damn proud of their outstanding attitude and professionalism. The private sector sure has a lot to learn from the military.

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Imagine you are the middle school daughter of a truck driving mother. Now imagine your mother pulling you and your brother out of public school and enrolling you in a school on wheels – homeschooling in the sleeper of her 18-wheeler.

That is exactly what happened to Kerry Anderson and her brother. Their mother supplemented their curriculum (they mailed in assignments) with activities based on life on the road. She had them calculate fuel efficiencies and arrival times. She had them assist with route planning. Kerry and her brother were involved in many of the aspects of the job of full time truck driving.

After graduating from homeschool high school, Kerry attended Valencia Community College and just prior to graduation was surprised to receive an invitation to study at Harvard University, expenses paid. She graduated from Harvard this year, and is headed for law school.

Kerry remarked in an interview about just how unusual she was on the Harvard campus. To be a transfer from a community college was enough to have her stand out in the crowd, then add to that her truck cab homeschooling, and you have the ingredients for a real shock for both students and faculty.

She missed life on the road and rejoined her mother for a week of trucking right after graduation. She said she missed the trucking culture, meeting different kinds of people and hearing their stories. It’s an education you just cannot obtain while sitting in a classroom.

Kerry may be a graduate of Harvard, but she will always remain the proud daughter of her truck driving mother.

Now when I heard about Kerry’s homeschooled education in the cab, it got me wondering about age limits of passengers of truckers. I mean could that still happen today? Surely somebody has passed a law since then that would make it illegal to bring your middle school kids with you in the truck?

I am a homeschooling parent myself and plan to take our homeschooling family on the road for a cross country trip as part of my children’s education. I know of several homeschool families who have done this. But I have never met a homeschool family that has done that while maintaining full time truck driving.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128674314

I-81 Mountain Top PA. 195 miles – 3 hours away from my final in Seymour CT. I can’t wait to get out of this part of the country. What is up with I-80? The road work is terrible. Nine miles of monotonous orange cones, down to one lane of traffic and no obvious work being done. I don’t get it. Then five more miles of cones, again one lane of traffic and you finally get to the end, or the beginning? and there is a small truck picking up the cones. That, along with slow moving Floridians and those Greenpeace supporters in their little grey Prius’s, made this day a long one.

Just after 504 miles of driving, I was exhausted. I shut down here, which is a rest area. At 10:39pm there is no more truck parking. As far as getting up to CT, there is no way I’m taking I-287 to I-95 over the GW Bridge. It’s I-81 to I-84. As I’ve said many times before, there is no way I can drive 11 hours in the Northeast even in good weather with the longer days of sunlight, which is why I want the HOS changed. I logged 9.25 hours for 504 miles. No way – and the dark has a lot to do with it – I could have gone on really truly safely for another 1 3/4 hours. The consignee stops receiving at 11am. Don’t know why.

To keeps things interesting, I spent a few hours listening to the Dave Ramsey show on satellite. I don’t recall the channel. He’s the financial advice guy with a “Christian” edge to what he recommends. That doesn’t bother me. If Christ Jesus can help me out with the IRS and those pesky student loan folks, then His help is appreciated. I was truly amazed at the amount of people who call into the show and claim to be earning in the $80-90,000 range. One guy bought a home for $600K, now it’s worth $385K and it’s been on the market for over a year. Even on a $90,000 salary, he’s having problems surviving. He lives in the Pittsburgh area. I love how Ramsey refers to the IRS as the KGB. Way to go Dave. I see his books all the time, but maybe now I’ll order one from Amazon. I should make it a point to listen to him every day. It feels good to listen to other peoples problems and not focus so much on mine. And, Howard Stern isn’t cutting it for me anymore.

Hey, did you hear the story today about the Jet Blue flight attendant? Steven Slater, 38, of Queens, NY, has been charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, according to a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of NY & NJ, which runs the NY area airports. The case is still being investigated but will be referred to the Queens District Attorney’s office. Slater allegedly fled “his” plane via emergency chute, two beers in hand, after getting into a fight with a passenger and then cursing out the entire cabin over a loudspeaker.

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I was parked at the Shell/Subway right off I-96 in Portland MI. Last night, it was comforting to shut down at about 9:30pm and pull into a rest area where there was plenty of parking. What a concept! As you know, that would have never happened in North Carolina or anywhere in the horrid Northeast. It so happens it was the same rest area that many years ago I found out, in the dead of winter, that TRISM had shut down operations – Arrow style. I did make my delivery the next morning and due to the support of many drivers along the way, made it back home to Florida on fumes. I eventually returned the truck to Jacksonville and tried to get on with my life, broke. Right now, FYI, I’m on I-80 in Indiana headed to lovely CT with another load of tarped pipe.

I have tried several times to “register” for another Flying J fuel bonus card, but their website seems completely screwed up. The Pilot & J “programs” will be merged next year, but for now, since I told you I can now fuel at FJ due to their accepting Comdata, I might as well have a card. FJ just never seems to get it right, which is probably why Pilot has swallowed them as part of their “hey, let’s ignore the truck drivers since the dumb manager is never here and this dive is really a social club for all of us that can’t get into cosmetology school.” Wonderful.

The other merger, T/A and Petro, has produced a new version of their old boring “rag.” It’s the flip over two in one kind of “thing” that is annoying as hell to read. One side is the old Road King magazine, the other opposite side is something called the Driver’s Seat. Hey, Tom O’Brian – president of, I guess, the two merged entities aka – the guy who can’t seem to fix his parking lots, but had enough money to acquire Petro. the new “mag” is a stupid idea. I just do what the ten or so other drivers that read it do, rip it in half and then clip it together so it “handles” like a real magazine. I like Tim Brady, but I get cramps when I read about a woman owner-operator who “wants to expand and diversify her business” by getting “certified” as a minority owned company and as a “woman-owned” and “disadvantaged” business. What kind of nonsense is that?

So, I flip over the cover to the “other” magazine – the T/A side and I say holy smokes, looking at the photo. There’s a picture of driver-trainer Christine Stratton and her former submissive, I mean, trainee, one Randy Pease. Now I’m sure, maybe, that Ms. Stratton is a wonderful woman with many fine qualities. But, she scares me. Look at that smirk. I think if I touched her, I would ignite in flames. She has that cougar – I’m going to bite you hard look. I would never, ever get in a truck with her. And oh, did I mention, that I abhor as in despise any, every and all driver trainers? Well, I do. There is a photo of former student Pease hugging trainer Christine. It makes me want to barf. Doesn’t he just look like a leee-tle angel? Oh, he must have just been the perfect submissive, I mean trainee, for Ms. Stratton to share her two seconds in the spotlight with him. I’m just surprised the photo doesn’t show him with a studded dog collar with the leash in his trainers hands.

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I’m still using the Cobra Bluetooth headsets I wrote a post about back around January. I would still recommend them. I’ve never had a complaint from anyone at the other end of any conversation. I hear them and they hear me fine, despite all the truck noise. Now I’m in the process of searching for a new GPS to replace my ancient, but still performing Invion unit. QVC has offered nothing new in terms of any new technology or a deal that I could afford. Maybe closer to Christmas the situation will change. I noticed at a T/A that the price of the 7″ Cobra “truck” GPS has dropped once again to $349.97 from $399. It’s a “special” – good only until the end of August. Some special.

I believe it once was $499, which was an insane price. I have not met one driver with the expensive Rand McNally truck GPS or the Cobra unit. Anything over $199 for any GPS is just not going to fly with drivers in this economy. I have an “active” GPS on my phone which I could easily use instead of my present GPS. My cell GPS costs me nothing in and of itself. I’ve told Cobra that they’re going to be stuck with a lot of their 7″ truck GPS until that price really drops. T/A has told me that, just like at the beginning of the year, they’re not selling. Technology wise, there is nothing new going on with global positioning systems anywhere that I hear about. Slapping a Bluetooth feature on any unit is pointless. I have ideas, but the manufacturers seem to know it all – NOT.

Let’s move on. Listen, I can’t take it anymore. If I see one more driver sitting in a restaurant eating himself to death, I’m just going have to yell at him. While I was eating my salad at a T/A the other day, there was a driver killing himself with food. He had trouble sitting at the table he was at. It wasn’t even a booth. He was so fat he had to use the wall to hold himself upright. He could hardly walk to get more food. I could see and hear from 20 feet away that he was having trouble breathing. At one point, I thought he was going to faint. He was sweating profusely and constantly wiping his face with paper napkins in between bites. What am I supposed to do? I don’t want anybody telling me what to do. But I’m screaming inside – DRIVER STOP EATING FOR GOODNESS SAKES! He was on his 4th plate of ribs, potatoes and fried chicken. Roll after roll after roll. He had numerous desserts. It’s right in my face, I just can’t help but watch this disaster in progress.

I took this photo of another driver “walking” his little dog when I was in Kansas City the other day. It’s a good thing there was a McDonald’s nearby – I was worried he might eat the darn pooch. I know, I know, I’m just terrible, horrible, etc. But I can’t help it. Poor guy could hardly get in the cab of his truck. I still have trouble in my new KW getting past the tight two front seats into the bunk. And I’ve lost 25 pounds! How the heck does this guy or the driver in the T/A do it? How does a “doctor” clear this guy to drive or pass him through a DOT physical? I have no idea. I’m nowhere near this guys girth and it took a top cardiologist to clear me to drive again.

At the terminal this morning, there were too many drivers still smoking. And, no, they are NOT all thin – they are FAT. Fat and smoking are suicide. Don’t give me that crap that your BP is fine and you’ve been smoking without any problem since high school – and you’ve tried to quit, but you just can’t. Thank goodness, I never picked up the habit. Chris used to smoke when she was pregnant with our son,but she decided she had enough and stopped, just like that. No lame excuses. Just did it. Threw the Pall Mall Gold’s all in the garbage. And, the truck stops keep pushing cheaper and more dangerous 3rd rate brands of cigarettes to drivers along with candy and fatty junk foods. “Driver, want CANDY, they’re two for one.driver, want CANDY, they’re two for..

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First, an update from the idiots of the IRS. The GPS you use in your truck is NOT a business expense and you CANNOT deduct it. It is LUXURY ITEM. And, if you don’t have receipts for your steel toe boots and your work gloves, no matter what they cost – the IRS will NOT allow the deduction. When asked of the IRS functionary in Colorado, “What is the name of your supervisor?” – her response was “My supervisor.” My wife then said, “Fine, so when I mail the letter I’m going to write to your supervisor, I’ll address it to MY SUPERVISOR.

Moving forward, I’ve always said that short haul trips – anything under 500 miles – are always trouble. Today’s load from Bonner Springs KS to Tahlequah OK is no exception. It’s a 45K lbs. load of brick. I get there, they load it, I secure it. I get my bills and drive down the road. My cell rings – that’s the phone that the IRS is also not allowing as a business deduction – and it’s someone that sounds like my mother from the safety  department. It’s got to be a revolving door over there, because I don’t know who is who anymore. “How many straps do you have on the load?” I look behind me at the cargo and I count eight. “The shipper says you do not have enough securement on the load.” I respond by telling her that, fine, I’ll stop and “readjust” things.

So I stop and didn’t realize that I put two extra straps on the front and back pallets – for a total of 10 straps plus v-board edge protectors. That’s 50K lbs. of securement for the 45K load. When the loader looked at the trailer and then gave me the bills, he said, “Have a nice day.” I didn’t bother calling my mother back. But, then, a wee bit later comes the QUALCOM from Percy. “Thanks for doing what’s needed, even if it’s after the fact.” I’ve gotten other cute “messages” from him in the past. I said to myself, screw you Percy, you little so forth and so on. Later, when I sat down, for a chef salad at the Pilot/FJ, I looked out the window at the sky and the clouds and said to myself “I’m so over this.” I felt calmer and my BP stabilized.

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I said yesterday that I was listening to Willie’s Place on XM 13. Well, a man can only take so much. When Bill Mack aka The Midnight Cowboy – broke out his 78′s and started “spinning” The Mills Brothers – Blue Hawaii I had to draw the line somewhere. Mack said he “loves Hawaiian music.” OMG. Mack speaks of his upcoming “discussion” with Willie Nelson like a preacher looks forward the second coming. Hey Bill, I’m glad you’re still broadcasting – the old time drivers luv ya – but it’s all too much for this driver to handle. Back to my Sugarland CD. A 35ish redhead in a red tank and white short shorts just asked me if I wanted a “date.” Why do I leave my window open? She actually looked clean. She’s probably work’n her way over to the “J.” Thanks, but no thanks – I’m “spoken” for. Oh, here’s comes another one – older  – in a black camisole with jeans. She’s walk’n away from the “J” – the sheriff must be driving around the parking lot.

I’m in North Kansas City MO. There is a FJ – Flying J -off exit 57 – I 435 – Walker St. I rarely park there. There is no “sit down” food service at this location – no Denny’s or Subway or anything. The FJ “deli” inside has nothing but unhealthy junk. A 3000 calorie 12 inch schlong-like “sausage” colored with red die in a greasy pig’s blanket “roll” is NOT food! FJ wouldn’t know what a “deli” is if one hit them over the head. So here’s what I do – go down a few lights, drive into the corporate park on the right, make a legal u-turn and go back out and down Walker St. about 500 yards. Then I make a right just before I-435, then another right and there is truck parking behind Subway, Wendy’s and McDonald’s – all three of which are right next to each other. Convenient and far less stressful than the FJ. Not a lot of truck parking here, but if you get there early enough there is space for about 8 semi’s and a few tractors bobtailing.

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