I made my way out to the little ’burb of Stirling, Ont., just north of Belleville, this past weekend to check out the second annual Eastern Ontario Big Rig Truck Show and Shine, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. For a small community, they put on a pretty good show! I think about 90 show trucks were entered in the show and shine and I would say several hundred people from the community braved the blistering heat check things out. (My nose is still peeling. Note to self: always remember sunscreen).

One of the most original things I thought the show had to offer was the “Come and Drive a Big Rig Truck” event. Scarily enough, the event permitted anyone with a regular driver’s license to get behind the wheel of a big rig and take it for a spin. To be honest, I had no idea how they would pull this one off. I pictured the truck ploughing through the fairgrounds, picking off vendor’s booths like pylons before embedding itself in the side of a barn. Call me a pessimist, I guess.

But no, the novice driver was confined to an enclosed track, with the instructor’s foot at the ready, hovering above his own personal brake (a dead stop in a tenth of a second, I was told). And yes, even I, an admitted big rig rookie, decided to give it a shot. Thankfully, I was spared the pain of learning to double-clutch and instead learned the fine art of the slip shift. And with a brief two-minute lesson, there I was, on top of the world (or at least a bit higher than usual) making my way ’round the track just like all the drivers I’ve written about.

My instructor, Randy, said that many of the women who gave it a shot spent most of their lessons screaming with delight as they rounded each corner. Though I didn’t spend any of my lesson screaming, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a big smile on my face the whole time. Driving a truck might be old hat for you guys, but it was quite a rush for me!

I must say, I thought the event was an original – if not slightly daring – addition to the show, and the perfect way to educate the public on what it’s like to be a truck driver. Kudos to the organizers for pulling it off!

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A reader submitted these photos as a reminder to always be prepared for everything while out on the road. These pictures were taken near Terrace, B.C. The driver apparently rounded a corner in the highway and was greeted with a large fallen boulder in his path.

Fortunately, he wasn’t driving too fast and wasn’t seriously injured. The truck was a write-off, however, as you can clearly see from the pictures.

“They had to drill three holes in the rock/boulder to break it up enough for them to be able to move it,” the reader said in his e-mail.

Serves as a good reminder to always expect the unexpected out there.

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A growing legion of motorists are taking notice of their fuel economy and altering their driving styles to maximize mileage. However, the American Trucking Associations’ has voiced concern that the practice of ‘Hypermiling’ is posing risks to truckers and other drivers.

Hypermiling refers to “making skillful changes to the way you drive” according to one Washington Post article on the subject. Unfortunately, a commonly-used tactic involves closely following or ‘drafting’ tractor-trailers, much like NASCAR drivers do amongst each other on superspeedways.

A number of Web sites on hypermiling have popped up and the ATA is working to have their references to drafting removed. The risks of tailgating tractor-trailers are obvious, and far outweigh any fuel savings.

Some sites also suggest shutting down a hybrid vehicle while coasting to a stop in traffic. Sounds great, except that you lose control of certain vehicle functions when the vehicle is turned off. It’s great to see the general public is beginning to understand the benefits of fuel-efficient driving styles. Truckers have been employing fuel-efficient driving techniques for many years but I guess it takes a buzzword like ‘hypermiling’ to bring it into the mainstream. Hopefully motorists will use common sense and realize there’s a fine line between driving for maximum fuel mileage and risking your life and the lives of others.

After all, that hybrid driver may find himself underneath your rig if he spends too much time watching the fuel MPG readout and not enough time anticipating the traffic flow ahead.

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It’s sometimes surprising which topics elicit the most passionate responses from readers. Take for instance the cover story on the June issue of Truck News (Up in Smoke) about the impending ban of waste oil space heaters in Southern Ontario. While truck shop owners are among the largest user groups of the technology, I wasn’t expecting the plethora of responses that story triggered.

I have received many strongly-worded an opinionated phone calls and e-mails since the latest issue hit the street. All but one have expressed outrage at the government decision to ban the space heaters – a move that appears to be politically-motivated. Even a waste oil hauler - a guy who stands to benefit from the ban - called to say he disagrees with it.

Of particular interest was an e-mail from Lloyd Clare, the guy who was responsible for permitting the use of 600-plus waste oil space heaters in Ontario. Along with a colleague, he wrote the book on waste oil heaters (the appendix on used oil in the CSA B1329 oil burner code, more specifically) and says they pose no risk to the environment. He agreed with individuals quoted in the article that the province’s ban is politically-motivated and driven by the re-refining industry.

“Used oil furnaces put out less VOCs than natural gas and burn cleaner than #2 furnaces in terms of carbon emissions because of the superior atomization method. They put out less emissions than a new automobile going down the 401 and about half the ash of a wood fireplace. In general, 12 to 20 times more furnaces can be installed in a building than is required to heat it and still meet emissions standards. The point here is, and I know what I am talking about, this is not an environmental issue - this is corruption of the highest order,” he wrote. You can read his entire letter in the July issue of Truck News, along with some other reader responses.

Unfortunately, it appears attempts to derail the ban may prove unsuccessful. The OTA has been lobbying against the ban and appealing to the MOE to, at the very least, extend a grandfather clause on existing space heaters. But an OTA official told me yesterday that even though there’s plenty of scientific evidence that the space heaters pose no risk to the environment, the province is bound and bent on proceeding with the ban. It boils down to the fact the province feels that recycling oil through a re-refiner is fundamentally more prudent than allowing users to burn the oil themselves for heat. If that’s the case, then no amount of scientific evidence presented by opponents of the ban is likely to change the MOE’s mind on this matter. They’ve dug in their heels. Made up their mind. Science be damned.

For what it’s worth, you can let the MOE know how you feel about the impending ban by calling Minister Laurel Broten’s office at 416-314-6790.

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