I am always surprised although I shouldn't be, at the US AGAINST THEM MENTALITY.

It is funny! Every driver, has the same complaints, too much favortisim, too many good loads go to the other guys, no loads unless I bribe the dispatcher. Always the same. The dispatchers they try to treat everyone fairly, try to do the best with what they have, try to keep the ocmpany happy at the same time as the drivers. A more perplexing problem is that they also have to keep the mix of freight happy with O/O versus Company drivers.

Business is slow, so drivers are again jumping ship. Companies out there, are retaining the good drivers they have, letting the bad ones go, and retraining and re-educating the ones they keep. At the same time the company is also spending the money, re-educating the dispatchers.

The Government says the recession is over. I say, it maybe turning the corner, but still very early in game to make such statements. After all we in Transportation, and Trucking in particular, are the first to see the changes.

The smart shippers and cosignees, are partnerinng with carriers, to ensure their goods arrive on time very time. No carrier is taking low paying freight anymore just for the sake of cash flow, whether it is a Postitive Cash Flow or or Negative Cash Flow. Dispatcher's have to be aware of ROUND TRIP MILES. Companies ahve to make them aware of AVERAGE COSTS PER MILE. They also have to communicate what they need to stay in business(PROFIT)

Let's all sit down talk, communicate, exchange ideas, and at the end of the day, go home happy and feel we accomplished something together as a team

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Not surprisingly, I really enjoy driving and I wish I could spend less of my time chained to my desk and more time out there on the road. Last week I took the opportunity to drive to Ste-Therese, Quebec for FPInnovation’s VIP day, held in conjunction with its latest Energotest in nearby Blainville.

The event was held at the Paccar plant, and I’ll be reporting on some of FPInnovation’s latest projects shortly. They’ve got some interesting new tests on the go, specifically related to the fuel-saving potential of hybrid commercial vehicles.

Now, for a few observations from my trip.

1. LCVs: Saw my first four Ontario LCVs. I saw one SLH LCV headed each way on my way to Montreal and passed another of SLH’s LCVs on my way back home the next day. I passed a fourth as well, but the name of its owner escapes me. These trucks are easy to spot because of the signage on the back, and as I’ve often said before, they’re slow and predictable. I’m not surprised the public hasn’t risen up against the use of LCVs in Ontario, because they’re perfectly safe vehicles with which to share the road. The equipment was shiny and new and in each case was being driven by a true professional. It’s nice to see Ontario get on-board by finally allowing these productive and safe combinations. Yesterday at the Ajax/Pickering Board of Trade meeting, David Bradley told me about 18 LCVs have been approved in Ontario and that’ll slowly ramp up as more carriers complete the necessary driver training.

2. Public peeing: I’m not referring to truck drivers here. On a couple of occasions I passed motorists who shamelessly stopped alongside the 401, whipped out their um, units, and relieved themselves in full view of passing (with an ‘a’) vehicles. C’mon, people. No matter how much coffee you’ve had to drink, take a few minutes to pull off the highway and into one of the many roadside communities to use the proper facilities. I guess this is a result of the closure of most of Ontario’s service centres, which today is a hot topic of discussion thanks to an article in the Toronto Star. While the closure and reconstruction of these facilities was poorly planned and will no doubt drag on much longer than first expected, there’s still no excuse for taking a whizz on the shoulder of the highway.

3. Speed limiters: As I’ve written before, I’ve never understood the need for speed limiters but at the same time, I’ve often felt the safety arguments against their use were overstated. Now, I’m not so sure. My personal observations are highly unscientific, I’ll admit, but man there sure were a lot of elephant races. In many cases, four-wheelers responded as you’d expect, by trying to pass aggressively on the inside. I just sat back and watched the mayhem unfold. Yesterday during his speech at that same Ajax/Pickering Board of Trade meeting, Bradley said the “boogeyman” scenarios (ie. elephant races and NASCAR-style wrecks) feared by many truckers have not materialized. For the most part, he’s correct, at least when it comes to accidents.

But I would argue there are certainly more elephant races. Bradley also said in those instances, you have to question why the trucker in the left lane has pulled out to pass at that time in the first place? That’s a valid point - in many cases there was no need for the truck in the outside lane travelling at 105 km/h to be trying to pass another truck doing maybe 103. But in many other instances I observed, it was just the common courtesy of allowing merging vehicles to safely join the flow of traffic that left the trucker stuck in the fast lane, unable to get back to the right because other motorists wouldn’t give him the space to do so. Improving lane discipline is needed and will hopefully come in time as four-wheelers realize the limitations of trucks these days and truckers adapt to driving trucks locked at 105. Next time a trucker moves over to the left lane to allow you to merge onto the highway, maybe consider backing off to let him back in front?

At any rate, here are a few pictures I snaped. And please spare me the comments about taking pictures while driving – I had the camera at the ready and simply picked it up and clicked these pictures without so much as looking at the display screen. Distracting? Maybe. But no more so than taking a sip of coffee.

Two trucks pull out to pass a slower moving truck. They didn’t do anything wrong, but completing the pass took a long time and cause frustration for other motorists. Note the brake lights on the white car. He dodged into the inside lane and aggressively tried to pass the trucks on the left to no avail.

Again, the trucker in the ‘fast’ lane didn’t do anything wrong here when trying to pass the slower moving truck on an uphill grade. But without the extra juice, the move once again took a long time to complete.

This is a case of a trucker perhaps being too nice for their own good. The driver in the left lane moved over to allow merging traffic to enter the highway and then was stuck out there alongside a truck travelling at about the same speed.

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Truck drivers know why they truck, but they can't always explain it. Leave it to some outsiders to delve into the psychological aspects of gear jamming, why we come back day after day and enjoy this job. For one thing, it's a profession that exists in the real world, with real people and real situations, some of whom are extremely charming and multi-dimensional. I wrote the following piece on white collar professionals who turned to trucking, about 6 years ago and I'd love to know what these people are doing now. I suspect some of them have moved on to other occupations. Still, they offer some insight of the most compelling reasons to drive truck. Heck, I'll find redemption in P & D work, yet!

Oh yes, I'm going to be on the Dave Nemo show on XM Sirius this Thurs. Sept. 24 at 10 am Eastern Time...Something about Canadian trucking history, eh?

Stepping off the Treadmill and onto the Highway:
Soldier, Preacher, AdMan, Trucker: Burned out professionals find fulfilment, even salvation in driving big trucks

Jacob Froese says trucking saved his life--literally. Four and a half years ago he was a practising Mennonite minister with a busy parish in Edmonton, Alta. But beneath a rock-like exterior, Froese was dealing with what he describes as suicidal bouts of depression. After 19 years behind the pulpit he was overextended and on the brink of psychological collapse.
Having worked as a trucker while attending seminary, Froese grasped at truck driving as a lifeline. “I actually suffered a nervous breakdown while heavily involved in urban ministry. My yearning was for the open road because I’d actually tasted it,” he says. “At the worst times, I’d romanticize the sound of the tires on the pavement.”
Froese quickly found a broker from the Yanke Group willing to sign him on. After a few months on the open board, he was both the pilot and owner of a 98 Freightliner.
Born in Saskatchewan, from Old Colony Mennonite descent, he looks like a prairie boy, tall and tanned, sipping coffee in a Brampton, Ont. diner. His rig waits in the lineup outside. The 54 year old Calgary-based driver has just dropped a trailer at the company yard and is on his way to hook to a load of paper towels bound for Wisconsin. His steel blue eyes stare through gold-rimmed aviator glasses as he talks openly about his transformation from pulpit to owner-operator. A small silver cross dangles around his neck
“I’d wake up in my cab and sweat about what meeting I had that day. Then this great feeling of relief came over me when I realized all I had to do today was drive 1,000 kilometers.”
But the pastor-come-trucker does not consider his new occupation to be that different from his former calling. “I’m still touching people. I connect with some of the real things in life, right here in the trucking world,” he says. “Spiritual stuff. You’re dealing with bad communications, frustrated managers and drivers. You know what? I consider that the real world. I have something authentic to participate in.”
For most rookies, getting behind the wheel is less dramatic. Many are introduced to the trade by a friend or relative. A good number have agricultural or mechanical backgrounds. Some drivers originally take up trucking as stepping stone to a better job and end up sticking around. But a new group of metamorphosed draymen is quickly earning its place among the ranks. This is an oddball assortment of highly educated, frayed and burned out professionals, on the rebound from stressful management and executive jobs.
As counselor at the Humber College Transport Training Centre in Rexdale, Ont., Ron Mikula has seen more than a few anguished white collars come sniffing around his school. Office workers, a former IBM executive, and a stock broker have all been through their program
“They’re trying to get away from a high-pressure environment into different kind of job where they can still call the shots. It’s a different kind of pressure,” says Mikula.

Rick Butterworth of Middleville, Ont. is a perfect example. A year ago he would have been tearing his hair designing corporate advertising campaigns from his home in Lanark County. His freelance consulting work was going well, but he was discontented.
“Every time I wanted to strangle a client over a desk, there was a voice that said, ‘Relax, you can always drive a truck.’”
Until then, the biggest thing he’d ever driven was a 28 foot U-haul. With the same diligence he applied to his freelance work, Butterworth investigated half a dozen driving schools and companies. “My research suggested I was suited for long hauls,” he says.
Butterworth chose an Ottawa-area school that streamed him into the Highland Transport system. He obtained his AZ licence late in 1999 and long hauls are what he got. Today he is working on the open board and likely to be anywhere in North America.
I caught up to him on his cell phone, cooking dinner for himself at a rest area near Montgomery, Alabama.
“It’s been really good for me,” he says, positively gleeful about his lifestyle change. “Now I’m no longer staring at the computer. I got off the electronic highway and decided to see the real one.”
Butterworth, like the above-mentioned Froese, has been able to balance married life with long road trips. Both acknowledge long term relationships with understanding spouses as a crucial underpinning of their new work life.
“Living 5 hours from the yard, I tend to stay out for 4-6 weeks,” says Butterworth. “My wife is used to having me away from home for long periods of time, anyway. She was tired of this unhappy, grumpy, middle-aged man sitting around the house.”
The phone crackles and Butterworth’s steak sizzles. He admits that he’s had to adjust to a new pay scale. “I make as much in one week as I used to bill for one day in the 80s,” he says candidly.
But one senses that the rewards of his present job are worth many times his previous invoices. “I always had moral problems with some of the projects I worked on…but there’s definitely something honest and blue collar about driving a truck. It’s definitely a progression from what I’m used to.”

Captain Doug Handforth had a long and varied Air Force career behind him, including service as an assistant logistics officer for the Snowbirds aerobatics team in Moose Jaw, Sask. But he was desperate for a change and tired of pushing pencils. “There was a lot of pressure from a logistics point of view,” he says. “I was in administration. Everything I was dealing with was paper--emails, memos, telephone calls.
He hit on trucking as the perfect solution to his dilemma, despite not having any hands-on experience. Handforth wanted a portable trade should his family decide to move out of Kingston, Ont. (two of his sons are very fine hockey players and his daughter is a competitive swimmer). Further, he was anxious to find another vocation before he reached the difficult, overlooked, unemployable age of 55 (he’s 48.). Lastly, he says, “I thought I had lost touch with my roots. I wanted to get in real life situations with people.”
So far, trucking has supplied that reality for the former military man. Handforth has found a niche that fit his personal situation--running team from Toronto to Moncton, N.B. and back, two times a week.
The intense schedule allows him weekends off and downtime with his family. “I’m happy,” says Handforth. “I don’t know if I can drive a truck for another ten years. It’s demanding on your body. But for now trucking has met all my expectations.”

The above three drivers are not unique. While researching this article, I heard stories of teachers, lawyers, computer scientists, nurses, paramedics, PhDs and exiled civil servants driving truck.
These neo-truckers bring a new element to the industry. They are often workaholics in middle age who come to over-the-road transport as a second or third profession, usually from highly skilled and creative positions, sometimes forsaking large salaries. And they share the vision of an endless panorama of endless sunsets, moon rises and starry skies. For these new drivers, trucking is the coolest job in the world, and they know it.

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I have enjoyed most the association events I have attended and been involved with over the past number of years on both sides of the border. A popular theme to most of them up until a year ago though was the driver shortage, and I sure don't miss hearing about it. I was wondering about proposing a new breakout session that might raise some eyebrows and stir the pot so to speak when this subject comes back to haunt us all again.

You see if in fact we are coming out of this recession and start to see an upswing in capacity next year some time, the first indication will likely be the so called “Driver’s Shortage” coming back to industry headlines so I thought I might call my session “Driver Shortage the Untold Reality “or “Driver Shortage 101 Not” I would have to give this some thought.

You see the “Driver Shortage 101 Not” refers to what each of us has been bombard with over the past 15-year’s driver shortage driver shortage driver shortage, enough already. Anyone who has thought it through knows that an over population of vehicles does not mean there is a driver shortage it means trucking companies have a habit of buying to many trucks and then not being able to fill the seats, is that a driver shortage, I think not.

My session would support the reality of what a true driver shortage would look like and it would be much more obvious than trucks against a fence at someone's terminal it would directly affect the consumer as in, off they go to the market or store and they see an empty self where there shouldn’t be one.

Not because the product or foodstuff doesn’t exist but because the shipper could not get a truck at any price to actually pick the freight up and deliver it! This thought scares the wits out of shippers, I have seen shippers over the years continually jump on the driver shortage band wagon and they will do it again when the economy turns around, it protects their margins to see trucking companies beat each other up over capacity. Shippers want trucking companies to overpopulate themselves as it creates greater competition and lowers their freight rates.

Shippers have a vested interest in seeing that trucking companies continue to grow their fleets and compete over every scrap of freight in sight, it depresses rates and they are the only ones who win at that game.

I would love to see this economy snap back quicker than anyone ever thought possible and real shortage of drivers happen in the market place. It wouldn’t likely last but it might be fun for awhile!

Picture a trucker posting their open capacity on a web site where shippers go online in auction fashion to bid for skid space against other shippers, highest bid wins and of course freight must be paid in full before any pickups of freight are made….

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Quite a few of us, attend Seminars, study sessions, group activities, etc. We meet people and we talk, learn discuss and generally hear the STATE OF THE UNION FROM SOMEONE ELSE'S PERSPECTIVE.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to attend the DRIVING FOR PROFITS, Seminar Series, have heard Allison Graham. Great speaker, Great presentation, great ideas. Yet we still seesomel of the same people making the same PITFALLS time after time. My only suggestion, to NETWORKING is to temper things a little, People new to the industry, are very intimidated, by THE OLD SCHOOL, ( That means Us). Networking does not mena being aggresive to the point of being a pain in the behind.

Yesterday at THE FALL CLASSIC ( OTA GOLF DAY) lots of friendly faces, familiar faces, even the odd scary face. I have to admit it still never ceases to amaze me, that in today's day and age, we are still so dependant on each other , the correct constant flow of information, and followup. Everyone makes mistakes, Everyone of us, will do, has done, and will continue to make mistakes. MAYBE NOT THE SAME ONES BUT WE WILL MAKE MISTAKES.

YET WE STILL HERE OF COMPANIES BLACKBALLING ANOTHER COMPANY, BLACKLISTING A COMPANY CUTTING OFF A COMPANY FOR supplying ERRONEOUS INFORMATION. Yesterday I heard of a compnay BLACKLISTING SOMEONE. Upon further investigation, 3 THINGS WERE NOTED, 3 DEFICIENCES NOTED, 3 CORRECTED INTERNALLY. None of the information given out was intentionally given to mislead. It is like any computer system GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT.

Other than people double brokering loads, not paying bills, NOT PAYING BILLS ON TIME, and misrepresenting the facts, (DELIBERATLEY) I might add, is our industry that childish still that we have to threaten each other.

Let's be grown Men and Women and help each other, before we threaten. Those of us old enough to remember the movie THE NEW CENTURIONS with George C Scott, an aging Policeman, ( last name in the movie) was KILBENSKI. He had lots of his own euphanisims. He used to call them KILBENSKI'S LAWS : 1 OF WHICH WAS HE WHO THREATENS HAS ALREADY LOST. Let's try to assist, help mitigate, alleviate problems, help point our errors, etc.
Remember we always get more accomplished with SUGAR AND HONEY than we do with!!?? (WELL I THINK YOU GET THE IDEA)

IT MAKES THE INDUSTRY SMARTER, WISER, AND OF COURSE MORE RESPECTED.

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Nulogx today is launching something desperately missing from the Canadian over-the-road transportation industry: a national general freight index relevant to our marketplace.

The index tracks changes in over-the-road transportation costs. It is derived from Nulogx’s database of more than $750 million in annual freight transactions. Included in the index are domestic and cross border truckload and LTL transactions. The index includes base freight charges, fuel surcharges and other accessorial charges. (Not included in the index are liquid bulk, dry bulk, forest products and other specialized freight.)

The index is being developed with the help of Dr. Alan Saipe, president, Supply Chain Surveys Inc., who reviews it monthly for validity. Dr. Saipe is well known and respected in transportation circles. I’ve had the good fortune of working with him on transportation research related projects in the past and his knowledge of the market is top notch.

The Canadian General Freight Index is based upon actual costs in the Canadian transportation marketplace and so Dr. Saipe believes the trends it reveals are good statistical estimates of what has really happened.

Done right and on a monthly basis, I believe this index will provide both carrier and shipper executives with much needed insight into how freight costs are trending.

The first report authored by Dr. Saipe already tells a fascinating story about how freight costs fared while the economy was working its way into recession. In the first seven months of 2008 general freight costs rose 14.4%, driven up by increases in both freight rates and fuel surcharges. From January to July rates increased 7.3% while average fuel surcharges rose by nearly 44%.

Then the realities of the slowing economy in both Canada and the US began to take over. In August average fuel surcharges started to fall tracing the decline in the cost of crude oil. At the same time freight rates leveled off as the economy weakened, and then notched up for the start of 2009. The combined result brought total freight costs steadily down from their peak in mid-08 – the index has fallen 13.4% since July 08. In fact, as Dr. Saipe points out, in May ’09 ground transportation cost less than it did in January ’08.

Dr. Saipe also looked at fuel surcharges and how they responded to changes in crude oil costs. They started down in August 2008 and fell steadily through to March 2009. Then they leveled off, even though the cost of crude bounced upwards in the spring. Technically fuel surcharges have lagged the cost of crude oil; still, they followed crude down within weeks.

And what of freight rates? The key learning, according to Dr. Saipe, is that average freight rates have not come down during the recession – nor have they gone up by very much. On average, rates in May ’09 are up about 1% from July ’08. But the story is quite different in the different segments of the market, Dr. Saipe points out.

Both the Canadian General Freight Index and the Base Freight Cost Index are built up from four sub indexes –one for each of Domestic TL, Domestic LTL, Cross Border TL, and Cross Border LTL –and each segment is different. Interestingly, domestic freight rates have come down in the recession, while cross border rates in Canadian dollars have increased.

Most of the 6.2% Cross Border LTL rate increase came from the weaker Canadian dollar, although average underlying rates did show a small increase. Only about half of the 9% increase in Cross Border TL rates came from the weaker Canadian dollar, with higher underlying rates accounting for the rest.

The index is sensitive to the Canadian/US exchange rate because some of the charges are in US dollars.

Dr. Saipe will be authoring a report on further findings from the Nulogx freight index for our Decisions 2010 Issue, later this year.

Nulogx plans to update the index each month, posting the results to their website
www.nulogx.com.

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I've found a small niche on the Dave Nemo satellite radio show. I guess they liked my contribution to the Do We Need a New Trucking Hero segment. The producer wants to include some Canadian historical content and I've got at least 20,000 words of text that I gathered while I was researching Highway Workplace: the Canadian Truckers Story for the Virtual Museum of Canada (check out www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Highway. The exhibit has been running since 2004, and although some of the economic and census figures may have changed a little, the historical and cultural facts are still accurate. The exhibition was originally meant to travel across Canada housed in a tractor trailer but for various reasons (some which I'll sound off about in the near future) was never built. What a unique opportunity to reach the Canadian public directly by going right to their communities, schools, fairs, malls and communicate with people on their own turf. Every time I hear someone griping about the poor public image that the trucking community projects, I'm left scratching my head as to why this travelling exhibit was overlooked as a public relations vehicle. The carriers could have flown their flags, OEMs could have demonstrated their products, and a concept like this could have gone a long way to enhance the industry's often-sullied image, and even acted as a recruiting tool in remote regions of the country. Part of the problem may be that this exhibit was about the men and the women that work in the industry, not just the founders and movers and shakers, the so-called "stake-holders" who might think that they are the centre of the universe. But without the dedicated men and women to drive these trucks we would have nothing, the founders would have floundered. It's worth noting some of the people that did support the travelling museum, among them Ross Mackie, Roy Craigen, Teamsters Canada, the CAW, United Steelworkers and Highland Transport, and a number of others who offered their time and resources, not least the OTA who allowed me access to their vast photo archives. And I did manage to collect some terrific material that could be a book someday. I think I'll run some of the segments from time to time as Canadian trucking history is a vast and compelling subject and we should know something about so we know where we're going.

While researching the exhibit, I came across Albert Lincoln who was heir to Fruitbelt Trucking of Ste. Catherine's, Ont. Fruitbelt Trucking was a pioneer in hauling refrigerated produce and was started by Albert's father Ab Lincoln and his partner who got his first truck, a 1928 Ford tandem, as payment for a dept. The company is long gone but was a major player on the trucking scene for several decades, and among the first to use Fruehauf reefers. The last time I saw Albert was about five years ago when he was running a fleet of straight trucks for an organic foods distribution co-op in Etobicoke, Ont. Here's what he had to say. The rail strike he is referring to happened in 1950 when 130,000 rail workers from CPR and CNR dropped their tools and struck. The strike only lasted a week as the workers were ordered back to work, but this event is credited by historians as being a turning point for the Canadian trucking industry. Rail had been dominant up to that time and most observers felt Canada would be crippled by this strike. Not so, Canadian truckers picked up the ball and kept the economy moving, proving they could do as good or better than the railways.

"My dad and his partner were in the wholesale potato business. They’d go up to Shelburne and haul potatoes out of there-they’d haul potatoes down to restaurants and market in Ste. Catherine’s. They’d use the truck for haulage, to pick up a load of cement for the Queen Elizabeth (they were just building it then), or shit, manure, was a big item. You’d go and shovel a load on and hope your truck was dry by the next morning. From that came produce, fruits and vegetables. The grape season was a big deal. They couldn’t get enough trucks and they’d hire them from everywhere.

I started driving in 1951 before I had a licence. Did you work! 16 to 18 hours a day. It was 1956 and I got $55 a week, and 25 cents an hour road expenses. This was the first truck I drove with a licence was a 1949 International with vacuum brakes. I’d driven lots of trucks before that, though.

You had to buy a defroster fan. And they had them pretty early. You’d just wired them into a switch because there weren’t any cigarette lighters. You needed a long stick or something to keep the snow off your wipers because you had vacuum windshield wipers. As soon as you put the pedal down to get some power, they’d just shut off. When you wanted to stop you prepared yourself. I drove that 49 International for quite a while. I remember a number of times the pedal reach down and the pedal would disappear now and again. So you’d pump it, and I guess you’d pump some vacuum back into the system. And then the brakes weren’t too bad. But when you were going down a steep hill and the thing (pedal) would go hard and your heart would stop. For the longest time drivers would come in and ask if they could have a right hand mirror and they were told no, it’s a luxury.

Things changed pretty fast when they changed. Mack put out a beautiful diesel, unbelievably reliable. The B-61 Mack set a precedent. They were the kings for about 10 years, and then White got into the mix.

I remember the week of the great rail strike. I rounded up all my friends and we worked, I still remember that we worked 126 hours in one week. By the end of it, we were all sleeping against a wall on Carlton Street fruit platform in Ste. Catherine’s. You couldn’t even wake us to drive us home.

There was no such thing as a forklift in those days. The closest thing to mechanical aid was a two-wheeled hand cart. And the LTL guys used, like a 4-wheeled cart. The first time I saw a forklift truck, oh I guess in the mid-50s, I almost cried to see such a wonderful piece of machinery."

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More than two weeks into a strike by unionized DriveTest employees (including road test examiners), a growing number of new drivers have had their lives put on hold. And driver instructors at some training schools are now facing the prospect of layoffs since graduating students currently have no way to acquire a newly-minted A/Z licence.

Kim Richardson of KRTS Transportation Specialists reported last week that if the strike drags on much longer, he’ll have no choice but to lay off 50-60% of his truck training division staff. Meanwhile, he says many of the students his school has turned out in recent weeks still wait in limbo, unable to take their road test and begin their driving career despite having job offers in hand from respectable carriers.

Many of these individuals were former steel plant workers, stretched thin financially after being laid off by US Steel this past spring. They just want to work.

Once again, Ontario workers who want nothing more than to make an honest living are being held hostage by a union.

It begs the question I’ve asked before: why are our road tests being conducted by a unionized, publicly-traded company from Europe in the first place?

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On my way into work this morning, I saw a decal on the back of a tractor-trailer which showed a picture of a baby with some text that said something along the lines of, “Just about the only thing not delivered by truck.” Cute, but true, and something that Joe Q. Public tends to forget more often than not.

If I had a nickel for every time a trucker complained to me about four-wheelers cutting them off and slamming on the brakes, flipping them the bird or honking their horns when they’re not moving fast enough, or just treating truckers like a general nuisance, I would have a serious nickel collection.

But whether you like sharing the road with big rigs or not, that fact that they (literally) drive the economy is undeniable. “You know, if truckers got together and decided to strike, life as we know it would grind to a halt. No TVs, no cell phones, no food, no nothing. We should really do it some day.” I hear this comment all too often and I can’t help but feel for the guys. They’re out there trying to make a buck, just like everybody else, and the “holier than thou” attitude perpetrated by a large number of the non-trucking community doesn’t make it any easier.

Which brings me – strangely enough – to a children’s book I picked up a couple weeks ago called Brutus the Big Red Truck. The book was put together by a pair of employees from one of Navistar’s assembly plants in Ohio, who have combined their artistic and literary skills to create a work with a great message.

Without being too much of a spoiler, Brutus tells the story of a truck who thinks he’s biggest, toughest and coolest truck on the road, thumbing his nose (hood?) at a trio of other vehicles that he feels are inferior. But all that changes when the titular character gets himself in an accident and finds he needs the assistance of all three – those three being a beat up pick-up with a radio, a tow truck and an ambulance.

While the book is supposed to be teaching kids about equality, the message is still a good one for us adults.
Sure, maybe trucks are bigger and slower than you might like and maybe you don’t always like sharing the road with them, but their role in keeping the economy moving is essential, and for that we owe all truckers a large debt.

So to all the truckers out there, keep your chin up; here’s at least one non-trucker who respects what you do and the space you need on the road. And to the four-wheelers who cringe at the sight of a big rig, try to relax and show some respect: like Brutus, you never know when you’ll need these guys.

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It's that time of year a lot of companies dread ! Insurance Renewal. If you are a smart company and operate properly you have nothing to worry about. YOu do not hide, do not worry and provide exactly what is requested.

1) If you are in constant touch with your Insurance Agent and your Insurance Company, do not worry aobut the much maligned ONTARIO CVOR system. It certainly has its problems. HOwever provide a copy. This demonstrates you cotnually, inform yourself and have a snapshot of where you ar ein the public's perception (gov't)
2) Be proud of your equipment provide a complete listing of all Tractors, Trailers, PPV's, and any equipment you want covered.
3) If obtaining quotes from more than one company, (which we should all do), COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES Provide the same information to everyone. Buildings, Terminals, Office Equipment, Parked vehicles, All Perils, Deductilbe Limits etc.
4) Give a complete list of your drivers, THEIR CVOR (CURRENT), your drivers, and a COMPLETE LIST of the DRIVERS ABSTRACTS.
5) Tell each agent and or Insurance company exactly what coverage you want and or need.
6) Provide a current up to date detailed breakdown of your IFTA /Mileage for the last 4 quarters. (This shows your exposure ! NO NOT THAT KIND) So the Insurance company can determine risk.
7) Know what you ship Be prepared to let them know the commodities, and a breakdown by percentages of what you haul. This will give the Insurer a snapshot of EXPOSURE, $$$ RISK, and, Commodity breakdowns of goods hauled.
Most importantly, provide a detailed current loss run for the last 5 years. This shows the Insurance company how you have operated over the last 5 years.

Now I know point 6 is contetnious. It does show the Insurance company, if you are costing them more than they are charging, in premiums. That may happen. It is all historical data anyways. You cannot do anything about it now.

BE SURE TO LET THE AGENTS AND THE INSURANCE COMPANIES KNOW IF YOU ARE INVOVLED IN, A PARTICIPANT IN, OR PLANNING TO BECOME INVOLVED IN ANY CUSTOMS OR SECURITY INITIATIVES. C-TPAT FAST, PIP, etc, Advise them if you have QUIK PASS TRANSPONDERS ( NO I do not mean the Transponders that help you go thorugh the toll booths). I mean the ones that help you pass (when you get the proper alert in the truck) the Inspection station, because you have demonstrated, to U.S. D.O.T. you have a safe rating, and know how to keep it safe. Advise them if you are involved in any Green Initiatives, such as FLEETSMART and SMARTWAY. This illustrates, to the Insurance company not only you are progressive, but you care. You are interested, and you are monitoring on a daily/weekley/monthly/quarterly/semi-annual/annual basis.
Do not be afraid to advise them of any training that you have done for your dispatch staff and or drivers. Driver Bonus programs. How and why they are rewarded.
Most if NOT ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES TODAY WILL TELL YOU, THAT THEY WANT A PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU. THEY WANT YOU TO OPERATE SAFER, AND BETTER. Yes we pay Premiums. Yes we have to renew every year. At the end of the day, we are paying the Insurance companies to MINIMIZE, AND MITIGATE OUR EXPOSURE EVERY DAY. We are paying for their expertise, knowledge, guidance, and help.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF INSURANCE RENEWAL WELCOME IT WITH OPEN ARMS. HOWEVER YOU SHOULD BE IN TOUCH WITH YOUR AGENT AND INSURER AT ALL TIMES, NOT JUST WHEN THERE IS AN ACCIDENT. Believe me! THEY DO LISTEN, THEY DO CARE, AND THEY DO WANT TO HELP.
cERTAINLY NOT A COMPLETE LIST but a short recap of some of the things Insurers will and do look for when quoting.

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