We already know that America would not function without the hard work of truck drivers. And now, finally, someone has confirmed it.

Global job search engine Adzuna conducted research on the most patriotic jobs in the United States.

The analysis looked at what Adzuna deemed as “patriotic jobs”, or those available jobs whose description defined them as most responsible for the improvement and upkeep of the country.

For example, a construction worker, responsible for the betterment of roadways and gentrification of local cities, would be included here.

Adzuna analyzed the nearly 3.5 million jobs on its website, searching for open positions with different specifications, such as hours and job description. It found that “patriotic jobs”, such as truck drivers, nurse practitioners, construction workers, and teachers, made up over 90% of the most in-demand jobs. Of the more than 1.5 million available jobs, the majority of openings exist in Virginia, Texas, California, and Illinois.

Image via Adzuna

With so much national spotlight on these “patriotic jobs” lately, it’s no wonder that they represent such a large piece of the unfulfilled job openings on Adzuna. For example, teachers have gone on strike, advocating for better wages and improved classroom environments. Construction workers have one of the highest on-the-job mortality rates of any profession, with nearly 14 deaths reported each day.

Truck drivers aren’t far off. Truckers are dedicated members of society whose job is to transport over 70% of our nation’s goods. The country’s food, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and even waste are all in their hands.

Therefore, it’s ironic that such a necessary job is also the most dangerous. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, driving a truck is the deadliest occupation in America. Therefore, because of this and low wages, the demand for truckers is high.

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Image via Shell

Truckers showed off their best equipment in June to claim the coveted best in show.

Raphine, Va., hosted hundreds for the 36th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs® show. This three-day is a gathering of truckers from far and wide.

Contestants compete in multiple events for over $25,000 in cash and other prizes.

Various “beauty contests” are held for trucks in two categories — working or retired.  “Working trucks” must have logged a minimum of 85,000 miles annually. Other awards for Best Lights, Best Theme, People’s Choice and more are given out to the most outstanding trucks. The owner of the overall Best In Show truck receives a whopping $10,000 prize.

Image via Truck News

Wisconsin resident Bill Rethwisch won Best In Show for the third time in five years with his yellow 2016 Peterbilt 389. Additionally, his truck received top awards for Best Interior and Best Engine.

Other winners included Brad Garetson, who took first in the tractor-trailer division for his 2016 Peterbilt 389 and 2017 MAC flatbed Conestoga trailer, and Jayme and Whitney Snow in the classic division for their 1999 Classic XL Freightliner. Hills Construction of Hempstead, Texas, took home the Most Hardworking Trucker Award for its 2007 Freightliner Coronado.

Image via Overdrive

This year’s SuperRigs show also featured a “Tribute to Toughness”.

Drivers also showed off trucks featuring newly redone engines, cabs built from scratch, and tributes to loved ones. Mike Manuel’s 2015 Peterbilt 389,”Autism: One of Many,” was designed to raise awareness.

 

 

To read more about the 2018 SuperRigs show, click here.

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Image via Prairie Publishing

Ron Stencel, a 65-year trucking dynasty, knows the trucking game all too well.

When he was 3, his father took him on a haul to Kansas City from Minnesota Lake. He immediately fell in love with the profession, and has spent his entire adult life dedicated to the industry. Trucking is in his blood.

Sixty-five years later, Stencel hopes pass the family business onto his son and grandson, Ron Adam.

“When school was out for the summer I could not wait to get to ride in the big truck during summer break,” Adam Stencel told Prairie Publishing, which shared the Stencels’ story

Sadly, few young people share Adam’s enthusiasm for a life on the road.

Like so many truckers, Stencel has felt the impact of fewer young people entering the trucking profession. In the article, he says new government mandates about monitoring drivers’ time has negatively affected the industry. As he explains, people often choose this profession due to its flexibility and freedom, but the new rules take a lot of the fun out of driving, Stencel says. With truckers’ every move now being monitored, that freedom and flexibility has begun to fade.

As the former vice president of the Minnesota Truckers Association, Stencel is a long-time advocate of CDL drivers. In fact, to foster a close-knit community among Minnesota drivers, the MTA began holding an annual get-together. The group had its most recent congregation on June 23. “You just don’t know how long these truckers will be around and it is important to maintain the friendships.”

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In a column he wrote for The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.), Ray Elliott reflects on moments spent with his father.

A father’s life on the road leaves a lasting impression on his son. An Illinois author, Elliott shares his story in The News-Gazette.

Image via Pexels

A man of simple means, Ray Elliott’s father was a dedicated, hardworking trucker and farmer who taught him lessons on the road that have made his son into the man he is today.

Elliott, who also is a retired high school teacher, penned his story of his father, which was published in (Champaign, Ill.) The News-Gazette.

For the first half of his career, Elliott’s father was a CDL livestock driver. Each day he would rise in the wee hours of the morning to make his rounds around the local farms. A cow here, a lamb there, he’d toss each animal into the back of his truck and drive on.

He never saw his father much. When he did, Eliott writes, “… he didn’t talk much. And when he did, it was about being honest or always paying his bills.” He often would be gone days at a time on various jobs. It was his father’s work ethic, though, Elliott writes, that impressed upon him the idea that a full life is one of hard work and dedication to one’s craft — hauling livestock or teaching school

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Photo courtesy of KRIS TV

A university in Corpus Christi, Texas, developed a free training program for vets exiting the service.

The Skills for Transition Program, a part of the Texas Operation Welcome Home Program, focuses on reintegrating military members into their communities post-deployment. For example, one of its most recent projects is a training program through Del Mar College to help recent veterans become CDL truck drivers.

According to recent findings, the trucking industry has become a good fit for many military personnel after their discharge.

Also, according to Department of Motor Vehicles, their dependability, sense of teamwork, and situational awareness make veterans ideal driving employees. In addition, driving jobs offer some much needed financial and lifestyle consistency that many vets crave after being overseas.

Also, the course consists of four weeks of daytime classes or 10 weeks of night classes. Overall, the goal is to create the marketable students who can be hired upon completion of the course. For example, U.S. Express Inc. offers jobs to veterans who complete this training through their apprenticeship program. In addition, with this training and apprentice opportunity, veterans earn both their CDL A license and make money within weeks of returning home.

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A CDL truck driver and his dog are alive and well after narrowly escaping from a crash.

Tractor trailer crash.

Photo via WWNY TV

As reported by WWNY, the unnamed driver was traveling down New York Route 37 outside Theresa, when a deer ran into the road. The driver swerved, overturning his cab and trailer. And then, both the driver and his dog were trapped for nearly 45 minutes before rescue teams could get to the crash.

Theresa Fire Chief Mark Savage told WWNYC he was surprised that both the driver and the dog sustained minor injuries. Also, he said the driver seemed to be in good spirits as he walked away from the truck. “Lots of cuts and bruises, a little sore,” Savage told the station, “…but other than that, [the driver] is alive and doing well.”

Both the driver and his dog were taken to a local hospital and animal clinic respectively.

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Photo via NPR.org

Step aside, Uber and Google, a career trucker is making history for self-driving tractor trailers.

Jeff Runions, autonomous-truck test driver, prepares the future of the trucking industry. As he told NPR, Runions works for Starsky Robotics. They are a small company developing fully autonomous trucks for the highway. The trucks are driven by professionals once the trucks got off at the exit.

As truck drivers continue to decrease in numbers, Runions hopes autonomous trucks will be a huge opportunity for the industry to keep up with demand. In his interview with NPR, he says automated vehicles would allow drivers to spend less time on the road and more time at home with their families.

This would be a drastic change from the three weeks of on-road time he remembers from working on his own and with a commercial trucking company. In fact, Runions would like to see drivers having a “regular life” with a 40-hour work week. By making drivers’ lives more enjoyable, he hopes to spike interest in the industry from potential drivers.

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How do drivers celebrate Mother’s Day on the road or at home? Drive My Way surveyed some CDL truck drivers to find out how they’re spending the day.

Mark Ryan says he’ll be thinking about his mother in heaven, while Diane Stahr Hess will be on the road, heading from Salt Lake City to Oklahoma City to start her work week. Diane, who teams with her husband, said the two will say a prayer for their mothers in heaven.

A lot of drivers are contributing to Mother’s Day celebrations everywhere. People are expected to spend $23.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation and truck drivers play an integral role in that spending, transporting and delivering the flowers, jewelry or even the ingredients for a big dinner out.

Susie Dorman-Caper is hoping for calls from two of her daughters.

Wendy Trudeau, founder of the Facebook group Trucking Fur Babies, fittingly replied through her dogs, “We have no plans except to give mommy extra loving that day.”

However you spend the Mother’s Day holiday, we hope you have a great one.

annca / Pixabay

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Pennsylvania has recently begun enforcing a winter weather trailer ban on certain empty trailers on Interstate-80.

They hope that this will reduce any chance of a traffic large pile up on the roads. A major concern is that winter weather effects like slick ice and snow will cause more trailers to slip off the roads.

While drivers recognize that these laws are for the benefit of all drivers on the road, many are eager for the spring weather to open up the roads once again. These laws will remain in place until the winter conditions subside.

Tractor-trailer laws differ per state.

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“I’m trained to deal with any type of situation. I thought about it the rest of the day, but it didn’t affect my job. I don’t feel like it was anything special. It was just a natural instinct for me. I try to be a good person.”

A Dupré Logistics driver is being named nothing short of a hero after saving a family of seven. In June of 2017, Fernandez Garner was traveling down I-45 N. He witnessed a large SUV cut off by a tanker, and consequentially, tumble off the road.

Garner saw one of the passengers, a little girl, had been thrown from the car to the middle of the highway. He instantly braked and blocked the road to protect her from incoming cars. Then, after examining her for any wounds, he ran down the side of the road to help the rest of the family.

Inside the vehicle, he found a boy, two girls, and their mother, frantically reaching for her baby. In addition, the driver, presumably the father, seemed to be injured. Garner moved the children back towards the road. He then calmed the mother down, assuring the safety of her children.

For this act of heroism, the Truckload Carriers Association named Garner a Highway Angel. In addition, Dupré Logistics expressed gratitude and pride in Garner for taking such steps to ensure the safety of all drivers.

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