The MAP-21 bill back in 2012. Since then, Congress enacted more tractor-trailer length limits and weight limit laws in an effort to keep our roads safe.
The problem is that each state’s length regulations are different, especially when it comes to the lengths allowed for a tractor-trailer. So to help truck drivers crossing state lines and country borders each day, Verduyn Tarps has recently published a handy state-by-state guide for maximum lengths of tractor-trailers (click image to enlarge).
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Photo courtesy of livetrucking.com
After completing a load in New Jersey, Illinois trucker J.D. Walker continued on to Columbia Falls, Maine. He then began his journey to honor the graves of fallen veterans. Walker participated in a program called “Wreaths Across America” that delivers wreaths to veteran cemeteries across the US. The program started in 1992 when the owner of the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, ME donated 5,000 wreaths to Arlington Cemetery. Since then the program grown in size to do the sames for over 1,200 cemeteries across the country.
After waiting for two days in Columbia Falls, Maine, Walker picked up more than 4,200 wreaths and began his task of delivering the wreaths and placing them on the graves of fallen veterans in cemeteries in Concordia, Kansas City, Liberty, Jacksonville, Eldon and Jefferson City, Missouri. Walker told the The Herald-Whig that after losing his 21-year-old son in Iraq in 2007, he feels compelled to honor the lives of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. He returned home on December 15, after completing his 9-day trek to deliver the wreaths.
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Now that the holiday season is here, more and more vehicles are clogging the nation’s roadways, presenting an even tougher job for truck drivers on the road. Zonar, a producer of smart fleet management technology, has compiled a list of the 10 most dangerous roads you should consider avoiding this time of year – and even the rest the year.
During the holiday season, there are about 36% more vehicles on the road, according to Zonar. Most of the increased traffic is made up of passenger cars (23%), delivery fleets (10%), and people-carriers, such as buses (3%), according to Zonar. Winter weather and decreased daylight add to the stress of holiday travel. All this makes it even more dangerous for truck drivers.
Knowing which stretches of road are the most dangerous for trucks can help potentially decrease your chances of getting into an accident and help keep other drivers safe – by adjusting routes or schedules, varying driving times and loads, or increasing inspections and checkpoints. And, you might be surprised to find that that there are roads list from every region of the country
According to the DOT, here’s a list based on total accident volume between 2013 -2016:
- I-10 in Alabama
- I-95 in Florida
- HWY-75 in Idaho
- I-40 in Arkansas
- US-1 in Florida
- M-20 in Michigan
- I-80 Nebraska
- HWY-5 in Colorado
- I-70 in Maryland
- SC-35 South Carolina
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Image from Zonar.
“With freight demand climbing and rates on the move, trucker pay should rise in the coming months”, says Gordon Klemp, a driver pay analyst and president of the National Transportation Institute. Klemp shared his prediction in a conference call with investors in early November. Stifel, an investment firm, hosted the call and distributed a recap of Klemp’s remarks.
If carriers secure rate increases in contracts with shippers, they pass some gains on to drivers, Klemp told investors.
He didn’t forecast any percentage-based increases in driver pay. Instead, he noted that driver pay increases with freight rates. Not all of the gains in per-mile rates will translate to drivers’ paychecks, but “driver pay is moving up alongside the freight increases,” notes the conference call recap distributed by Stifel.
Though carriers consistently increased driver pay in recent years, driver wages climbed only 6.3 percent on average over the last decade. “For-hire drivers lost effective purchasing power over the past 10 years and adjusted lifestyles accordingly,” says Stifel’s report. Looking even farther back, driver wages are in effect just half of what they were in 1979, before deregulation, said Klemp.
Klemp also noted that carriers face an uphill battle in recruiting younger drivers to the industry.
These drivers “disinclined to enter” trucking, “as they are often concerned with work-life balance”. Nearly 60 percent of the current driver workforce is older than 45. That’s a good bit higher than 1994, Klemp noted, when just 45 percent of drivers were 45 years or older. “However, with freight demand strengthening and the driver shortage becoming acute, the stage is set for drivers to realize driver pay increases over the foreseeable future,” says Stifel’s report.
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Image from RestaurantNews.com.
Working as a truck driver sometimes means spending holidays on the road. Don’t miss out on a traditional Thanksgiving meal while away from home. Here are a few restaurants where you can get traditional holiday fare on Thanksgiving Day.
Applebee’s
Select Applebee’s nationwide offers a special Thanksgiving Day meal featuring turkey breast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and garlicky green beans. However, not all restaurants remain open, so call ahead for holiday hours and availability.
Boston Market
Boston Market remains open Thanksgiving Day for a traditional, delicious plated meal. Individual meals are $12.99, offering Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast or Half Signature Rotisserie Chicken, served with 2 sides, a dinner roll and a slice of apple or pumpkin pie.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Cracker Barrel serves a special in-store Thanksgiving meal from 11 am until close. This traditional Homestyle Turkey n’ Dressing Meal comes complete with gravy, a sampling of sugar cured ham, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, and a choice of a country side. In addition, receive a beverage, buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins, and a slice of pumpkin pie. The Homestyle Turkey n’ Dressing Meal is available for $12.99 per adult.
Golden Corral
Golden Corral offers a Thanksgiving Day Buffet at participating locations. The buffet includes carved turkey, carved ham, fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, pot roast, meat loaf, sirloin steak, fried shrimp and much more. Call ahead for special holiday hours.
Marie Callender’s
Adults enjoy a Thanksgiving meal for $21.99. Starters include fresh baked golden cornbread, a cup of potato cheese or hearty vegetable soup or a crisp house salad. Also, entrees include choice of Freshly Roasted Turkey Dinner or Oven-Baked Ham. In addition, it includes seasonal vegetables, fire-roasted yams with cranberry streusel topping and potatoes.
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As a truck driver, you spend most of your time on the road, making it a challenge to stay fit. Your time is limited and access to equipment is a problem. Here are 5 quick exercises you can easily perform on the road without any equipment:
Hand Stretch
Hand stretches can help relieve some of the stiffness or pain related to steering all day. When you stop to refuel or take a break, rotate your wrist left and right or in a circle. Stretch your wrist by placing the fingertips of one hand on top of the steering wheel. Gently press your weight into your hand and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat with the other hand.
Abdominal Crunch
Strengthen your abs while you’re on the road. Squeeze your abdominal muscles and hold it for the entire length of your favorite song, podcast or news report. If you are unable to squeeze your abdominal muscles for that long, then aim to squeeze them for at least one to two minutes. Repeat at every red light or for every favorite song that comes on the radio.
Planks
Plank exercises help strengthen your back, arm and leg muscles, as well as your core. Find a spot where there is room to stretch out, start off the exercise by getting on your hands and knees. Place your forearms and hands onto the ground with your palms facing downward. Kick back your legs so that you are placing your weight on your toes. Your entire body should maintain a straight line. Hold this position for 30 seconds.
Shoulder Shrugs
Help relieve the stress and tension from your shoulder area with shoulder shrugs. Try this exercise while stopped at a red light, waiting on a shipper or taking a break. Lift your shoulders up to your ears as if you’re saying “I don’t know.” Hold the position for a few seconds then release. Perform 10 to 15 reps throughout the day whenever you are feeling tensed or stressed.
Push-Ups
Strengthen your arms and chest with some push-ups. You can do regular push-ups keeping your legs extended behind you and your arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Mix things up with a diamond push-up where your hands are placed in a diamond shape directly under your chest. Or, increase the degree of difficulty by propping your feet up on the bumper of your truck.
Photo courtesy of Men’s Health.
The Ultimate Guide for Truck Drivers to Maintain 3 Healthy Habits Over the Road
Download the complete guide for tips to easily maintain healthy habits over the road.
A man who ran towards a fire to save a trucker stuck in his burning rig last month says God put him there to rescue the driver. The wreck happened last month in Albany, Oregon, but the two still visit each other frequently as the truck driver continues to recover.
According to Statesman Journal, truck driver Terence Jay Shaw was driving on northbound Interstate 5 on the morning of September 1st when he lost control and crashed into an overpass. The force of the impact set his rig on fire and the truck erupted into flames.
As the truck burned with Shaw still inside, Chuck Zeitler came upon the wreck from the southbound side of I-5. Zeitler saw the flames and heard someone screaming for help, so he laid down his motorcycle and rushed to the scene of the fire, pushing through a crowd of people videoing the incident on their phones.
Zeitler ran up to the truck and pulled Shaw out of the burning wreckage and away from the fire. The truck then exploded.
A Lasting Friendship is Formed
Since then, Shaw has been recovering in the burn unit at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where Zeitler visits him frequently.
Image from livetrucking.com.
“We’re best friends now, only because my relief was stuck in traffic, so I had to wait for him to arrive. If I’d have left at the regular time, I never would have happened upon the wreck.”
– Zeitler humbly explains how circumstances led him to rescue the trucker and gain a best friend.
Despite the praises from the Shaw family, Zeitler shared God put him in the right place at the right time. He simply acted on his instincts after 24 years as a Navy boiler operator.
Zeitler is an elder member of Fusion Faith Center in Albany and recently became a pastor. He plans on opening a church for bikers soon, as he believes it is his “calling.”
Shaw is still recovering from the wreck. He has had multiple skin grafts on his right arm and side and currently has 23 stitches.
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Truck drivers should prepare for an increased presence by law enforcement this week. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance embark upon its annual Operation Safe Driver Week. It combats unsafe driving behaviors by truckers and passenger car drivers.
The annual enforcement blitz is scheduled for the week of October 15-21. Officers look for speeding, distracted driving, texting and driving, and seat belt usage. In addition, they monitor following too closely, improper lane changes, failure to obey traffic safety devices, and more.
Here are 8 Tips to Help Avoid Fines:
1. Put down the phone.
Law enforcement agencies refer to distracted driving as “the DUI of today.” Texting while driving is egregious, taking the driver’s attention off the road. But, you also don’t have to be on the road long to spot someone talking on a handset. Both are prohibited by state laws in many cases, but they’re also expressly restricted for commercial motor vehicle drivers.
2. Keep your eyes on the road.
Smartphones aren’t the only culprit. There are plenty of other things in vehicles today that can take a driver’s attention away from the task at hand — i.e., piloting those several tons (or many more) of steel missile on wheels safely.
3. Don’t speed.
Who hasn’t laid into the gas pedal now and then when driving along? But, watch your speed particularly during Safe Driver Week. It’s a time of year when road construction is very prevalent, and officers are found paying particular attention to speeders, distracted drivers and so on in construction zones.
4. Buckle up.
Aside from staring at a smartphone, the next-quickest tip-off for enforcement officers to pull drivers over will be failure to wear a seat belt. Some believe seat belts lack comfort. However, for many decades, wearing a seat belt saves lives in crashes.
5. Give way.
Many states have “move over” laws that require drivers to pull away from the closest lane to a stationary police vehicle with flashing lights. Usually tied to the stipulation “if it’s safe to do so.” but if it isn’t safe to switch lanes, these laws may require the driver passing by to slow down considerably.
6. Don’t tailgate.
Do your best to give the driver ahead some room. Truck drivers face particular challenges with this since they’re often cut off by passenger vehicles, sometimes by those entering or exiting the highway or maybe a driver who’s just not paying attention.
7. Straighten up and fly right.
Signal your lane changes properly, don’t blow traffic lights and stop signs and obey the rest of the traffic signs and devices out there. Officers will be watching for those things during Safe Driver Week.
8. Get the rest of your ducks in a row, too.
If an offer cites you or pulls you over, they also check for other violations. Bradley Penneau, a safety program consultant for Telogis, A Verizon Company, commented in a recent Fleet Owner webinar. He stated that a majority of the top commercial vehicle violations are “BLTs.” Meaning, brakes, lights, and tires.
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Across the United States, you can find a cure for on-the-road boredom as you come upon an eclectic assortment of some of the most hilarious and interesting roadside attractions – some of the world’s largest objects of random items.
Huffington Post created this awesome slideshow to highlight the “world’s largest” attractions.
One of them is right in Drive My Way’s hometown. Near the famous Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you’ll find the world’s largest rubber stamp. Created in the ’80s, the stamp has the word “free” on the front of it.
In Cuba, Mo., a rocking chair for giants rests. Though not the world’s largest, the rocker is so incredibly tall that your semi couldn’t reach the seat.
If you’re feeling patriotic in New York, taking a trip to Lake George to see the world’s largest Uncle Sam.
Though it’s not the title character from “James and the Giant Peach ,” the “peachoid water tank” in Gaffney, S.C., owns claims to the world’s largest peach. Painted to match the state fruit, the construction required 10 million pounds of concrete.
Other favorites include the tallest filing cabinet in Burlington, Vermont, the largest Rubik’s Cube in Knoxville, Tenn., and the largest frying pan in Brandon, Iowa.
Now, go get some cool photos or video of your own by these interesting landmarks and share with us!
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Matt Blattel loves the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, camping, he loves it all.
In fact, Blattel’s love of the outdoors goes back to his childhood on a 3,000-acre farm in southeast Missouri. His family raised 1,000 hogs and 1,000 cattle.
“That’s where I began to learn about building,” says Blattel, a regional driver for Baldwin Express who was matched to his job through Drive My Way and absolutely loves what he’s doing.
“I got exactly what I wanted,” he says. “I wanted to be home every weekend, good pay, good miles, newer trucks. And then, I got all of that. I’m ecstatic about it. Once I put in my criteria of what I wanted, Drive My Way started matching me. It was a godsend.”
In addition, Blattel said that Baldwin Express takes care of him, so he finally is able to enjoy the work-life balance he sought for so long.
The house Matt Blattel built. He also made the name plate in front and designed the landscaping.
Handy Man
Blattel has had a CDL driver job for 21 years. But, when he’s not trucking, he’s a talented builder.
“I’ve always been somebody who works with my hands,” he says. “I can see something and then go make it. I’ve built things since I was a teenager.”
Blattel, now 46, figures he’s been building things for 30 years. He carves decorative logs for his friends at the holidays. But he’s proudest of his masterpiece: his mother-in-law’s house.
A Strong Foundation
Blattel built the house from the ground up eight years ago, saving his mother-in-law $40,000 in the process.
“I built it completely by myself from start to finish,” Blattel says. “From the foundation and the landscaping to the woodworking, wiring and insulation, you name it, I did it. Also, I even laid hardwood floors throughout the whole house. It makes me feel good to know my mother-in-law has a house that’s exactly what she wants, and I built it from top to bottom.”
It took Blattel a mere seven months to build the house in his spare time. Now his wife wants him to construct a new house for them. “Whatever she wants,” he says. And he means it.
A Talent Deeply Rooted
So where did Blattel learn to do all of this? Building “has always come to me naturally,” he says. “There’s not a whole lot I can’t do. If you tell me I can’t do it, then I’m going to do it anyway just to prove you wrong.”
Blattel picked up his talent for building just by growing up around it. He learned by paying attention.
To other truckers who would like to try their hand at building, Blattel has sage advice: “Overall, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and do it right the first time.”
In summary, it all takes patience, organization and most of all, a clear vision.
“It always starts with that vision, in every aspect of my life,” Blattel says. “I don’t use blueprints. They are all in my head. I research it and see what I gotta do to get it done—and then I do it.”
In addition, the same goes for his job at Baldwin Express. “I couldn’t be happier,” he says.
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