When I started driving, trailers were 45 or 48 feet long and were allowed to gross weigh 73,280 pounds. Even then, people were complaining about us running over their curbs, landscaping and other obstacles due to the long trailers. States were hollering that we were tearing up their roads and bridges. Many warehouses and factories were not meant for any trailers over 40 foot and were difficult to get into their docks or facilities.
Now we have 53-foot trailers and are allowed to gross weigh 80,000 pounds. The complaints and obstacles are even more prevalent and trying to navigate around towns and older manufacturing facilities is almost impossible, though we do it somehow. It is rare to load a 53-foot trailer to the doors; most loads stop at 48 foot unless it is something light.
States like California have ‘bridge’ laws where our trailer tandems have to be slid very far up towards the center adding tail swing problems of hitting obstacles and other vehicles to the mix. California bridge laws were explained to me by a California DOT officer as being necessary because so many of their roads and streets were narrow and had tight curves on them.
Reading accident statistics, many accidents are from cars running up under the overhang behind our trailer tandems. These types of accidents have increased with the longer trailers.
Suddenly, there was a big push to increase the length of trailers to 57 feet and increase the gross weight limit to 97,000 pounds, and to allow double 53-foot trailers on our highways. This push is being done by concerns that cite increased productivity and less traffic by being able to haul more freight on less equipment.
The idea of longer and heavier trucks on the road went to Washington DC in May 2008. The Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, which lists as members a number of trucking companies and state affiliate programs of the American Trucking Association, approached representatives from fives states, Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Georgia to try to get the states to agree to hosting a pilot program allowing the longer/heavier rigs. They were met with some strong resistance from congress.
The day after they arrived, two senators, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, introduced a bill freezing the length and weight limits to current sizes.
Senator Lautenberg said in a press release, “Last year’s tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis demonstrated how fragile our already-deficient bridges and roads are, and we should not be putting even heavier trucks on them. That is exactly what some trucking company interests are proposing – even bigger and heavier trucks on our roads. If there was ever a recipe for disaster, this is it. Our bill would protect our infrastructure and improve safety on our roads by helping keep dangerously large and heavy tractor-trailer trucks off of them…Bigger trucks – both heavier and longer ones – present safety risks, including longer stopping distances, bigger risk of rollover and a greater risk of the last trailer swaying into the adjacent lane,” according to Lautenberg’s press release. “Research shows that a 100,000-pound truck with unadjusted brakes travels 25 percent further after the driver steps on the brakes than an 80,000-pound truck.”
Senator McCaskill cited increased fear in the motoring public among other concerns, “It defies common sense to let big trucks become super-giant trucks. Missouri drivers are already stressed by the presence of so many big trucks,” McCaskill said. “There are safety considerations along with the reality of increased fuel costs that require us to say no to even bigger commercial trucks on our roads.”
Other opposition came from OOIDA along with some other safety groups. Todd Spencer, executive Vice President of OOIDA said, “OOIDA members know from firsthand experience that further increases in sizes and weights of commercial motor vehicles can endanger highway users and hasten the deterioration of our nation’s roads and bridges. Increasing allowable vehicle weights from 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds may be described by some as a minor change, but it could have a dramatic impact on the safety and structural integrity of some federal aid highways.”
Furthermore, in a meeting with then President Elect Obama’s transportation transition team in November of 2008, this matter was again brought to the table by the same group. It is still being pushed forward.
Though not mentioned, we drivers know that the heavier the load, the more wear and tear on the equipment occurs and the maneuverability of the truck becomes more of a problem. Can you imagine trying to get around downtown New York City or Chicago with a longer than 53 foot trailer, it would be nearly impossible. We also know that many shippers would support the heavier weight limits and not raise rates to cover the increased fuel usage and wear and tear. Even with the added work to our day of trying to get around with these longer, heavier trailers and the addition of more time used pulling hills with the added weight, we know that our pay would not increase to compensate us for our additional time.
Size does matter when it comes to the length of our trailers and the weight of the load. I hope that common sense will prevail in this latest push to extend the length and weight limits once again.
Long, lonely nights, dark ribbons of road with no signs of inhabitation all lead to flights of fancy and ghostly sightings by truckers…or are they flights of fancy?
Throughout the days of modern trucking there have been many of these ghostly happenings popularized in song…Phantom 309 for one. During long nights, you might hear stories of ghosts on the cb as drivers while away the hours. Perhaps one of the more famous ghost stories, the gray lady, comes out of Alabama.
On state route 278 in Alabama there was a race track…legend has it that a young woman had an argument with her boyfriend at the races one dark night. She stormed away to walk home along the two lane highway…it got late and the mists rose. A trucker running along the highway didn’t see the walking woman in time and hit her…panicking; the driver sped off leaving the woman dying along the road. It is said that on dark, foggy nights the gray lady jumps up on the running boards and looks in the window of trucks running along that highway looking for the driver that killed her. Rumor has it that several drivers have wrecked and had heart attacks from the fright.
Alabama is ripe for paranormal happenings it seems. One day about dusk, I was driving along a two lane stretch of highway 78. I saw a little boy who looked to be about 5, walking in the bar ditch on my passenger side. He was dressed in a dirty, tattered, long white shirt and nothing else. There were no houses along there for several miles, only trees, so I put on the brakes and looked in my mirrors for the little boy…he was gone.
A friend of mine related this story of the haunted house she lives in (we will call her Sue). Sue had bought her house a couple of years ago. There was no door bell so she bought one of those types that plugs in the electrical outlet. A short time later, the bell would ring for no reason. At the same time, she started smelling that menthol, musty old person’s house smell at times in her house. She consulted with a friend who had some psychic abilities who told her that there was the spirit of an old man that had lived there a long time ago who’s name was Charley. The psychic said that Charley liked Sue because she loved his house. Sue wasn’t afraid.
Sue had been living with another driver who she thought she was going to marry and while she was on the road, he moved out unexpectedly. When Sue got home, she was very upset, the door bell started ringing and would not stop for over 30 minutes…she finally had to unplug it totally. She knew that ’Charley’ was trying to comfort her.
Another driver told me of a stretch of mountain road in West Virginia that is curvy where at certain times of the night; you will come around a corner to see two vehicles wrecked on the shoulder of the road. Smoke is rising, the vehicle’s lights are on and the tires on one are still spinning. By the time you get pulled over to the shoulder ahead of the wreck where it is wide enough for a rig to park and get out of the truck…the vehicles have vanished.
One driver’s story sounded like a variation of the girl in the cemetery story. This driver was traveling down a lonely stretch of interstate out in the desert one night when he saw a young man standing on the shoulder with his thumb out. Starting to get tired, the driver thought that a little company would be good so stopped and told the young man to get in. The young man climbed into the jump seat and they carried on a lively conversation about old rock and roll and of course, girls. As the lights of the next desert town came into view on the horizon, the young man got quiet. When the driver looked over, the young man was gone.
Who can say if there are truly ghosts or not besides the people that say they have seen or experienced them. It may be just an active imagination, the play of light and shadows, a deer caught in the headlights…or it might actually be the restless spirit of someone who has gone before. One thing is certain, as long as truckers drive through lonely stretches of road there will be a never ending supply of ghostly sightings.
Many might not know that truckers do much more than just drive that truck. Truckers are involved in charitable work throughout the world. Here in the USA, truckers work to raise money for Special Olympics, research for a cure for breast cancer, Make a Wish foundation and Trucker Buddy Program to name a few. Two years ago, a new charitable organization was started called Trucking Santas.
Trucking Santas was founded by Heather Pontruff and her fiancé Louis (Lou) Obadal through their website Trucker’s Voice. Heather and Lou heard of families who were not going to be able to afford any sort of Christmas for their children and made the decision to do something to help. Since then, Heather and Lou have identified 38 to date families that live in poverty, have terminally ill children, or who are out of work due to the economy. In addition to the 38 families, Trucking Santas will be assisting 65 people who are in a cerebral palsy home. Heather says, “Many of the said families have had tragedy, including kids that are terminally ill. In one family, the father was paralyzed in an accident this year; the stories make one sad to hear. Some of these families have never had presents under the tree. In addition to being able to assist others, we are assisting truckers too by showing that truckers do care about those outside of the industry.”
Each family receives 4 outfits, 1 pair of shoes, and new bedding for every person in the family. The children get gifts. If the families have a need for pots and pans, dishes, towels, etc., they also get them. One lady at the cerebral palsy home teaches Bible study to the others, her Bible was worn out, plans are in place to get her a new one along with an audio Bible set and other materials to assist her in her ministry. Others at the facilty have asked for special bedding, they will get it. Heather reports that these folks are ‘amazing!’
Trucking Santas has no corporate sponsors but do have some companies and many truckers involved in making Christmas special for their adopted families and folks. They have yet to gain their non-for profit certification, hopefully that will occur within the next year according to Heather. Some of the truckers involved had this to say why they are involved in Trucking Santas and how they can afford to do so in this economy.
Vern Lampman: “Melissa and I wanted to reach out and help a family in need. We were blessed several years ago when families in our town helped us at Christmas when my income was cut in half after leaving the Air Force. God has blessed us financially and we want to share blessings!”
Tullina Jones Wambold: “I feel like even though I may not be in the best position myself, I know there are MANY others who have it a lot worse. I feel blessed with what I do have so I want to do my best to help someone else.”
Becca Burke Allison: “I believe we need to help each other in this world; love your neighbor for real. Any of us can fall on hard times. All of us are pretty much clueless as to how we got here and what we should be doing. Helping others makes the most sense. Besides, it’s fun!”
Rebecca ‘Queenbee’ Lee: “What comes around goes around. Growing up my dad was the chief of police in a small town in Minnesota, every Thanksgiving and Christmas my dad bought a case of turkeys and all the fixings for a holiday meals for 6 families in our area. By me being part of this, I feel I am following those family footsteps. Granted times are tough, but a little bit of love goes a long ways on a holiday. It brings great joy to me.”
Thomas Heatherman: “Why did I do it, it’s hard to explain. I have seen enough death and destruction so it’s nice to do something good. Besides Christmas is a time of year that kids look forward to. There's nothing like the smiles on a child's face when they see the presents; I may not see the faces but I know I helped make their Christmas. From the time I said yes to Trucking Santas I started setting money aside for my adopted family.”
The adopted families are grateful for Trucking Santas as stated by Amanda Sargis, “I am the wife of a independent trucker and with the cost of fuel and operation and maintaining the truck we wouldn't of had the Christmas that we had, and seeing the generosity that folks had helped raise my spirits and prove yet once again that humanity does still exist in the world. I am still struggling today living hand to mouth but continue to carry last year’s Christmas in my heart knowing that my kids will always see that as their best Christmas ever and I must thank all involved.”
One does not have to be big and jolly or wear a red suit to be a Trucking Santa, one just has to have a big heart and any amount of money to assist. Heather says, “While direct money donations are not accepted, we always need card senders and adopters. If you help adopt a family, you will be given a wish list from an online store. The families name and address are automatically imprinted into there. The Trucking Santa shops for the gifts and directly ships it or takes it to the family themselves. Some Trucking Santas cannot afford to do a whole list, they can do part of it or just one item. Cards are appreciated almost as much as the gifts because it shows someone cares. The family in turn sends me pictures of them opening their gifts, and I post them for all Trucking Santas to see.”
If you are interested in becoming involved in Trucking Santas and bring a merry ho ho ho to a needy family or person, Heather says, “Anyone interested In helping out can contact me anytime via facebook (www.facebook.com/theoneandonlytv), email (trkrsvoice@thetruckersvoice.net), or twitter (@trkingsantas).“
It is a sad state of affairs when the well-being of an animal is taken more seriously than the well-being of a human. Alas, this is what is happening in the trucking industry throughout the country as more and more anti idling regulations are being passed and as companies limit idling in their attempts to increase their bottom lines. Citing fuel costs, almost all companies are requiring their drivers not to idle the trucks except in extreme temperatures if at all while most are not providing APUs to make sure their drivers can sleep safely and comfortably. States are passing anti idling laws saying that trucks are polluting the air by idling while a driver is taking their mandated breaks. A person can get a ticket for leaving a dog in a not running car even with the windows down, where does concern for the health and safety of the driver come in.
There is a big push on about driver’s health and their driving safely with sleep apnea being determined to cause driver fatigue. No one has addressed not idling as contributing to driver fatigue. Almost all anti idling laws have some sort of rule that allows a driver to idle their truck for 5-10 minutes an hour during their required breaks to cool or heat the sleeper. Think about it. A driver cools their truck down enough to go to sleep initially. Then when they get too cold or hot to sleep, they have to get up, turn on the truck and sit there hoping that in the time allowed, the truck either warms up enough to produce heat or cools the cab down enough to be able to return to sleep. They then have to turn off the truck again only to repeat this routine repeatedly throughout the break time.
FMCSA HOS regulations require, “CMV drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth, plus 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two.” Consecutive means all at once, not interrupted every hour or so for 10 minutes to get up to heat or cool the truck down.
The body regulates temperature through a process known as thermoregulation, which is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when temperature surrounding it is very different. Too low of a body temperature results in hypothermia which is dangerously low body temperature, below 95F; too high of a body temperature results in hyperthermia which is dangerously high body temperature 102F+.
There are no studies done about truckers and the extremes in temperature they will have to endure when not being able to idle their trucks. I did however find studies on extreme temperatures from the military, fire departments and OSHA among others. From Firehouse.com: “From a medical perspective…even when outside temperatures are fairly tolerable (a temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, for example), the interior temperature of a closed vehicle can rapidly become lethal (over 135F) in a very few minutes.”
OSHA has identified the effects of extreme temperatures on workers. “The effects of hypothermia and hyperthermia are, loss of concentration and difficulty focusing on a task for hyperthermia, for hypothermia: loss of ability to do complex motor functions, lethargy and mild confusion. (Moreover, those are just the first signs of it!) Hypothermia can occur not only in freezing temperatures but also is common among the elderly who live in cold houses,” says OSHA. What about a driver in a cold truck, Can the effects on the human body be safe for truckers to chance?
To put a face on those who are suffering from the in justice of the laws and policies about idling, Laurie, a rookie woman driver who has been driving for just 3 months, was told by her company that she could not idle her truck for any reason no matter what the temperature or she would be fired. She runs the West Coast and the Rocky Mountains where temperatures can range from below zero in the mountains to well above 100 degrees in the California deserts. When Laurie requested to be assigned a truck with an APU unit installed, which the company has some of, she was told that she had not earned it yet. Laurie has few options due to her lack of experience other than comply.
Another rookie driver died last year in a truck stop because of his employer putting a gas run generator in the cab of the truck where the jump seat had been removed where it could not be stolen, so the driver could run a fan while trying to sleep instead of idling. Though the generator was vented out the side window, it was not adequate to keep carbon monoxide out of the cab and sleeper berth.
Not only rookie drivers are being affected. I was employed for 21 months by a trucking company where I was one of the top three rated drivers in the company for 2007. By the end of the first quarter of 2008, I stood in great jeopardy of being fired due to my idle times not meeting company guidelines even though I was still in the top tier of drivers. I have to idle the truck while sleeping due to health reasons, but the company did not care. I chose to quit before being fired. Even with my career record, it was difficult to find a company with reasonable idling policies.
Fatigue and driving safety are not the only factors not being taken into consideration by the ‘powers that be’ that set anti idling laws and policies. A driver’s personal safety is also grossly affected. Trucks and truckers have always had a bull’s eye on them marking them as targets for robbery, hijackings and other crimes against a person. A driver who has to leave windows and vents open for ventilation is setting themselves and their equipment up as easy marks for criminals. Not only does it allow devices to be used easier to unlock doors, but for over the 30+ years I have been driving, I have heard of many instances where criminal shoots ether into cabs of trucks to sedate the driver so they can be raped, robbed or the truck and load stolen.
The public does not understand the damage the anti idling laws can do to a trucker, they do not think about us as people affected adversely. A woman at a plant where I was loading overheard me talking about Laurie’s plight and asked what I was talking about. She said, “Trucks cause pollution so shouldn‘t idle.” When I explained it, she was appalled that people would be forced to try to sleep in those conditions. She understood better, when I asked her if she would try to sleep in her car in 70+/- degree weather with just her windows down. She said, “No, she would not be able to sleep due to the temperatures!” When I asked her if she would consider sleeping in the parking lot of the plant or in her driveway at home in her car with her windows cracked or down to stay cool at night, she exclaimed, “heck no...It would not be safe!” Thank you ma‘am...my points exactly.
Being on dating sites for years, I have encountered many different men through these dating sites resulting in emails and phone calls between us. An underlying theme in dating site profiles is that the person wants someone who is honest and not a liar. I can relate totally to that, I hate a liar worse than almost anything else and pride myself on being 100% honest both with others and myself, so I tend to try to establish contact with men who say that they want that in their profiles…and who appear interesting. The funny thing is though, I find many of these same men, who state they want and appreciate total honesty do not like women who are totally honest when it comes down to it.
When I speak about being totally honest, of course I am not referring to the socially correct little white lies we all have to make to remain civil. For example, if someone invites you for dinner at their home, serves you shoe leather and used oil for dinner, you of course would tell that little lie when asked if you enjoyed it. “Oh, what an interesting combination of flavors!” you might respond. Those types of dishonesty are acceptable.
We all shoot ourselves in our own foot at times by asking stupid questions. A driver I once knew was gung ho about getting his fuel bonus from his company and would not idle his truck for any reason at any time. We were talking on the phone and he said he was in Phoenix Arizona and had been there three days. Then he asked a stupid question, he said, “It has been 109 degrees here and I have not idled the truck at all, I suppose you think I am an idiot.” Wrong person to ask, as he should have known, I said, “yes, you could get hyperthermia, heat stroke, dehydration while you sleep and die.” Funny, though he had said he appreciated total honesty in his profile, and he did after all ask, I have never spoken to him again.
When I really like a person, male or female, I treat them as I do my friend of 32 years Sissy. Sissy and I are totally honest with each other, if one of us is on the wrong path, we say so firmly and often until whomever is on the wrong path starts thinking clearly again. We have been that way with each other since we first met and it works, keeping us both on the right paths thru life for the most part. Yes, sometimes, we get angry at each other but never for long, never longer than a day. I have several longtime friends like that, though not for as long, eight or nine years of friendship; they appreciate my honesty and my willingness to say what I think…they know I care about them.
Sometimes the truth hurts. I have another longtime male friend who, at one time, I thought I was in love with. We talked for hours daily on the phone and had dated a few times, crossing paths for a meal or coffee, at least I thought of them as dates. I told him one night on the phone about my increasing feelings for him and he, being a totally honest person, told me that he was not attracted to me that way; he could not have a romantic relationship with a larger woman. I was heartbroken, but we kept talking though and remain friends to this day. His new wife and I are friends now too; yes, she is a little woman.
The truth really hurts when someone is doing something that is not good for themselves or others and someone tells them about it. No one likes being told they are doing something that is harmful to others or themselves, one tends to get defensive about it, even if a friend tells them. Sometimes, they might even think that the honest person does not care about them, so they end the friendship. When this happens to me, that someone quits being a friend for my being honest with them about whatever it is, I am reminded of that movie “A Few Good Men” when Kaffee says, “ I want the truth!” and Jessep replies, “You can't handle the truth!” Though many people say they want total honesty from someone, in reality, they want only what they want to hear, affirmation of whatever they want or are doing; not at times, what they need to hear.
Associations, such as the Women In Trucking Association, who want to affect changing long embedded policies and beliefs, at times have to go about the process the long way instead of charging in like the Marines taking a hill. This is especially true of young associations like WIT who has had to both build membership and start off trying to live up to its mission statement. Many people do not understand this process.
Let us break it down to some scenarios that all can understand.
- You move into a new house. You have a neighbor whose tree hangs over your fence and drops ripe black walnuts in their hulls onto your yard, onto your concrete driveway and your car leaving nasty black stains everywhere. You have two choices, you can either get a chain saw out and when the neighbor is away and cut the tree down (the sledgehammer effect) or you can go over, make friends with your new neighbor and open a dialog with them about the problems with the tree (the tack hammer effect) finding an equitable solution. Both would solve the problem. Which one will allow you to remain friendly with your neighbor and bring resolution to both of you and effect the greater change in a positive manner, of course, the tack hammer effect.
- Your community passes an ordinance that affects you adversely. You have three options. First is to go to the city council’s next meeting and address the issue (tack hammer). Second is to decide to run for city council yourself so you can make sure that the council only passes ordinances that are for the benefit of the most people (again tack hammer). Thirdly, you can take your gun out and go shoot at the city council members…definitely sledgehammer! Yes, that one is radical, but you get my meaning. Of course, unless you want to sell your house and/or move or go to jail, you would use either of the tack hammer solutions.
- Your child goes to a new school. He has two choices to get the other kids to work with him and get to know him so he can work on projects with them, engage in sports, and make friends. The problem is that your child is larger than most having moved repeatedly and having had to repeat some grades. His two choices are he can be a bully (sledgehammer) and try to get weaker kids to follow him to do the things listed above or he can just be pleasant and work with others to achieve his goals (tack hammer). Which would you rather he does? Of course, the tack hammer approach.
Now you can see clearly the differences in using tack hammer approaches and sledgehammer approaches. An advocacy association must use the appropriate approach, which is usually the tack hammer way of doing things. Going into any situation where changes are needed with a sledgehammer will not work, instead it will only cause hate and discontent with the people (corporations, government) you are trying to get to change.
WIT is not a political activist association, it is an advocacy association, and the two are very different in the way they go about effecting change. An activist association or organization uses a sledgehammer approach more than a tack hammer approach. Ellen Voie, WIT’s CEO/President/Founder chose the type of association from the get go that she wanted WIT to be; that of an advocacy association who would assist in changing the way women are perceived in the trucking industry and try to get obstacles removed for women to be able to advance more easily. To do this, she knew that she would have to associate the association and herself with the corporate world of trucking and get on a friendly basis with them to affect change where it needed to start. As you can imagine, corporations do not change rapidly or respond positively to sledgehammer tactics; you can lead them, but you cannot push them.
In this, Ellen has been highly successful and WIT has attracted many corporate members who see value in associating with WIT because both they see the need for change and they support the mission statement. Some of those corporate members have joined WIT to solve problems they face concerning women’s issues and need help and direction in solving those problems; again, Ellen has been highly effective in working with those companies. Ellen came out with a white paper last year available to corporate members in conjunction with JJ Keller concerning solutions to training issues for both genders.
With Ellen’s involvement in trucking issues for the last 25 years or so, both as a trucker’s wife and in working within the industry itself, Ellen founded WIT with ideas and concepts in place that she wanted to work on. The White Paper on training, a crisis line for truckers, the Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel event, recognition of women who have achieved milestones in their careers both as drivers and in the office, increased safety for all drivers at truck stops, doing away with discrimination and sexual harassment against women in trucking and many others; Ellen had a long laundry list of things she wants to achieve.
Rome was not built in a day and the start that Ellen has begun with WIT in the last four years will take years to complete. Ellen Voie is positive she will achieve completing that list of tasks and any others that may arise, and she will with all of our help and assistance; bring your tack hammers though, no sledgehammers allowed.
Many of us ladies entering or who are in the trucking industry didn’t start out at 21 as truckers. Most of us come from another career, marriages and relationships both good and bad, poverty situations and some even have suffered abuse from parents, spouses and partners. A lot of us have grown children and have had to overcome family objections to us becoming truckers, some of the objections strenuous, from our kids, parents, spouses and friends. Many of us carry a lot of internal emotional baggage with us on the road. Overcoming it can be a real chore, but is necessary to succeed.
Women who carry emotional baggage tend to get stuck in what I call ‘victim mode’. These are the women who have survived abuses or tremendously bad situations. Some may have self esteem issues due to their size or looks and cannot see their own inner beauty so because they may have had bad experiences with other’s comments, actions and attitudes, they tend to think that everyone will treat them the same way…badly.
These perpetual victims are easy to spot, they are the women who walk with their heads down, and slump shouldered, who won’t even reply when someone says ‘good morning’. They tend to dress poorly, park in isolated places and hesitate to ask for help even if they really need it.
Little do they know that they are making themselves a bigger target for more bad things to happen to them. Criminals look for these types because it is obvious that they will most likely not defend themselves and because of never looking around, they are not aware of their surroundings. Men who use women go after these types also, knowing that most of these women are desperate for love and a little affection even though it may not appear that way to a non using type of man.
Being a perpetual victim is bad for your work too. You might find it hard to accept responsibility when you do something wrong, instead blaming everyone and everything else for it. Also, because you expect everyone to treat you badly, you might allow your supervisors and clerks to take advantage of you by expecting you to run illegally, or not get you home when you ask. It may be hard for you to take pride in doing the job well.
Overcoming the baggage that we carry is hard. First you have to admit to carrying the baggage. We tend to bury those bad experiences and don’t admit there is a problem from them. It takes a lot of courage to look at one’s self honestly and objectively, but necessary. One way to do this is by making lists of all of your good points then going over it with a best friend, you will find that you have missed a lot of the good points you have. Then make a list of your bad points and again, go over it honestly with your best friend, you may find that you have fewer than you thought.
These lists will assist you in identifying areas that you need to work on…such as attitude, bad habits, choosing a partner, work ethics etc. Sounds easy does it not? It is, if you are totally honest with yourself. The lists will assist you in building some self esteem too. You will see that you are not the terrible person that some might have told you that you were and as you work on your bad points, your good point list will grow. Of course you have to accept that you will never be perfect…but you sure can improve to near it.
If we carry too much baggage and cram too much ‘stuff’ into our emotional suitcases, we put ourselves at risk of that suitcase popping open at some time. This can lead to our over stressing while doing our stressful jobs, or becoming too emotional in dealing with everyday problems. It can lead to health related issues such as heart attack, high blood pressure and diabetes along with mental health issues…none of which is going to be good for you or your career as a driver.
Dealing with what has happened in the past can jump up and distract you in those wee hours of the day when you have too much time to think. Instead of keeping those incidences packed away, deal with them when you are sitting still and can feel the emotions that you have not allowed yourself to feel, accept responsibility for your part of whatever is bothering you, assign the rest to whomever else was involved, forgive yourself and them if you can, and let it go. Otherwise you will continue to be a victim and have overburdened suitcases to deal with when you least want to.
Furthermore, remember; you have chosen trucking as a career. YOU made the decision. That took courage and determination. Somewhere inside, you have strengths that may be hidden in plain site. Use that strength to overcome the past and make your whole life better, take pride in being a lady driver and know that not every woman has what it takes to do the job…that makes you special and unique.
Ya’ll be safe out there!
Truck driving as a career was not in Carol H’s mind when she was in high school. The girl whose father was a Yale graduate and whose mother was a graduate of Duke University instead was on the college bound fast track. Then fate intervened. Carol got a job driving an ice cream truck. She loved driving around neighborhoods and meeting new people and seeing new places even though it was in her hometown.
Carol started college, but the lure of the open road drew her and in 1970, she climbed into her first semi, a 1960 Auto Car. “I was only 19,” she said, “I wasn’t legal to drive, but we could get away with it back then. The truck had bare metal inside, a crank seat instead of air ride. It was nothing like what we drive now.”
Turning 21 in 1973 gave Carol an opportunity to get over the road. A union company was hiring and Carol and three others applied for jobs as drivers. There were no schools to learn how to drive back then. “I was hired, but at the bottom of the driver board. I had to learn by the seat of my pants and by observing. Because of it being a team operation and me being on the bottom of the board, I had probably 40 different drivers I teamed with,” she relates.
It sounds easy, but it was not. There were very few women drivers in trucking in 1973 and even fewer in union driving positions. “Many of the drivers went out on an unsanctioned strike after I was hired, but not right away,” Carol said, “I didn’t even know it at the time, I wasn‘t notified. The main issue was the driver’s wives not wanting their husbands to run with a woman. One wife even chased me around the plant one night until some of the other drivers made her leave. It made the newspapers.”
“Once I proved myself, things calmed down. The only other time that I faced some real discrimination other than rude comments, was not because of my being a woman, it was because being at the bottom of the board meant I had no choice over who I ran with and ended up running with an African American driver. Didn’t bother me, I am not a racist, he was an excellent driver, but when we stopped in at a diner to eat supper, we were not welcome.” Carol said.
Carol has pulled vans and reefers also, but returns to tankers. “The pay is very good and for the most part, you get paid for what you do, every company being a little different,” she said, “you get excellent benefits usually and are more often home every week than in the other types of trailers. You can have a life.”
In Carol’s opinion, flammable gases and products are more dangerous than other types of chemical/hazmat loads. “Vapors from flammable chemical loads come down and settle at ground levels because the dome is open to unload,” she said. “One day, I was delivering a load of flammable product. I had out warning signs to keep people away. The workers at the plant came outside on break and lit up their cigarettes within 10 feet of my rig ignoring the signs and me! It could have been very nasty; we all could have been hurt! I rushed around trying to them to move back and finally had to send for the plant manager to get them to move away. That was probably the closest I came to be afraid while pulling hazmat.”
Pulling chemical tanker is not a glamorous job. A driver has to wear safety gear beyond a hard hat depending on what the commodity or company policy is. “Full PPE (personal protection equipment) is now mandatory at my company no matter what we are hauling. That means that I have to wear hard hat, full plastic/rubber boots and coveralls, gloves, face mask and at times a respirator.” Carol relates.
A story that Carol laughs about now, at the time was not so funny to her. “I was pulling a load of latex, non hazmat, and a pressure fitting let loose covering me with white latex. Here I was covered with latex. I got upset and called the boss and all he could do was laugh at me. He teased me saying I must look like a prophylactic which just made the whole thing worse at the time!”
There is some physical work involved in pulling a tanker. It takes about an hour to load, but can take up to five hours depending on commodity to unload. A driver will have to climb to the top of their tank, pull hoses in and out and connect them to fittings and place buckets under each connection in case of a leak. Carol laughed, “A good day is when the buckets stay empty,”
The knowledge of hazmat regulations is tantamount in pulling chemical tanker. There are more things to check doing a pre-trip inspection and having to stop at railroad crossings is just one of the intensified safety issues faced by the driver and enforced by the DOT. Hazmat haulers are pulled in for inspections more than other types of truckers. “We have to have documentation of what we just hauled and even if we are under a brand new trailer that has never had a load in it, we have to have documentation to prove it,” Carol said.
After 35 years of driving and 4+ million miles, Carol is still driving truck and taking pleasure in pulling her tankers. She recommends women get into trucking and specifically tanker pulling. “It has been good to me in many ways; I make a good living while still having a life. Driving of course is hard on relationships and health for both genders but with proper care, many of the pitfalls can be avoided. If you decide to pull chemical tankers, don’t get in a hurry or try to take shortcuts, safety is the biggest issue.”
Ya’ll be safe out there!
Women In Trucking Association participates in NTSB Truck and Bus Safety Forum
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington DC: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a Public Forum to discuss truck and bus safety. Robert Sumwalt, NTSB Member Chaired the forum with the objective of evaluating the progress since the 1999-2000 hearings and to discuss emerging issues related to the safety of heavy vehicles. The hearings were held over two days (May 11-12) at the NTSB boardroom at L’ Enfant Plaza.
The Chairman noted that the past year was one of the safest years on record for highway safety and showed a forty percent drop from the ten years prior, but he cautioned the audience, “We must remind ourselves that each little data-point these figures represent it means another family member will never come home.”
The NTSB Technical Panel included Chairman Sumwalt and members of the NTSB staff, who questioned the panelists after their presentations. The panelists were comprised of subject matter experts from government agencies responsible for highway safety; to vendors supplying safety products to carriers and bus operators who provided case studies.
Women In Trucking President, Ellen Voie, was invited to serve as one of the parties to the forum. These groups represented government agencies, advocacy groups, drivers, carriers and state agencies. Voie was seated at the Driver and Union table alongside Todd Spencer, OOIDA and representatives from the Teamsters Union and United Transportation Union.
The parties and the technical panel questioned the subject matter experts who gave presentations on subjects including driver health and safety, hours of service, carrier entrant and screening, truck and bus operations and enhanced vehicle safety technology.
“One of my goals was to determine the effect women have had and will continue to have on the trucking industry,” said Voie, “ and I learned that there is very little information on gender related statistics regarding safety or driver health issues. Perhaps we can have more definitive information by the time the NTSB holds its next forum on highway safety,” Voie added.
The NTSB is an independent agency charged by congress to investigate accidents and is led by five board members, chaired by Deborah A. P. Hersman who was appointed to the position by President Obama in 2009.
Women In Trucking (www.womenintrucking.org) was established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry. Women In Trucking Association, Inc. is supported by its members and the generous support of Gold Level Partners, Frito-Lay North America and Walmart.
The hearings can be viewed on the NTSB website at ntsb.gov.
Truck drivers are often seen with large thermos of coffee and carrying cases of soda pop. We even have our own names for coffee, a cup of 40 weight or a cup of joe. Truck stop wait staff almost always assume that a driver will order coffee and arrive at the table with coffee pot in hand. Caffeine and energy drinks fuel us as surely as diesel fuels our trucks, but is all of that really good for us. Perhaps wrongly, many of us do not drink too much water thinking that we will have to stop too often and think we need the caffeine to function.
The human body consists of about 80% of our bodies at birth and about 70% as adults. Human brains consist of 75% water as do muscles. Blood is made up of 90% water. 75% of humans are chronically dehydrated.
Dehydration can cause many illnesses and have many effects on the body. Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%. It can cause hunger pains, and fatigue as well as increased risks of colon, bladder and breast cancers. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.
We gain water from both food and drinks, though caffeine in a drink such as coffee or soda pop actually dehydrates us. It is recommended that humans consume about 91 ounces of water a day. Though that sounds like a lot of water, about 20% comes from the food we eat.
Here are some other interesting facts about hydration:
Even mild dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3% and One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water. If a human does not absorb enough water dehydration is the result.
A healthy person can drink about three gallons (48 cups) of water per day.
By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount.
The weight a person loses directly after intense physical activity is weight from water, not fat.
Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication occurs when water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain
Dehydration occurs most often in the morning and can cause cardio-vascular problems such as heart attack and stroke.
Though truckers other than flatbedders, cattle haulers and delivery drivers do not do a lot of physical activity through their work days, mental stress is affected adversely by a lack of water in our bodies. The drivers that do hard physical work lose a lot of water especially during the warm months, or if they wear protective clothing that can lead to heat stroke.
Having that caffeine drink to get you jump started might be a good thing when starting your shift, but do not forget to have your 8-10 glasses or bottles of water throughout the day too. It cannot hurt and sure could help you do your job better and perhaps even live your life longer. Yes, you may have to stop a time or two more a day, but isn’t it worth it if you feel better overall. Who knows, we might have discovered the cure for the so- called problem of driver fatigue…just have a big glass of water!
Note: Sandy posted this as a note she tagged me in. The following is the thread of comments, for it contains useful knowledge also. Please make more comments, we need to look out for each other.
- Heather Pontruff Nicely put sis! I just stocked up on Sobe LifeWater! A better pick up than caffeine IMHO is Naked JuiceYesterday at 9:32am · LikeUnlike
- Sandy Long any juice is good...V8 is one of the low carb juices too.Yesterday at 9:35am · LikeUnlike · 1 personLoading...
- Sandy Long One way you can monitor your fluid intake is to watch your urine...if it is dark, you are dehydratedYesterday at 9:36am · LikeUnlike
- Heather Pontruff I know it's getting bad when I actually wake up thirsty. That to me is a scary feelingYesterday at 9:44am · LikeUnlike
- Lucien Bleau I wasn't aware of the dark being a sign of dehydration. tnx Sandy.Yesterday at 12:30pm · LikeUnlike
- Karen Lou Bartley Yes I read somewhere that if your thirsty you are already dehydrated... but Sandy thanks' for the dark urine didn't know that... Happy Mother's day to you both... God Bless...Yesterday at 12:36pm · UnlikeLike · 1 personLoading...
- Robert Morris Also, waking in the middle of the night thirsty can be a sign of diabetes especially if there is frequent urination also..Yesterday at 12:58pm · UnlikeLike · 1 personLoading...
- Karen Lou Bartley Wow am I lucky or what... Thank's for all the info...God Bless you...
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