In 1988, a Green Bay, Wisconsin Company by the name of Schneider National, with the help of Irwin Jacobs, started a whole new chapter in trucking history that we take for granted today. This little company introduced a 30 pound device that helped to track and make more effective the delivery and movement of freight. This product was known as OmniTRACS!
By 1993, Jacobs was being anointed by Fleet Owner as "The Man Who Changed Trucking."
Today we have devices in our trucks such as GPS, mapping software, electronic logs, cell phones, satellite radio, television, DVD Players, and so much more. It has saved, by now, millions of dollars both for the companies and the drivers. That's good, right?
In perspective, yes. In reality, no! Why, you might ask? Well, let me tell you...........
The other day, I was sitting in the Loves in Mifflinville, Pennsylvania. As I sat there, I saw several US Xpress trucks pull in from the Dollar Tree account out of Berwick, Pennsylvania. Many of them where flying through the parking lot. Some didn't know how to back up, so they parked on the fuel island. Twice as other trucks were backing up, they drove behind them, no concern for the driver backing up.
Also, I have a friend who works as a dispatcher with Tractor Farm and Supply out of Hagerstown, Maryland. Many times he has drivers call him to ask how to get back out of the customer. The system has to be programmed by the dispatcher and if the driver doesn't have a load, it will not activate to tell him where to go.
To add to another story, I watched a driver following his GPS (which was a Garman Truck one) drive right past the customer passing several signs that said "NO TRUCKS PAST THIS POINT." I said something to him on the CB and luckily the driver had his CB on. He was able to stop before he got too far. He said the GPS told him it was on the left, but the place was the only one on the road and a huge plant. It was the PPG plant off US 41 in Evansville Indiana.
The problem I see is that the more technical we get, the more we become dependent on it and become stupider. I am a mid 90's driver who has seen the whole industry go from one side to the other. As the world changes, companies invest more into the technology side of it, taking the driver thinking factor out of the job. This can both be good and bad, as an owner operator it's a challenge to keep up with the big fleet prices, where as if you target the specialized side, you can have your own say for the most part. As a company it can give the advantage of being more effective in cost time and operations, yet still takes away the ability for drivers to think for themselves.
As drivers, we tend to fight because we have no control, yet we blame the next generation of drivers because they never had the old school philosophy,or even the old school practice of thinking. I don't have the answer since this is the new trucking. Common sense is pretty much given to the computer, and it does the thinking for the driver. The fact is, many companies invest millions a year in technology advances to compete with each other.
In personal perspectives, it is not the trucking your parents grew up in. This is the "Star Trek" generation where old meets new and old is gone. You either get in the game or quit. Well not that simple; I am modern old school. I will accept the new, but will always remember where I came from and those who have shifted the wheels behind me. I will help a trucker on the side of the road, I will help a driver back up, I will say hi to other drivers, I will wave as well, and I will flash my lights to let you in.
As for you,I hope you remember those that came before us. We are the truckers of America, let's be proud and let them truckers roll!!
I did do research!
By 1993, Jacobs was being anointed by Fleet Owner as "The Man Who Changed Trucking."
Today we have devices in our trucks such as GPS, mapping software, electronic logs, cell phones, satellite radio, television, DVD Players, and so much more. It has saved, by now, millions of dollars both for the companies and the drivers. That's good, right?
In perspective, yes. In reality, no! Why, you might ask? Well, let me tell you...........
The other day, I was sitting in the Loves in Mifflinville, Pennsylvania. As I sat there, I saw several US Xpress trucks pull in from the Dollar Tree account out of Berwick, Pennsylvania. Many of them where flying through the parking lot. Some didn't know how to back up, so they parked on the fuel island. Twice as other trucks were backing up, they drove behind them, no concern for the driver backing up.
Also, I have a friend who works as a dispatcher with Tractor Farm and Supply out of Hagerstown, Maryland. Many times he has drivers call him to ask how to get back out of the customer. The system has to be programmed by the dispatcher and if the driver doesn't have a load, it will not activate to tell him where to go.
To add to another story, I watched a driver following his GPS (which was a Garman Truck one) drive right past the customer passing several signs that said "NO TRUCKS PAST THIS POINT." I said something to him on the CB and luckily the driver had his CB on. He was able to stop before he got too far. He said the GPS told him it was on the left, but the place was the only one on the road and a huge plant. It was the PPG plant off US 41 in Evansville Indiana.
The problem I see is that the more technical we get, the more we become dependent on it and become stupider. I am a mid 90's driver who has seen the whole industry go from one side to the other. As the world changes, companies invest more into the technology side of it, taking the driver thinking factor out of the job. This can both be good and bad, as an owner operator it's a challenge to keep up with the big fleet prices, where as if you target the specialized side, you can have your own say for the most part. As a company it can give the advantage of being more effective in cost time and operations, yet still takes away the ability for drivers to think for themselves.
As drivers, we tend to fight because we have no control, yet we blame the next generation of drivers because they never had the old school philosophy,or even the old school practice of thinking. I don't have the answer since this is the new trucking. Common sense is pretty much given to the computer, and it does the thinking for the driver. The fact is, many companies invest millions a year in technology advances to compete with each other.
In personal perspectives, it is not the trucking your parents grew up in. This is the "Star Trek" generation where old meets new and old is gone. You either get in the game or quit. Well not that simple; I am modern old school. I will accept the new, but will always remember where I came from and those who have shifted the wheels behind me. I will help a trucker on the side of the road, I will help a driver back up, I will say hi to other drivers, I will wave as well, and I will flash my lights to let you in.
As for you,I hope you remember those that came before us. We are the truckers of America, let's be proud and let them truckers roll!!
I did do research!
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