“TRUCKERS’ ROAD TO HEALTH” AUDIO BOOK
(Free To Truckers)Miami, FL (May 2, 2012) – TheManInWhite.ORG (TMIW) is pleased to inform professional trucker drivers that (for the next thirty days) they can download a free audio book on health specifically designed for truckers. Titled Truckers’ Road to Health, it is the first in a series audiobook on health care targeting professional truck drivers. This audio format is an ideal resource for professional truck drivers, who can learn about their health as they drive. Topics include lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, nutrition, obesity and sleep apnea.
Truckers’ Road to Health was authored by medical specialists, edited into laymen’s terms, and narrated by professional voice talent. Other contributors include Joe Martin, CEO of Truckercise.net, and Matthew S. Thiese, PhD, MSPH, University of Utah School of Medicine, Instructor of Occupational Injury Epidemiology - with special research Interests in Physical Activity in Occupational Populations and Commercial Driver Health.
Of Audible’s 30-day free audiobook offer, Scott Weidner, CEO of Transport for Christ, said, “What better way to learn about one’s health? We are very fortunate to be partnered with TMIW in an effort to improve the wellness of individual drivers and the industry as a whole.”
“Understanding how to take control of your health is crucial, especially for the trucking industry which is experiencing increased regulation pertaining to driver fitness. This audiobook should be mandatory for every driver, male or female.” said Ellen Voie, CEO of Women in Trucking, whose input resulted in the inclusion of several key topics on womens’ health in the audiobook.
According to the American Trucking Association, there are approximately 4.2 Million professional Truck Drivers, and approximately 1.7 Million operate “big rigs” for long hauls. Audiobooks provide a solution for millions of busy people who struggle to find enough time to read, including the 105 Million Americans who drive to work alone every day.
Truckers wishing to take advantage of Audible’s offer will be able to try a 30-day free trial for the Gold plan. Although the credit can be used on any listed title in Audible.com’s catalog, it is hoped that truckers will apply the credit towards the audiobook of “Truckers’ Road to Health.” Trial (new) membership is subject to Audible.com’s general trial terms. Audible’s 30-day free trial for new members is available at TheManInWhite.ORG and Audible.com/truckerhealth, and will be available for truckers to try anytime over the next six months. “This is a great opportunity for drivers to get an excellent tool to improve their health for free,” said Dr. Matthew S. Thiese, PhD, MSPH. “This is a wonderful audiobook on truckers’ health,” said Joe Martin, adding, “Get it now.”
“The usual price is $23.85, so there is absolutely no excuse not to take advantage of this free book offer”, said Efrain Arroyave, MD, CEO for TMIW.
TheManInWhite.ORG produces health care information on truckers’ health issues. Upcoming topics for audio books on truckers’ health include: sleep apnea, nutrition and diabetes and stress management.
When it comes to politics, I reserve the rights for my other writers most of the time, but we are doomed. Not just truckers, but our country as a whole. Our democratic process is all but failing us, being run by millionaires with silver spoons in their mouths, hypocrites, and yellow bellies.
The only president since Reagan who had enough nerve to run a country unapologetically was the one before Obama, the hated second Bush. Anyone with common sense can see he was hated for his unapologetic approach of actually running a country, not appeasing everyone. He did not bow to foreign leaders in a showing of weakness and serfism. Serfs bow to leaders, not leaders! Bush never apologized for America.
Obama now blames Bush for the recession. Let's investigate this moronic claim. In 2006, the Democrats took control of rulemaking. Shortly after, our economy tanked. The only thing that could've stopped this is executive orders by Bush. Obama has been printing money like he was playing Monopoly, and acting like there are no real consequences. Every bail out has failed. For those claiming the automobile bail out worked, look at the fact that government now has a controlling factor in production standards, helping lead to the disastrous waste of money called the Chevy Volt. Barack and Michelle Obama are going on extravagant vacations, costing several million each time, while telling us to tighten our belts. They are now trying to control every aspect of our lives, including how we eat, what we drink, our medical care, and if we smoke (what a hypocrite).
Executive orders signed by Obama have a potential in crippling the trucking industry. If you're a trucker voting for him, please hang your keys up, for you're voting against yourself.
Romney is, simply put, the white version of Obama. Most of Obama's policies are almost carbon copies of failed policies Romney adopted while running Massachusetts. Marxist vs Marxist is sure to collapse our country as a whole. Romney is the first Republican candidate I've seen in the history of the country who used his liberal race to tear down the true conservatives, and in my opinion, he's a piece of shit (sorry for the language). I've put this as a comment on his Facebook fan page also. He can't find an Etch-a-Sketch big enough to erase his huge liberal streak.
In the end, though, liberal or conservative doesn't matter to me. We need a president that doesn't feel my uterus is what matters while campaigning (Obama). We need one that will see women as equal. We need someone that understands big government does not need to have controlling factors in private enterprise. We need a president that can take bankrupt entities and make them profitable. We need the media to quit finding sensationalized claims, chasing the only decent candidates out of the race. We need a candidate that understands we need to give incentives and tax breaks to get businesses back to the U.S., and allow America to flourish.
Viva la resistance! Take your country back before we lose it! Write in Herman Cain on Election Day! Make your vote count! A free country has the right to have the voice of the people resonate. This is not a dictatorship! We need to remove the czars, remove big government from private enterprise, overthrow the EPA, and allow our country to be the great country I remember! No more bowing to leaders, no more spreading racism (Holder and Obama), no more apologizing for a being a strong and proud country! Your vote, your choice! Save our country, write Herman Cain in, let him fix us, or allow our country to be renamed the United States of China.
Let me say, first and foremost, that no training company will EVER be offered advertisement on my web site, save for one. While I may offer trucking schools advertisement, so people will know where to obtain their CDL, it is a conscious and moral decision Lou and I have made not to allow companies who repeatedly show unsafe training exercises space on my site, or an endorsement by us, in any form or matter.
I caught a lot of flack when I first wrote about training reform. (Click here for the full article.)
Anyone that is on the nation's highways, four-wheelers and truckers alike, observe near misses by training companies daily. If you don't, I want to run where you run. This is due to a lack of stern training guidelines. While I may be against regulation, I am for regulation on this subject matter. This is a public safety issue and an imagery issue. Every time one of these students swerves toward, cuts off, tailgates, etc someone, it leaves a bad taste toward ALL truckers, not just the name on the door.
We all know there has to be a place to learn, and training companies are supposed to be able to do this in a safe manner. Yet, when some are boasting they'll have you in your own truck within SEVENTEEN days, training with a new driver themselves, while boasting a 99.99% safety rating last I checked, how is this safe???? (For the non-truckers, safety ratings are between 1 and 100%, and the closer you are to 100, the worse.)
What will it take for the FMCSA, with Ferro claiming her "main concern is safety," to finally do something about this issue? After all, the FCC fatality and others were not enough. Will it take a loud public outcry to the Feds? I still believe so. Bringing this issue to public attention, and not just within the industry, is key to succeeding in making the roads a little more safe.
What should be the federal guidelines? I still agree with Tim Brady's ideology behind this:
The first step to improving highway safety from the trucking side of the issue is: 6 months classroom and trucking course with at least 240 hours of behind the wheel instruction.
6 months with a qualified "licensed" driver trainer (5 years 500,000 miles driving experience with no accidents and no more than 3 points on their CDL DMV report plus completing a course and exam to be a "Licensed" Driver Trainer). The driver trainer must always be in the right seat awake, observing and instructing the trainee. Under no circumstances can a driver trainer be in the sleeper while the trainee is driving.
I will go furthermore in stating that there should be a psychological evaluation of anyone wanting to pursue trainer status as a career. The reason behind this is due to the horrors of trainee abuse that happen. Lou spoke to a trainee the other day who's trainer beat him with a Qualcomm for taking the wrong highway. If you're not psychologically able to handle stress, you should be disqualified.
Would this be a costly venture for the trucking industry? Well, yes it would be, but so are wrongful death suits and suits for damage of loads and people. So, in the end, the up front cost would make it more cost effective.
Today, Werner trailer #27030 passed us, hogging the fog line while we were oversized. He almost slammed into us and our load. He was sitting with his face two inches from the windshield, with a death grip on the steering wheel. Werner informed me this was a student driver, and I told them the trainer was in the back. He was done with his observational period, so he could drive alone. I explained to Werner that based on his performance, he was still needing observational. We've had the same issues with CRST (don't call them, the person who answered seemed to not comprehend the English language when a Haz-Mat load was swerving erratically), Swift, C.R. England, Stevens, and even once with TMC. The trainees, plain and simple, need more training experience.
I think the worst is the simple fact that if the trainees claim they need more practice, the companies will either send them out on their own anyways or fire them. A major reason why is if they send them out, it's often in a lease truck, making the company more money through the flease program, or it's more cost effective to fire them and sue them for the schooling (both have happened at more than one company.
Despite if you like me, despite if you like Tim, despite if you like said companies, unite for this one. The four wheeler next on the improperly trained trainee's path may be your family!
I'm assigning three Senators to write (I guess I should've informed them first, but it's all good). Write them, ask for these reform practices to be made into law.
Click here for the petition. I will hand deliver this to lawmakers in August.
You know what to do. Write, (sound professional), like, tweet, post, repeat! Let's get this huge black eye dealt with!
For years, many lease purchase operators and owner operators leased onto companies have screamed, begged, and cried for one thing: transparency.
What is transparency and why is it needed? Lou and I have covered this subject lightly on YouTube, and need to go in-depth finally about it, because this subject, and the lack of true transparency, is costing hundreds, if not thousands of drivers thousands of dollars a year. On YouTube, you can clearly hear Lou stating that transparency is necessary, because the company can lie about how much it makes when it turns the load over to a driver, protected by a cloak where transparency is not necessary (I believe the exact wording was the company makes $500 when the driver makes $100). Sadly, many of the employees affected by this are under contract to receive a percentage of the line haul as their pay. Now, if they find out how much their company is hiding from them, they have the legal right to obtain payments not received via arbitration or court, but where does that leave them? Simply put, black balled by the former company and marked, most likely unable to receive gainful employment again. Fair? I think not!
Furthermore, trucking advocates attempted to, and unfortunately failed at, getting a law passed to require transparency from companies.
Some companies, few, but some, in trucking, made the decision on their own to use transparency. These companies include the actual copy of the customer's bill with the driver's settlement statement. Other companies allow you to ask to see the bills within a small amount of time (most of the time 30-45 days). If you fail to ask to see proof of bill to customer within that time period, you forfeit your rights to see the bill.
What can be done? A lot can actually be done. You can write and call. If enough of us, company, leased on, independents, lease purchase, non-truckers, etc, can finally come together for change, we can get change for transparency. If you're not one affected by the lack of transparency (we are fortunate enough to not be), it doesn't mean you shouldn't speak of. The reason is simple. You wouldn't want to work for free, and without transparency, many people will continue to do so.
Click here for a list of Congress person's phone numbers, and here for a list of Senate person's phone numbers. I'll be contacting a few in particular, begging them to write the bill for this, and we need everyone we can to put pressure on them to do so. Let's help others quit working for free!
COTC is paying more, and the pay package will make you sing that you want to be like Lou (and become a flatbedder).
COTC is not just a flatbedding company, but is a company that will teach you how to flatbed if you have the right amount of driving experience (I believe it's two years). They hire throughout the country, flying you into orientation, and ensuring afterwards that you get ample home time.
Their benefits package has always been one of their leading advantages over their competition. Their drivers receive fully paid dental, medical, vision, prescription, short term disability, and passenger insurance paid by the company. This alone is worth hundreds of dollars a month. As far as the passenger insurance, this allows anyone over the age of 5 to ride with the driver after a 90 day probation period when the driver first starts driving for COTC.
The new pay package is allowing for drivers, based on experience, work ethic, safety experience, and time with the company, to make up to 45 cpm, on top of the hundreds dished out for insurance monthly.
Here's a comprehensive breakdown of the pay package:
* Based on experience, all drivers will start off at between 32 and 35 cpm base pay
* There's a production bonus accessible to all drivers:
1 cpm for 10,500-11,499 miles monthly
2 cpm for 11,500-12,499 miles monthly
3 cpm for 12,500 miles or more monthly
* There is a CSA (compliance, safety, accountability) bonus of 2 cpm for those who are accident free and following company policy. You can not have any of the following to qualify: roll over alarms, hard braking warnings, tows, HOS violations, cargo claims, securement tickets, or any other driver controlled offense. You can not operate loose or faulty assigned equipment either. (COTC will always spend the extra money to fix their equipment, so there is no excuse anyhow.)
* There is a fuel efficient bonus of up to 3 cpm also.
Vacation pay has also changed, allowing you to earn vacation money faster. After your 90 day probation period, you will start earning $0.005 per mile on vacation pay. After your first year, you will earn 1 cpm on vacation pay. After 2 years, you will earn $0.015 per mile on vacation pay. After 4 years, it will increase to 2 cpm for vacation pay.
Also, after 1 year, you become eligible for a 401K, with COTC matching you 50% until 6%.
Staying ahead of the grade is something many companies strive for, and I believe COTC has just thrown a curveball at everyone with this pay package. Their four year veterans will now be able to make (including vacation pay) $5900 a month as company drivers if they drive 13000 a month safely.
If you want to talk to one of the drivers at COTC to see how they like it, click here for Shawn Brooks or here for Glen Brouillette. They'll tell you how it's a family environment, and an open door policy company. You can walk right up to the president of the company and talk to him.
Two major factors in trucking have flashing, or rotating, amber lights. These two are just as highly ignored by the general motoring public, and by professional drivers, as often, if not more than, oversized loads. This is a dangerous practice, and needs to finally be brought to attention to everyone out there.
These two industries within the industry met up last year, and the events were tragic. A tow truck driver hit and subsequently killed a pilot car driver. The pilot car driver/escort was going at a slow rate of speed behind his load, and a lapse in judgement by the tow driver behind him cost the escort his life.
A lot of escorts, tow drivers, and highway workers, all ask the same question, "What will it take to make people show respect toward us?" Short of weeding out the gene pool of morons, and subsequently uncongesting most of Southern California, education is our only hope.
The law now protects highway workers and tow drivers thoughout most of the United States, but the pilot cars are still unprotected. Basically, the law now provides very stiff penalties toward people acting like idiots around the ones protected by it, but like every sheet of paper, it's worthless until someone dies. Education about how to proceed through work zones, around tow trucks, near pilot cars, and around semis are not taught in driver's ed. Anyone with a halfwit intelligence and who knows how to use two pedals, three mirrors, and hold a steering wheel gets a driver's license, and subsequently, people die.
A few years ago, we had an excellent pilot car, whom I never got his name, help us, for free, in a bad situation. He was hot shotting a load back home (hot shotting is using your commercially license four-wheeled vehicle to haul freight) when we stumbled upon his path. We were in Tennessee, hauling a 12' wide military dozer, a semi with doubles had flipped into the oncoming eastbound lanes while going westbound, there was highway construction, and one car had tried to turn into a convertible passing the blade of our dozer. The hot shot hit his lights, and stayed with our load, protecting the load and the idiots wanting a convertible and thinking they'd be prettier decapitated from themselves. This sparked a fight with some professional drivers when I gave the gentleman kudos, and wound up in an all around Facebook battle between us, pilot cars, and oversized haulers defending the actions to people who wouldn't know what to do if they were our size. This then sparked a "Ban Trucker's Voice from Facebook" group. Those that started it couldn't handle the fact that they were wrong about pilot cars, and wanted to destroy me for defending them. I will still defend the man for what he did.
So, let's go over this, and make the truth crystal clear. What is a pilot car's job? Their job is to protect the load, the motoring public, and everything lined up within these two. They are forced by the states to carry stop paddles, to tell traffic to stop, if traffic must stop for the load. They have a hard job. David, one of our escorts based out of Oklahoma, had to stop traffic on a narrow bridge in Oklahoma. We were 14' wide, and there was no room for other traffic to get through while we were on the bridge. We've never seen a lowboy stop as quickly as this one did. Had he not been there, our load may have been destroyed. The pilot car had to put himself in the direct line of danger to ensure the safety of our load. They do it daily.
What should you, in whatever vehicle you drive, do when you see a load with pilot cars?
1. Stay patient. If you cause a wreck, you'll get somewhere a lot slower than just slowing down and allowing the load to continue. Stay behind the load. If you're oncoming to the load, give it the extra room it needs. You may have to stop and hit the shoulder for a few minutes, but a few minutes stopped saves a few hours if you cause the wreck.
2. Give them some room. They don't like playing chicken with you. They would rather have both you and them, along with their load and driver, go on your own way without needing a change of underwear.
3. Communicate with the escorts. If you need to get around, the escorts or driver will let you know when it's safe to pass the truck. On the other side, if they're not providing open communication with traffic, call them in to the state police. If there's no communication with traffic, they are posing a risk on the roadway. At least one vehicle should have a CB on channel 19.
4. Do not cut off the escort or try to tuck yourself in between the escort and the truck. If you do this, you're causing a safety hazard, and can be called into the authorities. Many escorts have went down to these measures. A grain hauler cut one off, then almost came to a complete stop. Guess what? Rule #1 applied. The grain hauler, with his impatience and road rage, had the escort call him in. The entire flow of traffic was inhibited until police dealt with the situation. Making the escort stop makes the entire load stop.
5. Escorts are out here to do a job. A trying job that keeps them away from home for days or months at a time. It's not an easy job. Think of them as farmers on harvesters. They go slow, they annoy you, but you don't try to run them off the road.
Tow drivers have an even harder job, one I would never want. If you're broke down or need help on the side of the busy highway, it is them climbing from under your semi/truck/car/van/suv, and facing the idea that some idiot may hit them. Many have been hit, as a matter of fact, by careless motorists.
All the flashy lights in the world, triangles, etc, have failed to keep some of these hard working men and women safe. They start to hook up a car, someone decided not to obey the law and move over for an emergency vehicle, and the obituary is what comes next.
How many tow drivers have you seen leave their mother, father, sisters, brothers, wife, children, aunts, uncles, etc behind because they were doing their job of helping a stranded motorist? Once again, education is key, yet the people who write the manual for driver's education, fail in this category? So, how do you help protect them?
1. Whether or not it is law in your state, if you see triangles, immediately move over.
2. If you see flashing lights, get in the opposite lane of where the tow driver is in, and slow down.
3. Remember, your hurry won't be such a hurry if you kill someone with negligence. You will likely never make it to your destination.
Main thing to remember when you see these rotating amber lights is simply this:
RESPECT THE AMBER LIGHTS!!!
Give them room and respect, slow down, and be patient. Maybe if you read this, and pass this on, you can save a life today!
Domino's constantly wants you to tell them how they're doing. Domino's cares about their customers. Domino's will deliver anywhere, according to what Eldon Lesley read.
Domino's, here's your feedback. Your stuffed cheesy bread is a joke, your food half the time arrives cold, and the snarky attitude of Marco has officially had me call for a FULL ON BOYCOTT!
You see, Marco is the manager of a location in Diamond Bar, California. He claims he is the owner. I'm sure if he's not by the time that corporate gets this emailed to them, he will be one of the dangerous people he's so scared of. So scared, in fact, that at approximately 1630-1645 PDT, he chose to tell a driver, Eldon, the policy he enacted a month ago. This, by far, isn't the only location to enact their own policies separate from corporate. In Crossville, TN, they'll make you walk a half a mile in the snow storm because they believe a 75 year old delivery person afraid of the snow was a perfect fit.
Back to Diamond Bar. Eldon has had them deliver to him several times in the past, so imagine his surprise when the attitude was to stay hungry. The new policy is that they must enter a building to deliver a pizza. That was their official comment. Of course, I couldn't let it go there, and started asking questions. What was revealed was an ignorant person with an unprecedented prejudice against truckers. How did I uncover it? Easy. Always threaten that you're recording. You see, if the press calls for comment, it's common knowledge to intelligent people that they're recording the conversation. Upon hearing recording, he quoted me California state law. Funny that I wasn't calling from there. Then he researches my number, and tells me Iowa law. Once again, not calling from there. He went berserk, so the lie and threat was entirely worth it to reveal his true colors. First, I'll give you Eldon's exact post, then I'll give you the line of lies and ignorance. Lastly, I'll give you corporate's number and the email address for customer service.
Eldon Lesleyabout an hour ago · well was just informed that Domino's will not deliver to truck drivers anymore.....they will go into the most dangerous neighborhoods to deliver to an address. but not to a truck driver on the street....she told me it wasn't safe for there delivery drivers?...huh?..does anyone else see the problem here?...Heather, i expect you to copy and paste this and get down on Domino's Corporate......
Eldon Lesley Domino's in Diamond Bar Calif.909-861-9606
Eldon Lesley ok so i just sent Domino's Corporate a not so pleasant E-Mail. told them what a shame it was that they will go into a dangerous neighborhood to deliver a pizza being paid by welfare EBT Card. but will leave an honest hard working American paying CASH to starve on the side of the road. also told them i got this up on FACEBOOK. please share this, make this go viral. we cant park anywhere, sleep anywhere, run our trucks to stay warm or cool. now we can't even get a pizza when we're stuck somewhere delivering the stuff the GLORIOUS PEOPLE NEED!!! i also asked them how do there stores receive there supplies?...a truck you say....WTF!!! this is DISCRIMINATION!!!about an hour ago · Like
Lie 1: It was corporate policy, so corporate would back him up. Upon calling a few different locations, I was asked if I needed it delivered directly to the truck in a truck stop. Corporate states ANYWHERE.
Lie 2: We have to go inside of the building in order to deliver the pizza. When I asked if they walked into houses, apartments, hotel rooms, he quipped no.
Lie 3: You have to be working there for them to deliver. While Eldon is waiting to load or unload, he's on the clock, doing his job, and WORKING.
Lie 4: The building doesn't have an address. The building is just that; a building. Had they asked Eldon to meet them at the front door, he would've gladly obliged.
Lie 5: Racist and discriminatory, while in the same category, are not the same thing. I told him I didn't appreciate his discriminatory behavior to truck drivers, in which he exclaimed that he wasn't racist against truck drivers. I told him he was ignorant at this point.
Lie 6: An industrial park at dark is dangerous. It wasn't dark. Not even close to dark. I guess he forgot he wasn't on Eastern time.
With so many places discriminating against truckers, did we really need another one? Panera will deliver, in California, right to my door, while we are on the shoulder. As will Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Pizza Ranch, Vito's, and many others throughout the country. Yet, Domino's fails to hold themselves to these standards.
So, what can you, trucker or non-trucker, do? Write and call corporate. If they get a huge headache from this, things will change. You can click here to fill out their email form or you can call corporate in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 734-930-3030. You can also show all your friends, and help with the boycott of Domino's Pizza. Domino's, you can click here to email me or click here to email the trucker that is still hungry due to your discriminatory behavior. Oh! And your manager Marco, with 22 years delivery experience, should be retrained on people skills.
The essence of the human factor. Cale of COTC's wife posted this picture of him doing yoga. I still love her for this embarassing post!
This piece will truly show one thing. I'm not a smart business person. I have seen time and time again companies paying hand over fist to make it to social media conventions for what exactly? To sit there and listen to a bunch of wannabe experts handling their own personal dick measuring contests? I can sit online for free and do it for free, while laughing or rolling my eyes. Let me give you the low down when it comes to truckers. Now, you can pay me if you'd like. My paypal is mrsobadal@yahoo.com. I'll gladly take your money, as much as everyone else does.
Truckers are a breed all their own. This is a true statement. They are irritable after driving 11 hours, and get online with the attention span of a child with ADHD that just overdosed on chocolate cake. I pick on my guys and gals all the time for this. Even on the phone, having a conversation, you'll hear "lights!!!" or "chrome!!!" and the occasional "shiny!!!"
So, while listening to the wannabe experts who've gotten their opinions from actual experts, and chose to scam you out of money by claiming expertness, please understand something: the original experts who the wannabe experts got their ideas from were from basic business people, stay at home wives, retired couples, and teenagers. These people are online because they are bored, and looking for something to peak their interest, so aggressive tactics work. Truckers, although possibly bored online, deal with aggressive tactics by shippers, receivers, companies, DOT, etc all day long, and will become annoyed in no time flat, therefore ignoring you. So, how do you get them to be interested in you?
I enjoy people watching. It has taught me a lot of what to do and not to do. I'm not an expert, but I do better than some of the wannabe experts on keeping a captivated audience. So, pull what you can from me learning the hard way.
Everyone and their dog, it seems, has a Facebook page. Many companies have chosen to utilize Facebook to make an aggressive approach toward advertising for free. They no longer advertise in print or online (I've even felt the effects of this). They move a secretary or some other office member into the "social marketing" or "communications" department. This tactic will do one of two things based on the person online, and only the person online. Let's look at four chains of truck stops for example: TA, Pilot, Love's, and WilcoHess. TA and WilcoHess are the best at this. Pilot actually is not at the bottom; Love's is. TA and WilcoHess address the issues drivers have immediately, and diligently work to resolve the issue as soon as they get a Tweet, Facebook post, email, or phone call. They also talk to you like a human being and will comment on grotesque pictures taken at the competition's facilities. Pilot has shocked me. Lynsay still speaks to me, and will respond to issues, knowing I boycott them. It takes a lot to put differences aside and address issues, but she has excelled at this. Love's makes up excuses or ignores you, showing drivers no true concern on issues. For this, they fail to appease the driver, and fail to get their point across of wanting business in a productive manner online.
Another issue being seen is spam. You see it on Twitter, you see it on Facebook, you see it everywhere, including LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, a nice debate over trucking regulations or rates or freight bases will be taking place, and someone will post stupid comments about where to buy the hottest shoes. Needless to say, in no time flat, the comment is erased, and the person is thrown out of the group. In Facebook groups, it'll be companies posting about completely unrelated topics, hoping to get hits. My groups have these posts, and the people, along with their posts, are thrown out. Recently, Trainers for Better Trucking decided to clean house also. People were wanting you to buy this, listen to that, read this; and none were related to training. Kudos to these guys for taking a stand for this. These posts are an impediment on groups and fan pages, and the truckers are tired of it. Every time I post a reminder of no advertising on my page, the truckers "like" the post for the next three days.
Companies with their own pages and Twitter accounts do a major fail in communication. A perfect example came across Twitter this morning: FreeCDLJobs.com @FreeCDLJobscom @trkrsvoice Thanks for the MT! We are a Free #Trucking #Job Search! We can help #Truckers find a better Driving Job @suetandt @trkmatters. Now, most of the time, when a company thanks you for a mention, they don't feel the need to spam you again. This is annoying. It's like the people who think they need to retweet every tweet ever sent to them to try to fake an essence of importance. We aren't in school anymore, you don't have to prove your importance to all of us. Some that I must say have celebrated the Twitter and Facebook scene well are Big Truck Driving Jobs, Hiring Truck Drivers, Cale of Central Oregon Trucking Company, and Joyce Brenny of Brenny Transport. They give the human feel to the companies they represent. All four are sweet, goofy, and talkative. You see, truckers want to be able to freely discuss things; whether it be sports, shopping, driving, the idiot that cut them off, their health, or anything in between. If all they see is how you "can help #truckers find a better driving job," you'll be the last one they speak to. They want to speak to a human being, not a robot. If all you do is post glorifications of yourself, they will run, or sit there and watch, waiting for you to fail. I've seen people representing themselves being called the King/Queen of Spam, for all you saw was events, fan pages, etc. I've seen on another profile, a driver asking to be taken off the mailing list, for the Facebook profile looked more like a cold call mailing list that you would do to generate support, not someone's Facebook page. These are critical errors. They'd rather see how Lou was screaming that there was a demon in his mouth after biting into a Wasabi, what irks me with the load while planning it or ordering the permits. That lets them see the human feel. Come see me here, I just got signed to represent them, this place just published me, listen to me on the radio, look what I wrote, and nothing but posts related to this give them a robot feel. Mix it up. There's no harm in being robo-man or woman. Be half human, half robot if you must.
Basically, if you want truckers to follow you on social media, get involved in social media, but get involved in a human aspect. Let them get to know you, and when it comes to their money and their time, it will be you they pick.
DOT. CVSA. FMCSA. NTSB. OOIDA. ATA. UBW.
I could continue on and on with three, four, and five letters all day long in the trucking industry. That isn't the point I'm making while sitting down, going 75 mph, and typing to you.
For those who are not truckers, I'll outline what each one means.
DOT=Department of Transportation
CVSA=Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance
FMCSA=Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
NTSB=National Transportation Safety Board
OOIDA=Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association
ATA=American Trucking Association
UBW=United Brotherhood of Workers (Teamsters)
Now, many are wondering how these entities, and more, have a say in trucking. Three of the entities are rule makers, one is an association of law enforcement officials, and three are lobbyists. The three that are lobbyists fight the three that are rule makers, and sometimes, like in the case of HOS (hours of service), law enforcement backs some of the lobbyists. Sounds like a massive cluster, doesn't it?
There is an issue here with lobbying first and foremost. For every group lobbying for the truckers, there are two lobbying against. Lobbying has been revealed to be a game of bribery, not common sense and good debate. To quote an article in Forbes; Con men, swindlers and cheaters pay bribes. Sophisticates hire lobbyists because lobbyists get better, more lasting results while only rarely landing in the slammer. We know intuitively that bribery and lobbying are related, and there are reams of academic papers that try to draw the line between legitimate issue advocacy and corruption.
James Wood of the FMCSA was ordered to pay back $41,300 in bribes he accepted to give advanced notice and postpone safety inspections for Canadian carriers. He was also sentenced to 18 months behind bars. As part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), companies leaving Canada to enter the U.S. must meet all FMCSA and DOT requirements. Same if you're an American trucker going to Canada. You must meet their requirements.
NAFTA brings us to Eric Hernandez, who was held in Laredo. The reason is due to the fact that NAFTA is once again allowing Mexican trucks into our country, with the same rules as Canada. Rest assured, there are probably more like Eric. Eric Hernandez, border inspector with the FMCSA, plead guilty to bribery. Without inspecting vehicles, he'd get paid, and the vehicles would receive a Level 1 CVSA decal. (To the non-truckers, this decal is indicative of every detail of the truck, trailer, and paperwork being entirely clean.) After pleading guilty, he received six months incarceration, six months house arrest, three years supervised release (parole), and 120 hours of community service.
Dejan Zlatkovic was found guilty of attempting to bribe an FMCSA officer in charge of doing a compliance review on KGB, one of his trucking companies. He was given only a nine month sentence. The judge gave Zlatkovic, a self-made millionaire, a slap on the wrist, since he epitomizes the personification of the American dream. Guess the judge overlooked the numerous failing equipment violations, log violations, lack of insurance, etc that Zlatkovic was trying to hide under a $10,000 bribe.
Let me put the real realization of what harm these bribes can truly do. On January 23, 2009, a fatality happened. To cut the niceties, someone in a semi plowed into several cars that were stopped, killing one person and injuring five others. The normal what? where? when? how? and why? were investigated, and the investigation got ugly. Joseph Jadzcak, the owner of Pratt Auto, gave the DOT inspection sticker for the unit responsible. He never inspected it, and the brakes were beyond illegal. Yet, he was paid for, and supplied, the sticker. Jadzcak was allowed to inspect trucks, certified to do so by the government. The driver and the owner both knew the brakes were out, but the third person legally obligated to stop it, the inspector, did not do so. Sadly, despite his guilty plea of homicide by vehicle and permitting the operation of a vehicle with unsafe equipment, he was only sentenced to 23 months.
To further add insult to injury, the driver was sentenced to only three months, being released with time served as soon as the trial ended, and the owner of the truck sentenced to 11.5-23 months.Yet, non-professionals, in their personal vehicles, who plead guilty to vehicular homicide, faces 3-15 YEARS for the first offense, with harsher punishments for habitual offenders.
Please keep in mind that the vehicular homicide for the professional driver was only three months. He took someone's life, as well as everyone else who plead. That life was worth less than five years when you add all three sentences up.
The FMCSA and NTSB can't keep track of things. They worry more about throwing unnecessary, unneeded laws, such as HOS, Mexican truck pilot programs (by the way, Hernandez's investigation was not complete before they allowed the trucks to roll in), sleep apnea, EOBR's, and more. They need to do what their job was originally intended to be. To track issues, and help get them resolved before another inspector allows a truck to roll into cars with no brakes.
Their job is not to pocket money from lobbyists, trucking companies, or any other group. Their job is to help us keep our industry clean and the roads safe from morons. If someone was to sit and look through a few said people's personal assets, such as Ray LaHood, and Anne Ferro, it is my opinion that a full out investigation would be set forth in Washington D.C. on grounds of bribery.
For Ferro, who is expected to take LaHood's place when he thankfully steps down this year, please do not make more of an ass out of yourself than you already have. You do not care about safety. You care about appeasing the masses and further oppressing the drivers. Unless you're out here day in and day out, trucking school taught you nothing.
So, here's the bottom line. Corruption only breeds corruption. You can not enforce laws when the enforcers themselves are common criminals. You can not scream for others to be law abiding citizens when you yourself deserve prison. Every time you take a penny from ANY of the lobbying groups, such as every last one mentioned here, or Public Citizen and the dozens others against us, please know, we are watching and waiting, and soon you will be the one realizing that the safety you weren't concerned about turns into the blood on your hands.
Most truckers are safe. The FMCSA, led by LaHood and Ferro, gave "evidentiary reports" backing statuses that truckers were having more fatalities now than ever before. This was presented to Congress. They perjured Congress and slandered an entire industry. So, will Congress step up and hang them by their words? It's highly doubtful, since they're all about their bottom dollar also.
Here's an idea. Let's bring transportation back to what it's supposed to be. Congress is supposed to be making all decisions concerning interstate commerce. This has been in effect since the Constitution's Commerce Clause. The Congress can use advisory boards, but ultimately, the decision is supposed to be theirs. Many in Congress opposed new regulations such as the new hours of service, yet FMCSA passed them anyways. Let's throw the lobbyists out, get real truckers on an advisory panel, and have Congress take their power back.
Not only are you currently reading this, but I have sent this to many in Congress. The methodologies and system as it is isn't trusted. The FMCSA, the NTSB, and others, have been found to be corrupt and not in accordance to the laws currently in the books, and the laws that have been around since the country was first founded. Enough is enough!
You heard it! Truckers have their own appreciation week. I stand fullheartedly for it. The wives and the families are the forgotten ones. They deserve appreciation too. They put countless hours worrying if they stay at home. The ones in the truck put countless hours into the daily grind. The parents, children, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents, wives, cousins, etc, need a week also. After all, we all know it isn't easy dealing with this industry day in and day out. Many relatives of drivers sit, waiting for that phone call, email, tweet, and facebook post daily; worried that it may not come.
Brenny Transportation, Inc., Brenny Specialized, Inc., and the crew here at Trucker's Voice are very proud to announce that the week of February 19th – 25th, 2012, will be recognized as the appreciation week for families of over the road truck drivers.
Families of over the road truck drivers make a sacrifice bigger than they get credit! We would like to make a special point and designate your very own week in February as the week we give thanks to the families who support the trucking industry.
We thank the spouse at home who pays the bills and takes care of the children. We are grateful for the family members who show appreciation to their OTR trucker for not only supporting his/her family, but also for your knowledge of the sacrifice they make for our country.
Thank you to the children of truckers who pray for mom or dad while they are away from home. We know you are proud of the occupation that your parent has chosen.
Above all, Brenny we want to say thank you to the families of over the road truck drivers. We want to personally say you count, you matter, and we appreciate your sacrifice! Keep smiling and keep on trucking! You are truly the behind the scenes truckers that our country needs to help the wheels keep rolling.
So, drivers and companies are all encouraged to ensure this is a growing event. Your families, and your wives all deserve the appreciation and consideration!
|
RSS Feed