BIG TRUCKING COMPANIES/BIG TURN-OVER RATE

MILE MARKER #105

When are large trucking companies going to learn that: "Tell a driver the truth today, keeps a driver tomorrow?!"

With the turn-over rate hovering around 79%, it seems as if trucking companies are putting forth their concentration on "Driver Comfort." That's a good start, but I have seen and have experienced difficulties trying to get new and experienced drivers behind the wheel of some of these larger companies. There are bigger and deeper problems...

In the last couple of months, Road2Trucking has assisted a couple of drivers with job placement. Finding a trucking company for a grad student and a 16 year driver wasn't a problem at all. The problem lies in the orientation period. These companies tell an interested party everything that they want to hear, then blindside them the last day of orientation! The advertisements are colorful and shiny with their best looking equipment printed on them, but the language is very misleading, and one could consider it as false advertising: home every week-end, regional, etc.

Both of these mentioned drivers after completing the orientation were told something else totally different from sign-up. It's no wonder the turn-over rate is through the roof! Did you know that there are more CDL holders not driving a truck than there are those that do?? It's because the one's that are not in field anymore got a bad taste in their mouth right from the beginning: broken promises...We are trying to fill empty seats with professional drivers, not low-mileage-pay slaves! I told both of these drivers to politely leave...

We got the experienced driver off to another smaller reputable company and am in the process of the grad student enrolled into once again, another orientation. We'll see about the "promises" with this other large company. The grad student's options are smaller, but I will find them a home where they are satisfied. These larger companies think that they got these rookies by the short hairs, but nowadays people get turned-off to the fact that they're going to be away from their families for 3 weeks to a month at a time. I have a hard time believing that you can't get a driver to the house every week or two, having trailers spotted everywhere in the nation. These larger companies hope that they can get one willing driver out of five in the orientation process, or after the training period. That's four willing people that have now left the industry because they were told that, "That's the way trucking is." Bullsh%$! Maybe years ago... It's time for larger trucking companies to wake up...

With all of the new criteria that's required just to find a qualified driver today, you'd think that companies would change their ways. The pool is evaporating, and these companies that practice falsehoods are making it even more shallow.

Good luck out there. Don't submit to these negative practices and find a company that fits your personal needs.

"Tell a driver the truth, keeps a driver tomorrow."

Be safe, Son!

A COMICAL SPIN ON TRUCK DRIVING SCHOOLS

MILE MARKER #104

I came across this UTUBE video by Bobby Boofay. I must have watched it 6 times, and almost wet myself all 6 times. Too funny! It's a little old, but it's the first time that I've seen it.

You can FOLLOW Bobby Boofay on Twitter: BOBBYBOOFAY, or check out his numerous videos that are on UTUBE.

You can also FOLLOW me on Twitter also: CFAKAHOLLYWOOD

Drive safe!

ROAD2TRUCKING IS NOW ON TWITTER!

MILE MARKER #103

If you are interested, please follow me on Twitter.

There is a Twitter Button on the top-right of this blog, or you can find me at:

CFAKAHOLLYWOOD

Thanks, Peeps!

Be safe....

RECESSION SOLUTIONS FOR TRUCK DRIVERS

MILE MARKER #102

This terrible economy has many people strapped for money. The number one cost of living is housing. Being a truck driver out on the road for long periods of time, it almost seems like a waste of time for drivers to have the costs of housing. In September 6, TIME MAGAZINE, they quote by saying that "buying a house is supposed to make us better citizens, better investors and better off. But that American Dream may well be a fantasy. Lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. The dark side of home ownership is now all too apparent: foreclosures and walk-aways, neighborhoods by abandoned properties and plummeting home values." This blog is intended for single or divorced professional drivers. If you are not and take R2T's advice here, you may become single or divorced shortly afterwards.

You can bet at least once in a person's life when they see a semi truck, they have thought about or were curious as to what living in a truck out on the road was like. Professional drivers do it all week long, hurrying to end the week, so they can go home for a day or two. What's home? A place to unwind, do laundry, pay bills, see family and friends, get out of the truck, etc. Home is actually just a place for your stuff. We are in a world that the more stuff you have, the better.

I used to be like that in my 30's. Now, in my 40's, I've simplified my lifestyle. I'm not lugging a bunch of stuff that weights me down. My back-pack that was once over-filled, is now lighter and I can loosen the straps and live life with less stress, while pocketing more money. Why have the head-aches and costs of stuff when a driver is always on the road? Why not rent stuff when you want or have the time to use it. Need a Harley? Rent one for the week-end. Want to fish or go boating? Rent a boat for a day. When you are finished using the stuff, return it. No additional costs of storage and maintenance required...no payments. It's just accumulated stuff that costs money. Stuff that drivers don't get a lot of time to use. Don't get yourself weighted down financially with unneeded luggage.

Maybe you're a truck driver in your 20's and don't have that much stuff yet. That's perfect. If you're older and have a lot of stuff, downsize. Have a big estate sale. Loosen the straps on your back-pack and travel lightly. The goal here is: the only lugging that you want to be doing, is to the bank to unload real stuff... Money... Stuff that you can use down the road when you retire from trucking, or when you reach your intended goal. I'm in my middle 40's. If I knew back when I started driving at 21 and what I know now........Man, the money that I have wasted....

Companies provide you with a nice home in trucking. Use it wisely. Live in it. You live in it all week long anyway. When you get to where you call home, rent a hotel room for a couple of days. The savings is phenomenal. Call a cab when you get to the terminal, or have a car that is reliable and paid off waiting for you. Why have a set of nice wheels that just sits in the terminal yard all week getting dusty and sitting out in the elements? Got a hot date or something special going on, rent a new car. Some companies allow you to take your truck home. This is a better situation yet. Set your storage up in your truck for the seasons for clothing and necessities, get satellite television and radio, buy a flat screen T.V., purchase a laptop and a good cell-phone for communications, and treat yourself to some nice bedding, clothing, and boots or sneakers. Home sweet home is right behind the driver's seat...for free... Easy, cost-free living at its finest. Equip it with a small grill and a fishing pole. Some have a bike rack made for the back of the truck for exercise and easy transportation. Set up a P.O. box for your mail. Put your possessions that you can't part with in a storage unit, or at a family members house. Quit paying on stuff that you don't use. It's a bad investment when you are over-the-road.

Living in your truck is not for everybody, but you do it all week long and don't even realize it. It's part of the job requirements. Most likely when you meet a significant other, they will already have a place...filled with...their stuff.

Make yourself a 5 year goal. Five years will go fast as a professional truck driver. Make it 10 years, and thank me later.

How much stuff do we really need? If their is anyone out there that would like to share their "living in a truck" story, please comment.

Be safe, Son.

HURRICANE IRENE VICTIMS AND TRUCKERS

MILE MARKER #101




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▄ ▄ ▄ ▌ ▐ █ █ ▌ █ ░ ♥ ░ PRAYERS COMING YOUR WAY ░ ♥░ ░ ░ ░▐
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...♥ JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT WE CARE{{{{{ˆ◡ˆ}".............

TRUCKING: CHECKING SOMEONE'S CREDIT SCORE DURING THE HIRING PROCESS

MILE MARKER #100

Recently in Chicago waiting for my trailer to finish loading, I came across an article in the paper that rubbed me the wrong way. Employers check an applicant's credit score during the hiring process??? I thought, "Really?" I've never heard such a thing, and at first, I thought that it was an invasion of privacy. Well, I still think that it is in a way, but then I read on.

The meat and potatoes of the article changed my thoughts. The columnist changed my opinion. It all made sense after the writer explained the reasons. If you owned a business or trucking company, would you want to hire someone to run your company that can't even run their household or personal finances? Sit back and think about that for a second.

Being a Boss, Supervisor or Manager comes with company-inflicted responsibilities. This person could make or break a business. If some one's life at home is a disaster, their choices and moral at the work place would likely carry over in their actions. If someone in that position is careless with their personal life, what are they going to do for your company?

I look around..... I get it now.

What is your credit score?

TRUCKING CONFESSIONS

MILE MARKER #99

Road2Trucking created a new and fresh Sister-Blog. It is called "TRUCKING CONFESSIONS" at: http://www.truckingconfessions.blogspot.com For your convenience, there will be a quick link on the upper right of this blog.

"A home for truckers to share their on-the-road experiences. Perched from a "Bird's Eye View", truckers store and retain amazing and sometimes unimaginable memories that are just waiting to be unleashed and shared with the world: the beauty of the land, memorable accidents, weather, or just crazy personal experiences while driving a big-truck, etc. Be creative, but truthful and keep it clean as possible. Grab a stool at the trucker counter and let the stories fly. The public wants to know!"

Please E-mail your trucking confessions to: Road2Trucking@hotmail.com

Once the blog gets going, it should be fun. Without your confessions, the blog will not evolve.... Thanks for your participation!

TRUCKER 2 TRUCKER C.B. RAMBO CHATTER

MILE MARKER #98







I'm going to try and quote an actual Citizen's Band Radio conversation that I had this morning with another driver that appeared to be bored....

SET-UP: 4 O'clock on a rainy Thursday morning. The airwaves are quiet.
TRUCKERS INVOLVED: Me and.... we'll call him Jack...Jack-A**.

JACK-A**: "Is there any new pieces-of-s*** truck drivers out here that came fresh out of driving school?"

The airwaves remained quiet after his question. I'm thinking.... "Really?" I realized that he was bored and was just trying to rile somebody up.

Not that he riled me up or anything, but I happened to be bored also, so I figured that it was my duty to see what this guy was all about.

ME: "You must have forgotten where and when you started driving,huh?"

JACK-A**: "It wasn't no truck driving school! My Daddy was a truck driver...and my Daddy taught me out on the farm, blah, blah, blah!!"

ME: "Ohhhhh! One of those "Special" truck drivers. One of those "Special drivers that doesn't have any courtesy or use his blinkers and drives like a Super-Trucker and thinks that he's better than everyone else out here...Yeah, you're "Special" alright! There's a lot of you guys out here today. You still had to start somewhere though, didn't you?"

Jack-A** sounded young and was now stuttering at this point.

JACK-A**: Yup, make more money than you have more miles out here than you do!"

ME: "I doubt that, "Special K. I guess with me only having 27 years experience, I should go up and down the road hassling new drivers. If you spent your negative energy into trying to be a professional and put forth some effort into trying to help new drivers, maybe people would remember you for what you did out here before you retire. Truth is, you are very replaceable and when you hang your keys up, these new drivers will be taking over and you'll be...well, forgotten. You are a trashy truck driver just like the rest of us, Special K. For one thing, you sound young and bored on the radio. If you were a seasoned truck driver like you say you are, I doubt that you'd be talking immature garbage like that and I would hope that you obtained some kind of wisdom from the numerous so-called years that you were out here.

I know that he was going my way....No answer.

ME: "Special K?"

Nothing....

I must have wore him down. Oh well, it killed a few miles when I was bored anyway...Idiot!

This blog doesn't need a summary, or closing. The message is in the C.B. conversation.

HOWARD STERN, TRUCKING & EDITING YOUR LIFE

MILE MARKER #97

I'd have to admit that I'm a loyal Howard Stern fan and listen to his show religiously, well, whenever he decides what his and Robin's work-week will be. :) Besides that he is probably the best interviewer in the world, I do gather useful information from his show. Between Channel 106 (the Trucker channel) and Howard Stern, I would probably do without the satellite radio. Howard is in the middle of a law suit right now with Sirius and he continuously voices that if it wasn't for him, there wouldn't be any subscribers. I think that this is a very true statement. It is for me anyway. If it wasn't for Howard Stern, I wouldn't spend the money for a monthly Sirius Radio subscription and I'd be content with terrestrial radio. You can't put a price on humor and laughter in this day-and-age. We need to laugh more. If you don't have a belly-laugh at least one time a day, you're not laughing enough. It's healthy...

I do the majority of my truck driving at night, and Howard's show gets me down the road and covers a lot of miles in the process. I don't know what it is, but that candid kind of humor gets me every time. Those prank phone calls make my jaws hurt and my stomach sore from laughing! I'm lucky that it is dark. If someone would see me laughing in my truck, they'd think that I was a crazy man.

Yesterday, Howard mentioned that life was all about "editing". The way he explained it was genius! He said that it was like his photography: He takes six pictures, keeps one and gets rid of the rest. "Editing" This is also true in trucking and our daily lives. We need to sort out all of the bad things...get rid of them and find the good things that happen within our day. Dwelling on the crappy things that take place on any given day can lead to bottled-up anger and may even cause depression. Being that a truck driver is gone away from home doesn't make things out on the road any easier.

Remember that when you have a bad day, "edit" and find and enjoy the good things that have happened: the scenery, a person that you have met that had some kind of impact on you, the freedom of your job, etc.... We could have it worse.
"Editing" = a longer life!

CHICAGO WEATHER

MILE MARKER #96

It was a battlefield at 3-4 o'clock Saturday morning in Chicago as I made my way back to Madison, Wisconsin! My journey started at the Indiana state line. It seemed to go to Hell when I jumped on 294: a truck got tangled-up with two four-wheelers, a FedEx guy jack-knifed his set of doubles really crazy (hope the driver was okay) and numerous cars hydroplaned and were crashed against the inside wall and in the ditches.

I was going to take 290 to catch 90, but a car decided to drive the wrong way and ended up killing someone, so that was shut down. Well, that was the CB radio rumor anyway....294 was an obstacle course! I continued up 294 to get on 90, but was detoured in a single-file line through an Oasis and out the other side because the toll road was flooded badly. I finally made it to 90 in the down pour. Oh yeah, in the near distance there was a huge structure fire that firefighters were tackling at the split. Smoke and flames filled the sky.

Then it was almost all construction to the Wisconsin line. After all of that, when I reached Wisconsin, I was in need of 1/2 hour cat-nap. That ended up to be 45 minutes. A Coke and a doughnut and home in an hour.

I was glad to make it back to the house, but probably will be itching to do it all over again on Monday.....and people think that it's easy being a professional steering wheel holder. :)

I heard on the news that parts of Chicago got 7 inches or rain overnight.

NEW LOGBOOK PROPOSALS AND TRUCKING REGULATIONS EQUAL CONFUSSION

MILE MARKER #95

Everything is not set-in-stone at this time, but the information that is out there is going to be interesting to say the least, and will be confusing non-the-less. There is no sense in getting all riled-up just yet, these are just proposals thus far.

The proposed regulations contain some new rules that will effect the trucking industry in the near future. They are still waffling about the 10 or 11 hour driving rule. Statistics show that when we went to the recent change of driving hours, the accident rate remained flat, proving that going to a less driving period isn't going to significantly change things. An hour mandatory break would be required in the new driving rule also.

The 34 reset sounds like it will remain the same, but they're talking about requiring drivers to have (two) 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. periods within the 34 hours. Now, depending on when you begin your reset, that 34 hours could turn into 48. Now, I'm going to have to make a couple of little clock charts on paper to figure this all out.

With all of this in mind, my calculations if the hours of driving is change to 10, figure for a driver losing between $2,000 to $5,000 a year, depending on the pay scale. Somewhere down the road, the driver pay has to be increased to have all of these new systems work. The positive side to this is what we all should be striving for: work less, make more money. Can anybody say,"Hourly Pay?" Don't laugh. They're pushing this issue. There are many benefits to hourly pay if you really break it down.

They have to realize that trucking isn't a 9-5 office job, where as a driver can punch in and out at all of these required times that they want us to do. I won't even get into the parking situation around the nation. A brain surgeon can work 3 days straight, then cut open some one's skull and perform surgery on the 4th day. Go figure. I have a proposal: how about some paid sick days for professional drivers. Trucking is one of the only jobs where this isn't a benefit. We get sick too, but if we are under-the-weather and a load is late,that goes in our file for a late load and we are held accountable.

I do for see the D.O.T. having many more ways to ding drivers for log book violations. Who is to blame? Some say that we as drivers brought many of these new regulations into play. Some of this is true. Look at last week when a St. Louis driver was going the wrong way on an interstate in Colorado for 9 miles with no lights on in the dark, drunk. Really? This crap still happens in today's world? Unbelievable! He killed one and injured 3 the last that I heard, hitting them head-on. These types of situations bring unwanted attention to all of the good drivers and feed the small groups of people that have a big impact on all of these new regulations.

Politics maybe? Yes, but the CSA language actually started in the Bush Era, and is now being completed and rolled out in the Obama Administration.

Personally, I think everything should be left the same. I do think that all trucks should be required to have OBR's for electronic logs. This way, it would make the trucking industry a professional industry, and everyone (all drivers) would be working on a same level, instead of some working the way that they wan't to. The old way, which I was also a part of, is coming to an end. I don't make the changes, but if there are changes, let's all change together.

We'll figure all of this out someday. We're professionals....

Have a Happy New Year and be safe, Son.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ROAD2TRUCKING.COM

MILE MARKER #94

Merry Christmas to all from all of us at Road2Trucking!

Be safe out there on the highways, and to all of you truckers that are driving over the holidays, thanks and drive safe.

Thanks for your support, and for making R2T what it is today......

THANKSGIVING, TRUCKING, AND HOLIDAY TRAVEL

MILE MARKER #93

The holidays are upon us, and they say that today (Wednesday) will be the busiest for Thanksgiving travel. No matter what way people choose to get to from point A to point B: planes, trains or automobiles, the sky, the highways and the tracks will be jacked up with travelers, eagerly trekking towards a Thanksgiving feast with family and friends. With Old Man Winter already kicking in the West and Upper Midwest, travel could become treacherous for some.

The estimated automobiles traveling for Thanksgiving is up 11% from last year. It's projected that there will be 42 million travelers on the road this Thanksgiving for people who travel more than 50 miles from their resident. I recommend caution to truck drivers because some of these people don't ever get out of their towns or cities except for the holidays, making them inexperienced highway drivers.

If you haven't been touched in awhile, try flying and refuse the body image scanning machine. This refusal will cause TSA to direct you to a personal pat-down, and you will get groped like there's no tomorrow. Over the holidays, it sounds like TSA is going to be handling more packages than the Post Office..... I always wonder about the creepy guy that actually likes pat-downs, who is not flying and says that he is meeting someone from a flight. He could do this and receive pat-downs all day long. C'mon, I know he's out there. He's got to be....look at the world today. Some people are crazy. I can't believe that I just thought about that, or typed it for that matter. Maybe it's me that hasn't been touched in awhile. :) That is a great T-shirt idea, "Please Touch My Junk!" Enough about me........

I heard something about a boycott for the body image scanners today and through the week-end. We'll have to see how that plays out.

What ever way you choose to travel, be careful getting to your destination and have a Happy Thanksgiving. To the drivers who are forced or chose to stay out on the road, thanks for everything you do. Take the time out of your day on Thursday for yourself and enjoy a good meal.

TRUCK DRIVER SHORTAGE AND SOME RANTING

MILE MARKER #92

It was always debatable in recent years that there was a truck driver shortage. If there wasn't before, it appears now or I'm going to predict that there will be a drastic truck driver shortage in the near future. With all of the new government regulations starting to surface and the CSA2010 program ready to start in December, trucking isn't going to be appealing to newcomers. The life style of a truck driver never was a fit for many people. Only a select few make trucking their career and can handle what the trucking world has to offer them. It is definitely not for everybody. The CSA2010 program will hurt a lot of truck drivers, punishing them for their actions from the last 3 years, without any kind of warning. Baby-Boomers are about to retire, or some will get fed up before all of the new regulations get started. The truck driving schools are seeing a decline in student enrollment also. There are a lot of CDL holders that got into trucking and quit in there first year and never wanted to come back. Being a new driver, companies have the bad habit of keeping new drivers out on the road a month at a time, making trucking a difficult life for some. All of these reasons will come into play, resulting in a shortage.

EVEN PLAYING FIELD

An even playing field seems is becoming a hot topic in trucking. The larger trucking companies that have been already using on-board satellite recorders want to make it mandatory that every truck on the highway has one of these computers. They are pressing hard for this because their trucks are running legal on electronic logs and the trucks that don't have the recorders are still bending the rules. The cost alone to equip trucks with these units could break some already cash-strapped companies. With the new idling regulations, over-the-road trucks that don't have an APU can now get a tax break. They are offering a tax break if you purchase one, but what about the companies or independent truckers that already purchased and use them to cut cost on fuel? The problem is that their tax dollars are being spent on tax breaks when they didn't get to take advantage of it for purchasing an APU prior to this announcement. There is no limit on the amount of units you can buy. Now, larger companies can purchase a hundred of APU's and charge a lease driver full price for the unit and the company can reap the benefits of the tax break.

ABF just filed a $750 million dollar lawsuit against the Teamsters and all of the YRC brands because of YRC's concessions. They are all under the same Master's Agreement, and supposedly what is voted for one, is supposed to be for all of the companies in the agreement. We'll see how this plays out. ABF has lost money in the last 5 quarters during the recession without any kind of concessions for their employees, while the YRC brands are skating by the seat of their pants because of the concessions their employees voted for to keep them afloat. ABF also wants an even playing field also.

Discussions on talk radio today are filled with conversations about safe parking, detention time, the closing of rest areas, driver fatigue, and all of the new government regulations. All of these problems doesn't make it sound like the trucking field is going to attract many new drivers in the near future. A truck driver with a clean MVR and decent CSA2010 rating is going to be a hot commodity. I'm thinking with all of this and the 11 hours a driver can drive, the driver pay has to increase. Mark my words, the 11 hours is soon going to be changed to 10 hours of driving. I'm surprise that the large trucking companies haven't tackled this issue as of yet. CSA2010 is really pushing the issue that they want to change drivers to a hourly pay instead of a mileage pay scale. I think that this is a fantastic idea really. It covers the safety issues with the "balls to the wall" mentality of driving, drivers aren't getting taken advantage of by companies, shippers, and receivers for waiting time (which they can't afford to do with the 10 or 11 hour driving rules and on-duty time), and drivers will get paid for everything that they are required to do that they don't get paid for: fueling, scaling, daily vehicle inspections, paperwork, drop and hooks, deadheading (some still deadhead for free),etc. They are changing trucking in a serious way, and it is time for good things to change for the driver.

Make truck driving an appealing career. That's how we are going to get more bodies in the seats of big trucks....

Be safe, Son.