About a Trucker

Let me tell you a little about the truck driver you just flipped off because he was unable to let you on the freeway because he had other vehicles all around him and could not get over safely, and you had to hit the brakes! (btw you are by law, required to yield).

His truck is governed at 65 miles an hour, because the company he leases it from believes it keeps him and the public and the equipment safer. (Governed means the truck is unable to go above 65 miles per hour!) Our truck was governed at 65 miles per hour.

The best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 7.5 miles per gallon, thats on straight highways, no wind, and no mountains. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon -- well, you do the math, and yes, that driver pays for his own fuel if he leases or owns. If he does lease or own he has approximately $1000 a week coming out of his paycheck before he even gets any take home money, and then still has to take his twenty percent taxes out!
Right now he needs to be 1,000 miles from where he loaded in two days, and he can't fudge his federally mandated driver log, because he no longer does it on paper; he is logged electronically.

He can drive 11 hours in a 14-hour period; then he must take a 10-hour break, and considering that the shipper where he loaded held him up for five hours because it is understaffed, he now needs to run without stopping for lunch or dinner breaks, no shower, and can barely stop for fuel. He already has five hours or more on his 14 hour clock, and he just lost money sitting on the dock. The customer does not want to pay detention pay, so he may make $25.00 an hour for sitting if his company pays detention, many DO NOT, because the customer will not. I know you think that is a lot, your thinking $25 an hour. Compared to what he lost not getting on down the road, it cost him money. Also he only would have gotten three hours of that detention! Five hours just cost him approximately $300, but he will only be paid $75 for his time if he is lucky enough to get that, and his time is just as valuable as YOURS, and now he is running late.

If he misses his delivery appointment, due to being on that dock so long he will be rescheduled for the next day, because the receiver has booked its docks solid (and has cut staff to a minimum). That means the driver sits, loosing about a days worth, and time he is not paid for.

Which means his profit will be cut, and he will take less money home to his family, not to mention now he is worried if he can make his payment, and if he will even have any money to give his family. Most of these guys are gone 10 days, and home for a day and a half, and take home an average of $500 a week if everything goes well. Sometimes, like my husband they stay out three weeks before being able to afford to take a couple days off. If leasing, and with this happening quit often, he is lucky to get any time off. My husband had ten days off all last year, and that was spent getting truck and personals ready to go again. He did not get to go camping, shopping, fishing, or hunting, not even a movie.

Many of you have said the trucker needs to pay more taxes! The trucker pays more taxes than most people. They pay a road tax for every state they run in, a fuel tax to those states, and a heavy usage tax to the IRS! They pay state and federal taxes quarterly, and yes they do get some deductions, but not as many as you think, and the public wants to take that away from them. If that happens, not one trucker will be able to run their trucks. NOT ONE!

Then many of you say, well let them work for a regular pay check from a company. Average hourly rate for a company driver is less then minimum wage! They see their families very little as well, and the divorce rate is very, very high. “Put it on rail” LET ME LMAO. Nothing in the grocery store would be fresh, and many shelves would be empty.

Everything you buy at the store, everything you order online, and your food and medicines moves by truck. Planes and trains can't get it to your house or grocery store. We are dependent on trucks to move product from the airport and the rail yards to the stores and our homes.

Every day, experienced and qualified drivers give it up because the government, the traffic and the greedy companies involved in trucking have drained their enthusiasm for this life, and drained their wallets. They do not get paid vacations, paid holidays, sick time, and being sick out on the road is horrible! They are separated from their families more than our military personnel.
They would take a job at a factory if they can find it, and are replaced by an in experienced youngster dreaming of the open road, seeing the country side, thinking it is easy work, a everyday vacation, where he goes where he wants, LMAO! This inexperience leads to late deliveries, causing shortages and higher prices at the store, and crashes that lead to unnecessary deaths. Today many trucking companies are putting untrained drivers behind the wheels. They are used in training as a team driver. The trainer gets all the trainee’s miles and most only care about those miles.

My husband and I have run into so many drivers that don’t even know how to fill out their paper work because the trainer did not train them, or how to use the computer, or how to check safety issues on truck, and so much more, they were used as a team driver to get all the miles the trainer could get. He drove while his trainer was in the sleeper, not up front making sure he knows his job etc. I myself have seen these team drivers with the worst blood shot eyes...since they each have fourteen hours to work, and 22 hours to drive, they run 24/7, they are the most fatigued drivers out on our roads today!

We had friends who were both killed because one driver fell asleep at the wheel, even though he had ten hours off, sleeping while truck is moving, stopping, bumping into dock, and so much more, is NOT restful sleep! They are exhausted! I know because I have been there myself.

So the next time you want to flip off a truck driver, or push a truck driver off the road, run him out of pavement, try to get him to hit you because you see the truck driver as a large pay check for you, think about where you would be without the trucker, where your family would be. THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT THAT ONE! Also, I hope this makes you grateful for the job you have, you could be a truck driver yourself, MOST OF YOU WOULD NEVER MAKE IT.

SAME OL' TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS

Here is a shot of a truck in the medium, the reason I grabbed the camera for this shot was that the trailer was pretty much gone. This was a 53 foot trailer, but only about one quarter of it was left.

This accident happened in Illinois. I took the shot through the windshield. The roads were quit slick in spots. Please slow down or get off the road. I saw way to many drivers, driving to fast for the conditions.

Winter 2009/2010

If you read any of my post from last year you know winter was no picnic. This year has been just about as rough, especially in the midwest, and the east. The picture was taken last week January 2010, in Indiana. The one difference this year, is that there is less truck traffic. Parking is not a problem. The truckers out here say the truck traffic has dropped by at least 40 percent. On the CB they say many drivers are taking jobs overseas, not sure why, and not just in Iraq. Drivers say that truck driving in the U.S. is changing, and may be a career of the past. I sure hope this is just one of those terrible rumors. Otherwise, we could be starving, and living under a bridge before we know it. I pray these drivers are dead wrong.

TRUCKER'S GET READY FOR CSA 2010

PLEASE GO TO CSA2010.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION.
THESE NEW LAWS GO INTO EFFECT JULY 2010. TO START THE DRIVERS SAFETY RATING THEY WILL BE GOING BACK ON YOUR RECORDS THREE YEARS. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN 175,000 DRIVERS WILL LOSE THEIR CAREERS DUE TO CSA 2010. GET YOUR EDUCATED NOW!

CSA 2010 BASICs:

Unsafe Driving — Dangerous or careless operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Data includes driver traffic violations and convictions for speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, inattention, and other unsafe driving behavior. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 397)

Fatigued Driving — Driving a CMV when fatigued. This is distinguished from incidents where unconsciousness or an inability to react is brought about by the use of alcohol, drugs, or other controlled substances. Data includes (1) hours-of-service violations discovered during an off-site investigation, on-site investigation, roadside inspection, or post-crash inspection, and (2) crash reports with driver fatigue as a contributing factor. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 395)

Driver Fitness — Operation of a CMV by drivers who are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualification. Data includes (1) inspection violations for failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver's license or medical or training documentation, (2) crash reports citing a lack of experience or medical reason as a cause or contributory factor, and (3) violations from an off-site investigation or an on-site investigation for failure to maintain proper driver qualification files, or use of unqualified drivers. (FMCSR Parts 383 and 391)

Controlled Substances and Alcohol — Operation of a CMV while impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription medications or over-the-counter medications. Data includes (1) roadside violations involving controlled substances or alcohol, (2) crash reports citing driver impairment or intoxication as a cause, (3) positive drug or alcohol test results on drivers, and (4) lack of appropriate testing or other deficiencies in motor carrier controlled substances and alcohol testing programs. (FMCSR Part 392)

Vehicle Maintenance — CMV failure due to improper or inadequate maintenance. Data includes (1) roadside violations for brakes, lights, and other mechanical defects, (2) crash reports citing a mechanical failure as a contributing factor, and (3) violations from an off-site investigation or an on-site investigation associated with pre-trip inspections, maintenance records, and repair records. (FMCSR Parts 393 and 396)

Improper Loading/Cargo Securement — Shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, and unsafe handling of hazardous materials. Data includes (1) roadside inspection violations pertaining to load securement, cargo retention, and hazardous material handling, and (2) crash reports citing shifting loads, or spilled/dropped cargo as a cause or contributing factor. (FMCSR Parts 392, 393, 397 and HM Violations)

Crash Indicator— Histories or patterns of high crash involvement, including frequency and severity. Data includes law enforcement crash reports and crashes reported by the carrier and discovered during on-site investigations.
Recent roadside violations and violations that correlate most with crashes will be weighted more heavily than other violations. SMS will then rank carrier scores relative to their peers to determine which entities have specific safety problems.

1400 LEFT OUT IN THE COLD

[Best Syndication News] The Arrow Trucking Company stopped paying the gas cards for their drivers and have left some of their truckers miles away from home without any explanation as to why.

According to a report by The Christian Science Monitor drivers received only a brief recorded message on the company's main phone number saying that drivers of their Freightliner and Kenworth trucks need to return them to the nearest dealer and they can call a special number to get a bus ticket home. If they drove a Navistar truck they were told to call back for more information.

Tulsa World reported that 200 employees at the Oklahoma based Arrow Trucking were told to take their belongings and go home on Tuesday Morning.

1400 drivers lost their jobs, left stranded at Christmas, and not paid for about six weeks. This is the cruelest behavior I have ever heard. The upper management of Arrow need to be prosecuted, It is against the law to do this. Where is the federal government on this one. In the truckers forum they are hot about this one, and how these drivers were treated. I agree the drivers should have sold all they could off the trucks. One driver is still missing, his truck was found, but he is still missing. We do know what goes around comes around, it really does, I have seen it, over and over.

NO SNOW DAYS FOR A TRUCKER!

Truckers work 24/7. Most do not get much time off. Most people receive about 104 days off a year, this is just the regular two days off a week, not counting any of the paid holiday's most get, drivers don't get paid holidays. Last year my husband received a total of 15 days off all year long. Most of those days he slept, and got the truck ready for the next trips.

Many people are under the impression that truckers make BIG MONEY! I put a calculator to all his hours of service and what he actually brought home after taxes, it was less than minimum wage. They say if drivers were paid by the hour and paid what they are really worth, prices of goods would have to go up, because freight cost would sky rocket. The sacrifice these drivers make, and their families, is more than our military men and women make, because it is year after year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. They live out on the road, under enormous stress.

Today, with some companies going electronic logging, it has cut down on fatigued drivers. The single drivers that is. The team drivers are some of the most fatigued drivers out on our roads, and single drivers that still us paper logs. They present a real danger to themselves and the public. Companies don't seem to care about this fact, you see it really is all about the bottom line, Money.

I myself have only been a driver with my husband a total of about six and a half years. We have only been driving together again the last three years. It is the hardest thing I have ever done, and it has taken a real toll on my health this last three years. Why do I do it you ask? Unfortunately, we feel at our age it is all we can do to survive. My husband left trucking once before, and took a job paying $9.00 a hr. He loved the company and his job, and his co-workers, alas the company went belly up, due to mismanagement and lots of in company theft. It hurt more than just us, many people lost their home and dreams.

At first just my husband went back to driving truck, but he really missed me, and did not want to see me only 15 days a year, so I left my home and job to be with him. It has been very hard! I hoped it would not be forever, but three years later here we are tonight in a snowstorm, wishing we had our home back up in our mountain and a $9.00 and hr. job. All we ever wanted was just enough to make a living, have a small home of our own, pay our way, and help anyone where we could.

You might want to say thank you to the next trucker you see. Without the truckers the lifestyle most of you have, well let's just say, it would not be what it is today. Without them, many would not have their jobs. Don't take for granted those precious days off from work you have to be with your family, especially at holiday times. Don't take for granted that hot shower you can take every night, don't take for granted being able to watch your children grow up, or being able to kiss your wife every night, or being able to take care of yourself comfortably when you are ill, like with the flu Don't take for granted having a home, any home. Out on the road, a driver suffers more than you will ever know. So PLEASE, THANK A TRUCKER TODAY. THEY DESERVE OUR RESPECT IN EVERY WAY.

38 PERCENT OF YOUR GROSS INCOME??? GIVE ME A BREAK!!

Today I heard the media talking about mortgages due to this crisis we have all got ourselves into. I could not believe they said that a mortgage is set on 38 percent of your monthly income!!! Seriously I was in shock!!! I was taught a long time ago that your mortgage or rent should never exceed 25 percent of your monthly income, and I have lived by this, and it has kept me out of trouble. Think about it for a minute, If your net income is $3000.00 a month at 38 percent your house payment would be a whopping $1140.00 a month. That is just your house payment, you would still have utilities, car payments, all kinds of insurance, food, gas for car ( and we know how crazy that has been.) It is ridiculous, and you start out set up for failure right away. If you stick to the 25 percent rule your house payment would be $750.00 a month. This is truly more realistic, and affordable. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, WE AS CONSUMERS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHAT WE CAN AFFORD, AND STICK TO IT!!! DO NOT LISTEN TO THE BANKS AND MORTGAGES TELLING YOU...." GUESS WHAT YOU QUALIFY, CONGRATULATIONS." YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD. Two years ago I looked into buying a home once again. They said the payments would be $1400.00 a month and based on our income we could afford this. This at the time was almost half of our monthly income, and our monthly income was never the same, it varied. Another big advice, NEVER BASE A HOUSE PAYMENT ON BOTH INCOMES, THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. PROTECT YOURSELF, NO ONE ELSE WILL...IF YOU BASE IT ON ONE INCOME AND YOU LOSE A INCOME YOU CAN MORE THAN LIKELY SURVIVE IT. BY THE WAY, the home I was looking at two years ago, is now worth $120,000.00 less today than it was two years ago, I thank God for his help, and that I did not buy into the lies. I may not own a home, but I can eat!!! If you say, well if I do this I will never buy, better to not buy then risk foreclosure, and all other kinds of problems. I would rather not buy, and take part in all this GREED!!!!! GOD HELP THIS COUNTRY, IT REALLY NEEDS IT!!!

MOVIE REVIEW

I purchased the movie "FIREPROOF" yesterday. It is by far the most inspirational movie I have seen. I saw "FACING THE GIANTS", I thought it was a wonderful inspirational film, but the creators have outdone themselves this time. "FIREPROOF" has it all, and should be watched over and over until we get it!!! All christians, especially all of us so called christians need to take this movie to our hearts and minds, and keep it in our souls. Christianity is about a relationship with God and His Son. "FIREPROOF" stars Kirk Cameron, the only professional actor in the movie. The rest of the participants were volunteers from the church, and the acting really was a wonderful surprise. I myself would love to be involved with a church like this. Kirk Cameron does one of the most powerful performances I have ever seen him do. I believe it was his best performance to date. I highly recommend not only seeing this movie but purchasing it for future reference to help with everyday life.

HARD WINTER!

This is what we have had to deal with all winter long. Since we do not take chances with the load or our lives our income drops drastically. You can only drive so much a day, and at 25mph you can not get very far. In all the years we have been driving this is by far the worse winter we have seen. I would say God's wrath has started and no one is listening!! The bible says to pray that your plight does not happen in winter. I definitely understand why!

BLACK ICE TRAGEDY!

Black ice covered the interstate in Kansas, and we saw one accident after another. Most trucks and cars that passed us at a high rate of speed, we saw down the road in a ditch. This one was no exception, he passed us at a high rate of speed, crossed the medium, hitting on coming traffic and burst into flames. Such a tragedy for the families of the victims. My prayers are with those families. I pray all of you will slow down in such conditions. When the road is icy please understand, that going over 20mph is to fast for these conditions, so imagine this truck which seemed to be going at about 65mph. Once you loose control at that rate of speed you can not correct it. The slower the better, you have a higher chance of saving yourself, when you hit the ice it speeds you up. If you are going 55mph and you hit ice, you will speed up to about 75mph, if you go slower you will save lives and property damage. Please everyone be safe out there, don't worry about the people behind you, by slowing yourself down you protect those around you as well as yourself.