Preparing your truck for the upcoming winter season can be a daunting and discouraging task, but it’s also something that is extremely beneficial for those who care to use their prep time wisely. Doing so can mean the difference between a major incident on a slippery road or avoiding a major shutdown because of lacking certain winter weather equipment. It would be a smart move to get out ahead of the season now, while there’s still decent weather to work with. And unless ...

Modern Technology  For those of you who started your driving career in the previous century, I give you so much credit. Why? Because I wonder how you were able to communicate with family and work. I wonder how you paid your bills when you were out on the road for weeks or months at a time. Our business is only 12 years old. We have run our business with all the modern conveniences like a cell phone and a laptop computer. We can communicate with a phone call, a text message o...

Are You Ready? While driving along the interstate, the changing colors of the trees caught my eye. The yellows, oranges and reds popped between the green of the trees that have not changed yet. This got me to thinking about whether or not we are ready for the final season of the year. Winter: a season which is beautiful in its own way. Still a season that many drivers dread, if not fear. Even in the states where snow is common it seems that drivers need to relearn how to driv...

Let’s be honest. I don’t know that most kids, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, would respond by saying they want to be a truck driver. Please, don’t take that as a slight to the profession, or to the men and women who perform such jobs. But I mean, I can remember when I was a child most of the other kids would say they wanted to be a firefighter or a doctor, or even an astronaut. Me? I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, an actor, or a professional baseb...

STAND UP When running your business, do you let your personal opinions guide your decisions as to where you go or what you haul? Do you set aside what you believe in for added revenue to your business? This blog is not written to judge anyone. It is meant to open up discussion as we recently had this conversation in how we operate our business. Years ago, our state had a referendum on a ballot that asked residents to vote for adding a rail system between two of the state’s ...

What are you really looking for in your next driving job? Better yet, what should you be looking for in a potential expedite driving career? Well, let’s answer some of those questions as you reach to make the right call on your next adventure. Whether you’re a seasoned owner-operator or an independent contractor looking for your first (or next) opportunity to get into the expedite industry, choosing the right carrier to run for makes all the difference in the world. And s...

It is almost that time. Time to take delivery of my new ride. Yep, my new International truck is about ready to put in service. As you can see from the picture, I chose another blue truck....

Changing Seasons We are coming into a new season where temperatures can fluctuate wildly. When this happens we run the risk of getting into what is commonly referred to as cold and flu season. Being truck drivers on the road means that we cannot call in sick when we are not feeling well. We have to be at that pick up or delivery on time and with a sunny disposition. What do we do? How do we get to feeling better quickly? In our case, we try to carry common cold medicines that...

Recently, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) held its Brake Safety Week. It’s the annual commercial motor vehicle brake-safety inspection, enforcement and education initiative conducted by law enforcement agencies across North America. During Brake Safety Week, inspectors conduct their usual Level I and V inspections and report all brake-related data to the CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance). Brake-related violations typically relate to the large...

DOT Inspections Recently, we were called into a scale house with a hazmat load. Fortunately, my husband Dave was driving. I say fortunately because any time I get called into a scale I get so nervous that I will do something wrong to get a violation. The DOT inspector gave us a Level One inspection which we passed with flying colors. I breathed a sigh of relief. How often do you get called in for an inspection of any level? This was the first inspection that we have had on ou...