MAINTAINING MAINTENANCE Recently, we took our truck in for preventative maintenance. That got me to thinking about how many follow a set maintenance schedule. In the last year or so the trucking industry has seen less freight and lower rates. Does that cause truck owners to have an “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” way of thinking? While our revenue is lower than in years past, we still believe that it is important to maintain the suggested maintenance schedule that t...

What happens if you are in an accident? What happens if you are hauling freight? What happens if you are injured? What happens if you have pets? What happens? And more importantly, are you prepared? It seems that this year I am seeing more accidents than ever before. For this reason, I have been asking myself “am I prepared if I am in a serious accident?” The answer is, “I’m not sure!” A couple of years ago our truck was hit while we were parked at a truck stop. We ...

This past Monday June 17, 2024 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published the new Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) fees for 2025.  Unlike the past couple of years, the fees have gone up right at 25 percent.  The FMCSA believes this is the first raise in fees since 2010.  You might ask what is the UCR and what are the fees used for. The UCR Act was first passed 2005 and enacted that same year.  It was a section of a larger bill called the Safe, Acc...

Of course, most drivers would indeed prefer the solitude of the open road. Who wouldn’t? You get to take your work with you and make money wherever you go. No boss or supervisors to answer to (other than perhaps dispatch and the Department of Transportation), and you’re touring the countryside over the wide-open road. What’s not to like about that? As appealing as driving solo can be, it’s often accompanied by the risk of losing out on extra cash by limiting oneself i...

My first nearly 25 years as an owner operator was spent filling out paper logbooks. It was almost second nature to fill out the pages. I became very familiar with them, even though they had changed a little over the years. It only took a minute or two out each day (combined time) to fill in all the day’s events and calculate available hours....

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is asking for comments on seat belt use in commercial vehicles.  This is because of recent data showing a high number of drivers not using seat belts in fatal crashes.  The comment period will be open until August 12, 2024.  Existing data on the usage of safety belts and perceptions related to road safety do not capture the diversity of different types of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers in a post-coronavirus di...

Over the next two months the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will be seeking public comments on the development of a new methodology to determine when a motor carrier is not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in or affecting interstate commerce. Before proceeding with next steps in the rulemaking process, FMCSA will host a series of one in-person and two virtual listening sessions to gather public comment. These listening sessions are open to ...

When beginning a new job, many people simply want to learn their role and focus on only what they were hired for. If they’re hired to pick up a phone to answer and make calls, then they’d make sure to just learn that job. That’s it. If they’re brought into a company to process paperwork, or maybe they’re a sales or tech specialist, then that’s what they do. Focus on the task at hand and only do what you were brought in for. Some folks out there excel at more than ...

In this economy, for many owner operators, it has been a struggle just to survive, let alone thrive. We all hear or read stories practically everyday about someone closing up their business....

Team Driving Living in tight quarters for weeks or months at a time can be very volatile. As a team, my husband and I have had our marriage and our business challenged many times. I am sure that is true for all teams. Whether you are spouses, siblings  or parent/child teams temperatures can rise from time to time. What do you do when this happens? How do you resolve conflict or reach a compromise? People who do not drive over the road have no idea what it is like to live in ...