During the three months that he was at school and away from his family he stayed busy and kept in contact.  As he started out on the road he would call home and tell his loved ones about all of the amazing places that he had read about and was now receiving the opportunity to see. It was truly a dream career and Tony continually expressed his love for driving.  After going through school Tony worked for a company as an evaluator of their drivers. He was dedicated to his work and expected the best from all drivers on the road.  Although Tony was thriving and growing, his career was sadly cut short.

Tragedy struck on July 14, 2007 when Tony was killed in a trucking accident. While driving his truck a car crossed a median and in order to avoid hitting the car Tony veered off the bridge and was killed. Tony gave his life in order to save another and for that he died a hero.  His wife is grateful that he passed away doing what he loved.  His passion for driving became his way of life and his dedication to excellence was evident.  Tony’s wife says that she was never worried about him on the road because she knew that he had received the best training at C.R. England.  Tony was proud to be a driver and loved every minute of his work.  He is a great example to all as a driver who worked with dedication and committed his whole heart to the job.  He will always be remembered for the positive impact that he left on the driving industry.

In August of 1999 Rocky decided to make a career change.  He took a step into the trucking world by attending CR England’s Truck Driving School in Spartanburg, North Carolina.  He started off strong in the business by committing to his learning and graduating at the top of his driving class.  After completing his schooling, Rocky stayed on as a solo company driver for two years.  He used this time to learn all that he could about the logistics of the company and how to gain and perfect the tools of becoming an effective yet safe driver.

As he acquired experience on the road, Rocky made the decision to become a driving trainer for CR England.  He wanted to share his knowledge of the importance of safe driving and adhering to the rules of the road.  Through two years of solo driving experience Rocky had seen all sorts of accidents, bad decisions, and lack of attention to the road.  He wanted to use his background and make a difference by bringing a focus back to safe driving.  He feels that by training more alert drivers the trucking community will have the ability to create safe roads conditions for all.

Rocky learned that his wife was expecting a baby boy on the day of his graduation from trainer school.  His family continued to grow and support him as he added to the success of his career.  In the course of his employment at CR England he has received numerous awards and recognitions for his dedication to the job.  Some of these include receiving driver of the month on three different occasions, getting his “Million Mile Perfect Safe Driving Award”, and earning several ATA patches, pins, a CR England driving jacket and his master’s driver ring.  In 2006 Rocky decided to make a change and enter the lease program.  This decision benefited him greatly and has been yet another stage in his driving success.

He believes that the standards of  CR England have helped him to become a safe driver and that the company as a whole has contributed to the level of his success.  He lives by the belief that “to know safety is to know peace of mind” and that working with CR England has created that peace of mind.  He has commented on the great quality of the staff and that as an employee he felt like he was treated like family.  CR England was always helpful and supportive and consistently created opportunities to advance within the company.  He believes that all of the opportunities are provided and it is up to each person to find the determination and hard work to achieve their potential.  Along with the support of the company Rocky says that his motivation while on the road is his family.  They have always been patient, supportive and have stood behind him in all of his endeavors. Rocky’s story is an inspiring one. The passion he has for his career paves the way for the success he has experienced in his life.  After almost eleven years of employment at CR England, Rocky thanks the company for giving him such a wonderful career opportunity.  He no doubt has a bright future ahead of him as he continues to build on his rising career.

I found a great list of “do’s” for precaution from an article on jobmonkey.com.  Check it out!

• “Stay away from remote rest areas, especially at night
• Keep the doors of your rig locked at all times
• Never advertise that you’re traveling alone, even on the radio
• Stay off back roads or short cuts
• Try parking close to the main door of any truck stops you’re at
• ALWAYS carry a cell phone with you”

Another great idea found is to put a flannel shirt on the backrest of the passenger seat, making the thought that you have a big husky (and mean looking) passenger with you.  I thought that was a very creative idea.  Keep your head up and be aware of your surroundings is another wonderful thought.

Trucking is a wonderful lifestyle for people who love to travel and see the country.  Just be careful so that you don’t need to have anything bad happen to you.

http://www.jobmonkey.com/truckdriving/women-in-trucking.html

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=65490461&blogId=416202996

Do you know what this means?  It means that fleet owners have a more simplified process of gathering information from their trucks and save money as well.  As the article states;

“Qualcomm’s Service Fleet Manager mobile resource management system uses GPS technology to give fleets visibility into their assets and provide an immediate snapshot of critical vehicle information through a web-based interface.”

Earthtimes.org wrote an article about the MRM/Driving Behavior Solution, and interviewed Norman Ellis.  He is quoted as saying:

“Mobile resource management and driver safety are vital issues to every local service fleet,” said Norman Ellis, vice president of sales, services and marketing at Qualcomm Enterprise Services.  ”GreenRoad’s unique driving behavior service offers a different dimension to our mobile resource management offering, enabling our customers to obtain more value from each of the two services.  We are proud to work with GreenRoad and offer the first combined mobile resource management and driving behavior service.”

If one of a fleet owner’s truck drivers takes risk that could hurt people or their truck, the information is instantly sent back to the office so that someone is aware and can take immediate action.  This is a wonderful program that may save lives.

Save money and have more access to truck information to protect from hazardous driving and mechanical problems.  That’s a win-win for me!

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=69729&news_category_id=52

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/qualcomm-and-greenroad-to-provide,1205165.shtml

First of all, CR England is the largest refrigerated trucking company in the nation.  They have been around for 90 years and specialize in freight that is temperature sensitive, such as chemicals, meat, produce, dairy products, and beverages.  With that said, here is a top 10 lists as to why CR England is a better company to work for:

1. Drivers receive more of their net check from CR England than other companies because they have the longest length of haul in the industry.
2. Their driver trainers have the opportunity to make up to $85,000.
3. Fleet is top of the line and new.  And, they only use top quality trailer brands for their refrigeration equipment.
4. There is more than 800 support staff to help their drivers.
5. They know their stuff because they have been in business for 90 years.
6. CR England has been family owned for 4 generations.
7. The Safety Management Program is top quality, keeping safety for the drivers in mind.
8. This company cares about the people!  They haul emergency supplies at no cost to areas that have been hit by natural disasters.
9. They are Award winners of the 2009 SmartWay Transport Excellence for going green.
10. As a charter member of the Healthy Trucking Association, they care about the health of their drivers.

As I wrote this top 10 list, I realized why people were talking so good about CR England. If you are interested in looking at their great qualities or want more information about working for this company, go to www.CREngland.com to see for yourself. We are always looking for experienced drivers and students who want to learn the ropes in an exciting field.

A man’s story, which was so great it goes as follows:

“One student taking advantage of the help is Lokeni, who was laid off from his offshore oil drilling job in October.

Lokeni, 27, is now in his fourth week of a six-month commercial truck-driving program at Bates Technical College.

He said he tried to find work in the oil industry, but no one was hiring. When he researched training programs for truck driving, he thought he couldn’t afford them, he said.

“When I first found out I got into this program, I was on my knees thanking God,” said Lokeni, who lives in Parkland with his wife and 5-year-old daughter. “Job security to take care of my family – that’s what it’s all about.”

Truck driving has great job security and will be around for years to come and it won’t go away with technology.  One of the reasons I’m a truck driver.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/15/1109887/funds-to-spark-new-careers.html#ixzz0iLzXQwGC

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/15/1109887/funds-to-spark-new-careers.html

The Toronto Star believes this new development is to steer away from high expenditures including employee cuts and insurance.  They also made mention that 10 years ago, non-temporary jobs were 68% of all Canadian employment.  Now, it’s 63%.  This shows the shift of permanent to temporary jobs.

On a positive note for people wanting to be a Truck Driver, it may be a good field in the “New Normal.”  There are plenty of jobs available for those wanting to be a truck driver in this new phenomenon. Most truck driving  companies are hiring.

The Toronto Star’s article,  “Job insecurity: the corrosive new normal” believes that more and more permanent jobs will be outsourced to contractors and part time employee will replace the full time employee so companies can stay competitive in this global economy.  They also believe that this is the new work force from this time forth.

A lot of economists out there also agree with the Toronto Star’s article. Companies can certainly save a ton of money when use temporary workers to fill truck driving jobs.  Another draw back to this practice is that temporary employees may view a position as short term and not fully commit to the position they were hired for.

Again, Truck Driving Companies always need drivers.  CR England is one company that is looking for truck drivers.  If you are someone who is a temporary worker wanting permanent work or is unhappy in your current job, contact CR England at www.crengland.com.

The full and complete toronto star articlecan be found at:  http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/706480

1. GPS – is so popular, that many trucking companies have added it to their company trucks.  It is much easier than maps and most drivers won’t go back to reading the old fashioned way.
2. Cell Phones – have changed trucking jobs for good.  No more pulling over for a pay phone to call their dispatcher for information.  And truckers can have contact with their families and friends more often.  Younger drivers don’t remember the days without cell phones.  They have no idea what it was like.  (Lucky them.)
3. Laptop Computers – is a truckers line to information.  64% of those asked, felt that the laptop is one of the top 5 technologies needed for trucking jobs.  We feel that as each year goes by, the percentage of cabs with laptops will keep going up.  Life on the road without a laptop is hard to imagine for most people.   It is a huge segment of our communication to business, family, and friends.
4. Satellite Radio – has been a great lifesaver for radio listeners in “dead radio spots” along the highway.  Not only do you have radio where radio was not, but a driver now gets their favorite station wherever they are in the country.  It is very rare that Satellite Radio loses signal and better yet, there are stations that are specific to the trucking industry.

What wasn’t on the list surprised us.  Digital Camera’s were not in the top 4.  Our thoughts are that they have been in existence for so long, it is not thought as new technology, but as old technology.  As a trucker, they have the rare opportunity to see the country on a continuous basis.  We are sure most drivers keep one in their cab.

Below are the results by percentage from all participants. The column with the % is of the percentage of participants that chose the technology item in the front of the row. An example is that 84.38%, had 54 votes, chose the I-phone/cell phone as one of their 4 favorite technologies for truck drivers:

The sale includes not only the customer contracts but the deal will also include the trucks and trailers. YRC will be using the proceeds to help to pay down the struggling trucking company’s revolving credit facility.

Greatwide Logistics Services is a Texas-based company that provides national truckload transportation and warehouse distribution services in the U.S.A.

The president of the division being sold, John Carr said Tuesday, “This sale is a strategic move toward a more asset-light business model and aligns resources at YRC Logistics to focus on our core offerings, including transportation, distribution and global services.”

Certainly more changes may be on the horizon for YRC as the company transitions to its more “asset-light” business model. We will keep up to date on the story as it unfolds. YRC is a very large trucking company and spans all aspects of the transportation industry an is viewed by some as a barometer of the industry as a whole.

All trucking companies have felt the pressure of the economic downturn. Jobs have been lost and businesses closed. If your a driver many of the surviving trucking companies are still looking for qualified truck drivers. If you’re looking to make a switch, to a company with a solid foundation, CR England is looking for experienced drivers. Check out our website for more information about driving and training options.

The original Dow Jones Newswires article was written by Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291; joan.solsman@ dowjones.com

Automatic Shut Down/Start Up System
An automatic shut down/start up system or device does exactly what it sounds like: it can automatically shut the engine down or start it up based on certain factors determined by you, such as when the cab reaches a specific temperature or the engine’s been running a set time period.  The price tag of a system usually costs between $900 and $1,200.

Auxiliary Power Unit
Installing an APU can provide climate control and electrical power in your sleeper cab without idling during your downtime.  It’s estimated an APU can save approximately 20 gallons of gas a day and extend the life of the engine by nearly 100,000 simply by reducing long-term idling.  Since installing an APU can cost thousands of dollars (a bill many truckers have to foot themselves), the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a proposal that would provide truckers with federal tax credits of up to $3000 for idle-reduction systems.

Battery-Powered Devices
There are several different kinds of battery-powered devices designed specifically for commercial trucks.  Most allow you to plug in space heaters, portable air conditioning units, and other on-board appliances.