The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is hoping that Trucking Driving Companies learn the CSA 2010 program and how it works.  Beginning 8/16/2010, Carriers can go online to http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov to review their performance in all seven Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories, or as they call it, the BASICS.

FMCSA has evolved the CSA 2010 program in response to feedback, both good and negative.  They believe it is turning into a very good program that will benefit the driver as well as the Truck Driving Companies.

American Trucking Association met with FMCSA with their concerns.  FMCSA, was quoted as stating:

“We held a series of private meetings with (FMCSA Administrator Anne Feero) and her staff, showing them examples of how we felt the previous methodology was not accurate and didn’t do an effective job of targeting truly unsafe carriers.  We were able to show instances of carriers that have super crash rates and great recent compliance reviews, but the system showed that they were labeled as safety deficient.  If you target carriers based on flawed methodology, you’re really using your limited resources to focus on the wrong carriers.  We really appreciate the administrator’s willingness to listen and address our concerns.”

As the pilot program comes to its end and it is rolled out to all, the Trucking Industry seems confident that the truck driver records will help to hire and train better drivers across the board.

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=71328&news_category_id=3

This is great news for those in the trucking industry who are wanting a stable job.  The statistics shown in the Transport Topics Article states:

“Trucking added 5,900 jobs last month, bringing the total to 1.24 million jobs. The trucking industry’s payrolls rose 5.9% from July 2009, Labor figures showed.

Overall, the economy lost 131,000 jobs, led by a cut of 143,000 temporary federal census jobs that ended. Private employers added 71,000 jobs, following a 31,000 gain in June.”

The transportation  industry is showing a lot of promise. Everyone from mechanics to freight brokers are all seeing positive signals.

Truckinginfo.com wrote a similar article expressing excitement about more Truck Driving Jobs in the last four months.  Bob Costello, the chief economist of American Trucking Assoc. stated: “To be sure, this rate of growth is not as fast as one would expect after such a sever recession, but it is evident that the private sector is adding to payrolls.”

It seems to me that now is the time to get into the truck driving business and make the money and have the stability that most Americans are looking for right now.

There are a couple of very large Trucking Companies that actually hire those who are accepted into their truck driving schools.  And since the companies train, they make sure their curriculums are focused on safety and success in driving.

Go online and research Trucking Companies and look for those that guarantee a job to those accepted into their truck driving schools.

Visit these sites for the full and complete articles.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=24937

http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=71283

Through these letters they are able to teach the students about the importance of truck drivers in our country and incorporate lessons about geography, history, math and English. As the class receives these things from the driver they can respond with notes or cards asking the driver questions or simply responding to what the driver has said.

The driver is encouraged to go and visit the class at least once a year and possibly take their truck to show the kids. The students LOVE this and it creates even more opportunities to teach and learn.

I think this is such a fun idea implemented by C.R. England. It creates a great way to give back to the community while at the same time providing drivers with a sense of satisfaction as they strengthen the community in their own way. While truck driving is a growing and important industry it is a great idea to teach elementary age kids about this career. It gives both parties an opportunity to interact and learn more. I can imagine the satisfaction it would give a driver as they saw the interest that these young students have in what they do everyday. Any driver for C.R. England can be considered for this program so if you are interested please contact Jeanie at jeanib@crengland.com or at qcom ext 3824. I would encourage any driver to get involved and give back in any way that they can!

Gaining access to full real time information was also a benefit of making the switch.  So far, England reports that the switch has been a success. Service violation rates as well out-of-service rates for drivers have declined dramatically. Also after the switch, fatigued driving became their lowest CSA basic.  Switching to electronic logbooks has made the company more efficient and helped them to achieve a higher standard of excellence. However, along with the benefits there are also some concerns.  Defense Requirements for truck fleets can change according to the CSA 2010 in which plaintiffs’ attorneys might try to use accessible data to prove a culture of recklessness. The problem comes when the scores become self-distorting and because preventable and unpreventable incidents are treated the same, warnings gets the same amount of attention as actual tickets.  With these beginning concerns businesses simply need to keep their eyes open for potential problems.  Despite these small kinks using EOBR has been a great adjustment for CR England.  With complete confidence in the switch Dustin England stated that they “would never, ever, ever go back to paper logs again.”

http://fleetowner.com/regulations/experts-paper-logbooks-eobr-0805/

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.

Depression is becoming a common problem among Americans today.  Jobs that impose high levels of psychological demands such as truck driving may be at an increased risk.  Things such as sleep deprivation and loneliness are common among truck drivers and create more cases of depression.  Although this life style is a hard one there are certain steps that can be taken to help with depression and improve the life of all drivers.

One way to prevent depression is to maintain a healthy life style. Eating healthy and exercising as much as possible while on the road will improve your over all mood and energy.  Try to add more fruits and vegetables into your diet and drink more water.  Doing this will improve your over all quality of life and will help you feel happier and better about yourself.

Another tip to avoid depression is to reach out and help someone else.  Psychologists sometimes recommend volunteer work to their patients as a healing mechanism.  Although its hard to volunteer while on the road look for small opportunities to help another person out. Open the door for someone walking into the convenient store, slow down to let a car in your lane, or say thank you to anyone that helps you along the way.  Any little bit helps and as you help others you are really helping yourself.

Keeping in communication with family and friends is a great way to fight depression.  This may be the hardest one but it is effective. Call when you are at stop, write a letter when you can’t sleep or send a postcard from a favorite city.  Any communication is appreciated and it gives you something productive to do and think about.

Even if you aren’t fighting with depression these steps are a great way to improve the over all quality of your life.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Truck-Drivers-Can-Beat-Back-the-Depression-Monster&id=2424447

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.

If you are reading this article, congratulations, you have taken your first step to quit smoking.   That is the step of contemplating a healthier life without cigarettes.

There are a lot of different products to help in quit smoking like patches and pills.  For many though, cold turkey works.  Here is a list of ways to help you succeed to quit smoking cold turkey:

1.  Quit and Recognize:

Scheduling the day you are quitting is a great way to make a mental pledge to yourself.  A good example of this is a woman who knew her best friend’s birthday party would be too much of a struggle for her not to smoke.  She scheduled the morning after as her quitting date.  When she got home from her party, she threw away all cigarettes available to her and made a commitment to not keep an emergency pack in the house.  By doing this, she knew there was no way back without at least 15 minutes to go to the store.  She would have time to talk herself out of it and it worked for her.  A very important part of your scheduled quit smoking date is to realize that even though you just quit, you are still addicted and that recognition will help you through the hard times.

2.  Plan Ahead:

Since your body is still addicted to the cigarettes, there needs to be a plan for your first craving.  This will probably hit you with in the first hours of quitting.  In the beginning, use substitution.  Find something to chew on or drink that will relieve the cravings.  (Sugar free keeps the pounds away.)  After that first phase of cravings, create the next plan.  Some people actually replace all lighters and ashtrays with chewing gum.  When you naturally go for the lighter, you pick up the gum instead.  It works great for a lot of people.  Some Truck Drivers that are quitting smoking keep a pack of gum in their cab at all times.

3.  Tell People You Quite Smoking:

When you tell people you are quitting, you are creating help for yourself.  People who know you quit usually respect your space and not smoke around you, keeping the temptation away.

4.  Change Your Routine:

Many people believe that this step is the most important part to quit smoking.  An example of changing your routine is changing your morning routine.  If you woke up to cigarettes and coffee, change it by waking up and eating a granola bar and a fruit juice.  Make changes that keep your mind off of cigarettes.  Addiction, whether it is cigarettes or any other habit you are trying to break, includes the routines, smells, and places you are.  If the smell of coffee reminds of that morning cigarette, remove the coffee.  Replace the coffee with a completely different smell and routine in the morning.

Change your social settings to.  One suggestion is if you have the habit of smoking while playing pool in the pub; go to dinner instead with a friend in a smoke free restaurant.  It gets easier as time goes by, you will be able (if you choose so) to go play pool with your friends after a couple of months and not smoke.

If you have a moment and you smoke, get back up and try again.  Make the moment of stop smoking your scheduled quit again and start at the beginning.  It’s not impossible to quit.  But it is hard for some.  Follow the four points above to help you become cigarette free.  Follow the guidelines; quit, recognize, plan, and change routine.  And most important, Remember that you can do it.

Rubber Duck Hood Ornament:  It gives a look of “I am tough”, with a touch of humor.  This brings a chuckle to those who pass by.

Cannon Ball Express Train Horn: Giving out 152 decibels of sound, it is volumes above other horns.

Chrome Heater Vent: This vent adds shine and a look of success to any truck.  A must have for those who like to dress up.

Chrome Plate Frame: Another Class A item to dress up your truck.  Put your own mantra on your license frame, instead of a commercial for other people’s companies.

Bull Horn Hood Ornament: For the bullish at heart or the Texan within.  This ornament tells others you have the strength it takes to be a Truck Driver.

These are only a few ornaments for your truck.  Go to http://www.iowa80.com to see more.  (We linked these images from their online catalog.)  If you have questions about truck driving jobs or about CR England please visit our web site, www.CREngland.com

// Tags: Chrometruckparts
Posted in Chrome

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