Technology Advances Holding Us Back? Posted by DC Cargo Mall on May 12, 2014

As technology advances, so does neglect.

People are relying more and more on gadgets and devices these days that they forget to implement the most basic safety measures that are crucial regardless, such as sufficient sleep, logging truthful information for their own sake, failure to load properly, texting while driving, and staying up to date on constantly changing regulations.

Electronic safety inventions were meant to aid in safety, not take away from it. What was found to have the most effect on driver’s influence for motivation was their score compared to other drivers. 

“Everyone loves some good competition,” Offers Samuel Doleco, a 7 year Trucker from West Virginia. "That's why score cards are crucial, because driver's want to know where they hold in comparison to other drivers. But Samuel is a big fan and defense of the techno world. He shows us several of what he calls ‘new-fangled gadgets’ that line his truck. 

“This device from SmartDrive now has a U-Turn trigger on its recorder. If I miss a turn, this thing can sense an unsafe maneuver and make that conclusion to lead me back onto the proper road. Other vehicles can afford to miss a turn or two, but us truckers can’t. We have a dispatcher, 2 companies, a family, or whatever combination that is dependent on our timely arrival. The dangerous part though, is that if I make a wrong turn and end up on a road that is not capacitated for trucks, I could ram the road or worse yet, be too tall for an upcoming bridge.

“My NexTraq has this Bluetooth trigger unit that works with an app on my phone to block all calls while I’m driving. It’s hard for me to control myself from the delicious sound of someone calling me, or even just the screen lighting up with a phone number. I let this app keep me in check.”

Doleco says his antennae are up for all the newest safety measures that are invented. He is looking forward to the new inventions that are ever changing and bringing safety closer to reality, such as intelligent transportation systems, vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-infrastructure/infrastructure-to-vehicle data.

Some companies don’t invest in high technology for their fleets though. Doleco says he feels lucky to be part of one that does. “My company understands that investing in our safety is investing in themselves. 

You see this safety camera here? If I get into a collision, which is already a less-likely scenario due to all the other safety measures implemented, then this camera can provide proof of my not being at fault. That reduces my insurance dramatically and takes a heck of a monetary load off of the company.”

DCCargoMall.com is lucky to be a part of Doleco’s satisfying trucking career: “My company also invests in loading gear that is top quality only and within the best results for your buck. This allows them to keep us safe inexpensively while still affording us higher salaries than most.”

Are You Fit to be a Truck Driver? Posted by DC Cargo Mall on April 02, 2014

Are you fit to be a truck driver?

The DOT sets the clear standards of what your physical capabilities must include…do you know them?

First off, don’t assume that passing an exam to become a trucker only entails driving and filling out a written test correctly. 

There are physical weight requirements for a trucker, henceforth, the strength test.

Be sure you can 30, 50, and 75 pounds from waist to shoulder 3 times and tested with a heart monitor to boot.

Then you must be able to whisk 85 pounds for a distance of 150 feet. After that, you push at least 100 pounds which is done via a gauge device against a block. You also pull 100 whopping pounds with the same device. Then you’ve got to be able to step up onto a 26 to 30 inch high platform which is certainly a challenging feat. These are just a handful of the medical and physical screenings you are heading into.

Some are in the hopes of a trucking job where driving is all it entails and loading is never required of him. Get ready for a bubble burst if you are that guy because even those companies that have a maximum of 98% driving… have still got that 2% of the time load responsibility.

That’s one reason it is super important to be on top of one’s game with cargo securing knowledge as well as lifting and safety arranging capabilities.

To learn about proper safety, read up on the standard booklets of rules offered, stock up on quality tie-downs befitting your load type, and practice securing them in a couple times before setting out for the real thing. One fallen load and a fallen life could come right along with it.

If it is taking you time to build up the right strength and stamina, don’t fret. It’s only a matter of time. Nothing good comes too easy. 

An issue can spike up when taking the necessary medical exam. Long waiting lines, next available appointments far down the calendar, and hundreds of miles out of your way to find one.

That’s due in part to the growing number of truckers and the increasing demand that comes with it. Another factor is owed to the fact out of the goal for 40,000 examiners to be registered into the National Registry of Certified Examiners by May 21st, only a little more than 9,500 physicians are signed up.

However luckily, the FMCSA does not want inconvenienced truckers, and therefore offers a final rule of proposal to change this procedure. The new regulations would be that any certified professional could certify a driver for physical qualification. This bigger menu of examiner options will allow local and timely exams, as well as less precious time spent waiting on lines.

Truck Driver Beginnings: Tips on Surviving the Baby Steps Posted by DC Cargo Mall on February 26, 2014

Truck Driver Beginnings

Tips on surviving the baby steps:

Everything starts with the beginning. Well, there’s a shock. Every beginning though, is difficult, and you can’t just get to the top of a mountain view without first braving the rocks and harsh winds that come prior to it. That first year of treacherous hauling, ignorance, and perhaps getting taken advantage of with your lower hand at experience, may be the hardest but best thing that will ever happen to you.

Experience is something you’ll be forced to buy with time, but learning from your own mistakes has a more competent option: learning from other people’s mistakes. Specifically veteran trucker’s past mistakes. That will offer you the best of both worlds by knowing what not to do in spite of never having tried it. 

In your company’s eyes though, you are still new. They will want to test you out. Before trusting you with their most precious and valuable cargo, they are looking for the following behavioral patterns which are beneficial to ask yourself.

1.       Can they trust you, point blank?

 
2.       Is your freight consistently loaded in line with the rules of safety loading and with the right quality equipment, ensuring no shifting,breakage, or accidents?


3.       Can you drive safely for large increments of time, at night no less?

4.       Are you good with planning the schedule of your route to allow for timeliness?

Just reassuring them with words is not enough. Prove all of these assets to them with action. Be trustworthy, load safe; don’t bypass law even if you think it to be convenient. Drive only in amounts you can handle with adequate sleep because over-doing it will only prove that you are willing to forgo safety. Be on time and plan ahead for anything that may come up- storms, construction road close-offs, and cancellations with reroutes. 

Planning ahead is not just about leaving early. Know your route, make note of truck stop options along the way, and in case your GPS breaks down, bring a map. This way time is not lost searching for stops and more with borrowed time. 

This also means packing the sack with extra pairs of dry and comfortable clothing to ensure a relaxed drive in spite of weather conditions, and prevent you from having to run a laundry load at a truck stop. 

Attempt to bring a balanced food menu of nutrition to keep your brain alert, and an added bonus of not spoiling without too much preservative. Not your brain spoiling, your food. Although we don’t recommend either one.

Try to keep with the same company for at least a year before deciding that you need a change, because you may just be your own problem and starting with yourself can help you survive anything you come in contact with in the future.

Last but not least, when you do find yourself at the threshold of challenge, whether it is a grumpy dispatcher, a HAZMAT load, an impossibly foggy windshield, or a lost in the woods predicament, don’t panic. These challenges are expected in the life of a trucker, now just figure out what you can do to combat it.

Get off at the next truck stop (that you wrote down hopefully!), sit yourself beside that kind looking veteran trucker, and pour out your concerns. Chances are, he’s gone through them himself, and will feel needed and delighted to help. 

Even if he hasn’t a concrete answer, just sharing your burden with a fellow trucker can help to lighten your load (pun intended) and peace of mind does wonders for any trucker stuck on the side of the road with only slippery ice as company. Breathe. :)

Are Obama's New Ideas Convenient for the Trucker? Posted by DC Cargo Mall on February 18, 2014

By March 31^st of this year, still fresh in its 2014 status, Obama has fuel efficiency plans he wants put in place.

The platform by which the announcement has been appointed to, is the Safeway Distribution Center in Maryland, a grocery chain relevant and deserving of the chosen honor due to its advances and participation in previous EPA- led initiatives for improving the efficiency of its own fleet oftrucks.

His goal of this campaign is to set new fuel standards for trucks “so we can keep driving down oil and imports and what we pay at the pump.”

The greenhouse gas standards will be altered according to the presidential order issued to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In spite of heavy-duty vehicles accounting for only 4% of registered vehicles on the road in the US, they actually comprise 25% of road-fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector.

The White House predicts that the country will save approximately 530 million barrels of oil – more than what was annually imported from Saudi Arabia – as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 270 million tons.  How? All thanks to a previous round of fuel bolstering standards by the White House from 2011 in which the Department of Energy has provided its expertise to 23 companies with large vehicle fleets to reduce diesel and gasoline use, and transition to alternative fuels.

According to those standards, manufacturers of big rigs and semi-trucks were required to achieve a 20% fuel reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse emissions, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans were required to achieve a 15% reduction, and delivery trucks, buses and garbage trucks were required to achieve a 10% reduction. This has affected new models from 2014 to 2018.

The administration quite proudly forecasts that this strategy will save vehicle owners and operators $50 billion in fuel costs!

However, manufactures have responded with a dose of resistance to the dictating nature of the requests for cost improvements from Washington. However, with reducing fuel consumption as a top priority for the admin, the manufacturers have sought to be heard and speak up for shaping these rules.

As Obama considers the next phase of fuel standards, the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group, an alliance of trucking companies had this to say: “It is important to ensure flexibility and provide incentives as key attributes of any regulations going forward.”

Obama hopes to repeat his call for congress to end subsidies to oil and gas companies and alternatively create an Energy Security Trust Fund to fund research and development for progressive vehicle technologies. 

 For more ways to save plenty for your trucking business, keep safe and reduce your accident and damage rate significantly with quality loading items at nominal prices from DCCargoMall.com.