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.”

Owner-Operators: Do they really earn more? Posted by DC Cargo Mall on May 06, 2014

Is owning your own truck really going to save you $$$ in the long run?

Some beg to differ.

For Samuel Slatin, his investment in his own big rig seemed to be the best decision he ever made. The hours were his own to choose from, gas was a meek 87 cents a gallon, and the paycheck came in more often.

Now, he says, things have gone from bad to worse.

Expenses have gone through the roof in more ways than one and giving up is close on his radar.

Tolls are about $100 for truckers, insurance is sky high, gas is 3.99 a gallon, and his truck gets by on only 5.2 miles a gallon.

Any slight traffic infraction could raise his insurance. His health insurance is something he can’t afford and the stress makes for a weaker heart which he now needs regular checkups for, all of which must be out-of-the-pocket, sometimes having to dish out upwards of $100 at a time.

Slatin says he left Europe, hoping for a better income and got his wish, but it was short-lived.

“I almost wish I stayed working for someone else, for a company. Being my own boss comes with all the expenses and responsibility that, at the end of the day, is costing me more!”

He points out that worker’s compensation, social security contributions, unemployment insurance, or high protection levels by safety and health regulation are just a handful of the many things he is missing out on as an owner-operator.

Back in the 1980’s, when truckers made today’s equivalent of $44.83 an hour, most of those 75,000 port truck drivers were unionized.

Now, more than half of the percentage have become independent owner operators. Initially, it was the envy of the industry – someone with his own truck and his own freedom. At this point however, independent truckers have been making an average of $28,000 a year, $7,000 less than employee drivers, who are paid by the hour and receive more comprehensive benefits. Port truckers are sometimes made to wait at the port for just one shipment for almost a day – simply because no one loses out except them, and no incentive is put in place to avoid this.

Slatin shared his musings with us:

“My marriage has been sourly affected, and I had to give up on our home mortgage because it was either that or the truck. And I need my truck to continue working. I’ve declared bankruptcy and I owe debtors. The hardest part of it all is, I am very attached and truly love my truck at this point, but I may have no choice but to sell it. The miles are high though, so it can’t be worth that much on the market by now. The saddest part is, my case is not uncommon.

“With all the expenses piling up, I have no choice but to scratch it down to bare necessities. This includes all the straps, chains, load locks and tools needed to secure my load that need replacement. If I don’t have the correct strong and sturdy securing ropes that my load requires, I could be risking a horrible accident where my load goes airborne and results in injury or worse: fatality. 

I want to thank www.DCCargoMall.com for providing me with all the equipment I need and more, and after they heard my story, have given me the discount I needed to splurge on a gift for my wife. Things are lookin’ up, slowly.”

The Text and Drive Epidemic Posted by DC Cargo Mall on April 30, 2014

Texting has evolved from just a secondary means of communication to the foremost preferred. Whereas phone conversations were the escape from face-to-face confrontation, texting now takes up precedence as the novel way to escape voice confrontation as well. 

Candid exchanges have become almost extinct. Assuming that texting requires half the effort, drivers the world over mistake it as an easy multitasking option for driving and communicating in one shot. It only requires, well, your line of vision, concentration, and hands. Other than that, sounds like a safe way to multitask, right? Wrong. 

Statistics back up the fact that no matter just how tech-savvy, and how ‘I-can-watch-the-road-while-siri-types-what-I-say’ you are, previous results are not on your side.

According to the Department of Transportation, nearly 16,000 truckers were ticketed for using their cell phones last year, but only four of those were suspended and taken out of service, WABC reported.

In just one scenario, ABC reports a George and Kathy Weed who were killed one year ago when a truck driver who police say was texting while driving slammed his tractor-trailer into the back of the upstate New York couple’s car on a Pennsylvania highway.

“Dad was in his lane and coming to a stop,” said their son, Brian Weed. “The truck just came up and hit him from behind and pushed him into another truck.”

“This utterly destroyed us,” said their daughter, Tricia Weed.  “I mean, devastating beyond words.”

This immeasurably horrifying tale is only one among thousands. Even if the driver lives to tell the tale, he may wish he hadn’t. 

In another example, in Arizona, a truck driver has pleaded not guilty to murder charges after a police officer was killed when the driver crashed into police cars and emergency vehicles.  The driver was allegedly looking at pictures on his phone at the time of the crash.

Practicing unsafe loading can aggravate the chances for a fatal crash as well, due to unwanted shifting and tumbling of heavy cargo in the wake of a texting-induced crash.

When WABC investigative reporter Jim Hoffer asked National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Robert Sumwalt if the consequences for texting while driving are strict enough for truck drivers, he had this to say:

“Well, is it really changing behavior?” 

“From your video, that indicates a lot of people driving commercial vehicles that are still using personal electronic devices,” he said. “And that would indicate the enforcement side of it is not strong enough.”

An investigation in New York City showed that the two crashes are not isolated incidents.  Cameras set up on major New York highways caught truck drivers dialing, texting and talking on their cell phones.

In one of the worst cases observed by the cameras, a truck driver carried on two conversations on two separate phones.

An institution of stricter laws have been consequentially put into place:

A truck driver stopped by police for talking on a cell phone in New York would receive a $150 fine and five points on a driver’s license. Accumulating 11 points over an 18-month period may result in a suspended license in New York, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The hope is that the fear for suspension will deter avid texters and lousy loading to a thing of the past.

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.