Big Money Trucking - October/November 2016

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016
Features
22
12
28
34
Robyn, Bill Taylor (with 2
German shepherds) having
grand time, seeing U.S.,
giving back.
On Trucking
Money Matters:
Social Security Card
Puzzle
staff
General Manager: Megan Hicks
Sales Manager: Jerry Critser
Editor-in-Chief: Lyndon Finney
Staff Writers: Dorothy Cox,
Cliff Abbott, Aprille Hanson,
Derek Hinton
Art Director: Chad Singleton
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Chairman/CEO: Mark Schiffmacher
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Vice President: Ed Leader
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3

Lyndon Finney, Editor
THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM
RECENTLY CELEBRATED ITS 60TH BIRTHDAY.
Well, celebrate may be the incorrect word because if
you read the TRIP report, “The Interstate Highway
System Turns 60: Challenges to Its Ability to Continue
to Save Lives, Time and Money” about the only thing to celebrate
is the fact that the system, with its multi-lane roads and
controlled access, continues to save lives, an estimated 5,359
lives in 2014, according to the report. It notes that while the interstate
system carried 25 percent of the nation’s travel in 2014,
it accounted for only 12 percent of the nation’s traffic fatalities
as a result of its safety features.
Other than that
fact, there’s not that
much to celebrate.
Listen to some of the facts about the need to maintain as
articulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which
has determined that the nation faces a significant backlog in
needed interstate highway repairs and improvements, and
that at current investment levels traffic congestion on the nation’s
Interstate Highway System is likely to increase.
We didn’t need a report to tell us that, did we?
Some of the report’s points follow:
• The current backlog of needed improvements on the nation’s
Interstate Highway System is estimated by the U.S.
Department of Transportation to be $189 billion.
• The backlog on the nation’s Interstate Highway System
includes $59 billion needed to improve pavement conditions,
$30 billion to improve bridges and $100 billion for
needed system expansion and enhancement.
• The U.S. is only spending approximately 61 percent of the
amount needed annually to make needed repairs and
improvements on the Interstate Highway System to keep
the system in a state of good repair and provide adequate
capacity to meet growing personal and freight mobility
needs, and
• Annual spending on the system is estimated to be $20.2
billion, while approximately $33 billion annually is needed
to complete interstate repairs and improvements needed
to maintain interstate highways and bridges and to relieve
traffic congestion.
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meet the nation’s mobility needs, and fails to deliver a sustainable,
long-term source of revenue for the federal Highway
Trust Fund,” it continued.
“In addition to federal motor fuel tax revenues, the FAST Act
will be funded by $70 billion in U.S. general funds, which will
rely on offsets from several unrelated federal programs including
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Federal Reserve and
U.S. Customs.”
Why is the need so great?
As we all know, the primary
source of revenue for the Interstate
Highway System is the federal surface
transportation program, which
was authorized in 2015 through
2020. The program includes modest
funding increases and provides
states with greater funding certainty,
but falls far short of providing the level of funding needed
to meet the nation’s highway and transit needs. The program
does not have a long-term and sustainable revenue source.
Signed into law in December 2015, the Fixing America’s
Surface Transportation (FAST Act), provides modest increases
in federal highway and transit spending, allows states greater
long-term funding certainty and streamlines the federal project
approval process.
Also, the five-year, $305 billion FAST Act will provide a boost
of approximately15 percent in highway funding and an 18 percent
boost in transit funding over the duration of the program,
which expires in 2020, the report noted.
“While the modest funding increase and certainty provided
by the FAST Act are a step in the right direction, the funding
falls far short of the level needed to improve conditions and
The current backlog of needed improvements on the
nation’s Interstate Highway System is estimated by the
[U.S. Department of Transportation to be $189 billion.
It says 43 percent of the nation’s urban interstate highways
(8,020 of 18,567 miles) are considered congested because they
carry traffic levels that result in significant delays during peak
travel hours.
But we all knew that.
Travel by combination trucks accounted for 20 percent or
higher of the total travel in seven states, the report showed.
The top three were Wyoming at 33 percent, New Mexico at
28 percent and Arkansas at 23 percent.
You’ve touched on a number of the factors that contribute
to Wyoming having such a high percentage of truck traffic on
its highways.
Wyoming has the smallest population in the nation at an estimated
586,000.
[
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shipping facility to Santa Teresa, and they are now offloading
tons of cargo every day. We are working to revamp our portsof-entry
to make them more efficient and user friendly to accommodate
the large amount of commercial vehicle traffic we
see on a daily basis. The Interstate 10 and Interstate 40 corridors
also play a major role in the truck traffic we see here, with
major commercial vehicle
traffic traversing
those two interstates
on a daily basis.”
“With a correspondingly small number of in-state vehicles
traveling on its highways, any amount of out-of-state truck
traffic is going to be a higher percentage of overall traffic than
it would be in a more populous state,” said Wyoming Department
of Transportation spokesman Dave Kingham, who also
noted that Interstate 80 through Wyoming is a major freight
corridor between West Coast ports and Midwest markets.
That makes Wyoming a bridge state in which much of the
traffic on its interstates is just passing through, he said, adding
that about 70 percent of all the truck traffic in Wyoming did not
originate in and is not destined for Wyoming.
“Add in major Walmart and Lowe’s distribution centers in
the Cheyenne area handling a steady stream of trucks daily,
and the percentage of tractor-trailer combinations on I-80 is
consistently high,” Kingham said.
New Mexico is ideally situated to be a major player in the
shipping of goods from all over the world, according to Matt
Kennicott, director of communications at the New Mexico Department
of Transportation
“Our proximity to Mexico allows companies to transport
their items directly from the maquiladoras warehouse facilities
located in the southern part of the state in an overweight
zone,” he said. “We worked to bring a Union Pacific intermodal
Arkansas would be
classified as another
bridge state.
It is home to several
large motor carriers,
among them for-hire carriers J.B. Hunt, P.A.M. Transport, Maverick
USA, ABF Freight and USA Truck, as well as private carriers
Walmart Transportation and Tyson Foods.
“Arkansas does have a high percentage per capita of motor
carriers, large and small, headquartered here,” said Shannon
Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “But
because this report is looking only at interstate travel, I believe
this ranking is largely a function of geography, and heavy commercial
traffic traveling through Arkansas on the relatively few
interstate miles that we have.”
Arkansas doesn’t have any interstate miles that are primarily
used by tourists or commuters, Newton said.
The stretch of I-40 from North Little Rock to West Memphis
is particularly heavy with truck traffic.
A spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation
Department said as much as 60 percent of the vehicles that
travel that stretch are combination trucks. $$$
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Robyn, Bill Taylor (with 2 German
shepherds) having grand time,
seeing U.S., giving back.
By Dorothy Cox
They’ve traveled around with Mr. Potato Head, met
members of the classic rock band KISS through a contact
they met on the road, seen the Grand Canyon “so much
we don’t want to go back” and are always in the company of
what have to be two of the most beautiful German shepherds on
the planet.
If there’s a downside, which is doubtful, when the two 2016
Citizen Driver Award winners Bill and Robyn Taylor got the TA in
Southington, Connecticut, renamed in their honor, TA gave their
two shepherds a $150 gift certificate from PetSmart and several
bags of their favorite treats: dried pigs’ ears. “They got more
than we did,” said Bill Taylor, laughing.
But of course the dogs, Ruby and Niko, didn’t get a TA
renamed for them — as have all the Citizen Driver Award winners
since the first recipients were named in 2014.
The Taylors were the only husband and wife team who won
the prestigious award this year. As Business Capacity Owners
(BCOs) for Landstar, they get to pick and dispatch the loads they
want, and they’e had some great loads and had a lot of fun along
the way.
“We took ‘Toy Story on Ice’ around the country,” said
Bill Taylor. Well, he added, it was actually 38,000 pounds of
unpopped popcorn that was part of the Disney concession for
the show. “They do their own concessions,” he explained.
Bill Taylor has been a truck driver since 1988. He remembers
when his son was young, the boy told him he was ashamed that
his dad was a truck driver. “I told him every dollar I get, I earn.
Now he understands. There are days that suck, but I love to go
to work as long as it’s not Boston or New York City. I do have my
limits,” he said. “I love what I do. I’m not ashamed. … We’ve had
a good time. If I die tomorrow I have no regrets. I’ve met a lot of
phenomenal people.”
The couple met each other via the old AOL or America Online.
Robyn and Bill Taylor pose with their constant companions,
Ruby (left) and Niko. They love what they do and love giving
back to the community at large. They’re the only couple to be
among this year’s Citizen Driver Award winners.
Both had dogs and motorcycles among their “search” words “and
we found each other,” Robyn Taylor said.
Come to find out, she lived in one Connecticut town and he
lived in the next town over. Upon their first meeting in 1998,
she drove her motorcycle over to his house and there was Bill
Photo courtesy: BILL TAYLOR
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in his front yard, washing his truck (back then he had a 1998
Freightliner and now has a 2007 Western Star). “I should have
known then,” she said about his love of trucks.
At the time, Robyn was a tech systems administrator, a strictly
8 to 5 job. “When I met him he was already driving,” she said.
“He worked locally but every so often he would take these trips
to Dallas.” Those trips came more and more often and she said
if that kept up “I told him I was going to be in the seat next to
him.”
The trips to Dallas continued
and Robyn would see the beautiful
pictures of the country Bill took on
those hauls. Suddenly “those office
walls were getting very close,” she
said.
So she went to truck driving
school in Massachusetts, attending
nights and weekends and still working 8 to 5. After graduation
she went on a test run OTR with Bill to see if she liked it “and I
did,” she said. She quit her job and went on the road with him in
1999 and in 2001 they married.
Appropriately, “the [Freightliner] truck was in the wedding.”
They got married outside in her backyard and entered the yard
on his motorcycle, her behind him in her wedding dress while
“Here Comes the Bride” played.
“I guess you can tell I’m unconventional,” said Bill Taylor, “but
it’s fun, it’s all good.”
That sense of fun and enjoyment can’t help but be passed
along to those they meet. The two have been members of
Trucker Buddy since the late ’90s and were Trucker Buddies of
the Month, Bill said, in 2003. And their pen pals love their visits.
“We just show up” at the school, Bill said. ‘I’m known as the
disrupter. They ask me what my favorite part of school was and
I say lunch, recess and vacation.” That earns him points with the
kids, not so much with the teachers.
When their truck was stolen in California, they had to fly
there from back East to get it after authorities found it. Bill said
it had been stripped and was “nothing but a shell.” It had to be
“When I met him he was
already driving,” she said.
“He worked locally but every
so often he would take these
trips to Dallas.”
completely rebuilt. It also had a “dream catcher” in it, something
Bill said he always has in his trucks. When the couple visited the
school after retrieving their truck, “the whole school wrapped
around the truck,” he said, and the students presented the
Taylors with the $425.00 they made from selling 25-cent bags of
popcorn to go toward the price to fly out West to get the truck.
They also presented the couple with a box of about 30 dream
catchers.
When truckers give back to their communities, Bill Taylor said,
it focuses the non-trucking public
on the fact that truck drivers are
human. “There’s an actual person
who drives this thing. If not for us
they would walk around naked and
hungry. The parents at the [Trucker
Buddy] school find out about
blind spots. They don’t realize the
sacrifices we make. It’s not an easy life. You have to give back.”
In addition to their long-time commitment to Trucker Buddy,
the Taylors are involved in numerous other projects and
organizations including but not limited to the Owner-Operator
Independent Drivers Association, Women In Trucking, Team
Run Smart, Vietnam Veterans of America and the Make a Wish
Foundation.
Bill said Kathy Bell, with Landstar’s BCO advisors, nominated
the couple for the 2016 Citizen Driver Award after he sent her a
copy of a thank-you letter he had presented to Boeing for “being
nice” to them when hauling Boeing parts from Baltimore to
Washington state.
At first he said no about being nominated, then relented. “I
couldn’t believe in the grand scheme of things we ended up
finalists,” he said.
“I can’t say enough about TravelCenters of America/Petro
Stopping Centers,” Bill added. At their renaming ceremony “they
flew up Lindsey Lawler to sing” as well as a leading executive
from Make a Wish to emcee the event, he said.
And don’t forget the dogs’ treats and gift certificate.
“Trucking’s been good to me,” said Bill. “Over the top.” $$$
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FEATURE
THE INS AND OUTS OF WORKING
AND GETTING SOCIAL SECURITY
BENEFITS ANSWERED
By Dorothy Cox
People often ask, “Can I work and still get Social
Security benefits?”
You can, but if you file for Social Security before
full retirement your benefits will be reduced.
Although you can draw benefits as early as age 62 the benefits
will be less by as much as 30 percent of what you’d get if you
wait until your full retirement age, according to the U.S. Social
Security Administration.
If you wait until your full retirement age (66 for people born
between 1943 and 1954), you’ll get your full benefits. You can also
wait until age 70 to start your benefits. Then, S.S. will increase
your benefits because you earned delayed retirement credits.
If you’re under full retirement age for the entire year,
they deduct $1 from your benefit payments for every
$2 you earn above the annual limit. For 2016, that
limit is $15,720.
In the year you reach full retirement age, they
deduct $1 in benefits for every $3 earned above the
limit but they only count earnings before the month you
reach your full retirement age.
If you reach full retirement age in 2016, the limit on your
benefits before your birthday month is $41,880. Then starting in
the month you turn 66, you receive the full amount.
When you’re ready to apply for retirement benefits, use
their online retirement application at www.socialsecurity.gov/
retireonline.
Of course when contemplating retirement people also want to
know how much their earnings have been.
You can open a free my Social Security account at www.
socialsecurity.gov/myaccount to review
your statement anytime you
want.
“Can I work
and still get
Social Security
benefits?”
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FEATURE
As long as you continue to
work, even if you’re receiving
S.S. benefits, you will continue
to pay Social Security taxes on
your earnings.
You can do this from the convenience of your truck cab.
As long as you continue to work, even if you’re receiving S.S.
benefits, you will continue to pay Social Security taxes on your
earnings. However, S.S. will check your record every year to
see whether the additional earnings you had will increase your
monthly benefits or decrease them.
For example, if you’re receiving benefits and are under full
retirement age and you think your earnings will be different than
Once you create an account, you can:
• Keep track of your earnings to make sure your benefit is
calculated correctly. The amount of your payment is based
on your lifetime earnings
• Get an estimate of your future benefits if you are still
working
• Get a replacement 1099 or 1042S
• Get a letter with proof of your benefits if you currently
receive them, and
• Manage your benefits such as change your address and
start or change your direct deposit.
what you originally told the Social Security office, you can call
them at (800) 772-1213.
And although it’s hard when you’re driving over-the-road to
find a Social Security office, you can also take them your tax
return to make sure they have it.
The Social Security Administration will send you notices by
regular mail on any change of benefits, as well. And sometimes
the amount they say you’ll be getting will differ from notice to
notice. Usually, the latest notice is the most up-to-date one but
it’s always good to call and check.
Be safe out there on the road. $$$
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Boyle Transport................................................. 11
Celadon............................................................. 6-7
Central Marketing Transport..........................21
Dot Line..........................................................8, 31
East West Express.................................4-5, 26-27
Hirschbach...................................................18, 36
JK Hackl..........................................................2, 33
Melton Truck Lines...........................................25
Miller Transporters.....................................13, 32
New Waverly Transportation........................... 17
P.I.&I. Motor Express........................................23
R&R Trucking....................................................19
RTI.................................................................10, 29
Trans AM...........................................................15
How to play: You must complete the Sudoku puzzle so that
within each and every row, column and region the numbers
one through nine are only written once.
There are 9 rows in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. Every row
must contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. There may
not be any duplicate numbers in any row. In other words, there
can not be any rows that are identical
There are 9 columns in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. Like the
Sudoku rule for rows, every column must also contain the
numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Again, there may not be any
duplicate numbers in any column. Each column will be unique
as a result.
A region is a 3x3 box like the one shown to the left. There are 9
regions in a traditional Sudoku puzzle.
Like the Sudoku requirements for rows and columns, every
region must also contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and
9. Duplicate numbers are not permitted in any region. Each
region will differ from the other regions.
Transport Design...............................................35
Tri-National..........................................................9
TruckJobSeekers.com........................................20
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