The Trucker Newspaper - January 15, 2019

Vol. 32, No. 2
www.thetrucker.com January 15-31, 2019
Less than week after FMCSA grants ATA petition to
preempt California breaks, Teamsters file suit against it
The Trucker: KLINT LOWRY
A growing trend
Deanna Dinkle, left, and Rebecca
Neely were lifelong friends, both
wanted to see the country, and
decided trucking was the way to
do it and still make a living. They
are among the growing trend
of women who are joining the
profession of truck driving as they
get older.
Page 8
Navigating the news
Tragic accident.......................3
Moving a Huey ......................4
CFI donations.........................6
Truck Stop............................12
Women to Watch..................14
Tonnage up...........................17
Lane Departures...................17
Fleet Focus...........................20
Autonomous Cascadia.........23
Around the Bend..................27
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
WASHINGTON — It took less than one week
for someone to challenge the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration’s granting of an American
Trucking Associations petition to preempt
California’s meal and rest break rules, which differ
from current federal Hours of Service regulations.
FMCSA formally granted the petition late in
the afternoon of December 21 in response to what
the agency said was widespread concern from
drivers, concerned citizens and industry stakeholders.
The California law requires employers to
provide a “duty-free,” 30-minute meal break for
employees who work more than five hours a day
as well as a second “duty-free,” 30-minute meal
break for people who work more than 10 hours
a day. Other states followed, enacting their own
break rules. Nearly 20 states have their own separate
meal and rest break laws, but the December
21 ruling by FMCSA deals only with the California
law.
Federal HOS rules require professional truck
drivers to take a 30-minute rest break no longer
than eight hours after the last off-duty period or
sleeper berth period no more than five hours after
going on duty.
In 1994, Congress preempted states from enacting
or enforcing policies “related to a price,
route, or service of any motor carrier.”
The FMCSA said California’s law is incompatible
with federal regulations and causes a disruption
in interstate commerce.
In addition, the confusing and conflicting requirements
are overly burdensome for drivers and
reduce productivity, increasing costs for consumers,
the agency said, adding that safety issues have
likely resulted from the lack of adequate parking
See Rules on p7 m
Courtesy: IOWA 80 TRUCKSTOP
FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez says having uniform meal and rest break laws is a key component
to increasing safety for professional truck drivers.
The Trucker: DOROTHY COX
About those 4-wheelers
Trucker and retired Navy man
Dan Johnson has seen two types
of devastation: hurricanes in
his native Florida and accidents
caused by clueless four-wheelers
and careless truck drivers.
Page 27
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Nation January 15-31, 2019 • 3
Five children in a van, two truck drivers killed
in fiery crash on Florida’s I-75 on January 3
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The church
van headed south was packed with children and
had an hour to go before reaching Walt Disney
World after a 700-mile trip from Louisiana. A
semi, operated by Prime, Inc. of Springfield, Missouri,
shared the road nearby.
In Interstate 75’s northbound lanes the afternoon
of January 3 near Gainesville, another semi,
this one operated by Eagle Express of Homewood,
Illinois, and a car smashed into each other,
the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) says. The velocity
and weight caused the now out-of-control
semi to burst through the metal guardrail, taking
the car with it.
The two semis, the van, and the car slammed
into each other, leaking diesel, and the mass
erupted in a fireball.
A fifth car, unable to avoid the chaos, sped
through, possibly hitting victims ejected from the
vehicles, the highway patrol said. Five of the children,
ranging from about 8 to teenagers from a
Pentecostal church in Marksville, Louisiana, and
the two truck drivers died. At least eight others
were injured, some seriously.
“It is a heartbreaking event,” FHP Lt. Patrick
Riordan said the day after the accident.
The FHP identified the children as 14-yearolds
Joel Cloud and Jeremiah Warren, 13-yearold
Cara Descant, 10-year-old Briena Descant,
and 9-year-old Cierra Bordelan.
“It’s unbelievable. Everybody is in shock. We
lost five of our children,” church member Maxine
Doughty told The Associated Press. “We had our
Last Supper Sunday, and the pastor said to live
our lives like each day is the last day.”
The truck drivers were 49-year-old Douglas
Bolkema of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and
59-year-old Steve Holland of West Palm Beach,
Florida.
The highway patrol says Holland’s truck was
traveling north in the far-right lane and suddenly
veered left, colliding with a car driven by Robyn
Rattray, 41, of Gainesville.
Both the truck and car went out of control
and through the center divider, where Holland’s
truck plowed into the southbound church van,
driven by Amy Joffiron, 49, causing it to flip several
times and eject some of the nine children on
board. The highway patrol said it is unknown if
any were wearing seatbelts.
The van and Bolkema’s truck collided with
the semi and the car and burst into flames. Diesel
fuel leaked, and the mass erupted into a fireball,
the FHP said.
The accident occurred on a clear day along
a straight, flat stretch of Interstate 75 outside
Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida.
It is a busy stretch of a highway that connects
Florida to the rest of the South, Indiana, Ohio, and
Michigan.
Its lanes fill daily with semis carrying produce
and goods along with cars, vans, and buses filled
with tourists headed to and from Orlando, Tampa,
and southern Florida.
Vinnie DeVita said he was driving south and
narrowly escaped the crash — he saw it in the
rearview mirror, immediately behind him — according
to a report by WKMG .
“If I had stepped on the brake when I heard
the noise, undoubtedly, I would have been in that
Associated Press: WGFL-Gainesville
Flames engulf vehicles after a fiery crash
along Interstate 75 January 3 about a mile
south of Alachua, near Gainesville, Florida.
Highway officials say seven people died after
the crash and subsequent diesel spill sparked a
massive fire along the Florida interstate.
accident,” DeVita said. “And then within probably
15 to 20 seconds of it all, it exploded. I mean,
just a ball of flames.”
Nicole Towarek was traveling northbound
with her family when they came across the scene.
She told the Gainesville Sun that black smoke billowed,
people were laid out near vehicles, there
were long skid marks across the roadway and
emergency workers were converging on the area.
“We kept seeing these little explosions and
fire,” she said. “The heat, it was insane.”
The National Transportation Safety Board
would normally send a team to help with the
investigation, but cannot because of the federal
government shutdown. Riordan said that will not
impede the highway patrol’s efforts, which could
take months.
Florida Department of Transportation’s Troy
Roberts said the agency is investigating whether
the guardrail should have stopped the northbound
crash from crossing the highway or whether the
crash was too traumatic.
“The guardrails are there to stop as much as
they can, but there are some things they cannot,”
Roberts said. “Unfortunately, in this case, they
did not.”
It was the worst accident on I-75 in Alachua
County since January 2012, when 11 people died
in a chain-reaction crash attributed to heavy fog
and smoke on the roadway, which crosses Paynes
Prairie Preserve State Park.
Officials were criticized then for not closing
the road due to worsening conditions, and later
installed cameras, sensors and large electronic
signs to help prevent similar crashes. 8
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4 • January 15-31, 2019 Nation
THETRUCKER.COM
USPS 972
Volume 32, Number 2
January 15-31, 2019
The Trucker is a semi-monthly, national newspaper for the
trucking industry, published by Trucker Publications Inc. at
1123 S. University, Suite 320
Little Rock, AR 72204-1610
Trucking Division Senior Vice President
David Compton
davidc@targetmediapartners.com
Vice President / Publisher
Ed Leader
edl@thetrucker.com
Trucking Division General Manager
Megan Cullingford-Hicks
meganh@targetmediapartners.com
Courtesy: MELTON TRUCK LINES
Melton Truck Lines transported this Huey helicopter from Bristow, Oklahoma, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, a distance of some 40 miles.
Melton Truck Lines handily transports Huey helicopter
from Bristow to Tulsa at behest of air and space museum
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
TULSA, Okla. — The phone rings at the
Melton Truck Lines office in Tulsa.
“Good morning. Melton Truck Lines. You
say you have some manufactured steel to ship?
No problem.”
It rings again.
“Good morning. Melton Truck Lines. You
say you have some metal building components
you need to transport? No problem.”
It rings a third time.
“Good morning, Melton Truck Lines. You
say you have some HVAC equipment to ship?
No problem.”
It rings yet a fourth time.
“Good morning, Melton Truck Lines. You
say you need to transport a Huey helicopter
from Bristow to Tulsa? No problem.”
“That’s not our everyday move,” Russ Elliott,
Melton’s executive vice president and
chief operating officer said as he talked with
a reporter for The Trucker recently about a call
from the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and
Planetarium. “We could have moved it clear
across the country, but it only had to come from
Bristow, which is about 40 miles southwest of
Tulsa. It wasn’t a long move, but an important
one.”
The chopper Melton moved to Tulsa was
actually a replacement.
Elliott said several years ago the museum
acquired a Huey from somewhere in Arkansas
and had it restored.
But the rotor blades got stuck in a bridge
while being moved to downtown Tulsa for a
Veteran’s Day parade, yanking the chopper off
the trailer and destroying it.
Melton had worked with the museum in
the past, including transporting a disassembled
DC-3 on three trailers from Michigan to Tulsa.
The DC-3 is a fixed-wing propeller-driven
airliner that revolutionized air transport in the
1930s and 1940s. It has a cruise speed of 207
mph, capacity of 21 to 32 passengers and a
range of 1,500 miles.
So when the museum called Melton, which
has established a very positive relationship
with Tulsa and the surrounding area, asking
for assistance with the Huey, “we didn’t bat an
eye. We said, ‘sure, we’ll pick it up and then
bring it on in here.’ And then I went down to
our safety department and said, ‘alright, go figure
out how to get a helicopter on one of our
step-deck trailers and get us safely here.’”
Fortunately, the helicopter was not heavy.
“It didn’t weigh a lot, but it is as wide and
maybe even just an inch or two wider than our
trailer width,” Elliott said. “We used a 53-foot,
step-deck trailer, which some people would refer
to as a single drop. And even at that it was a
little over 12 feet tall.”
To make sure there would be no problems
along the route from Bristow to Tulsa, Melton
hired a pole car to run the route several weeks
before the actual move just to make sure the
truck and trailer wouldn’t have any trouble on
bridges or with low-hanging wires.
Then, the carrier repeated the exercise on
December 5, the day of the move.
Melton’s safety department actually went to
Bristow on the day of the move, supervised the
loading of the chopper and assisted the driver.
“First, they removed the rotor blades because
the rotor blades on a helicopter are very
flexible,” Elliott said. “They left the mast and
just strapped it down by the landing gear.”
The Melton safety group then strapped
down the chopper by securing the landing gear
to the trailer.
“It certainly wasn’t one of those deals
where we just turned a driver loose and said,
‘hey, go pick this helicopter up, bring it all up
here,’” Elliott said. “We have several folks in
our safety department that I consider to be genius
experts when it comes to figuring out how
to strap things down.”
The driver in this case was Michael Maines,
Courtesy: MELTON TRUCK LINES
Melton Truck Lines driver Michael Maines,
an Air Force veteran, poses with his driver
manager Carolyn Douthat beside the trailer
carrying the Huey helicopter.
an eight-year Air Force veteran who’s been
with Melton four years.
The significance of transporting a Huey
was not lost on Melton’s leadership, which
chose the carrier’s Military Pride tractor to pull
the trailer.
Huey is the nickname for the Bell UH-1 Iroquois,
a utility military helicopter developed
by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States
Army’s 1952 requirement for a medical evacuation
and utility helicopter, that first flew in
1956.
The Huey first saw service in combat operations
during the Vietnam War with around
7,000 helicopters deployed.
“We have five trucks that we call our military
trucks,” Elliott said. “They’re wrapped
with an eagle and veterans drive those trucks. It
meant a lot to Michael to be driving that day.”
Just as it meant a lot to the Tulsa Air and
Space Museum and Planetarium to have another
Huey to display. 8
Editor
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
Assistant Editor
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Associate Editor
Klint Lowry
klint.lowry@thetrucker.com
Production Manager
Rob Nelson
robn@thetrucker.com
Graphic Artist
Christie McCluer
christie.mccluer@thetrucker.com
Special Correspondent
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetrucker.com
National Marketing Consultants
Jerry Critser
jerryc@targetmediapartners.com
Dennis Ball
dennisb@targetmediapartners.com
Erin Garrett
erin.garrett@targetmediapartners.com
John Hicks
johnh@targetmediapartners.com
Meg Larcinese
megl@targetmediapartners.com
Greg McClendon
gregmc@targetmediapartners.com
Telephone: (501) 666-0500
Fax: (501) 666-0700
E-mail: news@thetrucker.com
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6 • January 15-31, 2019 Nation
THETRUCKER.COM
CFI employees, independent contractors raise $46,000 for charities during holidays
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
JOPLIN, Mo. — Employees of transportation
company CFI once again played the role
of Santa Claus by supporting charities serving
thousands of individuals in eight cities across
the U.S., Mexico and Canada in their annual
holiday giving campaign.
Now in its 25th year, the Truckload of
Treasures campaign supported 17 charitable
organizations across North America this past
December.
A longstanding tradition unique to CFI’s culture,
Truckloads of Treasures was established
in 1993. The 2018 campaign raised more than
$46,000 contributed entirely by employees and
independent contractors.
“This is one of the most inspiring events of
the year for our company, our employees and the
communities where we live and work,” said Greg
Orr, CFI president. “Our employees embrace
giving back, engaging with our communities to
help those underserved and less fortunate. I’m extremely
proud of our employees, and I appreciate
the spirit, joy and commitment they bring to this
campaign every year to help meaningful charities
in Joplin and across North America.”
The campaign supported nine charities in
CFI’s headquarters of Joplin. Earlier this month,
some 200 CFI employees participated in the annual
“Shopping Spree” at the Joplin Target. Employees
purchased more than $21,000 in gifts
and needed supplies, based on lists of items submitted
by some 350 local underserved children
and seniors identified by the Salvation Army.
At the “Shopping Spree,” the company
also presented checks to local Joplin charities
including Art Feeds; the Ronald McDonald
House of the Four States; Children’s Haven;
the Area Agency on Aging; Pro Musica;
Camp Quality; and the Boys and Girls Club
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as well as Ontario, Canada. Employees
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also supported charities in Monterrey,
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Donations were raised through a company-wide
raffle with prizes including gift cards
for retailers such as Target, Best Buy, Lowe’s,
Sam’s Club, Bass Pro Shops and Academy
Sports and Outdoors, as well as other prizes.
All prizes were purchased and donated by
CFI’s executive management team. The raffle
also included two special drawings awarding
one and two weeks of paid time off. Additional
funds were raised through bake sales,
a chili cook-off, book fairs and separate auctions
of locally-donated prizes.
In addition, employees partnered with service
organizations throughout the U.S., Mexico
and Canada to provide holiday gifts and food for
underserved children and senior citizens.
CFI’s philanthropic efforts in 2018 also
included the provision of over $83,000 of inkind
transportation services for two nationwide
charitable organizations. The pro-bono services
supported Holy Joe’s Cafĕ, which sends donated
Keurig Green Mountain coffee to U.S. troops
stationed in 70 countries, and Wreaths Across
America, which each year during the Christmas
holidays, honors more than a million fallen U.S.
veterans and their sacrifices by placing remembrance
wreaths on graves at more than 1,400 locations
in 50 states, at sea and abroad.
Since its inception, Truckloads of Treasures
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Thetrucker.com
b Rule from page 1 b
solutions for trucks in the state.
Six days later in Alameda, California, the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters filed
a petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
asking the court to review the determination
of preemption issued by FMCSA.
The petition was filed on behalf of Teamsters
Local 2785 and Everardo Luna, who the
union identified as “one of those truck drivers
who works for a motor carrier which presently
provides meal periods and rest breaks.”
The union’s petition asks the court to review
the FMSCA’s ruling and “to reverse the
ruling in its entirety or for such relief as the
court deems proper.”
“Safety is FMCSA’s top priority and having
uniform rules is a key component to increasing
safety for our truck drivers,” said FMCSA Administrator
Raymond P. Martinez in announcing
the decision to grant the ATA petition.
“During the public comment period, FMCSA
heard directly from drivers, small business
owners, and industry stakeholders that California’s
meal and rest rules not only pose a safety
risk, but also lead to a loss in productivity and
ultimately hurt American consumers.”
ATA, the Truckload Carriers Association
and the American Moving and Storage Association
all applauded the decision.
“This is a victory for highway safety, not
trial lawyers,” said ATA President and CEO
Chris Spear. “The trucking industry supports
our nation’s economic growth by safely and
efficiently moving goods across state lines,
and this decision by the Department of Transportation
will save jobs, unburden businesses
throughout the supply chain and keep the
prices Americans pay for food, clothing and
countless other essential items affordable and
accessible.”
In late September, ATA petitioned DOT to
preempt meal-and-rest break rules imposed by
California, but primarily enforced via private
lawsuits against motor carriers, on the grounds
that a patchwork of rules related to driver HOS
harms safety, is in conflict with federal rules
and causes “an unreasonable burden on interstate
commerce.”
“We were forced to ask DOT and the secretary
for this important, commonsense solution
because congressional dysfunction and
gridlock prevented Congress from reasserting
itself — as it had in 1994 — as the primary
arbiter of interstate commerce, despite bipartisan,
bicameral support,” Spear said. “We hope
today’s ruling will once and for all underscore
the importance of a single, national standard
for work and safety rules for professional drivers.”
“For fleets like mine, knowing the rules
will be the same for my drivers regardless of
what state they’re delivering to is important,”
said ATA Chairman Barry Pottle, president and
CEO of Pottle’s Transportation. “I’d like to
thank Secretary [Elaine] Chao for taking this
step to make our highways safer by simplifying
the lives and schedules of America’s truck
drivers, but also recognize the efforts and persistence
of the ATA staff who successfully built
bipartisan consensus around solving this issue
for carriers across the country.”
“We applaud FMCSA for recognizing the
valid concerns of our industry,” TCA said in a
prepared statement. “TCA has been fighting for
years on behalf of our members against California’s
onerous meal and rest break laws. Ultimately,
this action by FMCSA is an important
step toward creating a more reliable and consistent
regulatory environment for truck drivers.
A consistent set of rules directly benefits
drivers, consumers, small businesses, and the
American economy.”
“We thank the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration for agreeing with us that the
California meal and rest break rules were incompatible
with federal law, which holds that
state regulations that have no safety benefits
or cause an unreasonable burden on interstate
commerce are unenforceable,” said American
Moving and Storage Association Vice
Nation January 15-31, 2019 • 7
President of Government Affairs Paul Milotte.
“These regulations would have made it tougher
for moving companies to operate in the state
of California while providing little to no safety
benefit for consumers. We appreciate the FMC-
SA upholding the federal statute over this unnecessary
and burdensome state law.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers
Association took issue with Martinez’s comment
about the safety risk of the California law.
“We don’t think that the issue was ever really
about safety and that it cries out for Congress
to get involved,” said Norita Taylor,
OOIDA director of public relations.
In filing the request for review, the Teamsters
said the petitioners had been adversely affected
by FMCSA’s decision.
“Petitioner International Brotherhood of
Teamsters Local 2785 is the collective bargaining
representative of many truck drivers
who work for motor carriers subject to
this ruling who currently provide rest breaks
and meal periods,” the union’s request for review
said. “Petitioner Everardo Luna is one
of those truck drivers who works for a motor
carrier which presently provides meal periods
and rest breaks. Truck drivers represented by
Teamsters Local 2785 and other individual
truck drivers like Mr. Luna will lose their
right to rest breaks and meal periods as provided
by California law if the determination
is not reversed.”
The union had first blasted the agency’s
See Rule on p9 m
Become an OOIDA member.
800-444-5791 • www.ooida.com

8 • January 15-31, 2019 Nation
Thetrucker.com
Hiring, retaining women drivers gains traction as WIT outgrows its venue
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Does hiring women truck drivers come
with its own set of problems some carriers are
unwilling to tackle, or is the industry finally
getting the message that one of the best ways
to hire and retain more capable drivers is to recruit
and keep women behind the wheel?
A little of both, it seems.
On the positive side, “Carriers are seeing
the value female drivers bring to the industry,”
said Women In Trucking CEO and President
Ellen Voie. “Not only are women safer drivers,
according to the American Transportation Research
Institute’s (ATRI) crash causation study,
but now we know women drivers are more satisfied
with their career choice and their carriers”
than men.
Voie was referring to Stay Metrics’ survey
late last year on the gender difference between
men and women drivers as to job satisfaction
and intent to leave.
“Female drivers are arguably the largest
virtually untapped demographic” for hiring
and retention, the Stay Metric study said.
It found that female drivers were more satisfied
with their driving careers than their male
counterparts in 14 of the 16 areas measured.
What was surprising was that women drivers
scored slightly higher in rating safety on the
job and job conditions (4 for women compared
with 3.95 for men).
Turns out it had a lot to do with the questions’
wording.
The safety issues were pertaining not to a
woman’s personal safety, but how well they
were satisfied with their safety departments,
safety policies and the like, Stay Metrics CEO
Tim Hindes said.
There was not “a deep dive” into the unique
safety concerns of women, he added.
Yet in a study commissioned by WIT, on a
scale of 1 to 10, when asked how safe they feel
on the job, women drivers rated personal safety
only at 4.4.
As a result of WIT and other stakeholder
input, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
has embarked upon a three-year study,
“Crimes Against Female Drivers.” In addition,
Voie said WIT has seen many carriers hire
Mike and Debbie Gardner’s Survive Institute
to teach women drivers about self-defense and
at least one OEM has agreed to put a “panic
button” in its new Class 8 vehicles for drivers
to push in emergency situations such as theft,
personal attack, illness or fire.
Since 2012, Stay Metrics has examined
driver retention and has given its 110-question
survey to drivers each year. In 2018 the sample
consisted of 15,828 drivers, 14,082 males and
1,746 females. It was conducted from January
1, 2017 to July 31 of 2018.
The survey asked questions on satisfaction
with:
• Pay and benefits
• Supervisors/dispatchers
• Fellow driver relationships
• Safety and conditions
• The work itself
• The recruiter and/or carrier, and
• The company
The questions also dealt with a driver’s motivation
and engagement in the company; their
commitment; their “embeddedness” or how
likely they were to stay with their carrier; what
they found stressful; the work/life balance; and
trust.
Drivers were also surveyed about their
thoughts on potentially leaving and how they
rated their terms of employment.
Survey participants could pick their answers
on a scale of one to five. One was strongly disagree
or very dissatisfied; two was disagree or
dissatisfied; three was neutral; four was agree
or satisfied and five was strongly agree or very
satisfied.
Answers were averaged to get a five-point
scale for each set of questions.
The drivers surveyed were from 84 carriers
who are Stay Metrics’ clients, so answers
didn’t necessarily line up with the industry as
a whole. For example, 11 percent the carriers’
drivers were female, higher than the 7.89 percent
in the general driver population.
ATRI estimates women number just under
8 percent of truck drivers, while U.S. Labor
Department figures show women hold 57 percent
of all jobs. Looking at those figures, truck
driving is still seen as a “non-traditional” job
for women, so the trucking industry hasn’t yet
convinced enough women that driving a truck
is something they could and would enjoy doing
as a career.
But more women are getting behind the
wheel of big rigs and according to Stay Metrics,
they’re doing it as they get older.
In the survey, the younger the age was, the
less women there were, but the older the age
the more women there were. There were more
women than men in the 46- to 50-year-old age
range (17.6 percent versus 15 percent) and more
in the 51- to 55-year-old category (17.6 to 15.5
percent). But in the 56- to 60-year-old category
the sexes were almost neck and neck, with 14
percent women to 13.7 percent men, and the
61-and-older age group showed more men, with
11.7 percent men to 10.1 percent women.
The survey also said, “Female drivers in
this study were less often married and more
likely to be separated, [or a] widow.”
“You want to understand the demographic
and build a marketing campaign around that,”
Hindes said.
To the statement, “my job doesn’t strain my
family life,” women agreed slightly more than
men, which reinforces the study’s findings that
more women were unencumbered by families
than men, Hindes said.
Voie said women don’t realize how hightech
trucking has become, from automated
shifting to comfortable seating to the ability to
stay in touch with loved ones via Skype, Facebook
or other means.
Those are things that should help attract and
retain millennials of both sexes.
However, recruiting ads still predominantly
feature men, according to a WIT best practices
study. The answer would not be to reference
women instead of men in advertising but to include
both sexes, Voie noted.
WIT is doing something right, as evidenced
in the group’s 2018 Accelerate Conference and
Expo: More than 825 women and men from
six countries registered to attend the event in
Frisco, Texas, November 12-14, a more than a
300-person increase from the year before.
The Trucker: KLINT LOWRY
Deanna Dinkle, left, and Rebecca Neely were lifelong friends, both wanted to see the country,
and decided trucking was the way to do it and still make a living. A new Stay Metrics
study found women are becoming truck drivers at an older age.
Those in attendance heard from key trucking
stakeholders on everything from Hours of
Service flexibility to freight capacity to the
economic outlook.
Cathy Gautreaux, deputy administrator
of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
told attendees what drivers as well
as carriers have said all along: “What’s good
for truckload may not be good for less-thantruckload.”
As a result, she said, FMCSA officials
are sifting through more than 5,000
online comments the agency received regarding
potential changes to HOS rules, many of
which support tweaking the regulations to increase
flexibility.
Competitive compensation and offering a
variety of hauling options can help retain drivers
and attract new ones in a market where
unemployment is at record low levels and the
driver shortage continues to be a major issue,
Lana Batts, co-president of Driver iQ and
Gretchen Jackson, senior manager of driver recruiting
for CFI, told attendees.
Truckload driver turnover is stuck near 100
percent, capacity demand is outstripping supply,
but lack of quality drivers is constraining
expansion, and GDP continues a growth
greater than 3 percent, Leah Shaver, COO of
The National Transportation Institute told WIT
members.
Scarcity of female drivers is likely due to
a combination of companies failing to reach
them and women not recognizing trucking as
a career opportunity, said Emilie Worsham,
senior business systems analyst for Omnitracs.
Also during the conference WIT introduced
Clare, the first truck driver doll, which will be
used to introduce young girls to careers in the
trucking industry.
Those were just a few of the highlights of
the conference, which Voie said has outgrown
its former meeting place.
The 2019 Accelerate! Conference & Expo
will take place September 30-October 2 at the
Sheraton Dallas. The venue was chosen, in
part, because WIT expects continued growth in
participation at the conference and anticipates
more than 1,000 attendees. 8

Thetrucker.com
Nation January 15-31, 2019 • 9
Despite pot legalization in Canada, drivers are reminded trucking still ‘zero tolerance’ industry
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Now that Canada has legalized the recreational
use of marijuana, professional truck
drivers plying highways on both sides of the
border are reminded that trucking in North
America is still a “zero tolerance” industry.
That’s according to Garth Pitzel, who is
director of safety and driver development for
Canada-based Bison Transport, a safety award
winner for many years.
Neither is Bison going to be involved in
transporting cannabis or its derivative products,
Pitzel said. “We’re not going to get involved
in that; we’ll not jeopardize our employees. A
fellow [in another company] was banned from
the U.S. for life because he was involved in the
cannabis business in Canada.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is
warning travelers that pot remains an illegal
narcotic in the U.S., noted Joanne Ritchie, executive
director of the Owner-Operator Business
Association of Canada (OBAC).
And, she told The Trucker, although Canada
has no federal/provincial labor rules on drug
and alcohol testing outside the military because
of privacy issues, “most workplaces, including
trucking companies, have their own policies
around the use of drugs and alcohol, including an
obligation to follow U.S. rules when in the U.S.
“Leading up to pot legalization in Canada
there was a lot of emphasis on making sure the
trucking industry was ready with updated policies
in place.”
In Canada, she said, local provinces and
territories are responsible for determining how
cannabis is distributed and sold within their
jurisdictions. They’re also responsible for how
roadside inspections are conducted, with drugimpaired
driving offenses treated the same as
driving alcohol-impaired, meaning zero tolerance
for novice drivers, young drivers up to 22
years of age and commercial drivers.
So far in Canada, Ritchie said, the only
federally approved device for testing THC,
the psychoactive agent in pot, is roadside
saliva testing, which shows if cannabis was
b Rule from page 7 b
decision when it was announced late in the afternoon
December 21, a Friday.
“FMCSA’s suggestion that California’s
meal and rest break rules negatively impact
highway safety is ludicrous,” the union said
in a news release. “The idea that providing a
10-minute rest break after four hours and a
30-minute meal break after five hours somehow
makes the roads less safe is beyond comprehension.
This is simply a giveaway to the
trucking industry at the expense of driver safety.
The FMCSA decision to bail out the trucking
industry after it failed to achieve a legislative
fix and numerous court rejections — and
to do it late on a Friday before a holiday —
smacks of political cronyism at its worst.
“The announcement was made at 4:30 p.m.
(EST) on Friday, December 21, 2018, in what
was clearly an effort to avoid public scrutiny of
the corporate giveaway at the expense of working
men and women.” 8
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Sign-on bonuses to recover from the
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consumed in the last 12 hours.
“The issue of roadside drug-testing is still
under debate,” Ritchie said. “Most police forces
are planning to keep it ‘business as usual’
with sobriety field tests at roadside, but it’s
less clear which jurisdictions will be using oral
screening devices.”
Unlike tests for alcohol intoxication, the
saliva tests don’t show the level of cannabis
impairment, according to Pitzel.
He said Canada’s national policy says a person
is allowed only so much cannabis in their
possession and provisional jurisdictions break it
down further as to where cannabis can be consumed,
which doesn’t include public places.
“The provinces really clamped down; you
can’t do it in any public spots so it’s really only
[allowed] in your house,” he said.
There are a lot of professional truck drivers
on the roads who are at risk of other drivers’
impairment, Pitzel said, “and we want to make
sure they [truckers] get home safely as far as
training and procedures.”
He added that penalties for driving while
drunk have increased but not for driving while
impaired by cannabis.
News sources report Canada law enforcement
is wrestling with cannabis edible products,
such as candy or bakery items infused
with cannabis. Those kinds of items are attractive
to children but can contain amounts of
THC which are harmful to them.
“One complication is that unlike alcohol,
there is no clear consensus on what constitutes
marijuana impairment,” Ritchie said, “and current
testing methods such as urine and blood
tests can be misleading since THC can linger
in the body for days or weeks. So the test indicates
only prior consumption, not [the level of]
current impairment.”
In short, she said, “it’s not a straightforward
issue.” 8
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Letters
Trucker takes letter writer to task
for his slam against Indian heritage
This is a reply to your letter in the November
15-30 issue. The reason most Native Americans
boast about their heritage is that is mostly what
they have left.
If you look at the history of the United States,
the whites or whoever were running the government
at the time and destroyed over 100 million
American Indians, let alone the culture that went
with those tribes.
And to this day, the U.S. government is still
holding some tribes from recognizing their own
heritage. It’s bad when you have to prove who
you are when your ancestors lived here for over
1,000 years. ...
— Thank you and God bless,
Doug Tramel
Does California meal, rest break law
preemption apply to entering trucks?
Is this [ATA petition granted by FMCSA to
preempt California meal and rest break laws] just
for trucks licensed in California or for any truck
entering California?
— Kathy Blailock
Reader says California law was only
enforced by courts through lawsuits
On intrastate movement inside the state; each
one already has different rules. This one [California
meal and rest break law] was just being enforced
by the courts through lawsuits.
I think the Teamsters will get it overturned.
— Phil Killerlain
California should secede from U.S.
before trying to usurp federal HOS
Really? Like there aren’t enough rules and regulations
as it is? This would open the door for other
states to jump on the bandwagon. ... HOS being
regulated by the FMCSA is all that is needed. At
least the FMCSA allows for input via public comment
periods when making changes to the HOS.
California has not yet seceded from the U.S.A.
Maybe they should wait until they do before they
take on such matters.
— Rose Fleming
Teamsters are ones who pushed for
30-minute rest breaks in the 1st place
Of course the Teamsters are going to be
against it. They’re the ones that pushed for this
30-minute rest break for everybody out here because
they are too stupid to pull over and take a
break when they need it. ...
It’s because of these stinking unions that most
the good-paying jobs left this country.
— Dalton O’Reilly 8
Perspective January
I think 2019’s going to be a great year
for me. My goal is to be an owner-operator.
That’s my goal.
This is going to be the year, right here.
— Ronald Feimster
15-31, 2019 • 10
Are California truck drivers really ‘entitled’ to a rest break?
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
Eye on
Trucking
There’s no question about it.
We live in a world of entitlement.
I’m entitled to this, that and everything in
between.
In the trucking industry, one of the biggest
battles of entitlement rages on in California.
Are truckers who driver solely or even partially
in the Golden State really entitled to a
30-minute lunch break and two 10-minute paid
rest breaks?
Not so, says the American Trucking Associations,
whose petition to the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration asking the agency
to preempt California meal and rest break
rules was granted in a “midnight” (more on that
later) announcement December 21.
The Teamsters Union responded quickly.
In essence, the union mimicked the now
famous phrase ESPN’s Lee Corso shouts out
when he disagrees with a fellow analyst’s
opinion.
“Not so fast, my friend,” the union said in
asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review
and hopefully reverse FMCSA’s decision.
“Petitioner International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Local 2785 is the collective bargaining
representative of many truck drivers
who work for motor carriers subject to this
ruling who currently provide rest breaks and
meal periods,” the union’s request for review
said. “Petitioner Everardo Luna is one
of those truck drivers who works for a motor
carrier which presently provides meal periods
and rest breaks. Truck drivers represented by
Teamsters Local 2785 and other individual
truck drivers like Mr. Luna will lose their
right to rest breaks and meal periods as provided
by California law if the determination
is not reversed.”
In California, truck drivers paid by the
mile are entitled to receive separate pay
when the wheels stop rolling, which must be
paid at an hourly rate of no less than minimum
wage of $10 an hour. Furthermore,
these separate wages must be paid in addition
to the “by-the-mile” pay. Drivers that do
not receive these separate wages are often
owed a significant amount of money for unpaid
downtime.
“Also, contrary to what many trucking
companies tell their employees, California
truck drivers are entitled to receive a separate
paid 10-minute rest break for every four hours
worked,” reads the website of the California
law firm of Fernandez and Lauby, who asked
truck drivers not compensated by the hour during
a rest break to contact them. “For by-themile
truck drivers, the payments for these paid
rest breaks must be clearly documented on an
employee’s pay stub as a separate hourly wage
at no less than the applicable minimum wage
of $10 an hour.”
Here’s what we don’t understand.
Let’s say a driver takes two rest breaks lasting
10 minutes each.
Tack another five minutes each time he or
she stops to find a place to rest and then gets
back on the road, and figure out how many
How did 2018 treat you economically speaking?
What do you expect in 2019 as far as your
business is concerned?
2018 was OK for me. I work for myself,
I do what I want to when I want to. I made
more than I thought I would last year. I
expect to do about the same [in 2019]. It
depends on rates, if they don’t change a
whole lot.
— Tim Plubell
miles he or she could have driven during that
time period.
Certainly, the pay by the mile would be
more than “break” pay.
We suppose California truckers feel they
are entitled to a rest break.
But not many workers in the United States in
any profession are entitled to rest breaks, period.
Based on our research on Wikipedia, maybe
seven states require employees be given a rest
break.
Some don’t even require a lunch break,
although there aren’t many employers in this
country who do not give employees an unpaid
lunch break.
There is an irony in where the Teamsters
filed suit.
It was the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
that started this whole controversy when in
mid-2014, it concluded that the Federal Aviation
Administration Authorization Act of 1994
(FAAAA) does not preempt the application of
California’s meal and rest break laws to motor
carriers because these state laws are not sufficiently
“related to” prices, routes, or services,
thus requiring trucking companies that have
operations in California to comply with California’s
meal and rest break laws instead of the
U.S. DOT regulations.
Oh, and about that “midnight” release announcing
FMCSA granting the ATA petition.
It’s a habit on releases about major issues.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for
the Obama administration’s HOS proposal was
issued the afternoon of December 23, 2010, a
Thursday.
The Final Rule on HOS was released on
December 22, 2011, also a Thursday. 8
I had a good year in 2018. I hope this
year is going to be as good or better … I
paid off my house … I have no complaints.
The Lord blessed me very well.
— Dan Johnson

THETRUCKER.COM
Perspective January 15-31, 2019 • 11
Trucker Buddy notes growing impact
in helping fleets attract, retain drivers
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetrucker.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It isn’t hard to find
someone who will tell you that the trucking industry
has an image problem. Entries from illinformed
politicians, mis-guided citizens and,
usually, survivors of traffic incidents involving
a commercial truck can be found in all forms of
media, especially the social kind.
One way that drivers and carriers can improve
trucking’s image isn’t being utilized to
its full advantage, says Alan Welborn, executive
director of Trucker Buddy International.
“We like knowing that in addition to all the
good things we do, we’re improving the image
of the trucking industry,” he said in a recent
interview. “It’s a win-win-win, the driver and
the teacher benefit and the industry gets a win,
too.”
As it has done for more than 28 years,
Trucker Buddy brings working drivers into the
classroom, using their experiences as teaching
tools that help children learn about geography,
commerce, transportation, safe driving and
other topics. Drivers communicate directly with
teachers to help them craft lessons that enhance
the curriculum for that particular class. In many
cases, they communicate with the students, too,
sending emails, letters, postcards and, of course,
photos of where they’ve been. Then, of course,
there is the awesomeness of the truck visit.
“Kids think you are a rock star when you
drive up in a truck,” Welborn explained. The
same children whose travel day is made with
a short blast of an air-horn are excited at another
level when they can sit in the rig and get
to blow the horn for themselves.
Welborn took on the mantle of executive
director in August 2017 at the Great American
Trucking Show (GATS) in Dallas. Following
former Director Randy Schwartzenburg,
who had held the post for eight years, wasn’t
an easy task. Welborn embarked on a quest to
get to know the people behind the programs,
attending 14 shows in his first 16 months. He
sought feedback from members, sponsors and
others, including those in the media.
“I tried to talk to our drivers and teachers
and ask them, ‘what can we do to help?’” he
said. “I’ve developed a deep appreciation for
what drivers and teachers mean to students.”
One group he targeted comprised carriers
who are not Trucker Buddy sponsors.
“In an industry where drivers want to be
appreciated, want to be more than a name or
truck number, Trucker Buddy is a great way
for a carrier to show appreciation and support,”
he said. “Support for Trucker Buddy drivers is
a great retention tool and can also help attract
new drivers. The drivers who are proud of their
profession and want to give something back to
their communities, help improve the image of
the trucking industry in the process.” He added,
“Aren’t those the drivers that fleets want to hire
and retain?”
Trucker Buddy currently has more than
1,900 drivers and 2,200 classrooms and there
are many more opportunities available for
both drivers and teachers. Welborn has a message
for anyone who might be interested in the
program. “Let’s talk,” he says. “Find out what
we’re about and whether it’s a good fit for you.”
He added, “It’s not a job, it’s an adventure.”
He often puts both drivers and teachers in
touch with their peers so they can discuss realworld
experiences within the program. “I can
promote our program,” he said, “but I can’t
constitute the unique perspective that they
have.” Those unique perspectives cover a wide
diversity of diver experiences as well as classrooms
in Africa, Australia and Europe.
Classrooms aren’t the only place that
Trucker Buddy uses to reach students. “Our
relationship with scouting has been probably
one of the bigger surprises for me as director,”
he said. “We have so many drivers who were
and still are involved with scouting, many who
were Eagle Scouts.”
Trucker Buddy utilized events at several
trucking shows (GATS, the Mid-America
Trucking Show and Walcott Truckers Jamboree)
to offer an opportunity for scouts to earn
merit badges in both transportation and safety.
“Scouts don’t have many opportunities to earn
two merit badges in about a 3½-hour period,”
he said, noting that some parents brought older
siblings who were nearing driving age to participate
in the safety training.
On several days, program participation exceeded
maximum capacity, but no participants
were turned away.
Welborn expressed gratitude to show organizers
for their role in the events. “Managers
of the trucking shows were so gracious with
space, AV [audio-visual] needs, and so on,”
he said. “We are so appreciative for all of their
help.”
According to Welborn, 2019 will be a busy
year. “Our marketing efforts will be geared
toward getting Trucker Buddy more ‘front of
mind,’” he said.
An expanded social media presence is
planned, both to publicize the organization and
to provide drivers and teachers with a forum to
share their experiences.
There will be fundraising, of course. “That
will allow us to attract more driver and teacher
members and expand our classroom influence,”
Welborn said.
Attendance at industry events outside of
trucking will be explored as well. The idea
will be to present the benefits of Trucker Buddy
support with educators and others who can
participate.
Finally, there will be efforts to involve more
carriers in the program. “The next thing on the
radar screen is to make sure we’re working
with the fleets to explain the benefits of supporting
the Trucker Buddy program,” Welborn
said. “It’s more than just support for a charitable
program. We’re at the front of a quiet
revolution of driver retention, [carrier] branding
and image building.”
With Welborn’s guidance, perhaps the “revolution”
won’t be so quiet.
For more information about Trucker Buddy
opportunities, visit their website at truckerbuddy.org
or see their Facebook page. 8
Courtesy: TRUCKER BUDDY
Trucker Buddy Todd Fisher brings fun learning gifts when he comes to visit his class. Here, two
of those students are learning about trucking by coloring pictures in a book about the industry.

12
AT
THE TRUCK STOP
PRESENTED BY CAT SCALE, VISIT WEIGHMYTRUCK.COM
Newbie ‘trucker’ Charlie enjoys the smells, sights
of open road in owners’ 2017 Volvo
The Trucker: DOROTHY COX
Charlie, a 2-year-old golden doodle, is one lucky dog. He gets to ride up in the cab of a pristine green Volvo with owners Jim and Brenda Harris and see the scenery go whooshing past.
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Charlie is one lucky dog.
The 2-year-old golden doodle (golden retriever and poodle
mix) gets to ride around in style in a spring green 2017 Volvo,
peering down at other dogs and motorists below while the
scenery outside the window goes whooshing past.
And the truck stops are full of enticing smells and people
who pay attention to Charlie.
In fact, Charlie couldn’t wait to be petted by a passing reporter,
who was immediately taken in by his big brown eyes
and happy face.
Charlie “loves trucking,” said his owners, Brenda and Jim
Harris of Mountain Home in north central Arkansas.
Brenda and Jim raised two daughters and after both were
grown and left home, husband Jim told her it was time to
come with him on the road.
Brenda decided she would have to learn to drive an
18-wheeler. Otherwise, the trips would be too boring.
She was a registered nurse for a short time but decided that
job wasn’t for her.
“She empathized with her patients too much,” Jim Harris said.
Brenda said some of her friends in nursing liked their job
more the more critical the situation became, but not her. It
was too much pressure and compared with nursing, driving
an 18-wheeler is easy, she said.
The couple haul military freight in their pristine green Volvo
and were headed for Chicago when The Trucker caught up
with them and Charlie.
Charlie almost missed out on the trucking life, having belonged
to one of the Harris’ daughters. He stayed home a
lot because the grandkids were involved in sports, which entailed
a lot of shuttling kids from school to basketball games
and back home.
The family was going to give Charlie away when grandma
Brenda intervened and suggested she and Jim try to make a
bona fide trucker out of Charlie.
At first the loud noises scared the dog, especially people
setting their air brakes.
But with six months on the road under his collar, Charlie
loves being up in the cab and Brenda said the swaying motion
relaxes Charlie and often puts him to sleep.
Unlike a few truckers, Charlie doesn’t bite and takes readily
to most strangers. He’s also broad-minded and welcomes
all types of folks, even cat owners.
And although still a relative newbie to trucking, Charlie is
attentive to what his human sidekicks do and watches their
every move. Plus, he seems to love being in on all the action
instead of staying home by himself.
His owners couldn’t be more pleased with their fourlegged
traveling companion.
Brenda, herself, has been driving now some 40 years and
said, “I love it. I wouldn’t do anything else.”
It seems Charlie has taken to the trucking lifestyle in like manner.
But of course, the people in his life make all the difference.
As humorist Josh Billings once said: “A dog is the only thing
on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” 8

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numbers are easily changed by tapping
the field and entering the new information.
You can also enter an optional trip
number (if the company implemented)
CATTheTrucker090418.qxp_Layout 1 9/5/18 7:35 AM Page 1
and the last step is accepting the scale
fee.
Once weighing is complete, the
weight information populates in the app,
notifying you of your steer axle, drive
axle, trailer axle and grossweights right
on your device. Since payment was already
prearranged, the scale experience
is now complete and if no axle adjustments
are needed, you can be on your
way without ever leaving your rig. A
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14
Women to Watch
WOMEN IN TRUCKING
WIT Dec. Member of Month Bonnie Supan driven to help others, finds niche at Brenny
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Trucking and truck
drivers, says Bonnie Supan, “always fascinated
me.”
Growing up in the small town of St. Stephen,
Minnesota, 260 miles south of the Canadian border,
Supan remembers her father — who worked
in construction at the Minnesota DOT — driving
home snow plows and behemoth construction
trucks. They, too, fascinated her.
So when she considered a career, she thought
driving a truck would be great. After all, she was
single and didn’t have a family yet. “Why not?
Let’s go see the country,” she thought.
So Supan took a job with a trucking company,
figuring she would start in administration
and eventually get her CDL and drive over-theroad.
In those days, there were no computers for
logging miles. Supan often sat cross-legged
on the floor with an Atlas figuring out mileage
from point A to point B.
From filing and looking up mileage she went
to dispatch and took immense satisfaction in
being able to help one driver in Florida and
five minutes later encourage another driver in
Washington state.
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Through Women In Trucking (WIT), the organization’s December Member of the Month Bonnie
Supan said she’s learned about leadership, and adds that the organization “gives women
the confidence they need to pursue something they really want and enjoy doing… . Getting a
voice out there for women is huge … .”
She realized this would be her opportunity to
“help so many more people” than being out on
the road herself.
A move to another trucking company only
deepened Supan’s desire to help people and she
immersed herself in learning all she could. There,
she couldn’t have had a better teacher and mentor.
That person was Joyce Brenny, who trained
Supan and taught her about the ins and outs of
trucking.
So when Brenny opened her own company
in 1996, Supan went with her. And working in
a small company from the ground up enabled
Supan to learn about every facet of the business,
often out of necessity: She remembers she and
Brenny together figuring out all they could about
IT, with input from a few others.
These days Supan is vice president of finance
and operations for Brenny Transportation Inc./
Brenny Specialized Inc. in Saint Joseph, Minnesota,
a stone’s throw away from her home in St.
Cloud.
She had gone to business college for accounting
and is now putting to use what she learned in
school as well.
Supan was recently named Women In Trucking’s
Member of the Month for December, which
surprised and excited her so much she was jumping
up and down upon learning she’d been chosen.
“I literally couldn’t control my excitement,”
she says. “I was like, really? Is this true? I was
like a little kid. It’s quite an honor.”
Belonging to WIT, she says, furthers her career
in “a lot of different areas.”
She recently completed WIT’s Personal Development
Certification course, which taught
her about everything from recruiting to safety to
freight rates.
Through WIT she also has learned about leadership
and says the organization “gives women
the confidence they need to pursue something
they really want and enjoy doing,” because trucking
is still “pretty much male dominated. Getting
a voice out there for women is huge … .”
Not surprisingly, Supan’s husband Dan is an
over-the-road driver and owned his own company
at one time. Trucking is “kind of a family
thing,” she says.
Both had been married before and Supan has
a step-daughter in her late twenties who wants to
go into accounting, another family thing it seems.
Supan would tell any woman thinking of
trucking as a career to “go for it” and pursue her
dreams.
“Be 100 percent where you’re at or go somewhere
else. That’s why I enjoy and am satisfied
being at Brenny — because we’re driven
to serve and I truly enjoy helping others.” 8
Penske is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The Women In Trucking Association is a nonprofit organization
focused on the transportation and logistics industry. Our mission?
To encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry,
promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by
women working in the trucking industry. WIT is proudly headed up
by President and CEO Ellen Voie.

THETRUCKER.COM
Perspective January 15-31, 2019 • 15
Not revealing exculpatory evidence violates due process clause of 14th Amendment
Brad Klepper
exclusive to the trucker
Ask the
Attorney
Who is Brady and what did he violate?
Let’s get this addressed up front.
I am the guy that is always late to the party.
I don’t mean late to an actual party because
well, I like good party.
I mean I am always the last guy to adopt a
new technology, listen to a new band or watch
the latest TV show.
The perfect example of this is Netflix.
I know it has been around for 815 years;
however, I did not really start watching shows
on Netflix until recently (like a few weeks ago).
But man am I hooked.
My Netflix addiction began when my
friends told me I needed to watch the series “An
Innocent Man.”
It is a documentary television series based
on a book by John Grisham about two murder
cases in Ada, Oklahoma.
I suspect my friends wanted me to watch it
because they know I like documentaries and
they also knew that my wife and I both grew
up in Ada and lived there during the time of
the murders.
You must understand that Ada is a small
town so it was hard not to know the players in
the documentary.
It was also a surreal experience to watch a
series about your home town. If you have not
watched the series, you should.
While we are watching the series, the narrator
made several references to potential Brady
violations in the prosecution of the defendants.
This eventually resulted in my wife turning
to me and asking who is Brady?
And what is a Brady violation? I am glad
you asked.
Brady v. Maryland is a landmark United
States Supreme Court case.
In this case the court held that in a criminal
proceeding the prosecution must turn over all exculpatory
evidence to the defense.
Exculpatory evidence is evidence that may
serve to exonerate the defendant.
The court held that failure to turn over such
evidence violates the due process clause of the
14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In short, this decision resulted in a pretrial
discovery rule requiring the prosecution to turn
over all exculpatory evidence.
Failure to do results in what is commonly
referred to as a Brady violation.
Some examples of Brady violations include
evidence known only to the police such as contradictory
witness statements, agreements made
by the prosecutor not to prosecute a witness in
exchange for witness testimony against the defendant,
or that a witness has been paid to act as
an informant, or failure to disclose crucial DNA
evidence not matching that of the defendant.
These are just a few examples. The point of
the court’s decision is that while it is important
that the guilty party be found, it is more important
that the defendant get a fair trial.
Unfortunately, potential Brady violations do
not come to light until after the trial.
Let’s be honest. Who cares about a Brady
violation if the defendant wins?
However, if the defendant loses and feels
that evidence may have been withheld, this is
an issue that can be brought up on appeal.
In this scenario, the defense has to prove that
the suppressed evidence was so important that
it would have changed the outcome of the trial.
As you can imagine, it is difficult to prove this
claim.
If the prosecution fails to disclose exculpatory
evidence it may lead to dismissal of the case,
reversal of conviction on appeal, or an order for
a new trial.
In other words, the defense may opt for a motion
for dismissal or appeal against the conviction.
The defense may also move for a new trial.
Exculpatory evidence is evidence that may serve
to exonerate the defendant. The U.S. Supreme
Court held that failure to turn over such evidence
violates the due process clause of the 14th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
©2019 FOTOSEARCH
In Brady v. Maryland the United States Supreme Court held that in a criminal proceeding the
prosecution must turn over all exculpatory evidence to the defense.
As you can see, the potential penalty for a
Brady violation is high.
In order to make sure they receive all exculpatory
evidence, it has become common practice
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for defense counsel to request pretrial “Brady disclosure”
from the prosecution. This helps ensure
that the defendants receive a fair trial and sets the
framework for an appeal should the prosecution
violate Brady.
Brad Klepper is president of Interstate Trucker
Ltd., a law firm dedicated to legal defense
of the nation’s commercial drivers. Interstate
Trucker represents truck drivers throughout the
48 states on both moving and non-moving violations.
He is also president of Drivers Legal Plan,
which allows member drivers access to his firm’s
services at discounted rates. He is a lawyer that
has focused on transportation law and the trucking
industry in particular. He works to answer
your legal questions about trucking and life
over-the-road and has his CDL.
For more details contact him at (800)
333-DRIVE (3748) or interstatetrucker.com
and driverslegalplan.com. 8
US/Canadian Border Crossings
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Call or e-mail Lesia Shyshko: 800.387.9796 ext.231 • lesia@skeltontruck.com.
Or Call Senior VP Ron Skelton: 647.828.1178 or fax your information to 905.895.1314

16 • January 15-31, 2019 Perspective
THETRUCKER.COM

Business
January 15-31, 2019 • 17
ATA’s Truck Tonnage Index (Seasonally Adjusted; 2015=100)
118
116
114
112
110
108
106
104
102
100
98
JAN - 14
APR - 14
JUL - 14
OCT - 14
JAN - 15
APR - 15
JUL - 15
OCT - 15
Klint Lowry
JAN - 16
klint.lowry@thetrucker.com
Lane
Departures
APR - 16
More capacity, less demand eroding
prices, driving down fleets’ stock prices
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetrucker.com
The rate of freight rate increases has slowed
and it’s hurting trucking company stock prices,
according to a January 4 “Industry Note” issued
by financial services firm Stephens Inc. of Little
Rock, Arkansas.
While U.S. stocks, on average, fared poorly
in fourth-quarter 2018, trucking company stocks
suffered more than twice the average decline. During
the quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell by 11.8 percent while the S&P 500 Index fell
by 14.3 percent. At the same time, the Stephens
Truckload Stock Index, a proprietary report showing
results from six of the largest publicly-held carriers,
showed a 35.2 percent drop in stock pricing
for the same period.
The stock losses came on the heels of gains in
excess of 30 percent in 2016 and 2017.
According to Stephens Research Analyst Brad
Last issue, I wrote about the hidden stories we
all hold inside, how you never know what’s in a
person’s life story until you hear it.
That sentiment might lead you to the conclusion
that I am a firm believer in the old credo,
“don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Not exactly. The way I see it, that “cover”
may not let people know where you’ve been, but
JUL - 16
OCT - 16
JAN - 17
APR - 17
JUL - 17
OCT - 17
JAN - 18
APR - 18
JUL - 18
OCT - 18
NOV - 18
Delco, the result wasn’t unexpected.
“Remember, the stock market doesn’t react to
what’s happening today,” he explained. “It reacts
to what is anticipated to happen tomorrow.”
What’s happening tomorrow, according to the
market, is that there will be more trucks on the
road to haul the same, or slightly larger, amount of
freight. “What we’re seeing now is more capacity,
less demand and prices eroding,” Delco continued.
“2018 set an all-time record for truck orders. Since
trucking is viewed as a commodity, adding trucks
to the market means adding supply.”
When supply rises without a corresponding
increase in demand, pricing tends to fall.
The evidence that this is occurring is shown in
freight “spot rates,” or pricing based on available
capacity at a point in time. While contracted
cargo rates are generally locked in by agreement
between shipper and carrier, spot rates tend to
See Stocks on p19 m
it does show where your head’s at now.
Since National Review editor Rich Lowry has
failed to accept my repeated (twice in nine years)
public callouts to do weekly dueling “Lowry
vs. Lowry” columns (in fairness, he may not be
aware of the challenges, or of my existence for
that matter), I am left to present the flip side to my
own perspective.
Back in my teens I had a friend, Tony Nassar,
who all the tests showed was a nearly off-the-scale
genius. Suffice it to say, we had a lot in common,
including bouts of social anxiety. I remember Tony
told me once that the way he worked through it
was when he found himself in a situation where he
felt extra awkward, he tried to imagine that everyone
there was in a play and they had invented their
own characters. Somehow that set him at ease.
Tonnage increases 0.4% in November;
turnover for large TL carriers declines
Lyndon Finney
editor@thetrucker.com
ARLINGTON, Va. — The American Trucking
Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA)
For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 0.4 percent
in November to 118.9 from October’s level
of 118.4.
“The fact that tonnage rose in November after
a strong October is impressive. It was likely because
of some continued pull forward of shipments
from China because of the threat of higher tariffs,
as well as solid retail sales last month,” said ATA
Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With continued
strength in November, tonnage growth is on pace
to be the best year since 1998.”
October’s change over the previous month
was revised down to +5 percent (+6.3 percent was
originally reported by the ATA on November 20).
Compared with November 2017, the SA index
increased 7.6 percent, down slightly from October’s
8.1 percent year-over-year increase. Yearto-date,
compared with the same period last year,
tonnage increased 7.2 percent.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents
the change in tonnage actually hauled by
See Tonnage on p18 m
The Trucker: DOROTHY COX
Stephens Truckload Stock Index, a proprietary report showing results from six of the largest
publicly-held carriers, shows a 35.2 percent drop in stock pricing for fourth-quarter 2018.
They say ‘the clothes make the man,’ but we’re the ones picking out our wardrobes
Over the years, it occurred to me that Tony’s
little self-therapeutic fantasy wasn’t too far from
the truth. We do, to some degree, create ourselves,
or at least fashion ourselves, and no more so than
with our appearance.
The other day, I met professional truck driver
Ronald Feimster, who told me a bit about himself
and his career. Like most of the truckers I meet, he
loves being a driver, but he has a few pet peeves.
The one that grinds him the most is the low
opinion people in our society have of truck drivers
– “hated” is the word he used. I could understand
his frustration. We’d just met, but my first
impression was that Ronald was a man who is
confident and comfortable in himself, and that
even if the world isn’t willing to grant him the
appropriate respect, it has no bearing on his selfrespect.
I could see it in how he took care of himself,
the way he spoke.
A lot of drivers I see look more like they’re
trying to live down to society’s opinion, or maybe
that opinion has pushed them down and they have
resigned themselves to the fringes of society. But
before you think I’m picking on truck drivers, I
also think they’re part of something that’s been going
on in America for the last couple decades. I first
noticed it back when it became trendy for young
people not to tie their shoelaces. Then came the
saggy pants and exposed underwear. Trend after
trend seems designed to celebrate slovenly indifference
and even self-hatred.
That’s the only reason I can think of for the
boom in tattoos, piercings and other forms of mild
See Lane on p18 m

100%
OWNER
OPERATORS
18 • January 15-31, 2019 Business
b Tonnage from page 17 b
the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled
119 in November, which was 3.1 percent below
the previous month (122.8).
In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015.
Meanwhile, Costello said January 3 the turnover
rate at large truckload carriers fell 11 percentage
points in the third quarter, undoing two quarters
worth of increases in the annualized churn rate.
The turnover rate fell 11 percentage points —
dropping it to 87 percent, marking its lowest point
since the first quarter of 2017 when it stood at 74
percent.
The drop also reverses two consecutive quarters
of increases in the turnover rate, which had
driven up the churn rate as high as 98 percent, 10
points higher than at the end of 2017.
“The drop in turnover can be potentially explained
in a few ways,” Costello said. “First, large
pay increases fleets have been offering appear to
be working, and drivers are remaining with their
b Lane from page 17 b
self-mutilation in the name of a fashion statement.
So what is that statement – “what God gave me
isn’t good enough, so watch me trash it”?
All this seems to coincide with the fall of the
American middleclass way of life. It’s like a protest
of sorts, a subconscious rejection of something,
something undefined but clearly depressed.
Americans love the concept of casual. But
there’s a difference between being casual and being
an outright slob. Forget about whether it’s
fair, it doesn’t matter what experience or potential
or dreams you have, first impressions matter, appearances
matter. If a book’s cover didn’t matter,
they wouldn’t put them in those bright, glossy dust
jackets.
People always react better to someone who
looks good and has an approachable personality.
They can’t help themselves. Just the process of
getting yourself all sharp makes you feel sharper,
and the payoff is immediate. It’s the difference between
the store clerk calling you “sir” or “ma’am”
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current carrier. Second, we did see a softening of
freight markets in the third quarter from the incredibly
strong pace it had set earlier in the year.
Historically, softer freight volumes lead to lower
driver turnover.”
Also in the third quarter, the turnover rate at
small carriers — fleets with less than $30 million
in annual revenue — remained unchanged at 72
percent, and the churn rate at less-than-truckload
carriers fell 4 percentage points to 10 percent.
The economy got a solid boost from employment
numbers released January 4.
U.S. employers dramatically stepped up their
hiring in December, adding 312,000 jobs in an encouraging
display of strength for an economy in
the midst of a trade war, slowing global growth and
a partial shutdown of the federal government.
The Labor Department said that the unemployment
rate rose slightly to 3.9 percent, but that
reflected a surge in jobseekers — a positive for
growth.
Average hourly pay improved 3.2 percent from
a year ago, up from average wage growth of 2.7
See Tonnage on p19 m
or saying, “Excuse me, may I help you?” like it’s
an accusation. It’s the difference between the waitress
who you can’t flag down to refill your coffee
and the one who takes an extra minute to smile and
chat.
Little moments like that add up, especially
when you spend much of your day alone. After a
while the world seems like a friendlier place. No,
it is friendlier.
On the other hand, if you climb out of your cab
looking like you’ve been lost in the woods for a
week, sauntering around with a look that says, “I
just don’t care,” why should anyone else? That’s
the character you’ve chosen for yourself.
I approached Ronald Feimster because he and
another driver at the next table were exchanging
their views of the world. He looked open, friendly
and like a guy who had his act together.
During our conversation, Ronald told me his
goal was to become an owner-operator this year.
I just met the guy, we spent maybe a half hour
together. When I left, I was thinking, “I’ll bet he
does it.”
If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. I don’t
want to leave you on a cliffhanger. 8
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THETRUCKER.COM
b Stocks from page 17 b
more accurately reflect the immediate market.
While still increasing, the rate of increase in
spot rates is declining, indicating that the “up”
cycle is nearly over and a “down” cycle in the
market is on the horizon.
Some of the industry pain is self-inflicted. As
rates increase, everyone wants to take advantage
of the larger earning opportunities. The country
adage of “making hay while the sun shines”
applies to trucking, too. Delco put it this way:
“You own a trucking company. Revenues are up,
profits are up, it’s time to increase fleet size. That
sends a signal to the market.”
While it’s true that some carriers increased
fleet sizes to take advantage of plentiful freight
moving at increased rates, even fleets that DIDN’T
grow contributed to the capacity. Delco explained
it this way: “Maybe you bought 10 new trucks
to upgrade your fleet’s fuel efficiency and safety
record. But, you also SOLD 10 used trucks.” At
least some of those used trucks were purchased
by carriers or individuals and remain on the road,
continuing to count towards capacity numbers.”
The increased number of used tractors on the
market helped drive down used truck prices, enabling
more buyers to enter the industry.
Just as plentiful freight moving at higher
rates tends to encourage capacity growth, hard
times have the opposite effect. As rates stagnate
b Tonnage from page 18 b
percent at the end of 2017.
The for-hire trucking industry added 2,900
jobs in December, bringing the year’s total of new
jobs to 36,600.
The jolt in hiring offers a dose of reassurance
after a tumultuous few months as the outlook from
the financial markets has turned decidedly bleaker.
Job growth at this pace is a sign that the economy
will continue to expand for a 10th straight year.
Although employers are showing their confidence,
the financial markets have become increasingly
worried.
Business January 15-31, 2019 • 19
and stock prices fall, the market reacts by reducing
capacity. Carriers slow the growth of their
fleets, with some even downsizing. As used tractor
prices fall, more carriers and individuals buy
them, usually trading or selling older equipment
in the process. The lowest tiers of used tractors
find their way to foreign countries or junkyards.
Eventually, the amount of freight and the capacity
to haul it even out and the cycle starts anew.
Interestingly, the shortage of available drivers
has the effect of slowing capacity growth.
New trucks can’t drive themselves, yet. The
good news for drivers is that wages have been
on the increase as carriers compete for the services
of a shrinking pool of quality drivers.
While there may be a few more coming, those
wage increases are likely to drop off when
freight rates stagnate.
Wages aren’t the only impact felt by drivers
when capacity outpaces demand. Load assignments
can change, too, as customers send fewer
shipments or change carriers to take advantage
of lower freight rates. Profitable backhauls can
be more difficult to obtain when spot rates are
down, too.
Outside of the reduced probability of a pay increase
and some possible changes in dispatch patterns,
the average driver has little to fear from the
decline in trucking stock prices. For those who
are also investors in trucking stocks, Delco has
some advice. “On a one- to three-year investment
horizon, it’s time to buy,” he said. The old advice
of “buy low, sell high” still applies. 8
Major companies such as Apple say their
sales are being jeopardized by the tariff-fueled
trade war between the United States and China.
Factory activity in China and the United States
have both weakened, with the Institute for Supply
Management’s U.S. manufacturing index on
January 3 posting its steepest decline in a decade.
When the jobs data was released, the government
was entering its third week of a partial shutdown,
with negotiations stalled over Trump’s
insistence that Democrats agree on funding for a
wall along the border with Mexico. And attacks
by Trump on the Federal Reserve over its rate increases
have raised doubts about Chairman Jay
Powell’s status — a concern for both the markets
and the economy. 8
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20 • January 15-31, 2019 Business
THETRUCKER.COM
For owner-operators, it’s crucial to fully vet carrier before signing any agreement
Cliff Abbott
Fleet Focus
cliffa@thetrucker.com
Some owner-operators dream of being the
entrepreneur that begins a future mega carrier
with a single truck. They accept the challenges,
obtain their own authority and begin trucking.
For others, however, it’s an easier road to
enter a lease agreement with an established
carrier. These independent contractors benefit
from the carrier’s established structure. Carriers
can provide sales, billing, collection, tax reporting
and many other services that the tractor
owner would otherwise have to provide. At the
same time, independent contractors retain decision-making
ability over the equipment they
purchase and the method in which it is used.
Often, tractor ownership allows the purchase
of options the carrier can’t, or won’t, provide.
Bigger engines and modified drivetrains are
only a start, and then there are cosmetic changes
like chrome bumpers that become doable to
the truck owner.
Unfortunately, many tractor owners don’t
fully vet the carrier before they sign the lease
agreement. It may seem like the rules and the
compensation are the same at many carriers,
but that leaves room for some huge differences.
Those differences can have a large impact on
the profitability of a small trucking business.
For example, it’s important to understand,
before signing any agreement, how many miles
will qualify for that attractive rate per mile.
Does the rate include loaded miles only, or
empty miles, too? Does the rate change if the
dispatch exceeds a certain number of miles?
For example, $1.20 per mile for trips of 250
miles or less, $1.10 for trips of 251-1,000
miles, $1 for trips over 1,000 miles?
ALWAYS
with these is that the carrier can deduct from
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What about miles from your delivery point
to your home? Many carriers won’t pay for
these at all. That’s not a problem if your delivery
is 20 miles from your home but can be expensive
when you routinely deliver hundreds
of miles away.
Does the rate change for different types
of cargo? Be sure you fully understand what
you’ll be compensated for.
Chargebacks are often a huge, and disappointing,
surprise to independent contractors.
Does the carrier charge “rent” or a fee for using
their trailer? Are there fees for using the
carrier’s fuel card, use of the carrier’s routing
software, installation of the carrier’s communication
system? Will you share, or pay the full
cost, of scale-bypass transponders or software
or electronic tolling devices?
Most carriers require an escrow account to
help cover expenses like insurance deductibles,
cargo claims payouts and other risks. The issue
your escrow account charges you may have no
control over. For example, if the carrier decides
to pay a shipper’s $1,500 cargo claim, they
may do so without involving you at all in the
decision or even informing you that it’s happening
until you notice a deduction on your
settlement. It’s a good idea to fully understand
what can be deducted.
It also helps to understand how much escrow
is required, how it will be deducted from
your settlements and how long you’ll wait to
get your money returned if you leave the carrier.
Expect at least a 45-day wait. Many carriers
require double that.
Many carriers offer some form of maintenance
assistance. Some will perform work for
you at their own service facilities at a discounted
rate while others will pass on company pricing
for maintenance work done elsewhere. Many
have discount tire programs or other services
that can save a considerable amount of money.
Fuel is one of the largest expenses for any
trucking business, large or small. It’s a good
idea to know what the carrier offers to reduce
your fuel expense. Most offer fuel discounts
when fuel is purchased in their network. Others
use trailer boat-tails, scoops and other fuel-saving
devices. Asking what percentage of carrier
trailers are equipped with these devices and if
you’ll be able to use them can mean a difference
of hundreds, if not thousands, in reduced
fuel expense each year.
Understanding the carrier’s dispatch system
is another important factor in your decision.
Some carriers expect independent contractors
to accept every dispatch offered. Forced dispatch
could violate the carrier’s independent
contractor agreement. However, expectations
may be something different. Find out up front
if there’s a penalty for refusing a load. It’s a
partnership, so no carrier will be happy if you
cherry-pick only the best runs, but you should
always have the option of refusing a load you
don’t want.
Finally, the experiences of other drivers at a
carrier you are considering can provide invaluable
information. Remember that most of what
you read in trucking forums online comes from
disgruntled drivers who may well have caused
the very problems they describe in their comments,
so take those with a grain of salt. 8

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Equipment
January 15-31, 2019 • 23
DTNA introduces new Cascadia with
SAE Level 2 automated technology
Courtesy: DAIMLER TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA
Daimler Trucks North America January 7 introduced the first SAE Level 2 automated truck in
series production in North America with the latest enhancements to Freightliner’s new Cascadia.
Bendix doubles its technical training
force, enhances in-person programs
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
ELYRIA, Ohio — To help fleets, technicians
and owner-operators keep pace with
today’s ever-advancing truck technologies,
Bendix (Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems
and Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake)
has doubled its technical training force and
enhanced its long-running in-person training
programs for 2019.
A new two-day Advanced Technology
Training program is now available, in addition
to the established three-day Air Brake
Training class. Registration is open for the
complete schedule of both courses.
The 2019 edition of the in-person Air
Brake Training class, which will visit more
cities and states than last year, is tailored
to both new and experienced technicians. It
covers the description, operation, and service
elements for the total range of components
found within dual air brake systems. Topics
include:
• Fundamentals of compressed air
• Tactics for air system failure mode diagnosis
and troubleshooting, and
• Air brake system and foundation brake
components (air compressors, valves, foundation
drum brakes, and air disc brakes).
“The Advanced Technology Training
See Bendix on p24 m
Courtesy: VDO ROADLOG
VDO RoadLog ELD is offered without monthly fees for basic services. A customer’s computer
or laptop must also have an available USB port and broadband internet access.
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
LAS VEGAS — Daimler Trucks North America
(DTNA) January 7 introduced the first SAE
Level 2 automated truck in series production in
North America with its latest enhancements to the
Freightliner Cascadia.
Level 2 automation means the truck is capable
of both lateral [steering] and longitudinal [acceleration/deceleration]
control.
The truck was part of the truck technologies
featured by DTNA at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
during the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show
(CES).
According to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 94 percent of crashes are
attributable to human error.
Automating acceleration, deceleration and
steering reduces the chance for human error, mitigates
collisions and can potentially save lives, said
a DTNA news release. These technologies can
also enhance the driver experience by making the
truck-driving task easier, thereby improving driver
comfort and wellbeing, according to Kelly Gedert,
director of product marketing for Freightliner and
Detroit.
Daimler Trucks also said at CES that more
than half a billion dollars have been invested and
that more than 200 new jobs have been added in a
“global push” to put highly automated trucks (SAE
Level 4) on the road within a decade. Most of the
jobs will be located at the new Daimler Trucks Automated
Truck Research & Development Center at
DTNA’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
In May 2015, DTNA pioneered automated
driving with the introduction of the Freightliner
Inspiration Truck, which was the first automated
truck licensed to operate on U.S. public highways.
See Daimler on p24 m
Courtesy: BENDIX
The 2019 edition of the in-person Air Brake Training class, which will visit more cities and states
than last year, is tailored to both new and experienced technicians. It covers the description, operation
and service elements for the total range of components found within dual air brake systems.
Continental’s VDO RoadLog Office Solo
ELD software now compatible with Macs
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Continental, a global
supplier of systems, components and tires to
automobile and truck manufacturers, and the
manufacturer of the VDO RoadLog Electronic
Logging Device, says its VDO RoadLog Office
Solo ELD software is now compatible with
Apple computers.
VDO RoadLog Solo customers can now
perform USB key synchronization on modern
Apple computers and laptops having macOS
Sierra (version 10.12 or higher), Apple Computer’s
Mac OS X operating system for Macintosh
desktop, laptop and server computers.
The customer’s device must also have an
available USB port and broadband internet
access.
VDO RoadLog Office Advanced and Premium
continue to be available on almost any machine
running the latest version of a major Web
browser with internet access, according to Jay
McCarthy, VDO RoadLog marketing manager.
“We are happy to be able to offer this new
Apple compatibility to our customers,” McCarthy
said. “Many owner-operators and fleets are interested
in synchronization to Apple computers and
laptops, and we are now able to offer an easy way
for them to connect these devices.” 8

24 • January 15-31, 2019 Equipment
THETRUCKER.COM
b Daimler from page 23 b
Today, the new Cascadia achieves SAE Level
2 driving capabilities with its Detroit Assurance
5.0 suite of camera- and radar-based safety
systems, Daimler officials said.
This proprietary system marks a milestone in
Freightliner’s pursuit of safety, enhanced driver
experience and fuel efficiency, Gedert said.
The system can accelerate, decelerate, and
steer independently. The Detroit Assurance 5.0
Adaptive Cruise Control and Active Lane Assist
features make automated driving possible in all
speed ranges for the first time in a series production
truck, including:
• Adaptive Cruise Control to 0 mph: Automatically
decelerates and accelerates to maintain
a safe following distance. “This technology
is especially important for maintaining a comfortable
driving experience in congested traffic
conditions where repeated braking, accelerating
and resetting of traditional cruise control can
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lead to driver fatigue,” according to Gedert.
• Active Lane Assist: Consists of Lane Keep
Assist and Lane Departure Protection. When
Adaptive Cruise Control is enabled, Lane Keep
Assist supports the driver by using micro-steering
movements to keep the Cascadia centered in
its detected lane. With Lane Departure Protection,
if the truck begins to drift without the turn
signal engaged, the system will counter steer the
truck back into its lane and give an auditory and
visual warning.
In addition to Level 2 automated driving
features, the Detroit Assurance 5.0 active safety
and advanced driver assistance systems include:
• Active Brake Assist 5.0: The fusion of Detroit
Assurance 5.0 camera and radar technology
detects moving pedestrians and cyclists in front
of the truck and can deploy full braking — an
industry first. It can also detect and mitigate a
collision with full braking on moving and stationary
vehicles and objects.
• Side Guard Assist: Detects objects, including
pedestrians and cyclists, in the passengerside
blind spot for the tractor and a full-length
53-foot trailer, another industry first, said Gedert,
and delivers an audible and visual warning.
“The enhancements we’ve made to Detroit
Assurance have the potential to make an immediate,
measurable and positive impact on
overall North American road safety,” Gedert
said. “In fact, fleets with trucks equipped with
forward collision mitigation systems can experience
a 60 percent to 80 percent reduction in
rear-end crashes, resulting in potentially fewer
accidents and reduced operational costs to our
customers.”
Detroit Connect Analytics provides fleets
with analysis and insights on the performance
of the Detroit Assurance 5.0 safety features.
Fleets will be notified if drivers have their
hands off the wheel for longer than 60 seconds.
Gedert said the new Cascadia also features
efficient design, inside and out.
“Thanks to DTNA’s significant investment
in ongoing research and development … in
aerodynamics, powertrain development and
systems intelligence, the new Cascadia delivers
a 35 percent improvement in fuel efficiency
compared to the first Cascadia introduced in
2007. This equates to annual savings of up to
4,700 gallons of fuel per truck, which is the
amount of fuel consumed by six typical family
cars in a year.”
The new truck also offers aerodynamic enhancements
that include Aerodynamic Height
Control, which electronically lowers the suspension
height at 55 mph to optimize airflow
over and under the front of the truck and reduce
drag. Other enhancements include Michelin X
b Bendix from page 23 b
class is an exciting new addition to our training
curriculum; it picks up where the Air
Brake Training course ends, covering the
operation and troubleshooting of higherlevel
driver assistance and safety systems,
as well as diagnostic software,” said Lance
Hansen, Bendix North America regional vice
president – fleet/trailer sales and service engineering.
“As adoption of these complex
technologies increases, it’s more important
than ever to make sure the teams responsible
for keeping North America’s commercial
vehicles operating safely are equipped with
the knowledge they need. Our new Advanced
Technology Training is a real must for the
advanced technician.”
Some of the systems addressed in the Advanced
Technology Training course are:
• AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System
from Bendix CVS
• Bendix ACom diagnostic software
• Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program
• Bendix Wingman Advanced and Bendix
Wingman Fusion driver assistance systems
• SafetyDirect by Bendix CVS, and
• SmarTire and SmarTire Trailer-Link
TPMS by Bendix CVS.
Hansen noted that class time in the Advanced
Technology Training session includes
in-depth, hands-on maintenance for Bendix
air disc brakes and electrical diagnostics.
To help address the increasing demand
for service training, Bendix has doubled its
technical training force.
In addition, 29 Air Brake Training sessions
— each conducted by a member of the
Line D+ Energy tires developed in collaboration
with Michelin, which reduce rolling resistance
in 6x4 applications, and a low ground
clearance bumper.
Gedert said another critical component of
the new Cascadia’s performance is its Integrated
Detroit Powertrain, a combination of a
proprietary heavy-duty engine, transmission,
and axle that are designed to seamlessly work
together for maximum efficiency. The integrated
powertrain features Intelligent Powertrain
Management 6, which uses the truck’s kinetic
energy to automatically adjust to the truck’s
surroundings by reducing braking power and
making transmission and engine adjustments,
saving fuel and reducing wear-and-tear on
components.
“It’s not just the new Cascadia’s aerodynamic
shape, specific options or powertrain
components that make it the best, it’s that these
features are engineered to seamlessly work together,”
said Kary Schaefer, general manager,
marketing and strategy for DTNA. “And we
are the only truck manufacturer to offer that
level of integration.”
Detroit Connect Analytics also introduced
Intelligent Powertrain Management reporting
capabilities, and the fuel analysis will indicate
if the vehicle is using Aerodynamic Height
Control, Schaefer said.
“With more than 65,000 customer deliveries
to date and 50,000 on order, the new Cascadia
has proven to be the Class 8 truck of choice
in the industry,” she said. “We’re proud to be
once again raising the bar.” 8
ASE-certified veteran Bendix Service Engineering
Team — are scheduled in 25 locations
across the U.S. from February to November.
The nine Advanced Technology Training
courses will be held from March to December,
split between Sparks, Nevada, and the
Bendix headquarters in Elyria, Ohio.
Per-person enrollment costs are $400 for
Air Brake Training and $350 for Advanced
Technology Training.
Because of the quantity and complexity
of the products covered, Bendix highly recommends
that each student completes the
Bendix Air Brake Training (three-day) class,
or at minimum, the online brake school at
brake-school.com, before taking the Advanced
Technology Training class.
“Both classes include hands-on exercises
as well as classroom training and extensive
visual demonstration aids. At most locations,
the Bendix team will also be able to utilize
operational demonstration boards that essentially
put a fully operational air system
right at the students’ fingertips,” Hansen
said. “This training is another way in which
Bendix is working with the industry to shape
tomorrow’s transportation together.”
Registration is free for the Bendix On-
Line Brake School, which offers an extensive,
regularly updated curriculum covering
all aspects of electronics and air brake maintenance.
Since its launch in March 2013, the
training portal (www.brake-school.com) has
registered nearly 70,000 users from more
than two dozen countries.
Class size for the 2019 in-person Bendix
training courses is limited, and enrollment is
on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration may be completed online at bendix.com
or foundationbrakes.com. 8

THETRUCKER.COM
Equipment January 15-31, 2019 • 25
THE TRUCKER
News Channel
Join Dave Compton and Jessica Rose every week as they
bring you the only weekly news show just for Truckers.
Tune in and watch at TheTrucker.com

MCCOLLISTER’S AUTO TRANSPORT
FLEET EXPANSION
MCCOLLISTER’S ENCLOSED AUTO TRANSPORT
FLEET IS CONTINUING TO GROW DUE TO OUR
CLIENTS AND OUR TALENTED DRIVERS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL:
JOE CSIK (EAST)
609-526-9490
PAUL (WEST)
972-538-4356
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE
FOR OWNER OPERATORS &
COMPANY DRIVERS.
NEW TRAILERS COMING IN
MONTHLY.
WWW.MCCOLLISTERS.COM
26 • January 15-31, 2019 Equipment
THETRUCKER.COM
Trimble, Pulsar Informatics collaborating on
new truck driver fatigue monitoring system
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
AUSTIN, Texas —Trimble and Pulsar Informatics
said they will collaborate to deliver a new
fatigue monitoring and risk management solution
for the transportation industry, available as part of
Trimble’s Safety Analytics dashboard.
The fatigue risk management solution enables
fleets to understand how fatigue is directly
affecting individual driver behavior and provides
information about driver fatigue levels as well
as historical data to coach and prevent potential
fatigue risks in the future, Trimble and Pulsar officials
said.
The announcement came during the American
Trucking Associations Management Conference
and Exhibition last month.
Driver fatigue is among the top causes of
large truck crashes with the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration estimating that driver
fatigue may be an associated factor in 13 percent
of accidents involving a commercial truck.
While trucking companies carry insurance
coverage, if a fatigued driver causes an accident
in the course of employment, the carrier can be
held responsible.
Similarly, carriers may also be held accountable
if a fatigued driver does not follow federal
regulations on rest breaks.
“Driver fatigue is a top concern for fleets and
by collaborating with Pulsar to integrate fatigue
monitoring into our Safety Analytics dashboard,
carriers will receive data to help improve driver
coaching and potentially protect fleets from liability,”
said Jim Angel, vice president of video
intelligence solutions for Trimble Transportation
Mobility. “Our Safety Analytics dashboard
is designed to make risk management decisions
easier for fleets by sampling data that’s already
being collected and is not intrusive to drivers.”
Trimble’s Safety Analytics dashboard aggregates
driver data across an entire fleet to highlight
drivers in need of coaching.
With the integration of Pulsar’s Trucking Fatigue
Meter technology, the dashboard will use
Hours of Service and Trimble’s Onboard Event
Recording (OER) data to identify driver sleep
and fatigue risk patterns that lead to degraded
performance. By providing a clear representation
of this information, fleet managers and safety
managers have an enhanced ability to coach
the driver and assess the situation to potentially
prevent a safety incident, said a company news
release.
Pulsar’s fatigue monitoring solutions have
been developed with funding from the U.S. Department
of Navy, FMCSA, NASA, the Federal
Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of
Defense and other prominent government organizations.
Pulsar has commercial products serving
the aviation, petrochemical, and trucking
industries; all mission critical and safety centric
workplaces, the release said.
“Pulsar Informatics is excited to combine
our deep expertise in fatigue risk management
with Trimble’s unmatched knowledge of the
transportation industry,” said Daniel Mollicone,
PhD, CEO of Pulsar Informatics. “Together, we
can provide fleets with a unique solution to help
managers identify and mitigate risks that can
protect drivers and carriers while also improving
safety on the road for everyone.”
For more information about Trimble Safety
Analytics, visit mobility.trimble.com/fleetsolutions/video-safety-solutions.
8
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Features
January 15-31, 2019 • 27
Dan Johnson tries to give 4-wheelers
benefit of doubt, but says he’s figured
they’re paying absolutely no attention
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Dan Johnson of Milton, Florida, northeast
of Pensacola, can tell you what destruction
looks like. One kind is caused by the hurricanes
that routinely pummel his home state of
Florida. The other kind occurs on the nation’s
highways, mostly caused by unthinking fourwheelers
but sometimes by truck drivers.
A 22-year career driver and retired Navy
man, Johnson has seen a lot of changes on the
road, but said the most dangerous one is that
“everyone is in a hurry and no one is paying
attention.”
Mainly, he said, the drivers not paying attention
are four-wheelers, like the woman he
saw recently doing 75 mph while her eyes were
glued to her texts.
He tries to give four-wheel motorists the
benefit of the doubt because he said the truck
driver is up higher and thus can see farther
down the road.
But many of these motorists are an accident
waiting to happen. In general, he said, “fourwheelers
don’t pay attention to nothing.”
And newbie truck drivers, he said, can’t
drive safely and are unwilling to learn.
This Heartland driver’s father was a trucker
and Johnson said he more or less just “fell in
track” with what his dad did.
When a reporter from The Trucker caught
up with him, he was finishing up breakfast and
getting ready to begin his 34-hour restart at the
TA/Petro at North Little Rock, Arkansas’s Galloway
Exit just off Interstate 40. Then he was
headed to Springfield, Missouri.
Johnson began driving over-the-road in
1996 after retiring from the Navy, although
he had hauled local loads for his father before
then.
He hauls dry van now but has also driven
reefers, and said his favorite load would have
to be a bunch of dinosaurs.
Yes, dinosaurs. He hauled a van load of
life-size models for Jurassic Tour, which goes
across the country and sets up some 50 large
and small model dinosaurs, which move and
make terrifying noises. He loved hauling the
dinosaurs around and seeing how children of
all ages reacted to the automated creatures.
Johnson has four grown children of his own,
seven grandchildren, and two great-grandkids,
but said none of them have expressed interest
in becoming a truck driver.
“It’s not a life for a lot of people,” he said,
and compared it to the Navy when he was at
sea for weeks at a time.
The Navy, however, taught him discipline,
which he said is sorely lacking in today’s workplaces.
He would caution would-be truck drivers,
however, that trucking is not a good occupation
The Trucker: DOROTHY COX
Dan Johnson, a 22-year career driver and retired Navy man, has seen a lot of changes on
the road but said the most dangerous one is that “everyone is in a hurry and no one is paying
attention.”
for people who want a family. He’s divorced.
On the other hand, one can make good
money in trucking “eventually,” he said.
In fact, Johnson said 2018 was the most
successful year he’s had in trucking to date.
“I can’t complain,” he said. “The Lord has
blessed me very well.”
A Christian for several years, Johnson attends
Hickory Hammock Baptist Church when
he’s home. He has no excuse because it’s right
across the street from his house.
The 62-year-old said the last 10 years he
has been “trusting God a whole lot more and
listening [to Him] a whole lot more.”
Sometimes, he said, he will turn on a program
to hear someone such as Joel Osteen
preach, and the minister will be talking about
exactly what Johnson has been praying.
On Thursday nights he has a call-in discussion
with folks in his church. Other times, he
goes to church services at various truck stops.
Listen, and follow what God says, is Johnson’s
advice for motorists, be they truck drivers
or four-wheelers.
He said safety regulations have swung from
one end of the pendulum to the other, and he’d
like them to swing back toward the middle.
See Johnson on p28 m
Video with owl and cat playmates prompts musings on who can associate with whom
Dorothy Cox
dlcox@thetrucker.com
Around
the Bend
I don’t know how it happened, but a video
popped up the other day about a friendship between
a man’s pet owl and his black cat. What I
mean is that the video threw itself at me. Sorta.
It popped up and metaphorically went
“ta-dah” when I was trying to read an email
about a new autonomous technology for
driverless cars.
The email had to do with a new, more
“robust” LiDAR technology for self-driving
cars. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and
Ranging technology. It uses millions of laser
light beams per second to measure the distance
from a vehicle to an object ahead of it
and to measure the object, itself.
I tell you what, the video was a lot more
interesting than the email.
For one thing, this LiDAR email assumed
the reader would know what all the scientific
mumbo-jumbo meant and would of course
know the name of the technology fair where
this was going to debut. And, that the reader
of the email would care.
I was just trying to decipher all the techno-speak
acronyms when the cat and owl
video caught my eye.
It seems the owl and the cat had been
raised around each other and the cat got it
into his head that when the owl’s owner took
the pet bird out for a fly around the forest he
would leap up and pretend to grab the owl.
The man, a Spanish chap, was at first
afraid the owl would dive-bomb the cat and
make mincemeat of the feline with its talons.
But no, the owl more than got it: This was
play. This was fun.
Every time the man and the owl went out
after that, the cat tagged along.
After a video was posted showing this unlikely
friendship the internet blew up with people
watching the antics of the feline and fowl.
It was a popular thing until the cat contracted
a kidney disease and died.
Even now, though, people like me accidentally
discover this friendship. Animal
behavioral scientists call it unlikely because
cats and birds aren’t supposed to get along.
They’re supposed to be enemies.
So are dogs and deer, but I saw a video
not long along about a fawn with a hurt leg
which was taken in by a farmer. The deer was
subsequently “adopted” by one of the man’s
dogs, and the dog followed the fawn around,
licking it and acting like its mother.
The thing is, who gets to decide two animal
species are always going to be enemies?
I guess you can tell where I’m going with
this.
Who gets to decide who you can be
friends and associate with?
So-and-so is supposed to hate me because
of where I go to church, or I’m supposed to
hate so-and-so because of the color of their
skin.
I hate to say it, but sometimes “church
people” are the worst.
A talented Christian singer was widely
criticized by some Christians not too long
ago for accepting an invitation from Ellen
DeGeneres to sing on her TV show.
DeGeneres was familiar with the young
woman because she had been a judge on one
of the various talent discovery shows that are
so popular now and this young woman was
a contestant.
So this young woman — whose songs can
be heard on most contemporary Christian radio
stations — was raked over the coals by
many for her appearance on the “Ellen DeGeneres
Show” because DeGeneres is a lesbian.
I suppose in Jesus’ time that would be like
Him touching a person with leprosy, which
He did. Or letting a former prostitute wash
his feet with her hair, which He did.
DeGeneres gave everyone in the audience
a copy of this singer’s new CD. That’s one
way to get the gospel out.
The Bible says it’s the kindness of God
that leads to repentance.
Just sayin.’
Be safe out there and God bless. 8

28 • January 15-31, 2019 Features
b Johnson from page 27 b
Autonomous and driverless trucks aren’t
the answer to safety issues, he said, and he’s
leery of what will happen when self-driving
trucks become commonplace: “For me, that’s
bad news.”
Johnson worked for one company which
he said had trucks that automatically did hard
braking if the outward-facing camera showed
he was getting too close to the vehicle in front
of him. In some situations, he said, that can be
unsafe, in snow and ice — or if the motorist
behind is speeding — for example.
At Heartland, he said, “I drive the truck,”
and that’s the way he likes it. 8
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio — Work to widen
roads and make other safety improvements is
planned in an area of Ohio’s Amish country
plagued by crashes resulting in injuries, according
to federal and state officials.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and
the Ohio Department of Transportation said
they are teaming up on the $14 million project
in northeastern Ohio’s Geauga County.
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating
Agency said the plan involves widening
roads, posting signs, educating travelers and
taking many other steps to make the Middlefield
area safer for pedestrians, buggy riders
and motorists.
A $9.6 million grant from the U.S. Department
of Transportation was awarded to the coordinating
agency to help fund the safety improvements,
and federal officials said they will
partner with the state to fund the remainder.
Many travelers are injured in crashes involving
buggies each year in Ohio. Overall,
Ohio State Patrol records show 860 crashes involving
buggies from 2012-2017 in Ohio that
killed 18 people and injured more than 720.
The Plain Dealer reported that one study
found there were 83 crashes with buggies from
2010 through 2014 in the Middlefield area
alone. Three of those crashes were fatal, according
to the study.
Geauga County is home to 12,000 Amish people,
making it the nation’s fourth biggest Amish
community. The agency’s Executive Director
Grace Gallucci said the project, which covers five
Ohio counties including Geauga, is “a fantastic
example of how diverse our region is, the geography
and topography and multi-modalism.”
Construction is expected to take place between
2020 and 2023 and agency officials said
it will work with other local agencies to make
THETRUCKER.COM
Ohio’s Amish get a safety break with wider roads, larger shoulders
Associated Press: CHUCK CROW/The Plain Dealer
An Amish buggy, southbound, is forced to the side of Route 608 as a semi zooms by, just
north of Middlefield, Ohio, on December 19, 2018. A federal grant from the U.S. Department
of Transportation has provided funds for widening of roads in Middlefield, Ohio, to increase the
safety of the horse-drawn carriages of the Amish.
improvements. In some areas, plans call for
installing 8-foot-wide buggy lanes and larger
shoulders for pedestrians.
Crews will straighten and level some roads
in the hilly region, install buggy detectors, create
new school zones and improve warning systems
in current zones, according to the agency. 8
T

thetrucker.com January 15-31, 2019 • 29
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2 • The Trucker NATIONAL EDITION August 1-15, 2005
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30 • January 15-31, 2019 thetrucker.com
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