The Trucker 060120

Vol. 33, No. 11 | June 1-14, 2020 | www.thetrucker.com
FMCSA releases revisions to hours-of-service
rules; changes aim to lighten the load for drivers
iStock Photo
Accused misuse of PPP funds
Maurice Fayne, aka “Arkansas
Mo,” a reality TV personality
who appears in VH1’s “Love
& Hip Hop: Atlanta,” has been
arrested on federal bank
fraud charges arising from a
Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP) loan that he obtained in
the name of Flame Trucking.
Page 3
Navigating the news
HOS suspension extended.....4
Cocaine seized at border........6
Virtual truck events.................9
The Trucker Trainer...............10
New TA location....................11
Ask the Attorney...................13
At the Truck Stop..................14
Rhythm of the Road.............16
Chaplain’s Corner................. 17
Celadon repercussions.......... 19
Safety Series........................20
Peterbilt Pride & Class.........23
Convoy of Hope....................25
Passion and purpose............27
Courtesy: Sharae Moore
Change for the better
Sharae Moore, founder
of S.H.E. Trucking, is a
professional driver as well as
a mentor to female truckers
in the U.S. and beyond. She
shares a love of trucking with
her father, Carlos Crutcher.
Page 25
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
WASHINGTON — Long-awaited revisions
to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) hours-of-service (HOS) regulations
were released May 14 to mixed reviews.
The changes will take effect 120 days after being
published in the Federal Register, unless
halted by legal challenge.
The revisions that have the greatest impact
on most over-the-road drivers are a change to
the required 30-minute break and a change to
the method of splitting the 10-hour rest period
into two segments. In addition, the on-duty period
for short-haul drivers has been increased,
as was the miles limit that defines “short-haul,”
and there is a change to the two-hour “adverse
conditions” allowance.
The 30-minute break, which was required after
being on duty for eight hours, is now only required
after driving for eight hours. Further, the break no
longer must be taken as “off-duty” time and can be
logged as any activity other than “driving.” This is
important, because as currently written, the break
forces the driver to use half an hour of the 14-hour
clock for a break during which no work can be
done. With the FMCSA’s change, the driver can
spend the break fueling, completing paperwork or
conducting other “on-duty” activities.
The change to the rest period split is also
larger than it might at first appear. Currently, the
driver can split the rest period into two parts, one
Courtesy: Diego HZ
On May 15, protesters’ air horns brought the
protest into the national spotlight as the sound
could clearly be heard in the background of a
Rose Garden press conference during which
President Trump spoke to the nation about the
COVID-19 pandemic.
iStock Photo
The FMCSA recently released revisions to the hours-of-service rule with four key adjustments. One of the
changes addressed the 30-minute break, which was required after being on duty for eight hours. Now, it
is only required after driving for eight hours.
of which must be at least two hours long. The remaining
hours must be spent in the sleeper berth.
The two-hour period counts against the 14-hour
day. Under the revised rule, the driver must spend
at least seven hours in the sleeper; the shorter rest
period can be up to three hours and does NOT
count against the 14-hour window. This will give
Long road to the White House ends for jubilant
protesters after 20 days in Washington D.C.
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
WASHINGTON — On the 20th day of protest
along Constitution Avenue in Washington, more than
100 small business truckers got what they had been
waiting for — a meeting at the White House.
Two representatives of the protesters, Michael
Landis, CEO of United States Transportation Alliance
(USTA) and Sergey “C.J.” Karman, CEO of Ezlogz
and admin of the Ezlogz Slavic Community group on
Facebook, were ushered into the West Wing just before
9:30 a.m. Eastern time on May 20 for the meeting.
From the government side, President Trump’s
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was joined by Acting
FMCSA Administrator Jim Mullen and Staff Secretary
Derek Lyons.
As Landis and Karman exited the White
House after the meeting, group spokesperson Janet
the driver greater freedom in choosing when to
rest, without penalizing driving time.
Another revision is the adverse driving conditions
exemption. Currently, if adverse conditions,
usually weather related, occur that the driver didn’t
know about when dispatched, he or she can continue
See HOS on p11 m
Sanchez went live with a Facebook video.
“Our boys just got out of the White House,” she
announced. “They were in there for over an hour, and
they came out with smiles.”
A crowd of protesters and onlookers quickly
gathered as Karman and Landis stepped up to a small
public-address system. Karman took the microphone
first. He thanked the administration for hosting the
event and for the opportunity to speak.
“We answered a lot of questions,” he said. “We
told them about price gouging, collusion and antitrust.
We told them about the hardworking Americans
who are driving and have no money, because
the money has already been divided.”
Next, Landis spoke.
“We were tested, I can promise you that,” he said.
He related that Mullen had peppered the pair with
See 20 days on p8 m

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THETRUCKER.COM
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
DACULA, Ga. — Maurice Fayne, aka
“Arkansas Mo,” a reality TV personality
who appears in VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop:
Atlanta,” has been arrested on federal bank
fraud charges arising from a Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) loan that he obtained
in the name of Flame Trucking.
Fayne, 37, of Dacula, Georgia, was
charged with bank fraud and made his
initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Justin S. Anand on May 13.
“The defendant allegedly stole money
meant to assist hard-hit employees and
businesses during these difficult times,
and instead greedily used the money to
bankroll his lavish purchases of jewelry
and other personal items,” said Brian
Benczkowski, assistant attorney general
of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal
Division.
Benczkowski said the department is
“steadfast” in its efforts to prosecute fraud
against the Paycheck Protection Program,
which is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief
and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“The defendant allegedly took advantage
of the emergency lending provisions
of the Paycheck Protection Program that
were intended to assist employees and
small businesses battered by the coronavirus,”
said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay”
Pak of the Northern District of Georgia.
“We will investigate and charge anyone
who inappropriately diverts these critical
funds for their own personal gain.”
Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of
the FBI’s Atlanta field office, concurred.
“At a time when small businesses are
struggling for survival, we cannot tolerate
anyone driven by personal greed, who
misdirects federal emergency assistance
earmarked for keeping businesses afloat,”
Hacker said. “The FBI and our federal
partners remain vigilant during this Coronavirus
pandemic to make sure funds provided
by programs like PPP are used as
intended.”
According to the charges and other information
presented in court, Fayne is the
sole owner of a Georgia corporation called
Flame Trucking. On April 15, Fayne signed
and submitted to United Community Bank
(UCB) a PPP loan application in the name
of Flame Trucking, stating that the business
had 107 employees and an average
monthly payroll of $1,490,200. In seeking
a loan in the amount of $3,725,500, Fayne
certified that the loan proceeds would be
used to “retain workers and maintain payroll
or make mortgage interest payments,
lease payments and utility payments, as
specified under the Paycheck Protection
Program Rule.”
UCB ultimately funded a PPP loan for
$2,045,800. Within days, Fayne allegedly
used more than $1.5 million of the PPP
loan proceeds to purchase $85,000 in jewelry,
including a Rolex Presidential watch,
Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 3
Reality star, trucking-company owner
accused of misusing funds from PPP loan
Courtesy: Getty Images
Reality TV personality Maurice Fayne, aka
“Arkansas Mo,” allegedly used funds from
a Paycheck Protection Program loan to buy
jewelry and pay child support.
a diamond bracelet and a 5.73-carat diamond
ring for himself, and to pay $40,000
for child support. Such payments are not
an authorized use of PPP funds under the
CARES Act.
On May 6, Fayne was interviewed by
federal agents and stated that he submitted
a PPP loan application on behalf of Flame
Trucking. Fayne claimed that he used all
the PPP loan proceeds to pay payroll and
other business expenses incurred by Flame
Trucking, and denied using any of the PPP
loan proceeds to pay his personal debts and
expenses.
On May 11, agents executed a search
at Fayne’s residence in Dacula and seized
approximately $80,000 in cash, including
$9,400 that Fayne had in his pockets, along
with the jewelry he allegedly purchased
with the PPP funds. Agents also discovered
a 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith on the premises,
which still had a temporary dealer tag on it.
Agents executed seizure warrants for three
bank accounts that Fayne owned or controlled
and seized approximately $503,000
in alleged PPP funds.
The case is under investigation by the
FBI and the Small Business Association
Office of Inspector General. 8
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4 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation
THETRUCKER.COM
FMCSA extends temporary emergency hours-of-service
suspension for hauling essential goods through June 14
TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
GREENBELT, Md. — The Commercial
Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2020 Operation
Safe Driver Week will go on as scheduled,
July 12-18, according to a May 12 statement.
During the weeklong traffic-enforcement
safety initiative, law-enforcement personnel
throughout North America will be looking for
drivers who are engaging in unsafe driving behaviors.
Identified drivers will be pulled over
by law enforcement and may be issued a warning
or citation.
According to the Governors Highway Safety
Association, having less traffic on the highways
during the COVID-19 pandemic may be
encouraging some drivers to ignore traffic safety
laws, including speed limits. Many jurisdictions
report seeing a severe spike in speeding
despite the lighter volume of traffic.
As the number of vehicles on roadways
decreased in March and April, average speeds
measured during the first week of April increased
significantly in the five largest U.S.
metropolitan areas. According to recent data,
the average speed on interstate highways, state
highways and expressways in those areas increased
by as much as 75% compared to January
and February.
• In New York City, transportation officials
reported an increase of more than 60%
in the number of speed camera tickets issued
in March compared to a year ago. At the same
time, traffic was down more than 90% compared
to January.
• In Washington, D.C., traffic decreased
iStock Photo
Medical supplies and equipment related to the
testing, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19
continue to be qualifying items for the hoursof-service
exemption.
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department
of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued
yet another extension to its suspension of
hours of service for commercial vehicles in
response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a May 13 notice, FMCSA announced
that the exemption will now expire on
June 14, 2020.
The original emergency declaration
granting relief from hours-of-service requirements
was issued March 13 and was
initially set to expire April 12. In April, that
expiration date was extended to May 15, and
the hours-of-service waiver has now been
extended for another month.
The FMCSA’s declaration provides for
regulatory relief for commercial motor vehicles
transporting the following:
• Medical supplies and equipment related
to the testing, diagnosis and treatment of
COVID-19.
• Supplies and equipment necessary for
community safety, sanitation and prevention
of community transmission of COVID-19
such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, soap
and disinfectants.
• Food, paper products and other groceries
for emergency restocking of distribution
centers or stores.
• Immediate precursor raw materials —
such as paper, plastic or alcohol — that are
80% in March compared to January, while officials
recorded a 20% increase in March speeding
tickets. Of those tickets, violations for driving
21 to 25 mph over the speed limit rose by
nearly 40%.
• During just one weekend, in Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, police charged 18 drivers with
stunt driving, at speeds of 80 to 106 mph on
the Don Valley Parkway, a major freeway that’s
limited to 55 mph.
• California reported an increase in speeding
violations, and although the California
Highway Patrol’s call volume has decreased,
the crashes they have recently responded to
have been worse.
• In Tucson, Arizona, police reported a 40%
increase in one-vehicle wrecks, which usually
happens when a driver is going so fast that they
lose control of the vehicle.
• In Minnesota, motor-vehicle crashes and
fatalities more than doubled compared to the
same time period in previous years. Half of
those deaths were related to speeding or careless
or negligent driving.
• In Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska and Utah,
police have clocked highway speeds of more
than 100 mph.
• Chicago and Los Angeles went from
travel speed increases of 35 to 38% above
average to 74 to 75% above average in just
one week.
To address this trend of increased speeding
on North American roadways during the pandemic,
CVSA selected speeding as the focus
for this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week.
required and to be used for the manufacture
of essential items.
• Fuel.
• Liquefied gases to be used in refrigeration
or cooling systems.
• Equipment, supplies and persons necessary
to establish and manage temporary
housing, quarantine and isolation facilities
related to COVID-19.
Persons designated by federal, state or local
authorities for medical, isolation or quarantine
purposes.
Persons necessary to provide other medical
or emergency services.
The expanded and extended declaration
stipulates that direct assistance does not include
routine commercial deliveries, including
mixed loads with a nominal quantity of
qualifying emergency relief added to obtain
the benefits of the emergency declaration.
To ensure continued safety on the nation’s
roadways, the emergency declaration stipulates
that once a driver has completed his or
her delivery, the driver must receive a minimum
of 10 hours off duty if transporting property,
eight hours if transporting passengers.
To read FMCSA’s official release regarding
the extension and expansion, www.fmcsa.
dot.gov/emergency-declarations. 8
CVSA’s Operation Safe Driver Week to go on as scheduled July 12-18
iStock Photo
According to the Governors Highway Safety
Association, having less traffic on the highways
during the COVID-19 pandemic may
be encouraging some drivers to ignore traffic
safety laws, including speed limits.
“It’s essential that this enforcement initiative,
which focuses on identifying and deterring
unsafe driving behaviors, such as speeding, go
on as scheduled,” said CVSA President Sgt.
John Samis with the Delaware State Police.
“As passenger vehicle drivers are limiting their
travel to necessary trips and many commercial
motor vehicle drivers are busy transporting vital
goods to stores, it’s more important than ever to
See CVSA on p6 m
USPS 972
Volume 33, Number 11
June 1-14, 2020
The Trucker is a semi-monthly, national newspaper for the
trucking industry, published by The Trucker Media Group at
1123 S. University, Suite 325
Little Rock, AR 72204-1610
Chief Executive Officer
Bobby Ralston
bobbyr@thetruckermedia.com
General Manager
Megan Cullingford-Hicks
meganh@thetruckermedia.com
Managing Editor
Wendy Miller
wendym@thetruckermedia.com
Staff Writer/Designer
Linda Garner-Bunch
lindag@thetruckermedia.com
Production Manager
Rob Nelson
robn@thetruckermedia.com
Graphic Artists
Leanne Hunter
leanneh@thetruckermedia.com
Christie McCluer
christie.mccluer@thetruckermedia.com
Special Correspondents
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
Lyndon Finney
lyndonf@thetruckermedia.com
Sam Pierce
samp@thetruckermedia.com
Kris Rutherford
krisr@thetruckermedia.com
For advertising opportunities,
please contact Megan Cullingford-Hicks
at meganh@thetruckermedia.com.
Telephone: (501) 666-0500
Fax: (501) 666-0700
E-mail: info@thetruckermedia.com
Web: www.thetrucker.com
Single-copy mail subscription available at $59.95
per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Little Rock, AR
72202-9651 and additional entry offices.
Publishers Rights: All advertising, including artwork and
photographs, becomes the property of the publisher
once published and may be reproduced in any media
only by publisher. Publisher reserves the right to refuse or
edit any ad without notice and does not screen or endorse
advertisers. Publisher is not liable for any damages resulting
from publication or failure to publish all or any part
of any ad or any errors in ads. Adjustments are limited to
the cost of space for the ad, or at Publisher’s option, republication
for one insertion with notice received within
three days of first publication. Copyright 2020 of Wilshire
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POSTMASTER:
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Thetrucker.com
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6 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation
iStock Photo
To qualify for a scholarship, a student must
have a minimum GPA of 3.0, and attend an
accredited four-year college as an undergraduate.
The student must also be a child, grandchild
or spouse of either an employee of a TCA
member or affiliated with a TCA member.
TCA accepting
college scholarship
applications
Sam Pierce
samp@thetruckermedia.com
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Truckload
Carriers Association awards about 50 scholarships
each year to students who have a family
connection to TCA.
One past recipient of one of the top scholarships
is Blake Quinn of Springfield, Missouri,
who is a student at the University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville. His dad works for Prime Inc.,
and Quinn is studying supply management.
“As I progress through my college career,
I am made increasingly more aware of the impact
the trucking industry has had (and continues
to have) on my family life,” Quinn said in
a press release from TCA. “As a supply-chain
major, I am gradually learning more and more
about the industry my dad climbed the ladder in
to provide for my family.”
Andrea Vidaurre of Indianapolis is a student
at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Her mother works for WEX EFS.
“I have always respected my mother’s work
ethic and learned early on to follow in her footsteps,
whether it be my schoolwork, basketball
or my own job,” said Vidaurre. “After college,
I look forward to beginning my career in accounting
or finance with the same passion and
drive as my mother has for an industry that has
played such an important part in our lives.”
Marli Hall, TCA’s senior director of outreach
and engagement, said the scholarship
fund is an independent organization governed
by the bylaws and the board of trustees,
which is always actively recruiting to be
a part of the fund.
“If there are TCA members who are interested
in helping advance TCA’s successful
scholarship program, we encourage them
to share their interest in becoming a TCA
Scholarship Fund Trustee,” Hall said. “The
trustees help fundraise and judge the application
submissions.”
See TCA on p9 m
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
BLAINE, Wash. — The U.S. Customs
and Border Protection’s (CBP) Seattle field
office, in coordination with Homeland Security
Investigations-Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (HSI), arrested a man and seized
nearly 134 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated
value of $3 million, at the Pacific Highway
Port of Entry on May 9.
“This arrest and seizure highlight the teamwork
involved in securing our borders,” said
Adele Fasano, director of field operations for
CBP’s Seattle field office. “Through the vigilance
of CBP officers and HSI special agents,
we were able to prevent these dangerous narcotics
from ending up in our communities.”
The seizure occurred during an outbound
inspection when CBP officers referred a
tractor-trailer driven by Ajitpal Sanghera, a
Canadian citizen, for additional examination.
While searching the trailer, CBP officers
found five small duffle bags on the floor. Inside
the duffel bags, officers found 50 plasticwrapped
packages containing cocaine.
Upon discovery of the cocaine, CBP officers
took Sanghera into custody and later
transferred him to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s
Office, along with the narcotics.
“This illicit drug seizure was only made
possible through the hard work and excellent
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
SAVANNAH, Ga. — As the nation faces
concerns over COVID-19, Eric McCray realizes
that the trucking community is the heartbeat
of America, keeping the supply chain
moving and store shelves stocked.
“Our drivers are essential workers,” said
McCray, director of human resources for TCW
Inc., a trucking company that consistently
hauls from the Port of Savannah. “We make
sure everything runs like it’s supposed to.”
McCray said precautions in place aim to
make sure employees return safely home to
their families. TCW and other trucking companies
serving the Port of Savannah are transporting
much-needed essentials such as medical
supplies, food and agricultural products
day and night.
“At the Georgia Ports Authority, we can’t
say enough to thank our trucking community
for their effort and dedication to serving the
needs of our state and the nation,” said GPA
Executive Director Griff Lynch. “Especially
now, motor carriers are a vital link in the
b CVSA from page 4 b
monitor our roadways for safe transport.”
Historically, drivers’ actions have contributed
to 94% of all traffic crashes, according
to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration’s (NHTSA) Traffic Safety
Facts report. In addition, although NHTSA’s
2018 highway crash fatality data showed
a 2.4% decline in overall fatalities, the
coordination between Customs and Border
Protection and members the HSI-led Border
Enforcement Security Task Force,” said
Eben Roberts, acting special agent in charge
of HSI Seattle. “Even during these times of
supply chain for frontline health care workers,
and for the farmers who need to get their
goods to market.”
In addition to adhering to social-distancing
guidelines and frequent hand-washing,
McCray said some of the most effective strategies
to minimize possible exposure include
wiping down trucks before and after each
shift and providing mailboxes through which
number of fatal crashes involving large
trucks increased by 0.9%.
“While, of course, we’re pleased to see a
decrease in the overall number of fatalities, it
was also devastating to learn that the number
of fatalities involving large trucks increased.
Any increase whatsoever in roadway fatalities
is unacceptable,” Samis said.
According to CVSA’s May 12 statement,
data shows that traffic enforcement interactions
between drivers and law enforcement reduces
targeted problematic behaviors. CVSA’s
THETRUCKER.COM
Truck carrying nearly 134 pounds of cocaine seized at border
Courtesy: U.S. Border Patrol
On May 9, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, working with Homeland Security Investigation,
discovered nearly 134 pounds of cocaine, valued at about $3 million, in a tractor-trailer
at the U.S.-Canada border.
heightened stress and uncertainty, our dedicated
law-enforcement officers are still out
in the community working to remove dangerous
drugs from the streets, and I couldn’t be
prouder of their accomplishments.” 8
Georgia Ports Authority applauds truckers for keeping supply chain moving
Courtesy: Georgia Ports Authority
Shown above are trucks lined up to be loaded at the Port of Savannah in Georgia.
drivers receive dispatches on provided tablets.
Having a safe working environment is also
at the top of Crystal Foster’s list. Foster, a driver
for the Hubach Group, makes frequent pickups
and deliveries at Garden City Terminal.
Foster said she’s noticed the community is
doing as instructed and stepping up to make
sure everyone is protected.
See Ports on p10 m
Operation Safe Driver Week aims to reduce
high-risk driving behaviors through traffic enforcement
strategies.
In addition to a focus on speeding, examples
of other dangerous driver behaviors that
law enforcement will track during Operation
Safe Driver Week include distracted driving,
failure to use a seatbelt, following too closely,
improper lane change, reckless or aggressive
driving, failure to obey traffic-control
devices, evidence of drunk or drugged driving,
and more. 8
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THETRUCKER.COM
Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 7
FMCSA issues guidance on conducting compliance assessments during COVID-19 crisis
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
WASHINGTON — The Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA) on May 19
released new guidance for motor-carrier compliance
reviews under 49 CFR part 385, subpart A,
during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The guidance is effective immediately and
will remain in effect until the presidentially
declared state of emergency is revoked. The
guidance is not law, and is intended to clarify
existing requirements under the law.
Under the guidance, safety investigators
may use technology to access a carrier’s information
and records, allowing them to conduct
evaluations without on-site visits, thus reducing
potential exposure to the novel coronavirus.
The guidance states, “Using the same standards
otherwise applicable, FMCSA will assign
safety ratings following a compliance review
even if no on-site review activities have taken
place. FMCSA will continue to apply the procedures
in 49 CFR part 385, including the Safety
Fitness Rating Methodology (SFRM) in Appendix
B, prior to assigning a safety rating. This
guidance does not apply to compliance reviews
conducted under 49 CFR part 385, subpart B.”
The FMCSA is required to conduct reviews
to determine whether owners and/or operators
of commercial motor vehicles are fit to operate
safely, and safety ratings are assigned to motor
carriers after in-depth examinations of the carriers’
records and operations.
“Although the definition of ‘compliance review’
in 49 CFR 385.3 describes these reviews
as ‘on-site,’ in practice, the advent of electronic
recordkeeping and other technology now allows
FMCSA to perform the same investigative
functions remotely that it could perform
previously only by in-person reviews of the
motor carrier’s files,” the guidance continues.
Carriers can securely upload documents
directly to the FMCSA; records may also be
transmitted via fax, email or telephone or video
calls. In addition, email and telephone or video
calls may be used in place of in-person meetings
during a compliance review or when discussing
the findings of a compliance review.
The FMCSA noted in the guidance that “because
safety investigators are able to follow all
of the procedures in 49 CFR part 385 without
physically visiting the motor carrier’s business
premise, compliance reviews that do not
include an ‘on-site’ component will limit exposure
risk to COVID-19, consistent with current
regulations, without compromising FMCSA’s
safety mission.” 8
New Love’s locations open
in South Carolina and Texas
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
OKLAHOMA CITY — Love’s Travel
Stops & Country Stores is now serving customers
in Summerton, South Carolina, and Laredo,
Texas, thanks to two travel stops that opened
Thursday, May 21. The Summerton store, located
off Interstate 95, adds 70 jobs and 103
truck parking spaces to Clarendon County. The
Laredo store, located off Highway 1472 (Mines
Road), adds 55 jobs and 87 truck parking spaces
to Webb County.
“Love’s is excited to open our 74th location
in Texas and our 11th location in South
Carolina,” said Tom Love, founder and executive
chairman of Love’s. “We’re committed to
expanding our highway hospitality and adding
more easily accessible stops to help get customers
back on the road quickly and safely.”
Visit loves.com/covid19 for updates regarding
temporary changes to the company’s
operations.
Both new locations are open 24/7 and offer
many amenities, including:
Summerton, South Carolina
• More than 13,300 square feet.
• McDonald’s and Subway.
• 103 truck parking spaces.
• 64 car parking spaces.
• Seven RV parking spaces.
• Nine diesel bays.
• Seven showers.
• Laundry facilities.
• Love’s Truck Care with Speedco lane.
• Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee.
• Fresh Kitchen concept.
• CAT scale.
• Dog park.
Laredo, Texas
• More than 12,000 square feet.
• Godfather’s Pizza, Chester’s Chicken and
Subway.
• 87 truck parking spaces.
• 69 car parking spaces.
• Three RV parking spaces.
• Eight diesel bays.
• Eight showers.
• Laundry facilities.
• Love’s Truck Care.
• Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee.
• Fresh Kitchen concept.
• CAT scale.
• Dog park. 8
Wondering if an OOIDA
Membership is worth it?
* This figure is for illustrative purposes only and is
based on typical discounts off standard retail
rates. Your specific savings may vary depending
on program participation.
Join OOIDA today and start
enjoying the benefits of membership
Representation • Information • Member Benefits
800-444-5791 • www.ooida.com

8 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation
b 20 days from page 1 b
questions as the meeting commenced, but that
they held their ground.
“What we can back up with truth and our experience,
they can’t touch,” Landis said.
Landis spoke to the administration officials
about the lack of representation of the small
business truckers. He pointed out that organizations
such as the American Trucking Associations
(ATA) often have the ear of government
agencies despite representing only a small percentage
of carriers.
“That has to change,” Landis told officials.
The previous evening, Landis outlined his position
in an exclusive interview with The Trucker.
“The ATA represents trucking to the government,
but little guys like us can’t be members,”
he said. “The interests of the people
with money are overriding the concerns of the
little guy.”
Landis continued, “If you think that 89.7% of
for-hire carriers are little guys, (with) 10 trucks
or less, and ATA does the talking, that means that
89.7% of us aren’t represented.”
Landis conceded that the percentage he
quoted was a year or more old and might have
changed, but, he said, the number wouldn’t have
changed by much.
Preparing for the White House meeting, he
said, “We have a chance to be a true voice of what
we’re doing on the road, and the truth behind it.
We need to have active truck drivers that can have
a say in things,” adding, “I want to use this as a
way to create that open line of communication,
from now on.”
One of the high points of the meeting occurred
when the pair explained that brokers were
not complying with the requirements of 49 CFR
371.3, which requires disclosure of information
for each load hauled to all parties who participated,
upon request.
Karman related that Meadows then asked
Mullen, “Is that a rule?” Mullen responded in the
affirmative. “Then why aren’t you enforcing it?”
Meadows reportedly asked.
As Mullen explained issues with authority
and jurisdiction, Meadows asked for five “setup”
packets from brokerage firms and the names of
five brokerage CEOs.
Landis and Karman explained how brokers
were asking carriers to waive their rights to information
in their contracts, refusing to do business
with those who refused.
“Is that true?” Meadows asked Mullen. When
Mullen answered affirmatively, Meadows told
him, according to Karman, “You need to fix that.”
The topic of the petition filed the day before
by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
(OOIDA) asking the FMCSA to require
brokers to provide load information within 48
hours was discussed. Karman made it plain that
the protesters don’t think the OOIDA proposal
goes far enough.
“We need that information up front, while we
are negotiating the load,” he said.
Karman further called on truckers to report
claims of broker gouging to the Department of Justice,
which Meadows said would be investigated.
Landis went on to explain how he had discussed
his claim that small business truckers are
not represented at government agencies and committees,
using the same argument he had given to
The Trucker the previous evening.
“For us, this is a pretty good step in the right
direction. I’m not going to call ‘victory,’ but they
understand that we have no representation except
for ourselves,” Landis said.
“It’s a ‘sort of’ victory,” Karman interjected.
“They understand the issues and they understand
that we, as Americans, want this fixed, that
as Americans, for Americans, we want a voice,”
Landis continued.
Karman added that when the pair asked if
President Trump would be joining the meeting,
they were told by Lyons that Trump couldn’t attend
but was, in fact, listening to the live feed.
Karman related that Meadows had expressed
thanks to the protesters for sticking together
throughout the protest and that the chief of staff
said, “It’s time to go home.” Karman then recommended
the protesters stay one more day, “to see
what happens and to celebrate.”
The journey to the White House
Successes were small, at first. At 9:42 p.m.
on Saturday, May 3, President Donald Trump
tweeted, “I’m with the TRUCKERS all the way,”
adding, “It is all going to work out well!”
Earlier in the day, White House representatives
showed up at the demonstration site bearing
gifts — a cloth bag emblazoned with the presidential
seal and filled with hats bearing the messages
“USA Strong” and “Keep America Great.”
The Trump tweet was the first public acknowledgement
from the government of awareness of
the protest.
Two days later, on May 5, the president
spoke about the protest again during a call-in
appearance on the FOX News network’s “Fox
and Friends” show. During a discussion about
COVID-19 and other topics with the president,
co-host Ainsley Earhardt prompted the comments
by asking, “Everything in front of us, our paper,
our water bottles, our pencils, our phones, delivered
on a truck, and you tweeted about American
truckers being price gouged. What are you going
to do about that?”
The president responded “Oh, they are price
gouged,” acknowledging the protest near the
White House and saying, “It looked like a thousand
trucks.” He continued, “All they want is to
be treated fairly, and we’re going to treat them
fairly. You know, what they’re asking is almost
nothing in many cases.”
After claiming, “They’re great, great people,
Trump concluded his answer by saying, “We’re
going to take care of them.”
Tensions rose with the events on May 12,
as hundreds of buses descended on Washington
for a protest of their own, decrying the lack of
a monetary bailout for their industry. Earlier in
the day, trucking protesters were angered by a
Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement
that charges of broker malfeasance would not
be investigated. When buses began to convoy
down Constitution Avenue, where truckers
were parked, the patience of some protesters
wore thin. Within minutes, buses were making
U-turns and seeking other routes as the thoroughfare
was blocked by stopped trucks and
demonstrators who paraded with flags and signs.
Within moments, however, trucks were parked
again and the street reopened.
A day later, on May 13, Meadows sent
shockwaves through the demonstrators by
showing up, security detail in tow, to discuss the
issues. He spent 45 minutes listening to and answering
questions from the group. At one point,
the crowd erupted when Landis stepped forward
to speak, prompting Meadows to ask, “You all
like Mike?” Cheers and applause followed, and
Landis’ White House visit began to take form.
The protest in the capital grew noticeably
smaller after the Meadows visit. After the event,
some owner-operators felt the protest had made
enough progress to continue without their presence,
while others left to return to work after two
unpaid weeks of protest. Others stayed, vowing to
persist until they saw actual results. More truckers
announced on social media that they were on
the way.
National attention, finally
Two days after the Meadows visit, on May 15,
the protesters’ air horns brought the protest into
the national spotlight as the sound could clearly
be heard in the background of a Rose Garden
press conference during which President Trump
spoke to the nation about the administration’s
latest work on the COVID-19 pandemic. Hours
earlier, the president incensed protesters when
he claimed in a FOX News interview, “They’re
not protesting. They’re there to support me. They
love their president.” Trump made similar comments
during the interrupted press conference.
Although the protest had received copious
amounts of coverage from trucking-industry
media sources, the national media was suddenly
interested.
CNN, which had, for the most part, ignored
the Washington protesters, decided it was newsworthy
after all once the truckers’ protest provided
an opportunity to criticize Trump. The
organization — one that Trump has repeatedly
referred to as “fake news” — posted a clip that
began with the president saying, “And you hear
that outside, that beautiful sound? Those are
truckers that are with us all the way. They’re
protesting in favor of President Trump as opposed
to against. There’s hundreds of trucks out
there, and that’s the sign of love, not the sign
of your typical protest. So, I want to thank our
great truckers. They like me, and I like them.
We’re working on something together.”
Those comments were not well received by
the protesting truckers, who swarmed social media
sites to set the record straight. While the president
generally enjoys strong support among drivers,
the group made it clear that it did not want
their message hijacked for political purposes.
Some denounced Trump for his comments, while
others simply restated their reasons for being in
the capital.
Mission accomplished?
With the White House meeting on May 20, it
seemed the protest had finally attracted the attention
it sought. While the accomplishments of the
group can’t be measured yet, in revised regulations
or completed investigations, the successes
were significant.
One victory occurred when the DOJ reversed
its decision not to investigate brokers for collusion
and for price gouging during a time of crisis.
The original announcement not to investigate had
prompted the most active day of the protest.
Another occurred when the FMCSA was
prompted into a review of 49 CFR 371.3 and how
it is enforced, under the watchful eye of the president’s
chief of staff. A revision of the rule requiring
full disclosure of load information to all parties
without the requirement for a formal request,
is a real possibility.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers
Association (OOIDA) noticeably increased
the urgency of its activity during the protest.
Although OOIDA was already working toward
some of the same reforms as the protest group,
things weren’t proceeding quickly enough for
the protesters. During — or perhaps because
of — the protest, activity at OOIDA increased.
THETRUCKER.COM
Courtesy: Mike Landis
Following the meeting at the White House,
the protestors posed for a group photo in front
of the Washington Monument.
The organization sent a call to action to its
members, sent letters to all members of Congress
and then sent another letter to House
and Senate leadership, filed a petition with the
FMCSA and issued numerous press releases
and articles through its in-house publication,
Land Line magazine.
Whether they agree with the truckers’ complaints
or not, brokers now know the spotlight is
aimed squarely at them. The protesters acknowledge
the free-market system and, except for a
scant few, aren’t calling for limits on broker revenues.
But the protests shined a light on those
shadowy parts of the brokerage business, such
as demanding large payments from customers
while only spending a small percentage for the
actual service performed. There are more arguments
and, perhaps, litigation to come, but brokers
are on notice that they are being watched
and questioned.
Regardless of final results, protesters earned
the respect and admiration of many among the
millions of truckers who couldn’t participate
with the protesters’ display of unity and their
perseverance. Many people doubted the group
would get anything done. They were wrong. A
group of people who, as Jeremy Johnson, administrator
of the Facebook Group The Disrespected
Trucker, said “couldn’t agree on a free
cup of coffee” stood together with the Eastern
European group, the Hispanic contingent, the
Sikh business owners and the rest, a diverse
group of ethnicities and genders. They weren’t
sure who would speak for them, and demands
varied from group to group, but they were determined
to be heard.
So, while concrete results are still to come,
the protest has achieved more than anyone expected
it to. More importantly, the protest has
brought together more truckers than any in recent
memory. While it’s doubtful that the number
of trucks in Washington ever exceeded 200
at one time, many participants rotated in and
out, trying to devote time to the cause while
dealing with personal and family matters and
maintaining at least a partial revenue stream for
their businesses. Estimates range from 500 to
1,000 total truckers spending at least some time
at the protest.
After describing the successful White House
meeting to the tired but happy protesters, Landis
concluded, “The president is on our side. He wants
us to succeed, and he doesn’t want us to be overrun.
We won the battle, but we’re still in a war.”
To wild cheering, he said, “Let’s go celebrate.”
Satisfied that, after 20 days of protest, they
had finally achieved their goal of a White House
meeting, the group gathered for a photo with the
Washington Monument in the background. The
feeling was that their voices, as well as their air
horns, had finally been heard. 8

THETRUCKER.COM
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
While many areas of the U.S. have “reopened”
following full or partial shutdowns and
stay-at-home orders, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as federal,
state and local governments, continue to recommend
social distancing to help curb the spread of
COVID-19.
To comply with these guidelines, some
trucking-industry events are being moved to a
“virtual” format.
One such event is the 2020 Walcott Truckers
Jamboree, scheduled for July 9-11. The event
would normally held at the Iowa 80 truck stop
in Walcott, Iowa, which is touted as the “world’s
largest truck stop, but in compliance with Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynold’s orders, organizers have
moved the entire event online.
“The good news is we will most definitely continue
with our long-standing tradition of celebrating
America’s truckers,” said Heather DeBaille,
vice president of marketing. “While we can’t host
45,000 people at Iowa 80 to celebrate, we will take
the jamboree virtual and still celebrate the important
job of the professional driver.”
Many events, including the Antique
Truck Display, Super Truck Beauty Contest,
Trucker’s Best Friend Pet Contest and more
have been revamped to fit an online format.
All concerts will be rescheduled for the 2021.
The antique truck display will feature a slideshow
of photos from entrants, along with information
about their antique vehicles. Drivers participating
in the super truck beauty contest can
choose competitive categories and submit photos.
The public will vote for their favorites, and
winners will be announced July 11.
Drivers entering the Trucker’s Best Friend
Pet Contest are encouraged to register their pets
and submit photos or videos for the competition.
After voting, prizes will be awarded for “best
dressed,” “owner lookalike” and “best trick.”
On Friday, July 10, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum
will celebrate the 100th birthday one of its
exhibits, a 1920 GMC, with a video event that
will be posted on the museum’s Facebook page.
While the jamboree cannot be held on site,
all professional truck drivers with a commercial
driver’s license who stop at the Iowa 80
July 9, 10 or 11 can receive a free meal in the
Iowa 80 Kitchen restaurant. Meal certificates
will be available at the fuel center, service center,
truck wash and Super Truck Showroom.
“We want drivers to know who much we appreciate
the hard work they do. This certainly
isn’t the way we thought our 41st jamboree would
play out, but we care about drivers and their
families, and we still want to celebrate them,”
Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 9
Truck shows, conventions move to virtual format to accommodate social-distancing guidelines
The Trucker File Photo
In years past, the Walcott Truckers Jamboree
has drawn thousands of participants from
around the world.
said Delia Moon Meier, senior vice president.
“We truly hope everyone understands, and we
hope that you will join us in spirit and online July
9-11 in celebration of trucking,” she continued.
“We look forward to seeing everyone in person
in 2021.”
For more information or to register, visit
iowa80truckstop.com/trucker-jamboree.
Another event that moved to an online format
was the American Truck Historical Society’s
(ATHS) national convention and truck show,
which took place May 28-30. Event organizers
re-envisioned every aspect of the three-day
gathering to fit an online format, allowing truck
enthusiasts around the world to enjoy the event
from the comfort and safety of their homes.
“In just a few short weeks, we unraveled 18
months of planning for a live event to create what
looks to be the largest virtual convention and
show like this to date,” said Tom Mullen, president
of ATHS.
“I am extremely proud to be able to bring the
fun and excitement of our event directly to our
dedicated members and the public,” he continued.
“With travel restrictions, stay-at-home orders
and levels of quarantine varying from place
to place, country to country, bringing this whole
event online was a natural choice.”
The online event included industry-related
webinar presentations, a silent auction, trucker
storytelling booths, companion activities, a vendor
hall and, of course, a truck show.
“Normally we would host 1,000 trucks
representing 100 years of trucking history and
have guests coming from as far away as Australia
to participate,” said Laurence Gration,
executive director of ATHS, adding that organizers
worked “twice as hard” to make sure the
online event conveyed the organization’s sense
of community. 8
b TCA from page 6 b
Hall said TCA, which was founded in 1938,
is the only trade association whose sole focus
is the truckload segment of the motor carrier
industry.
TCA’s scholarship program includes seven
larger scholarships named after significant
contributors to the fund. To have a scholarship
named in their honor, donors must give
$50,000 for that scholarship, or at least $10,000
over the course of five years. Students receive
up to $6,250 for the full year, split between the
two semesters.
The application process begins in early
March through an online application.
To qualify for any of the scholarships, a
student must be in good standing, with a minimum
grade-point average of 3.0, and attend an
accredited four-year college as an undergraduate.
The student must also be a child, grandchild
or spouse of either an employee of a TCA
member or an independent contractor affiliated
with a TCA member.
“We try to be as transparent as possible,”
Hall said. “This is what you need to have to be
eligible and the qualifications considered. We
also share when the winners are posted.”
Hall said the application process includes
submitting headshots, school transcripts and a
course schedule. Hall said TCA is up front with
what is needed before prospective recipients
“dive into an application.”
“We’ve got some guidelines for the judges
— a framework — but for the most part, it is
up to their discretion,” Hall said. “They judge
(the applicants) on their workload, such as are
they taking 12 credit hours or 21, or are they
in honors classes, and they take (the students’)
extracurricular activities into account.”
She said even if a student does not have a
3.0 GPA, but is close, perhaps with a 2.8, he
or she is still encouraged to apply because the
judges will take into account factors such as
extracurricular activities or a student working
to pay for classes.
The scholarships are funded by members
of the trucking community. Hall said anyone
who wants to give to the program can, and that
“there are lots of different avenues to do so.”
“We are working on a campaign, which has
been placed on the back burner for now,” Hall
said. “Once the economy picks back up and
starts to improve, we will reach out for funds.
In the past, one of the largest ways we generated
funds was through a scholarship gala.”
Hall said the gala, which was held annually
until 2018, raised about $90,000 each year,
adding that some years the event brought in
closer to $200,000. She said the gala was held
in conjunction with the annual convention and
would usually host about 400 people.
For more information, visit www.truckload.
org. For questions about the program, Hall can
be reached at TCA@truckload.org. 8
ALL THINGS TRUCKING
News Gears Reviews Demos Rig Report How-to’s Trade Shows
@truckbossshow

10 • June 1-14, 2020 Nation
It’s common knowledge that exercising and
eating healthy is beneficial to your health. In
some cases, it can even be lifesaving. So why
isn’t everyone living the healthy lifestyle?
While reasons for not attempting an exercise
and healthy-eating program (or failing at one)
vary from person to person, many Americans
simply lack the “know-how” to begin and stick
to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some steps to help you mentally,
physically and nutritionally on the road to better
health.
Set a goal.
Sit down and write out exactly what it is
you want to achieve. The goal could range from
weight loss to building strength and endurance,
or even to relieving depression. Be honest with
yourself, and make your goals realistic. Everyone
is made differently. Never compare yourself
to someone else; it is genetically impossible.
Make a plan.
Once you have a goal, write down the steps
you are going to take to get there. It is impossible
to reach a higher level without taking one
step at a time. Picture your goal as a flight of
stairs. Without steps, it is impossible to reach the
top. Your small goals could range from losing
1 pound a week to increasing your cardiovascular
exercise a few minutes each week — or your
plan can be even easier. Keep it basic and simple
by planning out steps that are accomplishable.
Start it up.
Begin your workout routine slowly; two
to three times a week is great. Your workout
news just for truckers
THE TRUCKER NEWs CHANNEl
is TheTrucker.com’s exclusive weekly video
program featuring current events and trucking
industry news.
In addition to TheTrucker.com, The Trucker
News Channel is available on Facebook,
YouTube, AppleTV, Roku and Amazon TV.
TUNE IN AND WATCH AT THETRUCKER.COM
THETRUCKER.COM
Setting small, achievable goals is the key to creating a consistent, healthy routine
Bob Perry
The Trucker
Trainer
should consist of both strength training and cardiovascular
exercise.
Start your strength training by doing one set
of 12 to 15 reps per body part. If you do not
have weights in your truck cab, carry a couple
of extra 1-gallon water jugs (this investment
will cost less than $3). For a water-jug workout
program, email me at the address below.
Never work the same set of muscles on consecutive
days. Start your cardiovascular exercise
at five to 10 minutes and build up to 30 to
45 minutes. You could also start off by simply
walking from the back of the parking lot or taking
the stairs instead of the elevator — anything
that gets your heart rate up. Starting off slowly
will help you from burning yourself out before
you really get started.
Stay motivated.
Consistency is the key to long-term success,
but you also have to know how to motivate
yourself over time. Adding some spice to
your routine is essential to change. Change up
your exercise routine every four to six weeks.
Your muscles will adapt to a certain repetitive
motion and will not progress. Not only do
your muscles need to be “shocked” again but
learning new exercises will also help prevent
boredom. That applies for cardiovascular exercise,
too.
Here are a few additional tips to get started
on the road to a healthier lifestyle.
• Drink some water the next time you are
feeling run down. Chances are that you are dehydrated.
• Protein is the building block of every cell
in your body and should be the foundation of
every meal.
• Apples offer vitamins and minerals that
are vital to a healthy vascular system.
• The next time you get hungry on the road,
try some nutritious, protein-filled nuts. Almonds,
pecans and cashews are good options.
Known as The Trucker Trainer by professional
drivers nationwide, Bob Perry brings a unique
perspective to the transportation industry for bus
drivers to OTR truck drivers. Bob comes from a
family of professional drivers and has played a
critical role in the paradigm shift of regulatory
agencies, private and public sector entities, and
consumers to understand the driver health challenge.
For over-the-road workout programs reach
out to Perry at truckertrainer@icloud.com. 8
b Ports from page 6 b
Recent protocols included in GPA’s “Isolate
and Operate” plan, such as frequent cleaning of
high-traffic areas and temporary suspension of
biometric scanners, have helped address drivers’
concerns.
“It just makes drivers feel more comfortable,”
Foster said. “We are doing what we have
to do in order to get our job done.”
McCray added that it’s important to let drivers
who are working around the clock to ensure
cargo fluidity know they’re appreciated. He
also said his friends in the trucking community
take great pride in what they do.
“We consider ourselves fortunate to have the
opportunity to help and get through this thing,”
McCray said. 8

THETRUCKER.COM
b HOS from page 1 b
driving for up to two additional hours to reach
their destination or to a place of safety. Those extra
two hours, however, had to be driven within
the 14-hour window. Since the 14-hour window
wasn’t extended, drivers often couldn’t take advantage
of the extra driving hours. Under the revised
rules, the 14-hour period is extended, up to
16 hours, if the two additional hours of driving
are needed.
Finally, the short-haul exemption, excusing
drivers from logging (ELD or paper) if they return
to their home terminal and don’t exceed the
area of a 100-air-mile radius, has been changed
to extend the radius to 150 miles. Further, the
12-hour work period is extended to 14 hours,
matching short-haul drivers’ over-the-road counterparts.
This exemption may benefit drivers who
have local routes and are home each night.
Any or all of the proposed revisions could be
held up or eliminated if legal action threatened
by safety-advocacy groups actually takes place.
The 232-page FMCSA release of the final
rule contains the statement, “The flexibilities in
this final rule are intended to allow drivers to
shift their drive and work time to mitigate the
impacts of certain variables (e.g., weather, traffic,
detention times, etc.) and to take breaks without
penalty when they need to rest.”
The announced changes were welcome news
to drivers and organizations that had long fought
for the revisions. The Owner-Operator Independent
Drivers Association (OOIDA) submitted a
request to amend the HOS rules in February 2018.
The OOIDA request included expanding the
shorter period of the rest break to three hours without
counting the time against the 14-hour clock.
The OOIDA request asked for elimination of the
30-minute rest break, which was not granted. Instead,
the parameters of the break were changed to
lessen the impact to the driver’s schedule.
Other petitioners for the rules changes Included
TruckerNation, the United States Transportation
Alliance (USTA) and the United Drivers
Association (UDA). These organizations and
others submitted favorable comments during the
prescribed comment period.
Also submitting comments, but opposed
to the revisions, were the National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB), the National Safety
Council (NSC), the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine (AASM), Advocates, RoadSafe America,
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Rep.
Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), the International Brotherhood
of Teamsters (IBT) and the Truck Safety
Coalition (TSC).
Reaction to the announced rule changes, as
expected, has been mixed.
Chris Spear, CEO of American Trucking Associations
(ATA), said, “[The new] rule is the result
of a two-year, data-driven process, and it will
result in needed flexibility for America’s professional
truck drivers while maintaining the safety
of our roads.”
Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) issued
a press release that included the statement, “TCA
applauds the (FMCSA) for taking an active role
in receiving input from all stakeholders to craft
flexible regulations for the industry while still
improving safety, and for also expediting this
rule change to provide the maximum benefit.”
The general president of the Teamsters Union
(IBT), James Hoffa, wasn’t celebrating.
“In an effort to increase so-called ‘flexibility’
for trucking companies, the FMCSA is abandoning
safety and allowing drivers to push themselves
to the limit even further,” Hoffa said in a
press release.
OOIDA, which began this round of HOS revision
with a request to amend, issued a statement
that included this thought from Todd Spencer, the
organization’s president: “The hours-of-service
regulations for commercial truck drivers need to
be updated to match the realities of freight movement
and to truly improve highway safety.”
Spencer noted that the FMCSA is “finally listening”
and urged “real truckers” to participate
in the rulemaking process, “so that the next incarnation
of the hours-of-service regulations is
not written by corporate trucking executives and
anti-trucking groups that have no understanding
of the realities of over-the-road trucking.”
If social-media comments are any indication,
a general mistrust of the FMCSA dampened enthusiasm
for the new rules. One commenter, identified
as G JA Segura said, “So they changed it
from a choke chain to a tight dog collar.” Another,
Chester Gault, wasn’t convinced. “That’s no real
change” he posted. “Doesn’t do any good.” James
Hart agreed. “Yeah, they made a change,” he said.
“But it doesn’t help the driver at all.”
Many of the social-media comments, a large
percentage of them unprintable due to language,
were critical of the FMCSA and of U.S. Secretary
of Transportation Elaine Chao. Others
expressed that action on freight rates was more
important than HOS reform.
Jeremy Johnson, founder and administrator
of the 8,800-member The Disrespected Trucker
Facebook group, likes the changes but wishes
they had gone further.
“It does add a little bit of flexibility, but they
can’t seem to get it through their heads that the
14-hour clock isn’t a good idea,” Johnson said.
About the new 7/3 break period split, he wondered
why the agency had to dictate the length
of rest periods. “It’s not all bad, but give us the
option of how we want to split our day,” he said.
Kevin Steichen, president and co-founder
of the United States Transportation Alliance
(USTA), thought it best to withhold judgment
until fully reading the 232-page FMCSA release.
“It’s a good start,” Steichen said. “It does allow
for a little more flexibility in how drivers use
their hours.” Steichen cautioned against driver
negativity. “It’s a little early for anyone to be
picking it apart. Knee-jerk reactions don’t get us
anywhere,” he said.
Steichen noted that no regulation will please
everyone.
“The problem is that with the HOS, there
isn’t a ‘one size fits all,’” he said, pointing out the
trucking diversity found just on the USTA board.
“We’re all owner-operators,” he said, “but I’m
pulling a livestock trailer, Ingrid (Brown, safety
chair) is pulling refrigerated, Mike (Landis, CEO)
pulls a tanker and Tim (Siedschlag, vice president)
pulls heavy-haul. We’re all different.”
As previously noted, the FMCSA’s “final”
rule isn’t official until 120 days after being published
in the Federal Register, which had not yet
happened at the time of this writing. The 120-
day period is to allow for training of enforcement
agencies and updating of ELD equipment. Legal
actions filed by the opponents of the changes
could delay implementation further or result in
further revisions.
No matter how the revisions are received,
one thing is for certain; Trucking regulations will
continue to evolve along with the industry and
the world it serves. 8
Nation June 1-14, 2020 • 11
New TA Express now open in Mount Vernon, Texas
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
MOUNT VERNON, Texas — TravelCenters
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Mount Vernon, Texas. Formerly Duke’s Travel
Plaza, the newly branded TA Express is at 300
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nationwide network of travel centers to 266.
Services and amenities include:
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• Ample auto parking.
• Diesel fueling with RFID and DEF at
all lanes.
• Gasoline fueling lanes.
• Private showers.
• Laundry room.
• Drivers’ lounge.
• Elaborate dog park.
• Travel store.
Dining options include the Cotton Belt BBQ,
Taco Casa and an on-site deli with freshly prepared,
made-to-go options. 8
Courtesy: TravelCenters of America
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Perspective June
1-14, 2020 • 12
Single fathers deserve a special shoutout as Father’s Day approaches
Wendy Miller
editor@thetruckermeda.com
Mad Dog’s
Daughter
June is always one of my least favorite months. It is the time
when summer starts to get into full swing here in Arkansas. We
don’t get a spring. Soon the temperature will be soaring into
the 90s, and the humidity is already kicking in. However, this
month also brings Father’s Day.
I have always found it interesting how our country has so
many days dedicated to specific things. I have not, however,
given much thought to exactly how Father’s Day came about. A
quick Google search led me to History.com, the official website
of the History Channel, where I discovered that Mother’s Day
became a nationally recognized holiday in 1914 after it was unofficially
observed in some states a few years earlier. It was a
hit! History.com says the success of Mother’s Day was due, in
part, to the correlation between gift-giving for mothers and the
potential for profit seen by retailers.
Father’s Day, on the other hand, was not met with the same
enthusiasm and natural connection between gift-giving and
men. While the development of Father’s Day was similar to that
of Mother’s Day, it was not officially recognized on a national
level until 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge urged states to
recognize a day dedicated to fathers.
Why am I giving a back story on the origins of Father’s Day?
It’s pretty simple, actually.
For The Trucker’s two June issues, I’ve specifically sought
feature stories that talk about the important relationship between
fathers and their children. I think I struck gold with Linda Garner-
Bunch’s story about S.H.E. Trucking founder and truck driver
Sharae Moore. Not only is Sharae a fun person to talk to (I think
Linda has made a forever friend), but she also has a great story
of mending a relationship with her father through trucking. Her
father, Carlos Crutcher, admits he was not there for much of his
Courtesy: Don Miller AKA Mad Dog
The managing editor of The Trucker obviously hasn’t always
been a fan of trucks as is evident in this photo. Wendy, on the
front fender, is not a fan of heights. Her brother, Chris, in the
pink shirt) thought then — and still thinks — this is hilarious.
Mad Dog is the only one prepared for this photo.
daughter’s childhood. No matter the reason (you’ll learn that
in the full story), this situation isn’t necessarily uncommon for
children who are raised in single-parent households, and mending
those relationships isn’t the easiest thing to do. Forgiveness
and understanding are virtues that it takes time to acquire. Mad
props to anyone who can mend a broken relationship with a parent.
Sharae and Carlos’ story warms my heart for that very reason.
It really means something for a daughter to hear, “I’m proud of
you” from either parent, no matter the back story.
I also think it is important to give special attention to the
single fathers of the world. Regardless of whether you feel that
both parents being a part of their kids’ lives should be the norm,
the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 27.1% of children grow up
in a single-parent household. The overwhelming majority of that
percentage are raised by a single mother. To most, that probably
is not surprising. By default, women tend to be more nurturing,
and I guess we as women just assume that role. I don’t have
children, so I can’t speak from experience as a parent.
Of that single-parent percentage, only 16.1% of single-parent
households are headed by fathers. That might be a small percentage,
but it is, in fact, up from 12.5% in 2007. Of all children,
single-father living situations account for 4.35%. That is
an increase of 1% of children since the 1960s, which is around
the time society became more accepting of parents not “staying
together for the children.”
I recently attended a funeral of a distant family member who
was the father of six children, and he was the sole guardian of all
of them. Looking at the percentages above, it is easy to see that
this is not an everyday occurrence. He died in a car accident.
Those kids, ranging in age from 3 to 17, were heartbroken about
laying their dad to rest. While many children might have “broken”
childhood memories of their father, these particular children
know that their dad was there for them every single day.
More single dads are the primary caregivers for their children
than we realize. For that reason, I want to dedicate my first
column of the month of June to those men. I’m sure there are
members of the trucking community who were either raised by
a single father or are holding down a single-parent household
while driving. No matter the reason for the situation, when a
single parent steps up on their own, it is to be admired. Maybe it
is just a long-standing stereotype or perhaps the percentages, but
women get more recognition than men for that deed.
I have my own stories of my dad, the “Mad Dog” for which
this column is named, and I’ll share some of those in the second
issue of the month. We have our struggles and we have our
differences, but I am thankful to have my dad as a cheerleader
in my role at The Trucker. Like I said, it is meaningful to hear,
“I’m proud of you,” and I am confident that Mad Dog is.
I’ll leave you with this lovely photo as a glimpse into my
childhood memories of my dad and trucking. Yep. That photo
featured in this column shows yours truly sitting on the front
fender of a Mack truck. And I’m crying. I’ll tell you more about
that in the next issue, but in the meantime, go pick your daughter
up and sit her on your truck. She’ll remember it forever. Of
that, I’m positive.
Until next time, be cool and be careful. And thanks for making
the sacrifices you make every day. Your kids appreciate it. If they
don’t now understand it now, they will when they are older. 8
WORTH REPEATING
In this section, The Trucker news staff will select quotes from stories throughout
this issue that are just too good to only publish once. In case you missed it, you
should check out the stories that include these perspectives. Don’t worry, though, the
Point of View section will return soon. In the meantime, if you have an opinion you
would like to share, email editor@thetruckermedia.com.
“We have a chance to be a true voice
of what we’re doing on the road, and the
truth behind it. We need to have active truck
drivers that can have a say in things. I want
to use this as a way to create that open line
of communication, from now on.”
—Michael Landis, CEO of United States
Transportation Alliance, before the “mayday”
protesters’ meeting with representatives of the
Trump administration at the White House May 20.
Full story on Pages 1 and 8.
“Contrary to popular belief perpetuated
by her late 1980s country music video, Kathy
Mattea never met a soon-to-be-retired truck
driver named Charlie at a truck stop, and
she never autographed a photo for Charlie
to give to his wife.”
— Kris Rutherford, The Trucker’s Rhythm of the Road
columnist, disclosing the history behind Mattea’s 1988
country-music hit “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses.”
Full column on Page 16.
“Fleets remain in a severe waitand-see
posture until they can evaluate
the damage done to the freight markets
from the pandemic. … The key element
to the trailer market recovery is for fleet
confidence to improve.”
— Don Ake, vice president of commercial
vehicles for FTR, on the dramatic drop in trailer
orders seen by the industry in April.
Full story on Pages 23 and 24.

THETRUCKER.COM
I am sick of COVID-19. I am sick of staying
home. I am sick of everything being closed.
I am sick of people getting sick and dying. I am
sick of not knowing how best to move forward.
I am sick of not knowing when this will end.
In other words, I am sick of this whole
damn mess. And I don’t think I am alone.
We are living in crazy times. COVID-19
has, quite simply, changed everything. The
way we live and work has changed, for likely
forever.
Now, before you think I am an eternal pessimist,
I want to say that I do think we will
come through this better and stronger — albeit
different — than we were before. We have
faced crises before and have always prevailed.
However, as is the case immediately following
most catastrophes, the government may
restrict certain liberties we previously enjoyed
in order to gain control over the situation. For
example, 45 days after 9/11, the government
passed the Patriot Act. In essence, the act allowed
the government to search things — such
as telephone, email and financial records —
without a court order. Many of the provisions
of the original Patriot Act were set to expire
Dec. 31, 2005; however, many of the provisions
have been routinely reauthorized and are
valid today. Many were just reauthorized in
March of this year.
All this brings me to our current situation.
It appears that the best way to contain the
spread of COVID-19 in a partially opened
economy is through: (i) extensive testing;
(ii) use of personal protective equipment; and
(iii) the ability to track individuals who have
the virus or who have been in contact with
those who have the virus.
It is the last one that gives me pause.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South
Korea have all employed this method and have
enjoyed “success.” (I hate to say success, as
people are still dying.) However, in addition to
using humans to trace the virus, they also employed
surveillance technology. This is where
my heartburn begins.
Apparently, the U.S. and several European
countries are now considering a similar use
of surveillance technology to help track those
who have the virus or who have been in contact
with those folks. In fact, Google has been sharing
some of its information on the location and
movement of its users to assist researchers and
doctors as they combat the virus. Moreover,
a team at MIT has developed a proximitytracking
application for those who have been in
contact with COVID-19 patients. In addition,
Google and Apple have already developed
Perspective June 1-14, 2020 • 13
Pandemics, emergency situations call digital privacy protection into question
Brad Klepper
exclusive to the trucker
Ask the
Attorney
apps to allow for voluntary contact tracing.
Now here is where I do a bit of disclosure
about myself. For what it is worth, I am NOT
a hard-core conservative, nor do I value a robust
economy over human life. I am also NOT
a far-left liberal who believes that the economy
doesn’t matter and the government should do
whatever is necessary to support me through
this crisis. I consider myself one of the few remaining
moderates in the world (there are actually
three of us, and we work eight-hour shifts
so someone is always on duty).
With all that being said, I understand that
there is some need for the government to track
the spread of the disease and that, like it or not,
some surveillance will likely be implemented.
My concern is with what information will be
gathered, how long will it be gathered and how
will it be used.
For example, South Korea collects data
from cellphones, GPS, public transportation,
credit-card data, immigration data and other
sources. While all this information can be useful
in tracking people’s movements, I struggle
with the additional implications.
For instance, if the “magic” number of
days for a person to be quarantined is 14,
I would assume this would be the relevant
period of time I would need to be “tracked.”
However, what happens to my information
after the 14 days? Is it deleted or erased? I
doubt it. However, it should be. If 14 days is
the magic number, then there is no need for
the government — or anybody else — to know
where I am and what I am doing beyond that
time frame.
Also, what about my private information
that such surveillance may disclose? What if
I am visiting the oncologist for cancer treatment?
Or meeting with my lawyer? Does the
government (or anyone else) need to know this
information?
Moreover, can you imagine the dollar value
associated with the history of everyone’s movements?
What would a company/person pay to
have that information? To be able to know all
that information is invaluable. Sure, some of it
is already available, but nothing to this extent.
I guess, at the end of the day, I understand
that some of this information may be necessary
to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save
lives. I am at peace with that. However, there
need to be safeguards put into place to guarantee
that our privacy is protected and that only
the information that is necessary is used —and
only for the relevant time frame.
In other words, we need a digital bill of
rights.
I wish I could say that this was totally my
idea, but it is not. It has been around for years.
The current crisis has just brought it back to the
forefront. At the Global Forum on Artificial Intelligence
last year, French President Emmanuel
Macron argued for government to implement
a bill of rights providing for fundamental
See Attorney on p16 m
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14
AT
THE TRUCK STOP
PRESENTED BY CAT SCALE. VISIT WEIGHMYTRUCK.COM
In business and in life, Kevin and Candice Rawls
work as a team partnership
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
PARAGOULD, Ark. — How do an assistant
instructor at a regional college and a phlebotomist
at a local medical center spend their
lives once the kids are grown?
If they’re Kevin and Candice Rawls of Paragould,
Arkansas, they go to school together to
get their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs);
then hit the road as team truck drivers.
“Once the kids were grown, we thought
trucking would give us a way to travel together
and put away some money,” Candice said.
“Back home, she always drove small cars,”
Kevin said. “But since she started driving a big
truck, we had to buy a Suburban.”
When they’re at work as owner-operators, the
couple drives a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia 126
with an automatic-shift transmission and a Detroit
engine that pulls 505 horsepower. Buying
the Cascadia was an easy choice, since the team
began their trucking career driving a Freightliner
for MC Express in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
“We’ve been teaming together for three
years and decided it’s time to go into business
for ourselves,” Kevin explained.
“While we were company drivers, we
saved up for the down payment on this truck,”
Candice added.
“We paid off everything we could so we
would have minimal expenses,” Kevin said.
“We’re even paying extra on the house.”
The Rawls’ Cascadia is a “golden amber”
color, “sort of a metallic orange,” according to
Candice. The longer wheelbase improves the
ride, Kevin said, adding that it also allowed
the couple to mount a storage box on the catwalk
behind the sleeper. They chose Floridabased
Landstar Systems to lease their equipment
to, and both say they have been satisfied
so far.
Being together on the road comes naturally
to the Rawls, who have been a couple since
their youth.
“We’ve been together since we were 16 at
Greene County Tech High School,” Candice
shared. “We were married at 20, and we’ve
been married 31 years now.”
“We like to stay out for about a month at
a time, and then we’ll go home for a week or
so,” Kevin said. “It seems like when you go
home, it’s hard to get back into the routine once
you leave.”
The company lets the pair choose their loads
from a load board available to other Landstar
Business Capacity Owners (BCOs). Some
loads are from Landstar customers while others
may be brokered by Landstar agents, but the
loads must be selected from Landstar offerings.
Because the couple runs hard and stays out
so many days at a time, available driving hours
can become a problem. Kevin and Candice
often choose to manage their hours and keep
rolling rather than stop for a 34-hour restart.
“Landstar lets us pick from both team and
solo loads, so we can keep the truck rolling —
but we can take a solo load if we need a break
or we’re getting close on hours,” Kevin said.
While the timing could have been better for
the Rawls to become owner-operators (they took
delivery of their truck just as freight rates began
dropping in early April), by watching their
spending and being selective of the loads they
accept, they’ve been able to make a go of it.
“Some rates were unbelievable, around 90
cents a mile, and even one in the 70s, but we’ve
been able to find enough decent loads to keep
going,” Candice said.
Kevin added, “At this point, the rates are
doing it for us.”
The couple said they prefer running to the
West and Northwest parts of the U.S. because
of the good roads, longer trips and better traffic.
The East Coast presents some challenges they
prefer to avoid.
“It’s hard to find a parking place if you want
to use the bathroom,” Candice said. “That’s important
for women. I’d rather drive in LA than
up the East Coast.”
The couple works in 12-hour shifts: Kevin
starts at 3 a.m. and Candice takes over at 3 p.m.
“I drive at night and he drives during the
day,” Candice explained. “We each see some
day and some night.”
Kevin noted that Landstar is “big on safety.”
Candice added that taking your time as a
driver can help to prevent accidents.
“Take your time maneuvering and get out
and look when you need to,” Candice said.
“When you don’t take time, you increase the
chance of something happening.”
The couple saves money by eating most of
their meals in the truck.
“We don’t do any big-time cooking in the
truck,” said Candice, who makes use of their
freezer. “We buy a lot of Healthy Choice prepared
meals. We have a toaster oven and a microwave,
of course.”
When the couple is home, they relish visiting
their grandson and reuniting with their dog,
which they leave in the care of a daughter when
they go on the road, due to the dog’s age.
Kevin likes to hunt deer when he gets the
chance, as he did during a dream trip last year.
“Me and my son and my dad went to Colorado
to hunt mule deer,” he said. “We hunt
whitetail back home.”
Candice said she also crochets when she
gets the time.
When home time is over, however, the
Rawls are back to business.
At home or on the road, Candice and
Kevin approach life and work as a team —
together. 8
Courtesy: Candice Rawls
Owner-operators Kevin and Candice Rawls drive a 2019 Freightliner Cascadia 126 with an
automatic-shift transmission and a Detroit engine that pulls 505 horsepower. Buying the Cascadia
was an easy choice, since the team began their trucking career driving a Freightliner for
MC Express in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

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16 • June 1-14, 2020 Perspective
protection in the digital world, stating “what is
at stake is absolutely critical and core for our democracies.”
I agree.
Congress should pass such a bill defining
how our digital rights and privacy are to be protected
from infringement after this crisis — or
any other crisis — is over.
Brad Klepper is president of Interstate Trucker
THETRUCKER.COM
Kathy Mattea finds a diamond in the rough with 18 wheels, a dozen roses
Kris Rutherford
krisr@thetrucker.com
Rhythm of
the Road
Contrary to popular belief perpetuated by
her late 1980s country music video, Kathy Mattea
never met a soon-to-be-retired truck driver
named Charlie at a truck stop, and she never autographed
a photo for Charlie to give to his wife
(we’ll refer to her as June) upon arriving home.
Likewise, Mattea didn’t write a song inspired
by this chance meeting — because the meeting
never happened.
All this may be hard to digest for those who
are familiar with the popular and lasting music
video that accompanied the release of Mattea’s
award-winning “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses”
on country radio in 1988.
Perhaps no song in country music history better
highlights the gap between interpreting the
lyricist’s meaning in a song and watching someone
else’s interpretation play out on the screen.
What a songwriter has in mind when composing
may or may not be what the music-video producers
have in mind when setting a song to film. In
addition, what listeners interpret may be much
more than the songwriter ever intended.
Kathy Mattea grew up in West Virginia, but
music did not run in her bloodline. It wasn’t until
college that she joined her first bluegrass band.
After two years at the University of West Virginia,
Mattea took what she’d learned from her campus
band and headed for Nashville where, like so
many others, her dreams of stardom turned into
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a journey of odd jobs. But unlike so many others,
Mattea eventually received the opportunity
to record demo tapes for other artists to consider
when planning upcoming albums. After recording
enough demos, Mattea’s voice caught the ear
of a record executive. By 1983, she’d signed a
contract with Mercury records, and her first two
albums enjoyed moderate success. But her 1986
album “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” brought
the stardom Mattea had left college to find. A
single from the album, “Love at the Five and
Dime,” scored a Grammy nomination, and in the
meantime Mattea picked up a number of country
music awards.
While the story of “18 Wheels and a Dozen
Roses” may not have risen from a chance meeting
with a truck driver seeking an autograph, it
did follow the route many songs take toward “hit”
status. The song was a product of demo tapes like
those Kathy Mattea recorded before landing her
own contract.
While preparing to record her fifth Mercury
album, “Untasted Honey,” Mattea picked up a
stack of demo tapes her producer had selected.
Some songs fit her style; others were thrown in
to help her focus on the songs she liked best. The
process was likely straightforward, and the songs
the producer expected Mattea to choose rose to
the top. But, on occasion one of the demo tapes
that’s “thrown in” becomes a diamond in the
rough. Such was the case with “18 Wheels and a
Dozen Roses.”
Mattea liked the trucking song as written by
Paul and Gene Nelson, but she knew she had slim
chances of recording it. Female artists didn’t record
trucking songs, and songwriters didn’t write
them with female artists in mind.
For whatever reason, Mattea overcame the
odds with “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” The
songwriters granted her the rights to record their
song, and likely unbeknownst to them, they also
struck a chord of marketing genius. After all,
when a female gains admittance into a maledominated
genre, the audience for a song basically
doubles. In the case of “18 Wheels and a
Dozen Roses,” the audience received an extra
boost. Mattea’s voice allowed a theme hidden in
the song to shine through — one the songwriters
may not have considered when penning the lyrics.
The result was a “throw in” demo tape of a
trucking song riding an unlikely superhighway to
country gold.
The character of Charlie, as both the song
and music video suggest, is a truck driver on the
last leg of a 30-year career on the road. The gold
watch his carrier presented as a retirement gift
hardly compares with the untold number of miles
Charlie has driven. The watch is deemed even
more insignificant when the discerning listener
b Attorney from page 13 b
realizes Charlie’s career kept him from spending
time with his devoted wife (June, as we named
her at the outset of this column). Like the gold
watch, the dozen roses Charlie gives June after
parking his truck for the last time cannot possibly
repay her for the years she spent standing behind
Charlie, counting the days until his return. At this
point in the song, just before the first chorus, the
impact of Kathy Mattea’s voice in a truck-driving
song is fully realized.
The words to “18 wheels and a Dozen Roses”
do tell a story of Charlie and his retirement, but
with Mattea’s voice, the meaning expands. The
song isn’t just about Charlie after all. Instead, it
is about Charlie, June and their relationship. The
phrase, “She’ll no longer be counting the days” is
the turning point. For the remainder of the song,
June, even if unnamed, is what keeps the story
alive. Without her, Charlie’s retirement means
little and the lyrics no longer have a purpose.
One would think Charlie would like to settle
down and spend some time at home after a lifetime
on the road, but when considering June’s
life, the second half of the song reinforces that
we’re listening to a story of a relationship.
“They’ll buy a Winnebago,
Set out to find America,
Do a lot of catching up
A little at a time.
With pieces of the old dream,
They’re gonna light the old flame,
Doing what they please
Leaving every other reason behind.”
Charlie has seen the sights of America. Now
it’s time to see them again — but this time with
June, as a couple. Charlie’s retirement is not an
end; rather, it’s the beginning of what Charlie and
June have waited for their entire adult lives.
With Mattea’s voice, what may have been intended
as a simple trucking song becomes much
more. The theme of relationships, which possibly
never crossed the songwriters’ minds, overrides
any intent they may have had of the song becoming
a sentimental favorite of lonely drivers on the
interstates, dreaming of the day when they, like
Charlie, could climb out of the cab a final time.
“18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses” could have
been just another song “on the all-night radio”
of which Kathy Mattea sings, but thanks to her
voice, the song became arguably the most popular
female-recorded trucking song in history —
and it is undoubtedly among the best trucking
songs of the past 40 years.
Until next time, try listening to a few of your
country classic favorites while blocking images
of the music video from your consciousness. You
may find that what you thought was merely a
good story set to music is really a diamond in the
rough, if only in your own mind. 8
Ltd., a law firm entirely 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.
Brad is also president of Drivers Legal
Plan, which allows member drivers access to his
firm’s services at greatly 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. For more information contact
Klepper at (800) 333-DRIVE (3748) or inter
statetrucker.com and driverslegalplan.com. 8

THETRUCKER.COM
Perspective June 1-14, 2020 • 17
Faith, trust are vital to overcoming
the ‘nightmare’ of a world in turmoil
Rev. Marilou Coins
Chaplain’s
Corner
Here we are, already halfway through
the year. So much has happened to the
normal routine of our lives in just a
few short months. All these events have
changed the world’s “normal” to such a
great extent that some people feel we are
living in a nightmare.
Now is the time to get real and know
that life for all of us has changed. It has
changed so much that we sometimes forget
that God is still in control of all of
this. There is nothing that is happening to
us that he isn’t aware of.
Consider the biblical story of Job. Job
also felt an unbelievable amount of strain
on his life, and it changed things for him
forever. Read the book of Job in your
Bible and compare it to what we are now
experiencing. Can you see the similarities
in Job’s situation and ours? God let Satan
test the faith of Job, just as he is testing
our faith now.
Where do you see yourself? Do you
feel you are being tested also?
At the start of the story, Job had all the
good things life could give him. He had
wealth beyond anything imagined. Then
he lost it all. Yes, he lost everything and
even suffered illness that caused his loss
of family, wealth and friends. The most
important thing is that Job did not lose his
faith. Job stood tall and remained faithful
to God.
Are you standing tall in your faith
right now? Or are you more of a “doubting
Thomas”?
Job, like many of us, lost all his earthly
possessions — but he trusted in God
to provide strength to overcome it all.
Job was no doubting Thomas. He never
doubted that God would see him through
all the trials and troubles that he faced.
Are you struggling to make ends meet?
Do you know someone who has lost their
job? Maybe you have lost your job, or
your work is getting slower and things are
getting hard for you. Have you become a
doubting Thomas?
If you are doubting that God will see
you through the tough times, then where
is your faith? It takes undiluted faith and
trust in God to pull you through all the
tough times in your life.
God is not going to let you down. He
is not going to fail to see you through
whatever Satan does to you. This is what
Satan is doing to all of us. He is trying to
show God that he will win because God’s
people will turn away from him and put
their trust and faith in what they can do
themselves, saying, “’I can do it on my
own.”
Where is your faith? Where is your
trust? No one can be a “do-it-yourself”
person in all situations. We all need someone
more powerful than ourselves. We
need a savior. We need God back in our
lives to pull us through the bad times as
well as the good times.
If we give in now, we are falling into
the hands of Satan — and we will never
succeed. Satan is trying his best to deceive
us into thinking God has abandoned us.
This is a lie. God has NOT abandoned us.
God let Satan test Job to see if he was
strong and faithful to his lord. We are like
modern-day Jobs. We are being tested to
see if we are strong enough and trusting
enough that God will bring us through
this pandemic.
As modern Job, do you trust in God?
Do you stand strong in your faith?
Now is a time of testing in our lives.
Now is the time to stand strong in our
faith. God is not going to let Satan win
over us. Only our refusal to put our trust
and faith in God will let Satan win.
It’s your choice. Where do you see
yourself? Are you strong in your faith?
Are you ready to stand tall and let God in
control of your life? Or are you a doubting
Thomas? Are you weak in your faith?
Now is the time to do a self-examination
of where you stand and who you
serve. God will not force you to accept
him — you must make that choice. Satan
is already at work testing you, but you can
let Satan know he has no control over you
once you put your trust and faith in God.
It’s time for each of us to accept God
and allow him to be in control. We are
walking in the faith that Job had, and
we are not letting Satan win. Job never
doubted that God knew what he was doing
in his life. Job let God win. He let God
take control and win the battle that needed
to be won.
Job had it all and lost it all but, in the
end, Job’s faith in God won the battle.
Are you a battle-worn person trusting
that God will pull you through these
tough times? I am. I know God is testing
all of us. I know my faith in God will win
this battle. How about you?
Prayer is the sword needed to win this
battle. Stay strong. Stand firm. Pray hard.
We are the winners.
The battle has just begun. Satan is testing
us, but God will win the battle. Never
doubt. Even doubting Thomas finally believed
in Jesus once he saw the wounds in
his savior’s hands. But we believe even
though we haven’t seen. We stand on
faith.
Best of the road, and all gears forward
in Jesus.
Rev. Marilou Coins 8
MOVINGFORWARD
ALWAYS
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Mercer is still growing. Thousands of
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18 • May 15-31, 2020 Business
thetrucker.com

THETRUCKER.COM
Business
May 15-31, 2020 • PB
Business
June 1-14, 2020 • 19
As repercussions of Celadon bankruptcy case continue behind
the scenes, asset acquisitions and auctions go on amid pandemic
Kris Rutherford
krisr@thetruckermedia.com
The aftermath of the closing and subsequent
bankruptcy filing of Indianapolis-based carrier
Celadon made for prominent headlines in trucking
industry news from December 2019 until late
February 2020.
But that was before COVID-19 supplanted
almost all news coverage ranging from major
media outlets to industry-specific publications
and digital media. The fallout from the
Celadon bankruptcy continues, but those not
following the story may have lost track of
the complicated proceedings in a case involving
multiple subsidiaries in numerous states
and three countries. While proceedings may
be moving a bit slower than usual during the
global health crisis, plenty of action is ongoing
behind the scenes.
Celadon, among the largest carriers in the
U.S. and the largest serving the U.S., Canada and
Mexico, abruptly ceased operations without notice
to employees over the weekend of Dec. 7-8,
2019. After sending announcement to drivers via
the carrier’s in-cab messaging system shortly before
midnight on Dec. 8, Celadon filed for bankruptcy
just hours later.
In the meantime, the carrier’s actions stranded
drivers across the three countries. Fuel companies
canceled driver cards, and reports indicated
some equipment was repossessed. The
initial confusion eventually cleared, and all drivers
returned home with the assistance of other
carriers and businesses. It then became apparent
that Celadon’s Chapter 11 filing would spark the
most significant truck carrier bankruptcy proceedings
in U.S. history.
The following is a summary of significant
developments in the Celadon bankruptcy and
wind-down since late February.
PAM abandons acquisition of Celadon’s
Mexico assets; new buyer found
In February, Arkansas-based carrier PAM
announced an agreement with Celadon’s bankruptcy
oversight team to acquire the former carrier’s
Mexico-based operations at the cost of
$7 million. As an intracontinental carrier, before
its bankruptcy Celadon managed several
holdings in Mexico, including 100% of Celadon
Mexicana and Jaguar Logistics & Leasing
Servicios. The company also controlled 75% of
Transporación Corprativos. The agreement included
Mexico tax refunds due to Celadon for
approximately $18.5 million.
Following PAM CEO David Cushman’s retirement
on May 1, reports emerged that PAM
sought to renegotiate the terms of the agreement.
The reports suggested the unforeseen impacts
of COVID-19 on the trucking industry —
and PAM operations — had created new market
conditions. Celadon’s representatives showed
no interest in renegotiating the deal and instead
sought another buyer.
White Willow Holdings of Newfields, New
Hampshire, back by New York City investment
firm Luminus Management LLC, provided
the most viable offer for the Mexico assets. In
early May, a press release announced the New
Hampshire carrier would acquire Celadon’s
Mexico business for $2.7 million. Terms included
the $18.5 million in Mexico tax refunds
and a commitment on the part of While Willow
Holdings to invest $550,000 in the Mexico
operations immediately. Assets included in the
transaction included all former Celadon holdings,
the most prominent being Jaguar Logistics
Courtesy: Richie Brothers Auctioneers
More than 300 trucks and 1,400 trailers are included in auctions of Celadon assets coordinated
by Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers of Houston.
& Leasing, previously valued at $23.4 million.
White Willow is no stranger to the Celadon
proceedings. The company purchased Celadon’s
North Carolina-based carrier Taylor Express earlier
this year at the cost of $14.5 million.
Celadon spin-off assets acquired in a joint
venture
A joint venture including Chicago-based Hilco
Global and New York City’s Colbeck Capital
Management acquired assets associated with a
former Celadon truck leasing affiliate on May 1.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Former Hilco Performance Solutions president
Steven Tanzi is CEO of the new venture to be
known as H19 Capital LLC. H19 Capital should
not be confused with 19th Capital, a similar joint
venture between Celadon and Toronto-based Element
Fleet Management Corp.
When Celadon formed Quality Companies
See Celadon on p21 m
iStock Photo
April’s declining truck sales were not unexpected,
as numbers were already running
nearly 28.0% behind last year’s pace.
April Class 8 truck sales barely half of those a year ago
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
April was the worst month for new Class 8
truck sales in the U.S. market in more than three
years. To find a worse month, you’d have to go
back 37 months to February 2017.
A total of 12,986 new Class 8 trucks were
sold in April, according to information received
from ACT Research (actresearch.net), a decline
of 47.6% from the 24,480 sold in the same month
of 2019. April sales dropped 23.1% from 16,892
sold in March.
Of those trucks sold this April, 8,156 were
fifth-wheel-equipped tractors, down 30.1% from
March sales of 11,673 and down 25.5% from
April 2019 sales of 18,303.
The remaining 4,830 trucks, or 37.2%, were
vocational units equipped with dump, refuse or
other bodies. The percentage of vocational trucks
is typically 25% to 30%, so the higher percentage
in April indicates that sales of over-the-road
trucks are taking a bigger beating than sales of
vocational trucks. The April number was 7.5%
lower than March sales and 25.5% lower than
April 2019 sales.
The declining sales were not unexpected, as
numbers were already running nearly 28.0% behind
last year’s pace. A condition of overcapacity
in the freight market and uncertainty over economic
conditions had already combined to put a
damper on the market.
Then came COVID-19.
The closing of overseas manufacturers
slowed imports; then the shutdown of domestic
businesses deemed “nonessential” depressed
available freight levels to crisis proportions.
May sales aren’t expected to be much better,
if at all, despite the gradual relaxing of stay-athome
orders and the reopening of businesses.
That’s because of the time it takes to restart an
economy that has been virtually shut down.
“It takes a lot of people marching at the same
speed to turn the manufacturing sector back on,”
said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at
ACT Research, noting that, even though a plant
may reopen, the parts and materials needed to
function may not be readily available.
“With current inventories and supply chains,
we can say that April will probably not be the
‘bottom’ of the economic downturn,” he said.
In the used Class 8 truck market, sales volumes
declined 8% in April compared to March, according
to the latest preliminary release of State of the
Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks published
by ACT Research. Average prices for used tractors
in dealer-to-dealer sales also fell 8%, while the average
used truck sold was 2% older. Compared to
April 2019, average prices were down 20%, while
the age of the average truck dropped 5% and the
odometer miles declined 2%.
As for new trucks, the manufacturer that
has taken the biggest hit so far in 2020, on a
See Sales on p21 m

20 • June 1-14, 2020 Business
Comcar Industries
files for Chapter 11
bankruptcy, plans
to liquidate assets
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
AUBURNDALE, Fla. — The latest in a
line of motor carriers to flounder within the last
six months, on May 17, Comcar Industries announced
plans to sell its five operating companies
and filed for Chapter 11 protection of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code.
In contrast to Celadon’s 2019 bankruptcy,
Comcar’s filing does not appear to leave drivers
stranded on the road, and plans are being made to
ensure the future of each of the company’s operating
units.
During the bankruptcy and sale process,
Comcar plans to conduct business as usual, with
activities managed by Comcar and overseen by
the bankruptcy court. This practice is known as a
“363 sale process” because it is governed by Section
363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
A prepared statement attributed to the company’s
senior management noted, “Our decision
to file Chapter 11 was to better enable us to find
homes for our customers, people and assets. Prior
to this decision, we worked diligently to find a
solution that would reduce our debt, enhance our
liquidity and best position all Comcar holdings for
the future. After evaluating options to address our
capital structure and conducting extensive negotiations,
we determined that a sale of all companies
would be the best path forward to maximize
their value.”
Comcar is the parent company of CT Transportation,
which specializes in flatbed hauling;
CTL Transportation, a chemical carrier; MCT
Transportation, which offers refrigerated and dryvan
services; CCC Transportation, a bulk carrier;
and CTTS Repair.
Courtesy: Comcar Industries
On May 17, Florida-based motor carrier holding
company Comcar Industries announced
plans to sell subsidiaries and file for Chapter
11 protection of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Comcar stated that separate agreements have
been made to sell CT Transportation to PS Logistics
LLC, while CTL Transportation will be sold
to Service Transport Inc. and MCT Transportation
will be sold to White Willow Holdings. Comcar
has entered a letter of intent for the sale of CCC
Transportation and CTTS Repair.
“We are proud that we have found excellent
future owners as each division is being purchased
and will be managed by strong and reputable carriers
upon their respective sales,” the statement
continued. “Further, this process will allow our
companies to continue operating in the ordinary
course of business while the sales process for each
one continues.”
According to the filing, Comcar had about
$66.7 million in assets and liabilities of $85.6 million
as of March 27, 2020; about $46.3 million of
those liabilities were long-term.
In a May 18 article, Freightwaves cited a document
filed by Andrew Hinkelman, chief restructuring
officer for FTI Consulting, that noted Comcar’s
operating divisions lost $25 million in 2019
and had lost $6 million as of March 27, 2020.
Founded in 1953 as Commercial Carrier
Corp. (now CCC Transportation), by 2020, Comcar
was one of the nation’s largest privately held
transportation companies and had more than 40
terminals and bases of operation around the U.S.
The company’s president and CEO, Randy Clark,
died April 5 of this year. 8
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
Love them or hate them, in-cab video recording
systems are here to stay. Most carriers are putting
video-recording devices in every truck. In some
cases, video can be viewed almost immediately
after recording; in others, the video is downloaded
when the truck visits a terminal or other location.
Most people recognize the benefits of recorded
video. Lawsuits can be dismissed or settled when
video reveals whether the truck driver was at fault.
Video can also help reveal areas in which the driver
can benefit from training, or — unfortunately —
might be subject to disciplinary action.
It’s not a bad idea, however, for you as a driver
to consider having your own device for controlling
video data, even if the company you drive for
has already installed one in the truck. Easy access
to the data is one reason for this advantage: You
own the video recorded by your personal dash
cam. You’ll know whether it’s been altered.
Most camera systems contain an accelerometer
that triggers the saving of video. The commercial
systems often save a specified number
of seconds before and after a triggering incident,
such as a hard braking or an impact. The personal
systems, however, usually save video in chunks,
for example in three-minute segments. If nothing
happens during that segment, it can be overwritten
once the memory is full. The driver also has
the option to save the video.
Here’s the benefit: Your three-minute video
might contain something that isn’t in the 30-
second snippet from the company system —
something that could help you win a court case
or even keep your job. Additionally, you might
intentionally record something that the company
video didn’t save at all.
If you’ve decided to purchase a personal
video-recording system, there are some things to
look for. Video playback options are important if
you want to replay the video at the scene or share
it with another person, such as a law-enforcement
THETRUCKER.COM
Personal dash cameras offer protection
for drivers from unjust claims, tickets
Safety Series
official. The screen on some devices is tiny. Some
devices transmit video to your phone or another
device via Bluetooth technology. Some record
video on mini SD cards that can be plugged into a
laptop or other device.
Recording resolution is important, since
you’ll want to cover a wide field. Look for 120
degrees of coverage or better. You’ll want recording
in high definition or ultra-high definition so
the video will still be clear when viewed on larger
screens; 1080 pixels is good and 1440 is better.
Most dash units record data other than video,
such as GPS location and speed. You may — or
may not — want your speed displayed in the video.
Many video cameras also record sound. That’s
another area where you’ll need to make some decisions.
In jurisdictions where it’s legal, a recording
of a conversation with, for example, a law-enforcement
official or a DOT inspector might be something
you find beneficial. On the other hand, you
might not want your video to record you singing,
talking or yelling at another motorist.
You’ll also want to think about where the device
will be mounted. Most dash cameras come
with suction cups that grip the windshield, but it
can be difficult to find a spot that doesn’t interfere
with your view of the road. The device will need to
be plugged in, and you’ll need to manage the cord.
Finally, dash cameras are one area where
you’re not restricted to truck-specific equipment.
You’ll see familiar brand names at truck stops,
but a camera system purchased elsewhere can
work just as well.
In these days of heightened safety awareness
by government, law enforcement and even carriers
— in addition to Interstates lined with billboards
for personal-injury attorneys — a personal dash
cam can provide an added measure of security for
every driver. 8
QuikQ offers simplified mobile CAT Scale payments through Weigh My Truck app
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — QuikQ LLC and
CAT Scale have partnered to provide a convenient
way for truck drivers to to pay for
their weigh directly from the cab of their
truck using the Weigh My Truck mobile app.
QuikQ is a full-service fuel-payment solutions
provider that offers a mobile app and
other services.
CAT Scale’s Weigh My Truck app allows
drivers to weigh and then get the weights displayed
on their mobile device without ever
leaving the cab. The app will also email a
locked PDF copy of the scale ticket to email
addresses specified by the driver. After a
driver creates an online account with Weigh
My Truck, the app will store the driver’s
QuikQ billing information, truck number,
email preferences and historical weigh transactions.
Fleets can also set up accounts that
allow driver management and provide backend
data files.
“QuikQ’s philosophy of improving efficiencies
for fleets is enhanced by our partnership
with CAT Scale,” said Dean Troester,
CEO of QuikQ LLC. “Our customers have
seen improved hours-of-service utilization
when fueling with our SmartQ RFID cardless
process. The addition of mobile scale payments
will give our customers more time on
the road and improve the driver experience.”
Delia Meier, senior vice president of
CAT Scale, said she is excited about the new
partnership.
“Drivers and fleets alike have been able
to realize significant time savings using the
Weigh My Truck app,” Meier said. We are
pleased to now be able to offer QuikQ card
users the opportunity to use and benefit from
Weigh My Truck.” 8
Courtesy: CAT Scale
QuikQ and CAT Scale have partnered to allow truck drivers to weigh and pay without exiting
the cab of the truck.

THETRUCKER.COM
b Celadon from page 19 b
to handle its truck-leasing business in 2015, it
assumed a minority role in the venture, owning
49.99% of 19th Capital. Celadon sold its entire
share to Element Fleet Management three years
later. Quality Companies came under federal
scrutiny when Celadon auditors raised questions
about investment strategies. The investigation
revealed that executive decisions and handling
of assets cost stockholders more than $60 million.
The executives involved in the dealing
were eventually charged with federal crimes.
In the May 1 agreement, H19 Capital
LLC acquired assets that included thousands
of trucks and trailers, all service and support
machinery equipment, intellectual property, a
portfolio of accounts receivable, and 600 existing
truck leases. Real estate included in the
transaction consists of two truck yard leases
and a 136,000-square-foot maintenance facility
in Indianapolis. The facility has a storage
capacity of 1,700 trucks.
Hilco Global intends to continue operating
the truck-leasing company and hopes to expand
operations during the anticipated post-pandemic
economic resurgence. Element Fleet Management
originally planned to close 19th Capital
and disburse its assets after three years. Officials
stated more recently that the deteriorating market
for used trucks forced a change in its time line,
resulting in the sale to H19 Capital LLC. Element
Fleet Management and H19 Capital noted that
the agreement would save “dozens” of jobs.
Celadon assets among $43 million in
auction proceeds
In late April, Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers
of Houston held a two-day auction that
included trucks and trailers previously owned
by Celadon. While the exact equipment and
auction value for Celadon-specific assets are
unknown, the sale included 370 trucks and
b Sales from page 19 b
percentage basis, is International, according to
information received from Wards Intelligence
(wardsintelligence.com). Sales of 7,499 Class 8
trucks on the U.S. market for the first four
months of the year lag 41.9% behind the 12,902
units sold at the same point last year. Market
share for the period has dropped from 14.8% to
12.5%. International was the only OEM to sell
more Class 8 trucks in the U.S. market in April
than in March, 1,961 to 1,886 for an increase
of 4%. Compared to April 2019, however, sales
declined 44.6% from 3,547 sold in that month.
Freightliner’s April sales of 4,315 trucks
showed a decline of 27.9% from March sales of
5,983 and were 47.4% behind the 8,209 sold in
April 2019. For the year to date, Freightliner’s
22,202 Class 8 trucks sold on the U.S. market
trails last year’s January to April sales by 11,593
units, or 34.3%. The company’s share of the U.S.
Class 8 market has dropped from 38.9% at the
end of April 2019 to 36.9% this year, and 34.1%
for the month of April.
To find the last month that Volvo Trucks sold
fewer than 1,000 Class 8 units in the U.S., you’d
have to go all the way back to January 2012. The
OEM sold 951 trucks in April, a drop of 44.6%
from March sales of 1,717. Compared to April
350 dry van, reefer and flatbed trailers.
FreightWaves reported that the auction included
“hundreds of trucks and trailers” previously
owned by Celadon. Likewise, Ritchie
Brothers indicated it would be selling more than
300 Celadon trucks and 1,400 trailers, including
International ProStars, Kenworth T680s and
Volvo VNL6702s.
The Houston auction also included farm and
oil-drilling equipment, making it difficult to estimate
the portion of the $43 million in sales related
to the trucks and trailers. Preregistered bidders
totaled 8,600 from 62 countries worldwide.
Of total sales, 93% went to U.S. bidders, primarily
in Texas, California and Florida. Other buyers
included companies or individuals in Peru, India
and Italy.
Stakeholders selected Ritchie Brothers to sell
more than 1,700 pieces of Celadon equipment at
auction during March, April and May at 19 locations
in the U.S. and Canada. Ritchie Brothers
delayed all but three auctions due to COVID-19.
As of mid-May, Ritchie Brothers plans to sell
563 pieces of Celadon equipment in online auctions
at 16 locations by the end of June. A schedule
of auctions is available at www.rbauction.
com/store/celadon. The website also provides
instructions for bidders and guidelines for limited
on-site equipment inspections.
Ritchie Brothers describes its inventory with
the note, “Celadon Group’s reputation for using
best-in-class trucks, maintenance programs and
technology over their 30 years in business is second
to none, and the pride in ownership shows in
every asset.”
Former Celadon executive team members
assume new roles with new firms
Reliance Partners, a commercial insurance
agency with several U.S. locations, has
named Thom Albrecht, a former Celadon executive,
as its chief financial officer and chief
revenue officer. Albrecht, while lacking experience
in the insurance sector, brings his reputation
as a leading analyst of freight transportation to the
2019, sales dropped more than half (59.6%) from
2,199 trucks sold. For the year to date, Volvo
sales are down 31.2%, slightly more than the decline
for the entire market.
Volvo-owned Mack Trucks outsold Volvo
Trucks in the U.S. Class 8 market in April with
delivery of 1,063 units, a 24.3% decline from
March sales of 1,404 and 44.8% beneath April
2019 sales of 1,924. Mack has actually gained
market share in 2020, going from 6.6% of Class 8
trucks sold at the end of April 2019 to 7.8% at
the same point this year. April 2020 sales represented
8.4% of the market, which may be attributable
to the heavy presence Mack has in the
vocational market.
Kenworth sold 2,290 Class 8 trucks in April,
a 15.7% decline from March sales and 39.0% behind
April 2019 sales. For the year to date, the
company has sold 9,508 units, 20.5% behind last
year’s pace of 11,955. As for market share, the
company’s smaller-than-average sales declines
have actually increased its share of the market,
which climbed from 13.8% at the end of April
last year to 15.8% at the same point this year and
reached 18.1% for the month of April 2020.
Peterbilt sales of 1,553 were 30.9% behind
March sales of 2,247 and 59.6% beneath April
2019 sales of 3,842. For the year to date, Peterbilt
sales nearly match the industry average,
declining 30.3% compared to 30.7 for the
entire industry. 8
Business June 1-14, 2020 • 21
company. Reliance headquarters in numerous states,
including Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin,
California and Florida.
Albrecht is the last of Celadon’s five-member
executive team to assume a leadership role at another
U.S. firm.
In January, former Celadon CEO Paul Svindland
assumed the same post with STG Logistics
of Chicago.
Celadon’s former executive vice president
and general counsel joined Svindland at STG Logistics
in March, accepting the role of chief administrative
officer and general counsel.
In late April, Celadon’s former vice president
and chief accounting officer Vincent Donargo
joined the Indianapolis tech start-up Novus Capital
Corp., a company announcing its intent to go
public with a $100 million offering.
Previously Celadon’s chief operating officer
before the company’s bankruptcy filing, Jon
Russell left the company in November 2019
to join Indianapolis-based TVC Pro Driver, a
provider of legal services to commercial truck
drivers and fleets. 8
GO
LET’S
iStock Photo
Celadon, among the largest carriers in the
U.S. and the largest serving the U.S., Canada
and Mexico, abruptly ceased operations without
notice to employees over the weekend of
Dec. 7-8, 2019.

22 • June 1-14, 2020 Business
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Equipment
June 1-14, 2020 • 23
Courtesy: Peterbilt Motors Co.
Key external features of the Peterbilt Model 389 Pride & Class package include a highly
polished hood crown surrounding a classic-style louvered grille sheet, a brightly polished
hood spine, chrome hood side accents and polished hood fenders.
FTR reports April preliminary net trailer
orders have hit lowest level in modern era
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
FTR Transportation Intelligence has reported
that preliminary net trailer orders for
April sank to the lowest level in the modern
era (since 1990), coming in at just 300 units.
April order activity was down 95% month
over month and down 98% year over year.
Trailer orders for the past 12 months now total
162,000 units.
The severe recessionary conditions caused
many fleets to pull back on orders previously
scheduled for 2020 delivery and place very
few new orders. The dry van segment was
hit particularly hard, and refrigerated van orders
suffered some as well. Vocational orders
remained tepid after falling significantly in
March. Some specialty segments have held up
better under the stress.
Numerous OEM plants were shut down for
part of April; some for health reasons, some
for lack of orders and some due to a combination
of the two.
“Fleets remain in a severe wait-and-see
posture until they can evaluate the damage
done to the freight markets from the pandemic,”
said Don Ake, vice president of commercial
vehicles for FTR. “Since the recovery
from the economic crisis is highly dependent
See Trailers on p24 m
iStock Photo
The PrePass MOTION app uses a cellular connection to provide carriers with weigh station
bypassing and in-vehicle driver safety alerts.
Peterbilt reintroduces Model 389 Pride &
Class package after earlier limited runs
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
DENTON, Texas — Peterbilt Motors Co.
has announced the return of the Model 389
Pride & Class package due to popular demand.
Introduced with a limited production
run in 2014 and 2017, the Model 389 Pride &
Class package’s unique styling and touches of
understated elegance truly are unique.
Key external features of the Model 389
Pride & Class package include a highly polished
hood crown surrounding a classic-style
louvered grille sheet, a brightly polished
hood spine, chrome hood side accents and
polished hood fenders. The side of the truck
is accentuated with polished rocker panels,
bright cowl skirts, battery box, fuel tanks,
and trimmed mud flaps. The iconic exterior
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES
PHOENIX — PrePass Safety Alliance has
announced that its PrePass MOTION app will
now integrate with Geotab. This integration
will give qualified motor carriers an additional
option to expand bypass opportunities and
help improve fleet safety and efficiency.
The PrePass MOTION app uses a cellular
connection to provide carriers with weigh station
bypassing and in-vehicle driver safety alerts.
Drivers will receive alerts indicating work zones
ahead, gusty wind areas, steep grades and nocommercial-vehicle
roads, among others.
“Geotab is committed to providing fleet
owners and managers with customizable
look is finished off with a polished exterior
sun visor, bumper, exhaust stacks and an exclusive
Pride & Class emblem on the sleeper.
The distinctive features of the Model 389
Pride & Class package continue inside of
the truck as well with a luxurious platinum
arctic gray interior, charcoal dash top and
blackwood-finish trim accents throughout
the cab. Premium black leather seats are embroidered
with the Pride & Class logo on the
headrests and compliment the black, luxury
carpet lines found in the spacious cab and
sleeper. Bright gauge bezels, a special steering
wheel and Pride & Class emblems on the
dash and accent trim round out the interior
experience.
See Class on p24 m
Courtesy: Great Dane
The dry van trailer segment was hit particularly hard, along with refrigerated van orders.
Vocational orders remained tepid after falling significantly in March.
PrePass integrates with Geotab’s open
API for weigh station bypass, safety alerts
solutions that help address the specific needs
of their fleet. As such, we are proud to provide
companies like PrePass Safety Alliance with
the flexibility to integrate with our open APIs to
create customizable and high-class solutions,”
said Scott Sutarik, vice president of commercial
motor vehicles at Geotab. “With an open
platform approach, Geotab is helping to enable
current and future partners to access our robust
and dynamic ecosystem around the globe.”
With more than 40 billion data points
each day, Geotab provides customers with
the tools needed to monitor and optimize vehicle
efficiencies, including fuel consumption, engine
See PrePass on p24 m

24 • June 1-14, 2020 Equipment
b Trailers from page 23 b
on the status of the health crisis, there is a
huge amount of uncertainty in the trailer
market. Buying activity appears to be on
hold until the fleets can see a clear path forward.
The bigger fleets will resume replacing
old trailers as soon as they see the economic
restrictions lifted and freight growing again.
“The key element to the trailer market recovery
is for fleet confidence to improve,” Ake
continued. “Carriers saw freight softening at the
beginning of the year, and then it cratered due
to the recession caused by COVID-19. There
are still way too many uncertainties present
for fleets to buy new trailers in large numbers.
They will take the minimum number of
trailers needed in the short-run and then increase
quantities dependent on the speed and
size of the recovery. Orders should improve
soon but are expected to remain modest for
the next few months.”
Additionally, it is noted in this quarter’s
issue of ACT Research’s Trailer Components
Report that the U.S. trailer industry has
shifted from the production/capacity challenges
of the last three years, with corresponding
pressures on the component and
material supply chains, to a massive retrenchment
in production levels.
“While there was no indication of any
widespread COVID-19 lockdown-driven shutdowns
at trailer OEMs in the past quarter,
the dramatic cessation of fleet investment has
caused OEMs to quickly reassess their production
volumes and staffing needs,” said Frank
Maly, director of commercial-vehicle transportation
analysis and research for ACT Research.
“The short- to medium-term outlook will be
entirely dependent upon the return of business
to some level of normality and stability, which
will drive freight demand for both manufacturing
and consumer spending.”
ACT Research’s U.S. New Trailer Components
and Materials Forecast provides those in
the trailer production supply chain, as well as
those who invest in said suppliers and commodities,
with forecast quantities of components
and raw materials required to support the
trailer forecast for the coming five years.
“Higher freight demand will eventually challenge
fleet capacity and drive an improvement
THETRUCKER.COM
iStock Photo
Vocational trailer orders remained tepid after falling significantly in March. Some specialty
segments have held up better under the stress.
in freight rates, which will help build fleet
confidence and generate the desired combination
of equipment need and ability to pay,”
Maly said. “However, the path to get to that
point likely will be arduous.”
The ACT report alerted readers, in the
meantime, to “expect trailer OEMs, where
possible, to pull orders forward in an attempt
to maintain production levels until
the inevitable reductions in line rates and
staffing occur,” which will also challenge
materials and component suppliers, as billsof-material
will likely shift in both timing
and specifications. 8
b PrePass from page 23 b
data, driver productivity and safety, and hours of
service. Geotab’s open platform enables customers
to customize their data to meet the needs of their operations
by allowing users to introduce new features
to their fleet, including the PrePass MOTION app.
“The integration of PrePass MOTION for
Geotab customers provides seamless access
to bypass and safety alerts through the Geotab
Drive application,” said Mark Doughty, president
and CEO of PrePass Safety Alliance.
For more information, visit prepass.com/
partners/geotab/.8
b Class from page 23 b
“The Model 389 Pride & Class package
takes a place among Peterbilt’s most iconic
trucks. With unparalleled performance and
distinctive design, it furthers our proud tradition
of providing trucks with industry-leading
styling, quality and value,” said Robert Woodall,
assistant general manager of sales and
marketing for Peterbilt.
The Model 389 Pride & Class is available
now for order through Peterbilt dealerships.
For more information about Peterbilt, visit
peterbilt.com. 8
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Courtesy: Convoy of Hope
Convoy of Hope, a faith-based organization from Missouri, distributes food and relief supplies
through partnerships with large food corporations, allowing the group to provide aid through
several different programs.
Features
By Sam Pierce
samp@thetruckermedia.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — In recent months,
truck drivers have once again earned the title
of “knights of the highway,” ensuring that supplies
reach their intended destination in the
midst of an unprecedented global pandemic.
For one Missouri-based nonprofit, that
goal of helping others in times of crisis has
never wavered.
A faith-based organization that distributes
food and relief supplies, Convoy of Hope has
partnerships with large food corporations, allowing
the group to provide aid through several different
programs.
While the convoy has offered much-needed
assistance during the COVID-19 crisis, members
of the group usually help with disaster relief
to communities that have been affected by
hurricanes or tornadoes. In addition, the nonprofit
has a rural initiative, working with local
June 1-14, 2020 • 25
Change for the better: S.H.E. Trucking founder discovers common bond
with her father as she pursues a career as a professional truck driver
Linda Garner-Bunch
lindag@thetruckermedia.com
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — “I can’t
change my past, so I decided to change my
future.” This statement by Sharae Moore,
founder of S.H.E. Trucking, touches a resonant
chord with many people, and it reflects
her outlook on her career as well as her friendships
and family relationships.
Moore and her father, Carlos Crutcher
share a unique father-daughter bond: Both
are experienced over-the-road truck drivers.
Moore is an owner-operator and drives for
Riverside Transport Inc., while Crutcher is a
company driver for Tranco Logistics. The two
achieved their career goals through very different
paths.
After working as a certified nurse assistant
for nearly a decade, at age 30 Moore decided
it was time for a change.
“I knew a guy that drove trucks, and he actually
showed me his paycheck,” she said. “I
said, ‘I want one of those!’ And so I decided to
join the trucking industry. I really didn’t know
what I was getting myself into. It was a whole
new experience.”
Another factor in Moore’s decision to make
a change in her life’s focus was the death of a
brother, 10 years earlier, when he was 30.
“Here I was, turning his age, and I was
thinking, ‘I need to do something with
my life,’” she said. “That was my turning
point, and that’s when I came to the trucking
industry.”
After seeing an advertisement for “free
CDL training,” Moore enrolled in training
through Swift Transportation.
“The training was good,” Moore said, adding
Courtesy: Sharae Moore
Sharae Moore, founder of S.H.E. Trucking, purchased a 2005 Freightliner Century earlier this
year. She drives for Riverside Transport Inc. as an owner-operator.
that she remains in touch with some of her instructors,
including Roderick Martin and Dee
Hopson.
“Roderick was a great trainer,” she said. “I
still call him and ask questions.”
Hopkins was instrumental in helping Moore
overcome what was for her the toughest part of
training — the backing maneuvers.
“None of the guys in the class wanted to
partner with us (women),” Moore said. “I said,
‘Ms. Dee, no one wants to be my teammate.’
She said, ‘It’s OK, you can be mine.’ And so
she taught me how to back, and do that 90 and
everything … and I just picked it up and got it.
“I’ve never seen somebody so proud,”
Moore continued. “When I started getting it,
she jumped up and she said, ‘You got it!’ It
made me feel so good, going from struggling
and struggling, can’t get it, feeling defeated to,
‘Oh, you got it!’”
On March 25, 2014, she earned her commercial
driver’s license and embarked on a
journey as a professional truck driver. In the
past six years, Moore has not only gained experience
and confidence as a driver; she has
also launched the S.H.E. Trucking clothing
line and Facebook group, providing encouragement
and support for women drivers.
“In the beginning it’s a struggle because
the first year or two, everyone just stares.
The men, they’ll sit there and they’ll just
wait to see what you can do,” she said. “After
a while, your confidence builds. You learn
how to maneuver your rig, back easily and
stuff like that. It’s been a really rewarding
experience.”
S.H.E. Trucking began as a merchandising
website for Moore’s T-shirts and other
apparel designed for women truckers.
“I couldn’t find any T-shirts that said I
was a female driver, a lady trucker,” she said.
As the S.H.E. Trucking clothing line
grew in popularity, so did Moore’s reputation
as a mentor for other women in the trucking
industry, as well as a source of advice for
women wanting to earn a CDL.
“They started posting on my personal
Facebook page, and I thought, ‘I need a place
for them to go,’” she said.
“That’s when I created the S.H.E. Trucking
Facebook group. And it has grown into more
than I ever imagined,” she continued. Today the
mentorship group has more than 8,000 members
and has gained an international following. In addition,
Moore and the group have been featured
in Facebook’s Community Voices spotlight
videos and hardcover book.
See S.H.E. on p26 m
A belief in the mission: Faith-based group provides relief in times of crisis
communities and nonprofits, as well as church
and other faith-based communities.
Mike Coble, safety and compliance manager
for Convoy of Hope, said the group’s workload
has increased quite bit in recent months
due to COVID-19. Churches and organizations
have reached out to the organization, asking for
trailer loads of supplies to be used for drivethru
distribution.
“Church volunteers wear masks and gloves
and load bags of groceries ... ” Coble said.
“That is happening at the churches all across
the country.”
He said the organization also has international
feeding initiatives with countries around the
world. Currently the COVID-19 pandemic is the
convoy’s only active disaster outreach, but Coble
said the organization is prepped and ready to assist
in case of additional crises.
“I know hurricane season is coming up, and
See Convoy on p28 m

4
6
7
9
1
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2
26 • June 1-14, 2020 Features
b S.H.E. from page 25 b
“I never knew there were so many women
drivers. It’s so rewarding seeing the women
accomplish their goals and being a part of
that,” she continued. “The goal was to encourage
women to be proud of the industry they’re
in, be proud of the career they chose.”
Moore said that when she first started driving
professionally, she noticed that the few
women drivers she saw were rarely smiling
“I guess they were just so busy that they
didn’t have time to smile,” she said. “And now
you see them smiling, you see them happy.”
Earlier this year, Moore took the next step
in her career: She purchased a 2005 Freightliner
Century and started learning the ins and
outs of being an owner-operator. While she
said she is still “learning the ropes,” she is
also enjoying the responsibilities involved in
being a truck owner.
Moore said showing her newly purchased
truck to her father resulted in what was for
her a defining moment in her relationship with
her father.
“For the very first time in my life, at 36
years old, he said, ‘I’m proud of you,’” she
said, with a catch in her voice. “The very first
time in my life. No matter how many accomplishments
and awards I’ve got, no matter
how many women I’ve inspired — none of it
mattered to me as much as those words.”
When Crutcher talks about his daughter,
pride is evident in his voice.
“That girl, she superseded me! She’s got
her own truck and she’s doing good. That’s
awesome when you can get your own truck,”
he said.
“Sharae is passionate. She tries to help
other women. She’s helping people for real,”
he continued.
For Crutcher, who has been a driver for
about a decade, the road to a career in trucking
was markedly different from Moore’s.
“I have a felony,” he said matter-of-factly.
“You’re talking to a former crack-head and
drunk.”
Crutcher, who said he has not smoked
crack or drunk alcohol since 1988, served 17
years for a felony conviction.
“God took the desire for the taste (of alcohol)
away from me,” he said. “My momma
had the whole church praying for me.”
While in prison, Crutcher said, he started
reading books and learning.
“I had to learn who I was, and I got around
some good people,” he said, adding that he
was incarcerated for most of his daughter’s
youth.
After being released from prison in 2007,
Crutcher started a lawn-care business and
set about rebuilding his life. It was his sister,
however, that helped pave the way to a career
that Crutcher said still sometimes feels like a
dream.
“My sister got me this grant for (trucking
school) at Chattanooga State, and I got my
CDL,” he said. “She blessed me. I found out I
love it out here.”
While attending driver-training classes,
Crutcher said he continued to operate his
lawn-care business and held down a second
full-time job. He was sometimes so weary that
he’d catch a quick nap in the back of the class
truck. It was all worth it in the end, he said,
as he discovered a true love for driving and
traveling the U.S.
“I thank God every day that I’m out here.
Sometimes I can’t even believe I’m out here,”
he said with a chuckle. “I’ve been locked up
before, so this is a blessing. It sure is a blessing
for me to be out here. I like seeing the
country at 70 mph.
“I thank God for the little stuff,” he continued.
“I get excited over little stuff — just going
out to different states or going to Walmart.
God blessed me.”
Crutcher said he is usually on the road six
days a week. In fact, as he visited with The
Trucker on the phone, he was on the road,
hauling a 53-foot dry van filled with 45,000
pounds of General Motors products. The previous
trip, he said, he delivered a truckload of
medical-grade face masks.
“They treat that stuff like gold!” he said.
Crutcher said he also enjoys having
the freedom to relax at his home,
which he inherited from his mother after
she died a little more than a year ago.
“She was my best friend,” he said
wistfully.
“She blessed me with the house,” he added.
“It’s a three-bedroom home with a deck
and a patio. I love that deck.”
Like Moore, Crutcher works to make
a positive impact on the lives of others, especially
those who are re-entering the work
force after taking a “wrong turn” in life or after
being incarcerated.
“I’m always talking to people (about how
trucking changed my life), people that have
felonies and the downtrodden,” he said. “I
say, ‘You need to come on out here with me! I
was worse than all of y’all.’
“I’ve seen a couple of guys get their
CDL,” he continued. “One of them messed
THETRUCKER.COM
Courtesy: Sharae Moore
Both professional truck drivers, Sharae Moore and her father, Carlos Crutcher, say they have
a mission of helping others change their lives for the better.
up, started back drinking. I told him, ‘You
can’t be drinking out here; you’ll kill someone.’
I mean, you see wrecks out here all the
time, every day.”
Moore said that she and her father both
hope to inspire others to change their lives for
the better, and that she sees Crutcher’s accomplishments
as an example of success against
adversity.
“People need to know they have options;
that your current situation doesn’t have to be
your end result. You CAN change. You CAN
make a difference. You CAN overcome,” she
said. “I think that’s important for people to
know. I see it in my family. The dad that I
knew years ago is not the same person that we
know now. And he’s proud to drive that truck.
He loves it. It changed him completely.” 8
ALL THINGS TRUCKING
News Gears Reviews Demos Rig Report How-to’s Trade Shows
@truckbossshow

THETRUCKER.COM
Cliff Abbott
cliffa@thetruckermedia.com
Some people enjoy helping others, and some
people make a career out of it. Emily Soloby most
definitely belongs in the “career” category. For
her efforts and her achievements, she was selected
as the May 2020 Women In Trucking (WIT)
Member of the Month.
Soloby is co-owner of AAA School of Trucking,
which has locations in Philadelphia and
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She is also founder
and CEO of Juno Jones Shoes, a start-up that
markets footwear for women who work in nontraditional
industries.
A graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia,
Soloby’s educational studies changed as she
defined her career goals.
“I worked helping women filing for court
orders for protection,” she told The Trucker. “I
wanted to help, so I went to law school.”
After law school, she began working for a
The The Trucker Trucker Crossword Puzzle
1
Interstate Cities Between
7
4
2
nonprofit legal-services firm, helping low-income
clients. Her personal involvement with clients, although
gratifying, took a personal toll.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it forever
because of the intensity of the work,” she
said. “I decided to go back to graduate school.”
That’s where she met her husband, Ryan.
When a relative who founded the AAA
School of Trucking decided to retire, Emily and
Ryan jumped at the opportunity to take over the
business.
“We’re both very entrepreneurial, so we went
for it,” she explained.
While Ryan runs the day-to-day operations of
the school, Emily puts her legal expertise to work.
“One of the things we love about it is working
with funding organizations to get students who
need a hand up, maybe for occupational rehab or
job training,” she said.
The school’s website lists funding sources
for the unemployed, job fields training, veterans
6
5
3
Features June 1-14, 2020 • 27
Passion and purpose: Emily Soloby makes a career out of assisting, supporting women
Name that town
and vocational rehabilitation among the sources
available. The school also offers in-house
financing to qualified individuals.
Emily estimates that 10% to 15% of the
school’s graduating students are female. The
director of the Harrisburg campus is female
as well.
While performing her duties, Emily Soloby
found that she often had to change her footwear
to prepare for the different environments she
encountered. The shoes she wore to a business
meeting, for example, were not appropriate for
a job-site visit or a ride-along with a CDL student.
Realizing that other women working in
nontraditional roles must have similar experiences,
she determined that a new shoe design
was needed. She consulted with fashion experts
on the design and initiated a funding campaign
to raise capital to start Juno Jones Shoes. The
results were enthusiastic.
See Passion on p28 m
A C C E S S O R I E S
Courtesy: Emily Soloby
Emily Soloby is co-owner of AAA School
of Trucking, which has two locations in
Pennsylvania.
Shop 24/7 Online @
BigRigTruck.com
“We’re With you for the long haul”
8
9
10
12
20
13
Across
4 I-75, north ACROSS of Flint, south of
4. I-75, north Sault of Ste. Flint Marie and south (2 wds) of Sault
6 Ste. Closer Marie to Memphis (2 wds) than
Nashville on I-40
6. I-40, 7 closer Closer to to Memphis Texarkana than than Nashville
7. I-30, closer Little to Rock, Texarkana I-30 than Little Rock
9. I-25, 9 closer I-25, closer to Colorado to Colorado Springs than
Springs than New Mexico
New
state
Mexico
line
state line
10. I-26, 10 I-26 between between Bristol Bristol and Spartanburg
and
11. I-90/I-15 Spartanburg interchange in Montana
11 I-90/I-15 Interchange,
12. I-35 between
Montana
Dallas-Fort Worth and
12 Austin I-35 between DFW and
16. I-89, Austin Canada to Montpelier
18. I-10, 16 Canada between to Beaumont Montpelier, and I-89
18 I-10, between Beaumont
Lafayette and Lafayette (2 wds)
20. I-76, 20 I-76 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh to Cleveland to Cleveland
21 I-8, San Diego to Yuma (2
wds)
22 Des Moines to Lincoln, I-80
AMARILLO
BURLINGTON
ASHEVILLE
BUTTE
ATLANTA
DAYTON
AUGUSTA
ELCENTRO
BANGOR
EUREKA
BAYCITY
HOPE
BELLINGHAM
HUNTINGTON
21
17
16
14 15
18
22
11
WORD BANK
19
Down
121. I-8, I-70/I-135 San Diego Interchange to Yuma west (2 wds)
22. I-80, of Topeka Des Moines to Lincoln
2 I-75, Florida state line to
Ocala DOWN
31. I-70/I-35 I-95 between interchange Augusta west and of Topeka
2. I-75, Houlton Florida state line to Ocala (2 wds)
5 I-81 Syracuse to Quebec
8
3. I-95,
I-5 between
between
Seattle
Augusta
and
and Houlton
5. I-81, Canada Syracuse to Quebec
13 8. I-5, I-40 between Between Seattle the east and and Canada
13. 1-40, west Texas between state the lines east and west
14 On state West
Virginia-Kentucky Texas state lines state line,
14. I-64, on state line between West
15 On the Virginia road from and Kentucky Reno to
15. I-80, Eldo between Reno and Elko
17 Indianapolis to Columbus,
17. I-70, Indianapolis to Columbus
19. I-20, Atlanta Atlanta to Columbia, to Columbia I-20
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28 • June 1-14, 2020 Features
b Convoy from page 25 b
that’s always a big deal for us during that
time,” he said.
Coble said the organization purchased
six trucks late in 2019 and early this year,
and there are two more on back order. He
added that the group has strong relationships
with Peterbilt, Kenworth and Freightliner. In
a press release, Convoy of Hope said four
Kenworth T680s with 76-inch sleepers were
purchased.
“Our trucks are provided by donors all
across the country,” Coble said. “As soon as
the trucks came on the lot, they were sent
right back on the road.
“A lot of the manufacturers have shut
down, and we were lucky enough to purchase
those (trucks) in advance and far enough out
that they arrived when we needed them,” he
continued. “We wouldn’t have been able to
receive those trucks later.”
The organization operates 19 tractor-trailers,
b Passion from page 27 b
“We did a Kickstarter campaign in February
and reached our goal in only 29 hours,” she said.
“We were up to three times our goal when we
suspended the program, just as COVID was shutting
down the country.”
The design chosen for the Juno Jones Shoes’
first product was the “Meti” boot, a side-zip
product that has a steel toe, a puncture-resistant
midsole and a nonslip lug-tread sole incorporated
into a design that in no way resembles a man’s
work boot.
“Women are tired of the ‘shrink it and pink
it’ marketing mentality,” Soloby explained. “We
wanted a product that is specially designed for
women’s feet.”
The boots are available for purchase on the
company’s website (junojonesshoes.com), and
Soloby offers a 25% discount for anyone using
the code Trucker25.
Better equipment, better pay,
better for you!
4Make up to $78K your first year
460¢ per mile
4No HAZMAT needed
4Medical (Anthem), Eye & Dental Insurance
4401K with company match and Profit Sharing
4Paid Holidays, Vacations & Services
4Paid Breakdowns & Layovers
4Class A CDL, 2 years experience and clean
driving record
The company plans to introduce more designs
in the future. Currently, the plant that manufacturers
the boots is shut down due to COVID-19
restrictions but is expected to reopen soon.
To help market the shoes, Soloby started a
Facebook group called “Hazard Girls (Women
in Non-Traditional Fields)” that allows members
to discuss their experiences. The group has blossomed
to more than 830 members, and a regular
podcast is in the works.
“We did a WAM podcast for Jacket Media
(jacketmediaco.com), and the producers liked it
so much that we’re getting our own regular halfhour
podcast,” Soloby said. “We’ll interview
women who are influential in fields that are traditionally
male-dominated.”
Soloby’s interest in the Women In Trucking
organization was a natural.
“As a big supporter of women in nontraditional
fields, WIT only made sense for me. It ties
in with both businesses I’m involved in,” she said,
adding that she appreciates the organization for
role is supporting women — and her personally.
Call Today!
888-423-5744
www.agtrucking.com
and Coble said they also have a host of
DOT-regulated vehicles, box trucks, gooseneck
trailers and Ford F-250 pickups.
“We ramped up the number of miles we
serve and the number of volunteer drivers
during this time,” Coble said.
The organization started out with a campaign
of providing 10 million meals, Coble
said, adding that two weeks ago that number
was completed. He decided the group decided
“just to keep going to help as many people
as we can for as long as we can.”
“Most of everything we do comes from
individual donors or organization partners
like churches, or corporation partnerships
such as Hormel and Home Depot,” he said.
“The majority of our truck drivers are volunteer
truck drivers, and many of them are
retired. We want to use their unique skills to
give back.”
Coble said the hardest challenge is ramping
quickly enough to serve when needed.
“In fact, we were laughing amongst ourselves
(that) as soon as one of the trucks
come into the ramp, we have to get everything
set up and ready to go and sent it out
the same day,” he said. “We put the supplies
in the truck, such as oil, antifreeze or any
tools needed. As soon as it is ready and legal,
the trucks are on the road.”
Coble said he feels very blessed that Convoy
of Hope has such a wide reach. He said
there were some concerns early on that they
wouldn’t be able to fulfill the need but that
donors have filled the gap.
“We have strong long-term partnerships,
and we have been an organization for over
25 years. We really haven’t seen a drop in
distribution of significance yet,” he said.
“We always want to be a helper on the
local scene,” he said. “We want to come
into town, into a faith-based community,
when churches or other organization reach
out to us and help meet the needs of the
community.”
Coble said it all boils down to supporters
who believe in the mission.
“We have long-standing relationships
with donors in the faith-based community
and companies who are standing alongside
“Ellen (Voie, WIT’s president and CEO)
is fantastic,” Soloby said. “They have been so
supportive.”
When asked to describe herself, Soloby listed
family first.
“I’m a mom of two small children, ages 6
and 9, running two businesses,” she said. “One I
co-own with my husband Ryan, and the other is a
recent start-up that I’m CEO of.”
Asked where she finds the motivation
for all the thing’s she’s involved in, Soloby
said, “I have a lot of energy, and I like to stay
busy.”
That energy, combined with her education
and her entrepreneurial spirit, will undoubtedly
lead Soloby to new ventures in the future.
She is not too busy, however, to remember
commercial drivers.
“I thank all of the truckers for everything they
do,” she said.
And, why not? Some of them may soon
be hauling boots and shoes for Juno Jones
Shoes. 8
THETRUCKER.COM
Courtesy: Convoy of Hope
Mike Coble, safety and compliance manager
for Convoy of Hope, said the group’s workload
has increased quite bit in recent months
due to COVID-19.
us because they know we help people,” he
said. “It is donors across the board. We are
asking for funds because of the COVID-19
relief.”
To learn more, visit convoyofhope.org. 8
The Trucker Crossword
Puzzle
Interstate
Answer
Cities Between
Key
The Trucker Crossword
1
2
S L B
A
4
B A Y C I T Y
5
W A
L K
6
J A C K S O N
I
7
H O P E T G
N C
8
B
9
P U E B L O O
10
A S H E V I L L E R R
T L
11
B U T T E
Y L O
12 13
W A C O
14
H I W
15
W
M
16
B U R L I N G T O N I
A
17
D N G N
R A T H N
I Y I
18
L A K E
19
C H A R L E S
L T N M U M
L O G G U
20
Y O U N G S T O W N U C
O S C
21
E L C E N T R O T A
22
O M A H A
Across
4 I-75, north of Flint, south of
Sault Ste. Marie (2 wds)
6 Closer to Memphis than
Nashville on I-40
7 Closer to Texarkana than
Little Rock, I-30
9 I-25, closer to Colorado
Springs than New Mexico
state line
10 I-26 between Bristol and
Spartanburg
11 I-90/I-15 Interchange,
Montana
12 I-35 between DFW and
Austin
16 Canada to Montpelier, I-89
18 I-10, between Beaumont
and Lafayette
20 I-76 Pittsburgh to Cleveland
21 I-8, San Diego to Yuma (2
wds)
22 Des Moines to Lincoln, I-80
Down
1 I-70/I-135 Interchange west
of Topeka
2 I-75, Florida state line to
Ocala
3 I-95 between Augusta and
Houlton
5 I-81 Syracuse to Quebec
8 I-5 between Seattle and
Canada
13 I-40 Between the east and
west Texas state lines
14 On state West
Virginia-Kentucky state line,
I-64
15 On the road from Reno to
Eldo
17 Indianapolis to Columbus,
I-70
19 Atlanta to Columbia, I-20
3

thetrucker.com June 1-14, 2020 • 29
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Features June 1-14, 2020 • 31
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