The freight transportation industry has at least one thing in common with virtually every sector: the importance of speed and flexibility. Sales come and go in the blink of an eye.
When you’re driving the largest vehicle on the roadway, it’s easy to grow complacent about safety — especially when you drive for hours and hours at a time.
The challenge is that while freight carriers have a difficult task regarding safety, they also have a huge responsibility, and they must do whatever they can to account for the ignorance and mistakes of regular motorists. Lives and expensive cargo are at stake.
Here are eight ways that carriers can stay safe on the road:
One of the very top values at Freight Tec is Family.
We believe in trying to find a different load for a Carrier, who wants to be home for the weekend to spend time with his family… Taking care of some of the extra headaches for a Shipping Manager so he can spend more time with his family… or making sure our Agents and Employees get the time they need to spend with their own families. We consider each of these part of the our Freight Tec Family as well.
This article – Myths about the Trucking Industry – is about Truck Drivers in general, and it really struck a chord with me as I read it this morning.
Quoted from the article:
“Next time you see a semi-truck on the road, think about the driver behind the wheel, and realize he—or she—is a person just like you, working toward a goal, delivering goods you depend on, and looking forward to getting back home to family.”
If you get a chance, be sure to thank a Truck Driver – and at the very least, respect what they do and the part they play in keeping this country rolling.
Are you an Agent or Broker interested in joining the Freight Tec Family?
The automated, driverless vehicle is something we keep hearing more and more about. They could potentially remove the human error factor in driving, it could save a lot of lives. But it’s expensive, and not everyone is going to want to give up control of their vehicles.
But you have to admit, there’s something fascinating about the idea. Take a ride in world’s first road-ready self-driving truck:
What do you think? Is this our generation’s “Flying Car”? Fun to think about, but never gonna happen?
A company in the UK called Mole Solutions thinks so. They’ve designed pods, that would travel underground to deliver goods currently hauled by trucks. They travel via a computer controlled smart track, using electromagnets.
The company claims they could ship goods for 20% the cost of road shipping.
But is it feasible? Laying that much pipeline would be a massive undertaking that would take years, if not decades to complete.
What do you think? Are underground pipelines just a pipe dream?
Here’s some footage of the test pods in action:
Nigel Marsh, thinks work-life balance is too important to be left in the hands of your employer.
He lays out his “ideal” day, working, taking time for himself, his wife, his kids, the dog, and friends. Nigel quickly realizes that ideal is just not possible.
He stresses the importance of not falling into the trap of “I’ll do it when I retire.” And reminds us that the little things matter.
He breaks down the problems with how we’re dealing with balancing career and having a full and fulfilling day.
This talk is from TEDxSydney.
Do you work 8 hours straight? Do you often work through your lunch? You may think that you’re a better worker for these habits, but, studies say you’re doing it wrong. They say the 8 hour workday is inefficient and outdated.
Entrepreneur says:
“The 8-hour workday was created during the industrial revolution as an effort to cut down on the number of hours of manual labor that workers were forced to endure on the factory floor. This breakthrough was a more humane approach to work two hundred years ago, yet it possesses little relevance for us today.”
No one is saying that the work day should be shorter per say, but our work, break, work schedule needs to change.
“Your brain wants an hour on, 15 minutes off.”
So take a break every hour, a real break. Get up and walk away from your work, get outside, lie down. Completely disconnect from your work, and when you return 15 minutes later, you’ll be primed and ready to focus!
In an moment of, what we can only call road rage inspired insanity, a motorist in Salt Lake City became enraged when a semi-truck changed lanes in front of their car. Instead of simply slowing down and giving the truck room, they decided to get “revenge” on the truck driver. The small red car passed the truck, changed lanes in front of it, and slammed on the breaks. The semi driver lost control, and rolled; blocking 4 lanes of traffic and causing 5 more accidents. Luckly, the only injuries were minor. The highway was closed for 7 hours while the cleanup was underway.
The accident happened on an interchange from I-15 to I-215. The trucker admits he was unfamiliar with the interchange and should have been going a little slower for the curve.
Police are searching for the driver, but so far, they have no leads. Utah Highway Patrol says that if they do find the driver, he will be facing reckless driving charges, in the least.
Driving a Semi isn’t easy, and they don’t have the same sight lines as someone in a car. Most drivers know that they need to give trucks room and understand that they have blind spots. Apparently this driver didn’t get the memo, or maybe he just didn’t care.
Let this be a lesson to all drivers: Give. Trucks. Space. That driver is doing a difficult job, and delivering goods you depend on every day! Cut them more slack, they’re often traveling routes they’re unfamiliar with. And always, always give them plenty of space.
Road Rage is never, ever, an appropriate response in any situation. But when it comes to trucks the damage is multiplied. This drivers desire to “Get back” at the truck driver could have killed people.
Tanker rollover diverts traffic off I-215 in Murray; injuries unknown https://t.co/bdexemAZdb pic.twitter.com/yEq9XpVnzO
— FOX 13 NOW (@fox13now) February 13, 2016
Over the years, the government has placed restrictions on drivers to keep the roads safe. It’s easy to think that the only thing our legislators care about is the other person, but they also consider protecting drivers against unethical brokers. In the Motor Carrier Protection Act of 2010, Congress passed laws which related to the trucking industry.
The new rules that have been going into effect since the bill was passed are designed to protect truckers. The industry was rife with brokers who didn’t pay on time, or even filed bankruptcy before making payments to carriers. One major change of the Act was to increase the surety bond from $10,000 to $75,000. It also:
Carriers have more protection when taking a load. Freight Tec takes this law seriously and maintains a $100,000 bond and ensures that its carriers get paid for each load in a timely fashion. We carried this bond amount before it was required to demonstrate the creditworthiness of our company. You can depend on quick payment from us.
Even with the Motor Carrier Act, there are still brokers who try to take advantage of carriers. Inbound Logistics, providing industry information since 1981, still advises that carriers know the broker who they are using. Ask these questions before signing with a broker:
Whether you’re an owner-operator working with one of our agents or have a full fleet of trucks that provide shipping for our clients, you are going to get paid. We want to take care of you. Trust us, not because we say that you can, but because we back up our words with the licenses and bonds to ensure you won’t lose money, and because we’ve been doing treating carriers right for 25+ years.
This M60 armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) weighs in at 101,000 lbs, and is 12ft wide. This one is fresh after a rebuild, and headed back into service.
Great YouTube video of these vehicles in action –
