It was a beautiful December day here in Wisconsin. I thought I would take a long walk before I traveled to join my family for our annual Christmas celebration. As I enjoyed the beautiful winter air, I observed a farmer along my country route.

He was spreading manure on a nearby cornfield as the cows watched him from the fenced in area across the road. I have many friends who are farmers and I could appreciate his work that day.... Read More

Merriam-Webster defines collaborate as a verb meaning, "to work jointly with others or together, especially in an intellectual endeavor."

In Supply Chain Management collaboration is essential for the seamless transfer of property, paperwork and accountability from the shipper to the receiver. Why would this process be compromised by anyone within the sequence?... Read More

Recently the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a recommendation to ban all cell phones from commercial trucks. This includes both hand held phones and those connected to a blue tooth or hands free device. They want all cell phones turned off in all commercial vehicles. Period. ... Read More

What do flight attendants, Starbucks baristas, Disneyland characters and professional drivers have in common? They all have jobs that expose them to nasty people, or as Robert Sutton, author of, The No A**hole Rule, explains, "They just have to take it from demeaning people."... Read More

What is your time worth per hour? If you’re a driver, you get paid by the mile or by the load, but not usually by the hour. Have you calculated your value in terms of time?

If you are a volunteer, your time is worth more than you think. Many of you offer your services, your passion, and your time to organizations with missions you support. Sometimes it takes a tragedy for someone to recognize a need to support a charity’s efforts. ... Read More

Recently I read a book called, "Before You Leap," by Kermit The Frog. You are probably familiar with Mr. Frog, who bills himself as an "international television and motion picture star, a humanitarian, an amphibitarian and an educator."  He's better known as the star of "The Muppet Show,".... Read More

When you enter any industry you will be overwhelmed by numerous acronyms; and the trucking industry is no different.  In addition to MPG, EOBR, GOAL and others, your carrier will add to the list of letters that will become significant to your job.

Add to these alphabet mixtures a list of governing bodies that have even more influence over your job, DOT, FMCSA, NHTSA, NTSB and your head will start to hurt trying to remember which group has authority over what parts of your daily duties.... Read More

When you're a professional driver, the steering wheel doesn't know whether you're a man or a woman! That's something my friend Ingrid reminds me of when I talk about the benefits of being a woman in the trucking industry. You're paid the same regardless of your gender.

It used to be the case that women made about sixty cents for every dollar a man makes. A recent report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research claims that occupations with the highest median income still show a disparity between the earnings for women.... Read More

About a year ago, we received a phone call at the Women In Trucking headquarters from a construction company. The (male) caller asked if we had any trucks available. I explained that we were a nonprofit association with no assets but we had members who owned trucks. He said he was required to hire women and minority-owned businesses for his road construction business and was desperate to find any women owned companies with dump trucks.... Read More

Ask professional drivers what irritates them the most and you'll probably hear them complain about teen drivers. Those newly licensed students who can't seem to put their phones down long enough to observe the traffic around them.

How can we get to these young men and women to teach them how to drive around heavy trucks? At Women In Trucking, we are often asked to expand our influence into high school classes for future drivers. While we agree there is a need to reach these teens, we do not have the staff or the resources to personally visit driver's education classes.... Read More