February 1, 2012 just after 8 am Amtrak train 351 rounds a curve near Leoni, Michigan and the engineer puts the brakes in emergency and hits the floor. Blocking the train's path at a crossing is a low boy trailer hauling machinery and it's not moving. Upon impact the trailer is destroyed, the locomotive and two cars are derailed and heavily damaged. The miracle is that there were no serious injuries. The truck driver and several Amtrak passengers were taken to a local hospital, treated and released.... Read More

Recently I was asked to participate in a panel discussion at the Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington, D.C. The overall topic for the panel was “Safety and Security Design for Female Transportation Workers.” My segment focused on “Challenges in Equipment Design,” and since I represent women in the trucking industry, my information related to women in trucking!... Read More

It is 2012 and tens of thousands of drivers sit in driver orientations every week. Most all of these drivers have one thing in common. They are either not getting enough miles to make any money or they can never get back home to rest and see their families.

Trucking looks to be a very greedy business from the inside where drivers are just pawns in a game played by business planners. The majority of OTR drivers today are dingy, depressed, don't trust anybody and just plain tired of being tired and disadvantaged.... Read More

Cliff got out of his truck at the shipper’s dock. He had been there for two days turning down load offerings and was frustrated that he was not getting any miles. He was paid by the mile. Why wouldn’t the company give him a load to Dallas? During that time, he had idled his truck to keep warm, but this was costing him about one gallon per hour. His dispatcher was refusing to give him any more advances and he was about out of money. Even though his income had stopped, his truck payment and insurance bills didn’t. His settlements showed he was running in the hole the past three weeks.... Read More

In today’s world of environmental concerns and the impacts of each industry on it, the Truck Industry has taken a serious thought to the level of impact it has on the environment. As a result, this industry has lessened its impact on the environment through its efforts with items like tires, engines, fuel consumption, aero-dynamics, etc. ... Read More

A driver is a father. A driver is a mother, a son, a daughter, a lover, a friend. A driver is someone special. A driver is responsible for almost every comfort we have, because somewhere along the line it came on a truck.

A driver is a white knight on the highway. A driver is someone you can trust, depend on and turn to if you need help. Drivers are on the front line of every emergency in this country be it a famine, a flood, a tornado or whatever. Drivers are out in front leading the way, bringing aid, bringing comfort, helping and leading.... Read More

Carriers are still attempting to lead CSA rather than follow CSA. That is the failure of the FMCSA. It is almost like the FMCSA is setting up carriers for the fall. The traps have been loaded and as soon as they see a carrier cross this imaginary line, which has proven not to be the threshold line, they hit the carrier hard.... Read More