Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/1009508
Voices 6 | Overdrive | August 2018 With the introduction of the 14-hour rule more than a decade ago, and now with its more rigid application under the electronic logging device mandate, it's no secret many drivers are feeling pushed and rushed to complete the miles necessary to make decent pay. The pressures on drivers are massive: Complete on-time de- liveries and finish the turnaround so they can find parking or return home before the clock runs out. This relent- less cycle leaves little time for healthy eating and proper exercise. To alleviate demands upon drivers' time, many truck stops have long moved toward menus dominated by fast food, though some have also add- ed healthy options. The complications from excessive fast-food eating are many and extend through obesity to cardiovascular and respiratory issues and so much more. I question why trucking companies and truck stop operators seem to ig- nore an ever-escalating problem. Why are fast-food menus pushed upon drivers? Why do regulators, as well as our government representatives, seem to do nothing more than look for ways to drive out experienced haulers in favor of the untested new, thus conditioning the inexperienced to these realities? Or, worse yet, why are they moving to eventually replace the lot of them with automated trucks? Carrier-written blog posts and truck-stop PR promoting healthy eating and proper exercise are not enough. Most power units are not equipped with a kitchen, and the amenities commonly offered to drivers only increase the problems. Microwave meals and sugary drinks often are used in place of a healthy alternative. Yes, the driver must step up and take responsibility for his or her own health. However, the industry can do its part by offering better choices with availability, considering less than 10 percent of product on the shelves can be referred to as healthy. Greater flexibility, furthermore, in hours limits could serve to dial back the rush-and-push dynamic so many are succumbing to. – Clifford "Chappy" Petersen " Too late! Not only are they forcing out the experienced vets, they're killing rookies faster than they can get them in the chair in one way or another! Guess the geniuses in all the truck newsletters should have posted this before instead of thumping on the 'ELD mandate is here and you're stuck with it' parade. " — Tim Huggins Via OverdriveOnline.com " A CDL is a golden ticket around here. " — Steve Sauceda of New Mexico Junior College's workforce training program, quoted by David Wethe in the L.A. Times. Wethe was writing about the boom in shale-oil services work in the West Texas Permian Basin, where he found one flatbed hauler making $140,000 annually. OILFIELD OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS This is excerpted from an Overdrive Extra blog post by Clifford "Chappy" Petersen, who runs leased to Christenson Transportation of Springfield, Missouri, after a career spanning three decades over-the- road as a company driver and leased owner-operator. He's driven 3 million accident-free miles, the most recent in his 2018 Kenworth T680. MAKING A HEALTH CASE FOR AN HOURS CHANGE " The fast-food menu is being pushed because we buy it. If you don't buy it, they won't sell it. Go to Let's Truck [LetsTruck. com], and click on the tab for 'destination health,' and learn how to be healthy. So, should the government mandate only health food in the truck stop? Should they ban Mountain Dew or Jolt? What about personal responsibility? " — David Jesse Via OverdriveOnline.com " After 30 years on the road, I not only became diabetic but also suffered from pancreatitis due to the diet I had been consuming all those years. Now 10 years later, I'm back to having to live on greasy fast food again, trying to beat the clock. " — Eric Hess Via OverdriveOnline.com