Overdrive

September 2016

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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VOICES CHANNEL 19 6 | Overdrive | September 2016 Visit Senior Editor Todd Dills' CHANNEL 19 BLOG at OverdriveOnline.com/channel19 Write him at tdills@randallreilly.com. Around a decade ago, Brian Rudisell experienced something that is more common among truckers than might be expected, as reporting last year by Carolyn Mason in these pages made abundantly clear. In an early August edition of the Overdrive Radio podcast, Rudisell details a "suicide by truck" event that derailed his dump bucket hauling for two years. The aftermath of the head-on collision with the suicidal motorist included reconstruc- tive surgery on Rudisell's ankle and, essentially, "learning to walk" again. But the physical aspects of recovery from the head-on crash weren't the most diffi cult to overcome. The lack of trust in those with whom you share the road is something that those who experience such events often speak of. In Rudisell's case, it was strong enough for him to swear off trucking for a time. Eventually, talking with fellow drivers who've been through similar things kept him from throw- ing in the towel. "The more you talk about the problem," he says, "the faster you heal." Two years lost to 'suicide by truck' Brian Rudisell drives this 2005 Kenworth W900 for Newbury, Ohio-based Kuhnle Bros., pulling tank. This year to date, Rudisell's shown the unit at every show on Overdrive's Pride & Polish circuit after overseeing its customization with Kuhnle Bros.' shop. Search Rudisell's name at OverdriveOnline.com for a video look at the modifications. Focusing on cost control, net per day instead of rates The last week of June, I went out from Nashville for a run to Moline, Ill., with Landstar-leased own- er-operator Gary Buchs. Based in Bloomington, Ill., Buchs had just fi nished a haul that made his e-log's grid display look more like a weirdly beautiful electronic transcription of a free-jazz arrangement than a re- cord of a single-day dry van delivery to fi reworks stands in Central-South- ern Kentucky. On our journey with water heaters in a pre-loaded trailer (live-unload- ed the next day in Moline), Buchs recounted his recent history. As the Landstar system's self-dis- patch tools grew in sophistication, his ability to use them did the same. And as his skill at assessing his market quickly – largely in and around his home and adjacent states – also in- creased, his business strategy evolved. He's much less concerned today with miles than he is with putting together loads that can deliver a level of income per unit of time. In selecting any load, he puts emphasis not on what it pays per mile but what it will net the business per day it occupies his truck. He believes owner-operators place too much emphasis on an aspect of the business they have only partial control over. "People complain about the rates," he says, but "not every- body's losing money. It's better to have your costs in line. I have total control over that." His transition to using an electronic logging device has assisted his success in recent years, he adds. It allows him the security of knowing he's legal on hours and improves his self-dispatch. Buchs says the ELD "frees you up to choose what you focus on" in that it "takes over what is a mundane task." Audio from the road: Visit OverdriveOnline.com/ OverdriveRadio to hear a podcast interview with owner-operator Gary Buchs from the cab of his 2000 Freightliner Century about business, regula- tions and safety. My run with him changed my deci- sion-making on the road, thanks to his attention to safety. "The space is front of you is about all you've got," he says. Buchs' near-constant easing back when four-wheelers swooped in front of him is clear evidence he takes to heart keeping an ample following distance.

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