Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/15908
“For a guy that works for people on Wall Street, trucking is a long way away.” — Owner-operator/ blogger Phil Madsen, about a particular transportation securities analyst on Wall Street who keeps Madsen on speed-dial. communicate not only with other drivers but with communities outside trucking. He also wanted a resource by which he and Diane could document their trucking adventure. He launched SuccessfulExpediters.com in 2006, hoping to provide a platform for himself and others to blog about their businesses and experiences. While many blogs become meandering ac- counts of day-to-day trivia, Madsen’s “Learning something new every day” blog is focused, offer- ing an ongoing sense of discovery. His audience includes trucking insiders, expediter-wannabes and outsiders with an interest in trucking. Such a broad audience is drawn to the quality of Mad- sen’s writing, which, in a few paragraphs, can update owner-operators on effi ciency steps he’s taking, detail the history of where he and Diane are parked, and muse about their line of work. “Expediting is a funny business,” Madsen con- cludes in an entry about visiting the Terrell Heri- tage Museum in Texas. “When you have freight on the truck, you want to get to the delivery and get it off. When you have no freight on the truck, you want to get some on. And wherever you hap- pen to be, you want to be someplace else.” From “Learning Something New Every Day” Wed., May 5, 2010: I learned today that Dracula was a Baptist. Learned by seeing the Transylvania Baptist Church as we drove today. Transylvania was one of two unusual town names we saw while driving through Northern Louisiana. The other was Waterproof. ... Local newspaper headlines are likely to cre- ate second looks: “Transylvania man weds Waterproof woman.” “Waterproof man drowns in river.” “Superintendent: Waterproof school needs roof repair.” Journalist Dan Rather stands with Allen Smith, pro- prietor with his wife, Donna, of the Ask the Trucker blog. Smith met Rather last November when the journalist convened a driver training forum at Willie’s Place in Carl’s Corner, Texas, with representatives from the industry. A 30-plus-year trucking veteran, Smith traces his outreach motivation to a phone conversation overheard in a truck stop. The trucker “couldn’t make his truck payment” and feared he would lose his home, he recalls. Smith, who spent most of his career as an owner-operator hauling household goods, had heard this sort of story too many times. He wrote a book, The Truth About Trucking, to give new drivers the hard facts about the lifestyle and business of trucking. In 2003, he began offer- ing it in e-book form via TruthAboutTrucking.com. As attention spread, he provided audio versions and CD-ROMs, and launched the askthetrucker.com blog to answer readers’ questions. The radio show followed in 2008, recently featuring expert guests Answering for the industry One truck driver’s change engine runs on multimedia fuel. Allen and Donna Smith www.askthetrucker.com TRUCK/TRAILER: Slip-seated 2008 Freightliner Columbia, pulling tankers FLEET: Pipeline Transportation Aubrey “Allen” Smith, a company driver for Florida-based Pipeline Transportation, has made it his mission to push for industry changes to benefi t drivers. From his AsktheTrucker.com blog, he promotes a news-aggregating iPhone application called Trucker (truckerapp.com), whose design he oversaw. He also hosts an occasional online radio show called Truth About Trucking (blogtalkradio. com/truthabouttrucking), devoted to trucking issues. He’s joined in these and other quests by his wife, Donna, a medical lab researcher. BIG RIG TRAVELS This “Photographic Journey of an American Trucker” is broadcast in a live webstream from the dash of Central Refrigerated driver Stephen Michaels, who also includes photos from the road. Michaels’ site has caught worldwide media attention for the window it provides into the day-to-day of the American trucker. www.BigRigTrav- els.com HIGHWAY HAGS This two-woman trucking team took the reins of a 2007 Freightliner Century and transitioned to owner-operator status after years as company driv- ers. Their blog is a detailed look into the specifics of their business, from equipment maintenance down to on-the-road life- style discussions, and is full of sharp- edged humor from both women. www. HighwayHags.com SEPTEMBER 2010 OVERDRIVE 29 Courtesy AsktheTrucker.com