Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/204210
VOICES CHANNEL 19 No trucks? No kidding I visited the site of a single-truck accident near where I live in Nashville, Tenn., to see how things went wrong for a fuel hauler. The accident occurred when the driver turned off truck-restricted Glenrose onto Old Glenrose and then attempted to back his way out of the problematic local road. Media reports noted he'd suffered a couple of broken legs after his rig had tipped over as he exited the cab. The incident shut down area traffic through a night and into the morning rush hour. David Morales, president of the Woodbine Neighborhood Association, where the accident took place, noted that it could have been worse: "If fuel had leaked, if there had been a fire there, they would have had to evacuate." In urban driving, keep your eyes peeled for such postings, and take them seriously. They could save you from the worst. Read more of this story, and drivers' views on the area where it happened, via the Sept. 28 post on the Channel 19 blog. Small no-trucks signs such as this mark several routes in the area where a fuel tanker wrecked in September. Rate cutters burn small fleet owner BULLDOG MEETS DUCK. Recognize this 1978 Mack R-767ST? It's a replica owner-operator Robert Steele put together of the Rubber Duck 1978 RS700L used in Sam Peckinpah's classic "Convoy" film. Steele says the truck, powered by an old 500 Cummins, shows but one difference from the film's truck: The hood isn't quite as tall. Steele had to modify the RS700L grille to fit the 767, which he uses only sparingly. On a broader note, read his appeal by searching "More industry unity would pay big dividends" on OverdriveOnline.com. Robert Steele operates a fleet of three trucks – one of which he drives himself – out of St. Augustine, Fla. He's seen several direct accounts he's had with certain shippers run under by operators who are either getting two or three times his fuel mileage or don't care how much it costs to operate a truck and are content to run with little profit. "Some of these guys," he says, "as long as they have a Big Mac to eat running up and down the road, they'll just keep doing what they're doing." And then there's competition from fleets of size, which he saw when a shipper opened bidding nationwide, which saw the rate drop by nearly half. To weigh in on your rate strategies, find the Sept. 26 post on the Channel 19 blog. Visit Senior Editor Todd Dills' CHANNEL 19 BLOG at OverdriveOnline.com/channel19 Write him at tdills@randallreilly.com. 6 | Overdrive | November 2013 Voices_1113.indd 6 10/30/13 3:27 PM