Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85429
roadside attractions CHANNEL 19 'A SUICIDE THREAT, A DRAWN GUN,' AND 3 TRUCKER HEROES "I thought we were going to be in trouble, which is what I told the cop at first," Eagle Pass, Ore.-based log hauler Tony Rickman told the Estacada News in February. Instead, he and two other truckers received citizen commendations for helping a law enforcement officer stop a drunk driver near the Highway 224 entrance to Mt. Hood National Park. "I wasn't trying to be a hero," Rickman added, "I was just thinking, 'This cop is way up here by himself and what if something does happen.'" The protracted inci- dent involved, among other things, a "thrown champagne bottle, a suicide threat, a drawn gun, and countless incidents of dangerous driving." Find links to the full dramatic account on the Feb. 14 blog entry. Tireless reporting on fatigue One-fifth of all four- wheeler accidents are attributable at least partly to driver fatigue, one of many stats detailed in a fascinating infographic from FrugalDad.com about the impor- tance of sleep. The Channel 19 blog's Feb. 24 entry con- tains the full sleep graphic. It also has an archived edi- tion of the Truth About Trucking Live online radio program featuring blog editor Todd Dills discussing the latest regulatory developments with sleep apnea. Shoot the QR to pull the post up directly on your phone or tablet. Alert network for missing drivers Driver-to-driver connectivity via the social networks yielded a new initiative after North Carolina hauler Mark Williams Sr. failed to make a delivery and was reported missing. Drivers and advocates launched the Missing Truck Driver Alert Network as a Facebook group. A driver's response to a post led to the location of Williams, who had died, says network cofounder Kari Fisher. The group gained more than 1,000 members in its first two weeks, and they've launched the MissingTruckDriver.com site, where you can sign up for text alerts. For our interview with Fisher, who runs with her flatbedding owner-operator This trucking novel is avail- able for $12.21 preorder on Amazon.com. For 'the ones who don't fit in' Former Bekins Van Lines owner- operator-turned-writer Fred Afflerbach's Roll On novel, due this month, tells the story of Ubi Sunt on what may be his last cross-country run to see the grandkids. The book evokes the 1980s in cinematic detail, such as rumors of an independent strike. Sunt, hauling in a 1956 Peterbilt cabover known as Old Ironsides, is the writer's tribute to those who came before him. "When I came on, I was listening to these old-timers — these guys drove when the roads were more primitive, drove with more primitive equipment, too." The book is dedicated to "the ones who don't fit in." Afflerbach says, "Bedbuggers were the black sheep compared to the reefer haulers with the fancy rigs. It might take us a whole week to get full — the other guys could come in and out in one or two days. We were misfits among misfits." husband, see the Feb. 16 entry on the blog. For more of the interesting and odd parts of trucking, visit Senior Editor Todd Dills' 12 OVERDRIVE APRIL 2012 Scan the QR code for a video interview with Fred Afflerbach about his trucking novel. CHANNEL 19 BLOG at OverdriveOnline.com/channel19.