Tax Time!!!

It's tax time again!! Nalls Specialized Hauling pays quarterly $44,000 in IFTA and Weight Distance Taxes. This money helps keep Kentucky roads safe. Find out more about these taxes at http://www.dotauthority.com/tax.htm

ATA Prevails in Restart Fight

American Trucking Associations won its fight against the 34-hour restart provision of the hours of service rule -- at least for now.

On Saturday night the Senate passed and sent to President Obama a bill that replaces the controversial 2013 version of the restart with an earlier, less restrictive, version while the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does more research on the issue.

The provision occupies five pages of a 1,603-page, $1.1 trillion measure that funds the government through next September.

The earlier version of the restart goes into effect as soon as Obama signs the bill. The bill tells FMCSA to publish notice of the change in the Federal Register as soon as possible.

ATA President and CEO Bill Graves thanked Congress.

“We have known since the beginning that the federal government did not properly evaluate the potential impacts of the changes it made in July 2013,” Graves said in a statement. “Now, thanks to the hard work of Senator (Susan) Collins and many others, we have a common sense solution. Suspending these restrictions until all the proper research can be done is a reasonable step.” 

ATA has been pursuing the change for more than a year. It contends that the restart provision enacted by FMCSA in July 2013 reduces productivity for some carriers and may increase risk by putting more trucks on the road during Monday morning rush hour.

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Hiring Veterans

Military vets make excellent employees.

Anyone who’s served with the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard needs those traits to successfully complete a term of service, and is likely to fit in well with any trucking company seeking to fill its ranks of drivers, mechanics and supervisors, according to people in the industry.

“Veterans make excellent employees,” says Boyd Stephenson, who heads the American Trucking Associations’ driver licensing efforts. “They’re conscientious, they’re focused, they’re responsible; they’re everything you could want in an employee.”

Veterans have learned to accept discipline and to follow and give orders under conditions that most civilians never face or could ever imagine.“Mission oriented” is one way Ed Tobon, director of recruiting at Ryder System, describes veterans who’ve been trained to get a job done no matter what. A former Navy aircraft pilot, he heads the company’s efforts to seek and hire military members.

“They have worked in a team environment, and a lot of them have had leadership roles, so they can be good as the lead in warehousing teams” and other roles. They have the potential to be better employees than someone off the street, and with training and guidance they usually are.

“We find that there is a certain amount of maturity that comes with their military experience,” says Rob Reich, vice president of maintenance operations and driver recruiting at Schneider National. “They've worked away from home and were in situations where they made decisions on their own. So they’re able to make decisions out there,” such as in dealing with customers and other people they contact while on the road.

Sleeper Pilot Program on Track for 2016

New Study For Sleeper Berth Rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s research division says it’ll likely be another year before it launches a pilot program to see if drivers can safely split their sleeper berth rest time.

According to Heavy Duty Trucking, the contract to conduct the 90-day study will be let in December, but the project will have to be cleared by the Office of Management and Budget, and the administrative preparations – leading to a possible 2016 start date.

Trucking Facts You May Not Know

The First Tractor Trailer

The first tractor trailer was invented in 1914 by Charles Freuhauf, who was a German-American blacksmith. Freuhauf built the truck in Detroit at a merchant’s request to transport his boat to the Ford Motor Company.  Freuhauf was then asked to build a similar tractor trailer to haul lumber, leading him to establish the Freuhauf Trailer Company in 1918. 

Largest Tractor

The world’s largest tractor was created by the French in 2005.  Named the TRACTOMAS TR 10X10, created by NICOLAS Industrie, this tractor has a “tare weight of around 40 tonnes, along with a vehicle total weight of 71 tonnes,” with an overall weight of truck and trailer of about 600 tonnes.

Trucks on the Silver Screen

The 70s were a boom period for truck driving movies. Steven Spielberg’s thriller Duel, the incomparable Smokey and the Bandit, the Chuck Norris vehicle Breaker! Breaker!, and Convoy were all major hits.

What is the longest interstate highway in the United States?

Interstate 90, it is nearly 3,100 miles long and runs from Seattle, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts. Interstate 80 is the second longest interstate, running from Teaneck, New Jersey to San Francisco, California for a total of 2,909 miles.

Test news item just for fun

We don't' have any real news yet, but we need to put some text in here for testing purposes so here goes:

Ten years ago a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem and no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-team.

Just the good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm. Beats all you've ever saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born. Straight'nin' the curve, flat'nin' the hills. Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will. Makin' their way, the only way they know how, that's just a little bit more than the law will allow. Just good ol' boys, wouldn't change if they could, fightin' the system like a true modern day Robin Hood.

I never spend much time in school but I taught ladies plenty. It's true I hire my body out for pay, hey hey. I've gotten burned over Cheryl Tiegs, blown up for Raquel Welch. But when I end up in the hay it's only hay, hey hey. I might jump an open drawbridge, or Tarzan from a vine. 'Cause I'm the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine.