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Exactly right! While it would be possible to develop a flexible HOS system that limited the total number of hours truckers may drive and require that certain amounts of sleep time be completed before someone drives, the one-size-fits-all mentality prevails; and it has prevailed through every HOS...

You make it in trucking like you make it in any other business. Treat the business like a business such that you know your costs, generate revenue sufficient to exceed those costs and manage your money well. Also maintain capital reserves sufficient to react to unexpected events that might wipe...

Choice four, leave the business for a better opportunity.

Back when Diane and I ran with FedEx Custom Critical, the rule was that a TVAL truck had to be legal in California to be flagged for TVAL work in any state. Has that changed?

I thought the same thing until I looked into it. These regs have been phasing in over the last few years. Our number came up in 2013 but big carriers have been putting big money into new trucks through this time period and their ongoing fierce competition keeps rates as low as always. There are...

Our truck is CARB-due at the end of this year (2013). After researching our options and the expenses, the decision was made to leave the expediting business and we are in the process of doing so. In my Career Change in Progress post, I said that we were leaving the business because the bug...

As expediters, Diane and I do not make New Year's resolutions. We set goals that guide our choices and actions day-by-day. While that may sound like a New Year's resolution, it is different; that is if you assume a New Year's resolution to be something casually made with little more than good...

You get more of what you think about, so think about what you think about. Examples: When I think about eating well, I resist more often the temptation to grab a fast-food meal. When the temptation rises to munch on a snack, thinking about eating well prompts me to drink a glass of juice or...

Yes! Yes! Yes! Six months of gym use and a better (but not great) focus on health is showing positive results! I just opened a letter from my doctor. The lab work from my annual physical is in. About the blood test for cholesterol, the doctor says, "The lipid panel is very good and does not...

GrandJ, I sent you a PM about this. Please check your mailbox.

I discovered, just this morning, this collection of fitness success stories. They are a joy to read and inspirational too. Check them out.

As Diane and I learn about these AED's (automatic external defibrillator), (we'll have one in the fitness club we're opening), we're also learning that dead batteries are an issue. People mount these devices on the wall but sometimes forget about them and fail to maintain them as time passes...

First, four other items came to mind. I'm sure there are more. The four are: 23. When you cross state lines, some drivers record the mileage so they can more easily and accurately complete their home fuel tax audit if one comes. 24. To drive the truck at all, you must pass a DOT physical exam...

As most readers know, Diane and I are making a career change out of trucking and into the fitness industry (see this). When such a move is made, your former career is seen in another light from further away. As the viewing angle changes, you see things that you did not see before. One of the...

Home in Minnesota through Christmas. Next week we'll be in the classroom all day, every day, for training with our new company. Than back out on the road to haul freight and keep working until gym construction begins.

It's not just talk for many people. I spoke two days ago with a commercial space HVAC contractor. His company is four people in size, down from the forty people he had working before the real estate crash, and he was one of the few in the area who remained in business at all. In that market the...

The article you cited is encouraging indeed, not only for expediting but for America at large. But that is not to suggest that expedite owner-operators can sit back and wait for the good times to roll. This isn't the industry of added value via the pay phone any more. Expedite carriers can...

You are correct about some people but incorrect about others. There are many people who got into expediting and leased their truck to a carrier, not because they lack drive and ambition, but because they have it by the ton and are looking for the paid vacation that expediting is. I know several...

In speaking about the Open Forum, Lawrence sometimes says, "Let the community take care of the community." This is one of those times. Member feedback makes it clear that my remarks above were poorly timed and inappropriately placed. My congratulations to the Caffee's stand. I regret saying the...

It's already in the plan and the budget to upgrade the showers to be oh so fine. On the road, we have experienced almost every kind of shower floor plan and fixture known to man. We'll be using the showers ourselves as we take a break to work out and return to our desk. You can count on them...