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How big of an issue is this really? First, random drug tests do not happen that often; maybe twice a year at most. Second, if they do happen, they seem to come at times convenient to us, at least in our experience. We have been called in when we were in training at FedEx, on a Monday morning...

That's a good tip, but does it not behoove us all to be careful in every construction zone? Not because the police are watching, but because construction zones present special dangers to workers, you and the motorists with whom you share the road.

Do you have a favorite Kindle book to recommend? Share it here. I am having a great time reading Aesop's Fables on my Kindle. It is one of thousands of FREE e-books that can be downloaded from the Kindle store. It is one of many books we now carry in the truck that take up no more space...

It is sad that the state legislators who are passing these snow laws do so without a second thought to worker safety, yet they are the same people who pass worker safety laws all the time. I wonder how many violations an employer would be charged with if an OSHA inspector observed a big-rig...

It has never happened to us that we could not get in or out of a dock with our straight truck because of snow or ice. If snow or ice was an issue, I might suggest to dispatch that we can get in and out if I chain up but would need to to have a labor charge added. Would that be reasonable?

In another thread, TeamCaffee quoted Jason (Frederick, I presume) saying the Qualcomm cost issue "Has been heard loud and clear!" While that is good to know, we have yet to see a change in the cost, except the increase from $30 a week to $35 that came with the new units. Contractors have...

Are you suggesting that we are not communicating with birds now?

Never is a long time. We tend to forget about the positive changes that get made as time goes by. Remember when the settlements were far less user friendly than they are now? Remember when we did not have the great TA fuel discount we have now? I am not holding my breath for settlement...

Our truck and transmission is different than yours but consider this. We once had a problem with the truck not going into gear or going out of gear once it was in. This developed soon after we had new batteries installed. I checked the connections and found one seemingly tight but not really...

Unless the rules have changed, no they won't pay you to compete in the NTDC. They might pay you some money to cover the deadhead in getting home to compete. They might pay to fly you to an event but the rules strictly prohibit companies from paying people to compete. At least they did when Diane...

In normal circumstances, Bob would be one of the best pre-trip trainers any driver could hope to get, but keep in mind that the NTDC is not a normal circumstance. The pre-trip event is one in which you work against the clock to find planted defects. You need to work not only on truck stuff but...

Diane and I both drove a Freightliner M2 in the contest.

That's correct. You cannot stick your head out the window. Again, contact FedEx for support. Diane and I were surprised to be given access to any straight truck they had on the lot to practice in. All were day cab box trucks with two axles, similar to those used in the contest. We got the chance...

Have Michelle make the introduction. For us, she contacted the FedEx Express facility directly. When we arrived, people there wlecomed us with open arms and made us instantly part of the team. The competiton is individual but competitors chum together and help each other out. For reasons I do...

Additonal thoughts: - Be prepared for the unexpected. Diane and I trained for a pre-trip inspection that was to be six minutes long. When a larger number of contestants arrived, a last-minute decision was made to cut the event by one minute. - As with any human competiton, cheating has been...

I presume that settlement information is in a centralized database before it finds it way into individualized .pdf flies. How hard could it be to make the same information available for spreadsheets by putting it also in .csv format? For those of us who use spreadsheets, and for accountants...

Husband/wife team here.

Carrier suggests that the useful life of a reefer is seven years, but most of their customers run big reefers on big trucks in applications where the reefers are run almost as often as the truck engine. A reefer less used would be expected to run longer. Far more important than the brand name...

Diane and I competed at the Yellow/Roadway terminal in Burnsville, MN.

Diane and I competed in the National Truck Driving Championships in June, 2008. My report about it is published on my web site. Comments in response to your post: - Don't rule out winning at the state level and advancing to the nationals. First-time contestants have done so before. -...