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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

BY JOHN WHITE

The Last Ride

With a heavy heart, I tell you that our friend and associate writer, Ed Murdoch, has passed away. For almost 14 years, Ed entertained us with stories about his life on the road.

Ed was well-educated and took great pleasure in using words in his articles that he knew I would have to look up. He also used to like calling the U.S.A. the Excited States of America, something I finally gave up on editing out.

Ed held his Class 1 for over 65 years and drove for 50 of those years until he had a massive heart attack in 2001. After spending a month in the hospital, he sold his truck, and for the next ten years, he worked as a safety and compliance officer for an international trucking company.

Most people who read his articles would think that was his whole life in a nutshell. He got his license at 16 and drove a truck for 50 years while raising a family. Then, health problems forced him into a desk job for the next ten years until he retired. It’s pretty standard for a trucking career. That is enough for a man who made truck driving his career –right? Wrong! Ed squeezed more into his lifetime than two people could.

Ed taught music for three years at schools in Northern Ontario, and his

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choirs always won first place at competitions. He started playing piano when he was five and later played the trombone and trumpet. He wrote and published a book about trucking titled, “Driving Through My Memories.” After he retired, he had a weekly radio program on a community radio station out of Salmon Arm, BC called Voice of the Shuswap. Then, for his 87th birthday, he went skydiving - in a wheelchair! If that was not enough, even more surprising, he was an accomplished Opera Singer.

Murdoch spent two years travelling with the Festival of Canada Music group, singing opera across Europe, including 17 days in Russia. During his tenure as a performer, he entertained thousands of people, including royalty and dignitaries from North America and Europe.

John White john@ptmag.ca

He sang for Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Jean Chretien, and two American presidents, Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.

But he always came back to trucking. When teaching school, he would drive on weekends and summer holidays. He said that more than once, he drove his rig to practice for a concert, then made a run, and was still back in time to perform.

You might think that this would be the end of his story but no. Ed lived in Enderby for 32 years but then just recently met his soul mate on line and moved to Airdrie Alberta to be with her.

Rest in Peace Ed, you will be missed.

RIG OF THE MONTH

The suggestion for this issue’s Rig of the Month (Joe Hogg) was sent in by David Benjatschek of Wowtrucks.com. David has the envious job of being able to travel around Canada taking pictures of Canadian trucks for his Wowtrucks Calendar. He is also a motivational speaker, teaches photography and he is a great ambassador for the industry. This is Joe’s story:

My name is Joe Hogg, and I was born and raised on a farm just 12 miles north of Lougheed, Alberta. Growing up on the farm was great. It allowed me to do and see things other kids never get to do or see. I have two older brothers, but by the

time I was 12, they had moved to Grande Prairie, Alberta. They were both truck drivers, and as a kid, I idolized them. Partly because I was fascinated by the big iron they drove.

Many things happened when

I was twelve years old that more or less set me on my career path as a driver. The first one was my brothers driving trucks, but also, when I was that age, my dad bought a corral cleaning business where he travelled around from farm to farm in the Viking/Vermillion area,

Joe Hogg

cleaning out corrals. He had three trucks, a tandem axle International, and two Fords. Dad showed me the ropes, which began my career as a trucker. I would help him in the summer months by moving the trucks to and from the corrals as they were loaded. My two sisters Leeanne and Cindy also drove a bit when we were did corral cleaning so I guess you can say we all have a bit of trucking in our blood.

The month after I turned 18, I got my class one. I did my written test in the morning while the guy whose truck I was going to take my test in was working then he took the rest of the day off while I did my driving test. I aced them both on the same day. Once I had my class one, I moved to Grande Prairie and went to work driving a Freightliner tandem axel cab over for Silver Wing Transport. Unfortunately, that job did not last long. After a couple of weeks, another driver sent me to the wrong lease. Looking back, I realize I should have taken my instructions

from the dispatcher because the tank overflowed at the lease where I was supposed to go. To appease the customer, someone had to go, and it was no real surprise when it turned out to be me.

After Silver Wing I went to Fracmaster out of Grande Prairie where I drove a tandem tandem Kenworth cab over with what they called endless tubing. It was hauling a big spool of 1-inch copper tube used for well cleanout. I wasn’t too impressed with the job, so the day I turned 19, I returned home to work for Ruzicka Trucking of Viking, Alberta. That was my first highway job, and was something I had wanted to do all along. I spent a couple of years there learning about hauling bales, cattle and grain. After that, I went to work for Clark Steele out of Wainwright, who hired me to haul cattle in the Wainwright area, with the odd trip to Calgary.

In 1986 I bought my first truck. It was a 1986 Western Star, with a 400 Cummins engine, 18-speed

transmission and a small bunk, and I went back to Grande Prairie to work for my brother hauling livestock.

The Doctor told me I had to quit working for my brother Darrell for medical reasons or they would continue to get worse. So once again, I moved back home to the job in Wainwright.

I kept my first truck, the 1986 Western Star, for five years, then in May of 94, I bought a used T600 with a mechanical cat. I got kicked one day while loading cattle, breaking my leg. I was off for six weeks, and during that time, I sold my truck and bought a 94 379 Pete flattop. I had that truck for two years, then bought a new 99 900L Kenworth with an Aerodyne bunk. Three years later sold it and worked for others for a few months to be around the kids more, but that was not for me, so I bought the 2000 Pete I now have. It came with a 63-inch standup bunk and a high-roof cab. I wanted a flat top

but couldn’t find one, so I rebuilt mine five years ago. I found a 63 flat top and had it reskinned, then changed the roof cap on the truck to flatten it out as well.

Over the years, I worked for several companies hauling their trailers, then 11 years ago, I bought my own. I also run my own plates, insurance and fuel cards to keep some of my own independance.

As I mentioned, I idolized my older brothers and rode with both of them at different times. Darrell hauled livestock and Donnie hauled logs. I only rode with Donnie hauling logs one time and that was when I was 16. After that one trip where we were negotiating steep cut banks with his loaded trailer trying to pass us while going down a steep grade, I quickly realized that hauling logs wasn’t for me. On the other hand I found that riding with Darrell, loading and hauling cattle, was not as nerve-wracking and a lot more enjoyable.

I have two kids. My daughter Jolene is a school teacher. She and husband Blake, have two daughters, Leah and Kenzie, and they live on a property just east of Edmonton at Ardrossan, Alberta. My son Cody, and his wife Lindsey, and their little boy Brady, live in Calgary. My son Cody started riding with me when he was about two. On one trip to Peace River, we stopped to eat at a restaurant in Whitecourt, and a short time later, he started to throw up. By the time we got to Peace River, our shower towels were the only thing we had left that was dry enough to use as covers for the night. That didn’t deter him as he continued to ride with me. We even made a couple trips to the coast and he loved it. When

he got older I taught him how to drive which didn’t take too much as he had watched me through the years. When he was in his early twenties he finally broke down and got his Class 1. He currently pulls for Trivee transport out of Calgary.

When I redid my truck 5 yrs. ago, my son Cody, who has a great eye for detail, and not afraid to do anything, had a lot to do with how it went together. On the day he brought his new truck home from Kenworth he took the interior out. Amoung other things he wanted to paint the dash, install a visor, and put in custome cab lights.

When my daughter was in elementary school They had a bring a parent to school day to talk about what they did. I parked my 99 Kenworth on the street in front of the school and all the kids came out and were wide-eyed when told they were allowed to climb into the truck. They were quite impress when they found it was so clean that they had to take their shoes off at the door. Another time I had both kids with me at a small feed lot. I was loading cattle and as they were coming up the chute one of them jumped the fence. There were a couple of very wide eyed kids frantically looking around, not knowing which way to run.

Over the years, I tried different things. I worked for Olinyk Trucking out of Edmonton hauling building supplies like drywall and lumber. They were a good company, but it didn’t interest me as much as hauling livestock. I also worked for McCallum Trucking and Stainless Truck Lines, pulling stainless tankers filled with foodquality oil. They, too, were good companies, but I found the work was too predictable and repetitious

for me.

I also did maintenance for the highways for about ten months, but I couldn’t stand how they did things. Being a driver, I have a good idea of what is needed on the roads, and I found that they wanted to use too much material when sanding. I knew what excess material did to truck wheels and wiring, so I put down what I knew to be enough to be safe, but they kept sending me out to put down more. I finally realized the job wasn’t for me one day when we were replacing road signs. We dug a hole and put in a sign, and after making sure it was straight and tamping it down, I was ready to move on to the next one. But I was told to take it easy, slow down and make the job last. That was totally against my grain. Being raised on a farm, you worked until the end of the day because you knew you would never run out of work. It wasn’t just that. It was also because I was brought up to put in a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.

When hauling livestock, every load is different. It was more hands-on, and you never know where you will load, which was interesting as you often ended up at places you had never been to before. When hauling livestock, you are also hands-on with loading the animals, which is interesting in itself as you never know what to expect. Their temperament is different every time.

I have been working for Westland Livestock out of Acme, Alberta, for three and a half years, and they are a great company. Randy Hempel started Westland in March 1992 and is slowly beginning to pull away. His son Eric has more or less taken over,

and things are going really well. My girlfriend Tracey stands behind me 100% in everything that I do. She loves horses and has about a dozen, counting the two new foals and another on the way. We are leaving shortly for a horseback trip out west. I’m not sure where yet. I think she wants to surprise me, but hopefully, it is in the Black Hills or the Kananaskis country. Either way, I’m sure it will be a great trip. Being raised on a farm means I have been riding horses all my life, and I am really looking forward to this trip.

I also have a beautiful Harley Heritage 2006 Soft Tail motorcycle, which I love to ride, and it is a tossup as to what I would rather do.

They are both great ways to kick back and relax, and I am very lucky to be able to do both.

I have to say that trucking in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s seemed much more fun than it is today. I think that drivers were respected more and the government didn’t seem to be in your face all the time with new regulations. There were always good times, no matter who you ran with or where you were hauling to. It is sure a lot different now. Some days are good, some not so good. I was recently gaining on a carrier, so I started to pass him. He wandered into the hammer lane as I approached and abruptly pulled back. I sat back for a bit to see what was happening and then

finally passed him. As I went by, I could see him texting. He wasn’t even trying to hide it – he had it on the steering wheel. That kind of disrespect for other drivers, and trucking in general, riles me.

Like everyone, I have days when I question what I am doing and whether I could have done something different with my life. Should I have stayed in school and become a Doctor or Lawyer like I think my mother would have preferred? But then I pull out on the highway with the sun coming up and settle down for a nice drive with cattle mewing faintly in the background, and I realize this is where I should be, and life is good.

Letters to the Editor

Dear John

I agree with your editorial in your July/August issue. Things have only gotten worse over the years. Yes, there are a few more rest stops now, but they have taken others away at the same time. It is just as bad, if not worse, in the U.S. Most of the time, lots are full, and you have to park wherever you can find a spot.

B. Kensing

Toronto

Editor’s note: One of our major problems is that Canada is the only one of the G7 that does not have a law where taxes collected on fuel must go back into our highway system. Instead, they go into general revenue. I would have no problem with fuel taxes if they were used to make more truck parking spaces and improve our highways.

There is often nowhere to park when a driver gets to their destination. They can plan their trip with stops included, but those plans fall apart when no parking spots are left. The only option is for a driver to go over their hours to find a safe parking place.

It is common to find off-ramps lined with parked trucks

in the States. In July, another accident near St. Louis occurred where a Greyhound bus ran into a parked Semi, killing three bus passengers and leaving 14 other people, including the driver, injured.

Approximately 13 million trucks operate on U.S. roadways, and there aren’t nearly enough overnight parking places.

The driver of the parked truck had hoped to make it to Troy, Illinois, to stop but was at the end of his allowable 11 hours on the road. The driver said, “I was 15 minutes from Troy, but these electronic logs will violate you for driving ten extra minutes to find a parking space.”

The California Department of Transportation said that from 2014 to 2018, 1,626 crashes involved parked trucks, resulting in 131 deaths. The Texas Department of Transportation found that from 2013 to 2017, 2,315 accidents involving parked trucks resulted in 138 deaths.

While we have not had that many accidents in Canada, I am sure there will be a lot of prayers, wishes, and kneejerk reactions from our politicians, not if but when this happens in Canada.

Loose Moose

Iwas in Toronto unloading on a Friday, and after I got unloaded (at about 1 p.m.), I decided to drop in on my old friends at Dillon. They had a system that on Fridays, they started a bit early and would shut down at 2 p.m. for a meeting to hash out any problems they had over the last little while and plan ahead. I parked in the back, joined the meeting, and the headman asked me to wait for a while after. After the meeting, He explained that they had a load of material to go to Newfoundland but were having trouble finding anyone to haul it because of the Ferry and the lack of loads coming off the Island. We sat down and juggled a few numbers and finally came up with a price that would allow me to make a very small profit (or at least break even), and I said I would be back Monday morning to pick it up.

Monday morning, I showed up at the gate to find my trailer loaded, chained down, tarped, and ready to go. It seems a couple of the guys

Lovers Lane

had come in Saturday, and since my truck was sitting there, they decided to load it. They had everything done except my pre-trip, so I was out of there and on my way in very short order.

Everything went fine until we got on the Ferry, and the crew doubled up blocking the rigs’ tires. That is when I learned it might get a little bouncy this trip. By the time we were halfway, I was the only one left on the top deck observation station, and we were having green water coming in over the bow. I loved it until I had to make a break for the stairs down to the next deck, and in seconds, I got soaked and almost got blown away before getting inside. Anyway, the trip ended, and we offloaded. I found a quiet spot and went to bed for the night.

Morning in Newfoundland, the air was fresh and clear after the storm, and the road beckoned. Now, I had heard about this highway and warned about the Moose, and since

this was April, I should keep a good lookout for cows with calves. I can’t remember how many miles up to the north coast, but I swear there was a Moose every half mile. There were baby Moose, med-sized Moose and big Moose. Two or three needed their own wide load signs, and I stopped to watch a Mom give birth not 25 yards from the truck. Finally, I made it to the drop, crawled into the back again, woke up the next morning, got unloaded, and started back down. By the time I made it back to the ferry terminal, I had counted 147 Moose, about twice the number of people I had seen.

After a bit of digging around, I managed to get a paying load to Toronto, so it worked out that I made a few bucks and had one of the greatest trips ever.

One night a cop was patrolling a well-known lover’s parking spot. He saw a couple in a car, with the interior light brightly glowing. The cop carefully approached the car to get a closer look. When he got closer he saw a young man behind the wheel, reading a computer magazine and a young woman in the rear seat, knitting!

Puzzled by this surprising situation, the cop walked to the car and gently rapped on the driver’s window. The young man lowered his window...“Uh, yes, officer?”

“What are you doing?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m reading a magazine, sir “

Pointing towards the young woman in the back seat the cop asked, “And her, what’s she doing?”

The young man shrugs: “Sir, I believe she’s knitting a pullover sweater.”

Now, the cop is totally confused. Here was a young couple, alone, in a car, at night in a lovers’ lane and nothing was happening!

“What’s your age, young man?”

“ I’m 21, sir.”

“And her ... what’s her age?”

The young man looks at his watch and replies: “She’ll be 18 in 11 minutes.”

Dave Madill

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Some of the Trucks I’ve Seen

The company that I worked for in Saskatoon had built a winch truck that was one of a kind. They took a cab over Kenworth with a V8 Cat, then mounted a 5-speed main, a 4-speed auxiliary and a three-speed Browning box. They mounted a winch, and for traction, they took a belly plate about 1 inch thick, reinforced it, and cut teeth on one end. On the other end, they put a hinge. All of this was mounted onto the frame rails between the back of the cab and the power divider on the rear wheels. If there was nothing to anchor to, like trees or larger machinery, you could lower the plate with a hand winch and adjust the chains on each side of the frame. This truck had a long frame, and the plate was approximately 4 feet by 8 feet long. You would hook onto whatever you were winching and wind the cable in. As it pulled the truck backwards, it pushed the plate deeper into the ground. (Kids, don’t do this while parked on asphalt.) You just put the truck into granny and granny’s granny low gear to lift the plate. As you pulled ahead with this low gearing, the plate

easily pulled out of the ground. You would then use the hand winch to raise the plate parallel to the frame rails and hook the chains to the frame. Now, you were ready for another adventure.

Another truck I saw was being built by Kleysen’s Transport out of Winnipeg. They had a Potash haul from Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, to Northgate in North Dakota. They had two bulk tank trailers hooked up in an A-train setup. The tractor was hooked to the first trailer by the fifth wheel. The second trailer was connected to the back of the first trailer with a pole to a tandem hitch. In order to get more power for the river hills, they mounted a GMC 350 horse V8 diesel coupled to an automatic transmission on the hitch of the back trailer. The controls were electric over air. It worked well until it rained or freezing rain or fresh frozen slop. A friend of mine drove one of these units. He said when the electric couplers got wet, the controls would not let the R.P.M. go up or down, and the transmission had its own way of thinking.

I think they only used it one summer until fall, and it also became a

By Glen Millard

Glen “The Duck” was born in Saskatchewan. He has driven trucks for 50 years, mostly long hauling. He’s now retired, that is until another adventure comes along.

prototype.

Another home-built truck and trailer came from Winnipeg, built by Lupul Building Movers. It was made to move prairie grain elevators. They made a cradle frame on tracks for each corner of the elevator. In those days (mid-60s), the elevators were 90 feet tall. It was set up so that the hitch could be pulled from both sides. If you needed to back up, you could unhook the pole and take it around to the opposite side, attach it to the cradles, and pull it back. The tractor was custom-made by the Lupul family in their shop. The truck was an I.H.C. Emeryville, if I remember correctly. It had three transmissions and a heavier suspension so they could load concrete on the truck’s deck. The weight was about 18 tons. That gave it the extra traction it needed. It was driven by the owner’s son, who was 16 years old at that time. A lot of the local people came out to watch, including me.

Ever since then, I wanted to be like him and haul loads that other people do not have a chance to haul.

I’ve never hauled a grain elevator, but I have hauled a modified gravel crusher with no brakes that I have written about in an earlier edition of Pro-Trucker Magazine.

Holidays - Then Back To The Grind

Can you believe it? I took two and a half weeks off from the truck! I didn’t look at it or worry about who was driving it. (Luckily for me, no one!) I would tell you I didn’t talk about it, but that would be an out-and-out lie. Naturally, when I’m around people who don’t know me well, I pull out my phone and show all the pictures of my truck like it’s my child.

I took a well-deserved vacation to Italy and Greece with a group tour. A fantastic decision, I must say. A friend of mine and her daughter were signed up to go on this twelveday trip with EF Tours and asked if I also wanted to tag along. This was back in October, so I hemmed and hawed a bit, then decided to bite the bullet and go. I’ve often thought I’d never do much travelling like this because I tell myself I can’t afford it. I always thought you had to pay upfront, and I never had that kind of money lying around. It turns out that EF Tours sets you up with a payment plan, making it easy-peasy. That said, I signed up and couldn’t have been happier. Everyone in the group more or less knew each other, and although I knew a few people as acquaintances, we all became great friends by the end of the twelve days. We laughed so much and had a great time every day!

I’ll tell ya, though, I knew I was out of shape and in for some long walks, but I was not even slightly prepared! Do you remember when your parents told you they walked uphill both ways to school? Well, this

was Italy and Greece in a nutshell, and it was combined with constant 35-degree temperatures. Every day, I was a hot, sweaty mess, but I powered through because I didn’t want to miss a thing. In the back of my mind, I could hear my friend Leanne’s voice saying, “It’s good for you!” She told me this last winter when we were hiking uphill in the cold at the dog park in eight inches of snow, and I was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

I’m not the most religious person or a history buff, but the sights and experiences of the trip were beyond amazing! We visited mainly Rome and Athens but took in other sights along the way. We took in Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter and St Paul’s Basilica, the Amalfi coast, the Trevi Fountain, Pompeii, the Acropolis, and the Colosseum, to name a few things! Travelling with a group was fantastic because all of our admissions to attractions were worked into the cost of the trip, so we also got front-of-the-line service at many places.

Our bus drivers were skilled beyond a doubt!! Of course, I would be judgy of their driving skills! There were narrow streets and roadways, switchbacks, and uphill climbs, and they never missed a beat maneuvering through the towns and cities. They are obviously used to all the traffic, congestion and craziness, but they did so with ease. I had never seen traffic before like we did there. Scooters and mopeds were weaving in and out of traffic

By Myrna Chartrand

Myrna was born and raised in Oak Point, Manitoba and was our April 2019 Rig of the Month driver.

amongst bumper-to-bumper cars. One would definitely always need to be on high alert and watch closely in all directions.

I enjoyed this vacation so much that I signed up for the group tour to Switzerland, Northern Italy, France and Spain for 2025! And to prepare, I’ve started a strict workout regime and even pushed through with consistency in the Texas heatwave. I’m determined to be much more prepared for this trip because, like Leanne says, “It’s good for me!”

I want to see as many places in the world as I can and say the words of Hank Snow, “I’ve been everywhere, man

‘Cross the deserts bare, man I’ve breathed the mountain air, man

Of travel, I’ve had my share, man I’ve been everywhere.”

According to my bank account, it appeared I had to return to work. I did a couple of trips to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and just finished up a trip to Texas.

Do you ever have a moment when you know you should have listened to your instincts but didn’t? Well, that happened to me this week. I pulled into the Flying J in

Ardmore, OK, to fuel. As I pulled into the lot, I noticed all the pumps were roped off. I went inside and inquired why they were down and when they expected them to open up. I was told they didn’t know why they were shut down but would be open soon. I asked if they, by chance, had water in the fuel, and they assured me this couldn’t possibly be an issue. At this point, I knew I should have just driven off and fueled elsewhere like my mind was telling me. This location is on our list of places to fuel as they offer a good price, which

is why I stuck around. They opened the pumps up as I walked back to my truck, so I got in and whipped around to the fuel island. I threw on one hundred twenty gallons and made my way south.

Sixty miles later, I got a water in fuel code! Ugghh!! I knew it!! I called the Flying J to report it, and they took my information for an incident report without question. I stopped at a Love’s Truck stop, and they changed my fuel filters and filtered the fuel in the tanks with an external filter. That

was the best that they could do with the resources they had. I carried on to my delivery, still with the water in the fuel light on, but no apparent issues with the truck. After a day and a half of sitting in 42-degree Celsius weather, the light went out, thank goodness. No issues since. Knock on wood!

Let this be a reminder to all, no matter what the situation, always listen to your gut instinct! It obviously knows more than we do!!

Pardon Me?

She married and had 13 children. Her husband died. She married again and had 7 more children. Again, her husband died. But, she remarried and this time had 5 more children. Alas, she finally died.

Standing before her coffin, the preacher prayed for her. He thanked The Lord for this very loving woman and said, “Lord, they’re finally together.”

One mourner leaned over and quietly asked her friend, “Do you think he means her first, second or third husband?”

The friend replied, “I think he means her legs.”

Thank You!

SafetyDriven – Trucking Safety Council of BC (TSCBC) is an industry-led organization that represents the occupational health and safety needs of businesses in the trucking, moving and storage industries, and related businesses in the transportation, warehousing, and logistics sector.

By providing training, services, mentorship, safety programs and certification, SafetyDriven supports the development of sustainable and effective injury prevention and risk management programs, with the ultimate goal of reducing injury and fatality rates in the workplace.

Why Do You Need a Safety Program?

SafetyDriven partners with employers to build their safety programs so they can:

• Become safer

• Improve efficiency

• Prevent accidents

• Protect workers and cargo

Their occupational health and safety advisors provide one-onone coaching and guidance of how to implement and manage safety programs on a company-wide scale. SafetyDriven’s worker- and driverfocused training programs are tailored to improve the skills and knowledge foundation required in the industry.

Programs include coaching for building and maintaining a safety program; engaging management; providing resources, free training and seminars; and offering one-on-one support.

And the best part? Any company can start, regardless of their safety knowledge.

Recognition & Reward for a Safer Workplace

SafetyDriven is also the certifying partner for the trucking and related industries for WorkSafeBC’s Certificate of Recognition (COR) program. COR is awarded to employers who implement and maintain an occupational health and safety management system that meets or exceeds the requirements for COR Certification.

SafetyDriven’s programs provide guidance on how to create an efficient operation that meets the safety standards for a COR audit. By demonstrating they are meeting an independently audited standard, companies can provide a safer working environment and enjoy more business opportunities, less operational risk, and recurring financial benefits. COR is for every company concerned with minimizing risk to their operations and financial viability. It is not confined to safety but also provides best practices

for an efficient operation. COR is also useful for owner operators who do not have a safety background or dedicated specialists on staff. Companies who achieve COR are eligible for a 10 percent rebate on the previous year’s WorkSafeBC premiums.

A Truckload of FREE Safety Resources

Everything the trucking, moving and storage, and related industries need to know about occupational health and safety can be found on SafetyDriven. ca. Because SafetyDriven wants safety to be accessible by all, their extensive resource library is free and available to the public. Their resources page has an abundance of tools and information including posters, videos, podcasts, and policy templates that can be downloaded and modified. From commercial vehicle safety to occupational health and safety for managers or supervisors, health and safety representatives, drivers, and workers, SafetyDriven makes sure there is something for everyone in their ever-evolving truckload of resources.

Get Help From a Safety Pro

SafetyDriven is committed to the health and safety of their clients and stakeholders, and they are here to assist you. Visit SafetyDriven.ca to find out how you can get started on your occupational health and safety program today.

Words of Wisdom

My grandfather was a man of few words but he often spoke volumes in just a few short sentences. One time after listening to me in a long drawn out argument with a belligerent acquaintance he remarked, “Don’t argue with and idiot, people watching may not be able to tell the difference.”

The Waitress

Stopped at a little truckstop just the other day. Another line drawn in my log as I travel along my way.

The waitress was real busy, but she poured my coffee with a grin, Told me a joke, shared a laugh, made me glad that I’d dropped in. This lady I will remember as I pass along my way, A laugh, a grin, a little joke sure helps to make my day.

A waitress has a thankless job, long hours with little pay, But they are the ones that bring us back as we travel on our way.

Dave Madill

Old Trucker Troubles

When you’re a young, fit trucker, you never think about growing old and the problems old age will bring. All the old truckers warned you about jumping off trailers and loading docks, “Your knees will give out if you keep doing that.”

But no one warned you about the bladder problems. When I was in Canada, I was impressed at the number of small brick-built sheds with a toilet pan placed over a hole in the ground. You might be miles from the nearest civilization, but there you could take care of your needs in the bladder and bowel department without fear of being disturbed by wildlife, i.e., Bears, etc.

We have truck stops and service stations in the UK, but if the need comes over you when you’ve just passed one, it could be another 15 or twenty miles to the next one. Working the night shift, I had a favourite place to stop and empty my bladder. It became such a habit that I didn’t know I needed to stop until I was a mile or so away. Usually, I was southbound, and rather than go into a busy truck stop for a five-minute stop, I pulled the truck off at junction 39 on the M6 motorway. The junction is at the top of Shap, 320 metres above sea level, and probably gave its name to the small village a few miles away.

It’s one of the highest motorways in the UK network, and as that junction is above the main highway, you haven’t got trucks and other traffic rushing past.

As it’s nowhere near any towns, there’s no light pollution from street lamps and houses, what the people who like to star gaze call a dark sky area. It is a perfect place to stand and water the grass verge as you gaze up at the stars on a clear night, trying to make out the constellations. Although I almost got caught by the cops a couple of times, trying to work out if I was looking at Aquarius or the Great Bear, I didn’t notice a cop car had pulled in front of the truck.

Luckily, I was decent when they walked around to the side of the truck. I told them I was checking my tyres, load security and cleaning the mirrors. I suspect that they were really checking to see if I was going to sleep there, as that would be illegal. Many foreign drivers like to do that rather than pay for truck stop parking. Especially those who ran with the same trailer all the time, the big toolboxes mounted on the trailers held their cooking equipment and enough food to last

By Colin Black

Colin Black lives in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland and has been driving truck for over 40 years. His story shows us once again that the problems drivers face are universal.

until they got back home.

But now I’m retired, my days of night driving are much reduced, so I need to put more thought into rest stops and not get caught short. Thankfully, the good old Scottish National Health Service (NHS) has come to the rescue.

I was issued a card that allows me to allegedly go into any store or house, flash my card and demand to use their facilities. I imagine it would go something like this: I’m an ex-trucker and bursting. Where’s your toilet?

My buddy Mick lives in London and has similar problems with his waterworks. When I told him about my card, he said, “That’s great, Colin, we don’t have anything like that down here. But I can’t see it working in London. First, it would need to be the size of an A4 sheet of paper to accommodate all the different languages and dialects.”

So, with my emergency card and good knees, the journey into older age holds no fears for me.

Oh No You Don’t!

Fifty-one years ago Herman James, a West Virginia Mountain man was drafted by the Army.

On his first day in boot camp, the Army issued him a comb. That afternoon the Army barber sheared off all his hair. On his second day, the Army issued him a tooth brush. That afternoon the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth. On his third day the Army issued him a jock strap. The army is still looking for him.....

Why us?

At Transam Carriers, we believe that success is not achieved without professional human attitudes. We are proud of providing some of the most flexible work options in the industry for an optimum work-life balance. All of these, in conjunction with new equipment, modern technologies, in-house truck shop, and cross-dock facility, make Transam an exceptional workplace that we call here our second home.

@TransamCarriers @Transam_Carriers