Dave brings to you 38 years of valuable experience in transportation, management, business and compliance. Dave has driven in every condition across North America and overseas as military, police, company driver to owner operator to now Publisher Editor of Canadian Trucking Magazine.
HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to 2012!!!
As predicted by me the tonnage is up, freight is rocking and rolling and everyone is looking for trucks 2012 should be a great year for the trucking industry and a good time to be in it. CTM has a change for 2012 too. Did you notice our front cover with BFG? Always willing to promote safety as a O/O always having a moron masher on my iron, I was pleased to view and research the new BFG. CTM can also offer you a discount promo code "CTM100" to offer $100 off the purchase of a BIG FRONT GRILL on thier web site @
www.BIGFRONTGRILL.com
Many times I was more then happy to have my moose catcher between bambie and me. BFG will be at MATS along with thier super model featured on the front cover and center fold of this edition.
New also is the CTM Highway Hero Page.
This page is for stories about our brothers and sisters out there that go that extra mile to help others on the road. If you hear or know a story we should be writing about, get it to me and in print. This month Rick Dhaliwal from Fastrax Winnipeg kicks it off with his latest roadway save. I asked him if he was wearing his red cape and blue tights that night. I must say I am very pleased to say this is our 4th January Anniversary Edition and it is thanks to you our loyal readers and of course our advertisers that keep CTM coming to you. I look forward to seeing you all at the truck stops and the truck shows and hope to see a lot of you on the trail and at MATS coming up. Make plans now for Stirling, Fergus and the Big Rig Week-ends and of course the second annual CTM Show & Shine in Winnipeg.
Dont’ be a stranger! Happy Trails Dave,,,
CTM HIGHWAY HERO PAGE Rick Dhaliwal
Winnipeg, MB Fastrax Transportation Show Truck Owner Operator
What makes Rick the CTM Hero of the Month for January 2012.
How many of us would run into freezing cold weather in the middle of the night to save a complete stranger in harms way? I am asking truck drivers so the answer is a lot of you would. Rick did, on January 8th a cold Monday Night in Manitoba on Hwy 1 between Brandon and Oak Lake W/B and down, Rick saw a cavalier loose control and flip on it’s roof into a ditch of freezing water. Rick ran into the waist deep freezing water to find a young gal inside the car filling with ice water and not being able to open the doors kicked out the window. Then Rick brought her to another elderly couple stopped on the road and wrapped her in his blanket and sent her off to hospital. This gal lived tonight thanks to the quick actions of a truck driver. I know Rick and am honoured to call him friend. It did not surprize me at all to find it was Rick who saved this young ladies life.
Rick in the past is well know for helping a stranger or friend and fellow trucker out. Rick without a doubt deserves the label Hero for what he did there that very cold Monday Night. I was told he suffered himself for some time after by being emerged in that ice water. Rick has always taken pride in transport as we have all seen in his show truck he drives with pride. At the Big Rig week-ends you can see him polishing the crome and taking home the trophies. The biggest Trophy is his pride and dedication to lead as example in our industry to help others and show pride in what we do best. Rick is what we truckers are all about, the last of the North American Cowboys.
Thank-you Rick!
New ROADKING Office = More Broker Opportunities Ron Cake GM Western Canada Fastrax Transportation
You are not only the Pilot; you are the owner of that rig on the road. You need to know everything to run your business and service your customer but…you need to make money too! With fuel, repairs, tolls, taxes and every other expense to consider, YOUR most important decision is the name on the side of your door. Let our team help you take a load off your mind! Fastrax is an easy answer for a broker who asks “Where can I make money and feel secure”. The new team at Fastrax is committed to providing you with the tools you need to help keep your business going.
Ron brings over 30 years of valuable transportation experience to his new opposition with Fastrax Transportation as General Manager Western Canada. With previous experience as VP Operations West with Day & Ross General Freight and VP Operations at Sameday Worldwide (formerly Sameday Right-OWay), Ron is committed to leading his new team of transportation professionals into 2012 with an attitude towards successful growth.
Our dedicated runs are design to fit what any broker is looking for. Maximum
miles with limited wait times.
Fastrax has just opened a new Broker Relations office at the ROADKING in Calgary and are celebrating with an open house January 21st and 22nd. Start 2012 off right by spending a few minutes with our team discussing how Fastrax is the solution you have been looking for. With a New Pay Package and Scheduled
runs in Western Canada and throughout the US Fastrax has a lot to offer. CONTINUED PAGE 9
New ROADKING Office = More Broker Opportunities Fastrax Transportation, the special commodities division of the Day & Ross Transportation Group, was established in 1979 with only 9 units on the road. Since its inception
Fastrax has become a premier service provider offering point-to-point truckload service within Canada and to and from the United States with190
Tandem Reefers, 45 Tri Axle Vans, 50 Tandem Vans, 45 Flatbeds, 10 car-carriers, 60 intermodal Containers and more than 300 drivers and owner operators and 75 administrative staff. For more than 30 years, Fastrax has been successfully delivering temperature sensitive, dry, building, automotive and over dimensional products.
With experience working with large shippers, distribution centres and ports of entry, managing the most rigorous expectations is second nature. Our operations, position strategically across Canada, allow us to support the needs of our clients in a timely manner regardless of location. Fastrax, head quartered in Florenceville, New Brunswick, is a division of the Day & Ross Transportation Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited. The Day & Ross Transportation Group offers a complete range of transportation services through its 5 functional divisions. Come and see us January 21st & 22nd at the ROADKING in Calgary and let us put your iron to work with the miles you need to put money in the bank!
Are any Borders Safe from Drug Seizures?
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Montreal, Quebec, November 29, 2011, Port of Montréal, Canada Border Services Agency officers seized 310 kilograms of cocaine concealed in sunflower oil bottles. Street value is estimated at $14 million. Collaboration with the Sûreté du Québec, after searching through a maritime container on a vessel from Bolivia the illegal merchandise had been carefully blended with a liquid substance and hidden in 1,236 one-litre bottles. CBSA officers examined the goods in a routine inspection. An indepth physical examination of the container and a laboratory analysis of the liquid confirmed the presence of cocaine in 1,236 of the 13,000 bottles included in the shipment.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 22, 2011, Canada Border Services Agency seized five kilograms of heroin at the Port of Halifax, with an estimated street value of $2 million. The container, loaded on a vessel, had 772 cardboard boxes of various food products and household goods. The heroin was hidden in plastic bags of flour balls within smaller sealed clear plastic bags. The container originated in India and was destined for Toronto, Ontario. For further information please contact Dawn Truell, President, Cross Border Services, at: www.crossborderservices.org, crossborderservices@cogeco.net.
Sandy Long
Burning Out Doesn’t Mean Spinning One’s Tires “.A person is going down identified by looking at one’s behavthe road ior closely and is the first step in screaming correcting the problem. If you notice obscenities any of the above symptoms or a at passing friend or family member points it out vehicles, to you, pay attention to what is goes home and cannot eat supgoing on in your life. per, cannot make love to their TAKING AN AUDIT OF spouse, yells at the kids, kicks YOUR LIFE the cat, cannot sleep, is late for You think you might be work in the morning and wouldstressing out. Burnout or over n’t smile if a VW full of clowns stressed is usually not just one suddenly appeared before them bad thing going on in your life, or they got a new truck. but either a combination or accuWhat is wrong with this mulation of several bad things. person? Most likely burnout. Some of these might be: a death in Trucking is a high stress the family, fighting with your job. Dealing with traffic, shippers, spouse, a child acting out, illness in receivers, dispatchers is enough to your family or yourself, money stress out anyone, add in performproblems, a bad employer, loneliance pay, breakdown, poor food, ness, depression, bad equipment inadequate rest, DOT, weather and or weather delays. At times the family problems, you have a final straw that sets you over the volatile mix of stressors. edge might be so insignificant Stress is a major player in that you miss it consciously such a driver’s health and safety both on as a shipper that won’t let you use the road and at home. Stressed the restroom, not a big deal to out drivers aren’t as alert, exthose of us who are experienced hibit road rage, have heart atdrivers usually, but combined with tacks and other health issues any one of the major stressors such as diabetes, mental problisted above can become a contriblems and drug and alcohol probutor to stress overload lems. . They can become less TAKING ACTION productive as sleep patterns are inYou find that it is really terrupted causing late deliveries bothering you that your boss and pickups. Attitudes change doesn’t seem to care if your making what once was a very truck runs or not, doesn’t pay congenial and cooperative you enough to pay your bills or driver into a cranky, hard to deal runs you beyond your limits. with non team player. Marriages Start looking for a new job, develop break up, kids act out and fiyour options; that in itself somenances go down the tube. times bumps us enough that we Too much stress can be can ease the stress.
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If you are having family problems, then do something about them. Find someone to help; a counselor, a minister, another family member or a lawyer. A counselor can help in the event of death or severe illness issues also. If you are lonely to the point of isolation, find another driver every day that is willing to visit a few minutes at least, join a dating site or join an activity group to attend when you are home. Make a few new friends and start a cell phone circle of people that you enjoy talking to. MANAGING YOUR STRESS LEVELS Learn what your warning signs of excessive stress are and watch for them to appear so you can take action before you reach that burnout level. For short term relief, take a break, eat a snack, call a friend, park and watch the sunrise or sunset…what ever relaxes you. Eat as well as you can, take vitamins and get some exercise outside of your job description. Avoid alcohol, it doesn’t help in the long term. Many companies are recognizing that drivers stress out at high rates and are starting to encourage regular home time. Just getting out of the truck for a couple of days on a regular basis can go a long way to resolving many of the issues that might be causing you stress. Plan some fun activity for at least some part of your home time…forget about trucks or whatever else is bothering you for a few hours.
Stress causes us sometimes to act like dogs chasing their tails…we get in a rut and cannot think of a way out of stressful situations. Identifying the stressors in your life, changing the ones that you can, learning to deal in a positive manner with the ones you cannot change and understanding that you are prone to stress related problems will go a long way to allowing you to better deal with the stress you face. The Serenity Prayer has it right: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. --Reinhold Niebuhr Finding serenity inside yourself is hard but it is less hard than dealing with the reactions of burnout. Remember that burning out from stress is like burning out of a parking lot spinning your tires, it can cause irreparable damage and doesn’t accomplish anything positive. Ya’ll be safe and I wish you peace and some serenity in your busy lives.
(www.facebook.com/theoneandonlytv), email (trkrsvoice@thetruckersvoice.ne t), or twitter (@trkingsantas).“ Street Smarts: A Guide to a Truck Driver's Personal Safety Do not cuss a trucker or a farmer with your mouth full!