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Dave brings to you 36 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. Hey you can listen to me live on your radio now. Yes live on the Driver Show all across the country you can hear my report. If you already are not a listener go to www.drivershow.com and check out times and stations. You won’t regret it and will become a big fan! Who are the coward punks that beat this fellow truck driver?
Alex Fraser was jumped by 3 cowards in the night as he stopped to help them.That’s the
kind of person Fraser is: He keeps up with friends and, as a professional driver, always stops to make sure others who are having trouble on the road are all right. But on a Friday night in September, Fraser’s days as a conscientious trucker ended. The 67-year-old man was driving home to Vernon, B.C., along the Yellowhead Highway when he saw a car parked on the side of the highway. Its hood was up and the headlights were shining in his direction. One man was standing on the shoulder, waving him down, while another stood nearby. Fraser pulled over, as he always does when he sees a stranded motorist. “Not everyone stops “A lot of people will just keep driving, but Alex would always pull over because he knows what it’s like to be out there on the road by yourself.” Fraser got out of his truck, leaving the engine running, and walked toward the two men. “He said, ‘Do you problem?’” “and they said ‘No, but you do.’”
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Fraser told his wife and police that the last thing he heard was a voice behind him saying, “You truckers are all alike,” before he was knocked unconscious. He awoke six hours later. One side of his face had been smashed in, he was covered in blood and too weak to stand, but somehow he managed to drag himself to the truck, which was still running, and pull himself into the cab. At daybreak, he awoke in the truck’s sleeper compartment and realized he would have to drive himself to the nearest gas station for help. “The next morning, he drove 37 km to get to the hospital,” “You’ve got to have some sort of inner strength to do that.” He pulled into a service station in Blue River, opened the door of the cab and literally fell from his truck. “The people at the Blue River Husky were absolutely wonderful,” “They made sure he was OK and took good care of him until the ambulance came to get him.” At Royal Inland Hospital, Fraser was treated for a damaged eye socket and three broken bones in his cheek. He underwent reconstructive surgery to repair his battered face, but his trucking career is over. “He won’t be going back,” He will be seeing if he can sell the truck.”
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Why the men on the Yellowhead attacked Fraser is still a mystery. They stole nothing, left his truck running and undamaged, and Fraser doesn’t remember hearing anything other than the comment about truckers all being the same. “I do believe one day they will get caught and punished for what they did. I think that what goes around comes around. “One day, one of them will be out drinking and he’ll say something about it and a trucker will be sitting nearby and will hear him.” In the hopes that someone may know something, the B.C. Truckers’ Association (BCTA) is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people who attacked Fraser. Truck drivers are known for helping others on the road. I’d hate to be in a world where they can no longer choose to be Good Samaritans. I hope that others who feel the same way will come forward.” Anyone with information about the attack is encouraged to call the Valemont, B.C. RCMP or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers. The truckers’ association is also collecting donations to assist with Fraser’s unplanned retirement.
If you hear any news or leads, please call and let us lock these cowards away!
My friend and a contributing writer to CTM Sandy Long has written a book we all need to read
Now for some great news!
The Convoy for a Cure has raised approx $120,000 for 2010...93,000 for 2009 and 15,000 for 2008 so its fair to say that a 1/4 of a million dollars was raised since Rachele Champagne founded it in 2008, now thats all the convoys so its NOT 1/4 of a million $$ to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (cuz of the US)... but a 1/4 of a million dollars raised towards Breast Cancer research!! not bad for a simple little idea sparked by Rachele! If you were not involved this week, put it on your calender for next year and make this Convoy even greater. There are locations and times convenient for you to participate, so let’s do it! Just to finish on the topic of safety driving down the road or parked at a truck stop. Men and women have to be aware of your surroundings!
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In it is some great tips and stories I am sure you will enjoy! The main thing we should take out of this, is if you see someone in distress, and it is an elderly person or a young family, stop and help as you always have. If you have a doubt or it looks like a very able person, just call the police and let them go out and provide assistance. It has been reported that a scam lately is to put a baby seat on the highway and a young gal looking panicked and waving you down. Read the situation and use your cell phone. A few years ago there were two female hitchhikers working the truck stops and highways hijacking trucks.
Normandin Transit in support of a noble cause. most exciting ventures. With Rachèle Champagne, Founder and Organizer of Convoy for a Cure (CFAC) at the wheel of one of their tractors for nearly 2 years, they decided it was time to *Pink her out*. Danielle Normandin (Vice Rachèle Champagne, President) has always supFondatrice / Organisatrice ported and admired Founder & Organizer Rachèle for her hard work Convoy for a Cure and dedication. She de& Canadian Trucking cided it was time to show Magazine are very proud her just how much. of Normandin Transit and When Rachèle came back their unwithered support. Normandin Transit, a from the road 5 days before Napierville QC based com- her convoy, only to find a pany, has always been very brand new *Convoy for a proud of their fleet that in- Cure* trailer along with her cludes more than 270 trac- new *pinked out* Kenworth tors,30 city trucks, 2 straight T660 parked in front of the body trucks and roughly 675 terminal, needless to say, her air-ride equipped trailers in- eyes immediately watered cluding 75 heated, 111 refrigerated and 2 curtain-side trailers. But the new addition to this family oriented company is nothing short of a dream come true for Ottawa Native Rachèle Champagne. Normandin has always been known through the years for being *In support* of great causes, but this is for sure one of their
up. " It was definitely one of my proudest moments" says Rachèle.
Skipworth. Together they rose close to $20,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
On October 23rd, behind the wheel of her new rig, Rachèle proudly led the convoy out of the 5th Wheel Truck Stop in Cornwall ON followed by 45 trucks, one coach & one school bus and last but not least;one limousine carrying the most precious cargo of it all; 8 Breast Cancer survivors including
committee member Chantal Rheault and CFAC official speaker Anna Capobianco
Since Rachèle founded Convoy for a Cure in 2008, over a quarter of a million dollars has been raised for breast cancer research.
No rest for the wicked, Rachèle is already *hammering down* on next year`s convoy that is set to roll on October 1st 2011.
Be apart of something GREAT! See you all there October 2011!
Convoy for a Cure 2010 trucks = $15,000
5-Dallas Texas = 13 trucks = $13,000
5 Convoys total in 2010 (4 in Canada and 1 in the USA) 1- The original convoy in Cornwall ON 43 trucks (25 females - 18 males) 1 coach and 1 school bus (with passengers) 1 limo carrying 8 breast cancer survivors approx $20,000+ 2- (Newest addition) West of Toronto ON, 35 trucks = $35,000 3-Moncton New Brunswick: approx 35 trcuks and 45,000$ raised 4-Edmonton Alberta= 9
Total money raised for 2010 = $118,000 (5 convoys) 2009 = $93,000 (4 convoys) 2008 = $15,000 (1 convoy) Total raised since 2008: $226,000 so almost a 1/4 of a MILLION all for breast cancer researce. Texas money raised stays in the USA so 26,000 since 2009 and $200,000 to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation since 2008
Atlantic Canada 35 Trucks ! Ontario West 35 Trucks!
Alberta Covoy 9 Trucks
2011 Let’s double these totals with the trucks we have out there. Some special mention from the Convoy that started this all.
This is Bob Lodge (left) and Caroline Bourassa Short and Rob Short from the 5th Wheel in Cornwall, Sponsors like this is what makes these Convoys Happen!
USA Convoy 13 Trucks Derrick Poelstra & Sandra Shouldice *Pink your truck* contest winners.
The Covoy that started this all 43 Trucks! What a Great Job! For a Great Cause!
Is it one of our worst nightmares to see a uniform standing out at us and look down and realize that darn truck jumped over the speed limit, again. On MSN I notice an article by Mark Atkinson taking about the line between speed enforcement for safety and just the dreaded speed trap. He pointed out a US based Motorist Association that runs Speedtrap.org a forum that allows users to tell other drivers about popular speed trap locations. They have the listing of the worst North american Cities. Start with Alberta, worst City to get hit in, Calgary, worst trap, Deerfoot Tr. to Southland Dr. How about BC? Bet you
St.Norbert. I would think those darn cameras in Wpg are much worse. In Ontario we are talking
Toronto, Eglinton at Leslie
In Saskatchewan it is of course Saskatoon at the corner of McKercher & 8th St. A radar trap in SK can shoot from the MB border to AB. In North Dakota Fargo is did not know Vancouver is the worst by Boundary Rd. near Marine Dr. You would have thought maybe the Coq. Manitoba, it is Hwy 75 at listed as the worst for speed traps.
If you were wondering the worst place in the USA, is Detroit in the Michigan suburbs. I can attest to that having driven there and seen a radar car every 2 or 3 miles.I guess that is how they afford those cool Police Cars! Well I guess that is it for another issue. I have a lot more to say but will include that in the on line digital version. It was great to have a bite to eat with my good friend Norm Schultz. I found him now at Ayr Motor doing what Norm does best, looking after drivers. Off to the Oakpoint we went. Happy Trails,,,,,see you in the Truck Stops,,, Dave
Norm Schultz with Dave
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I was invited by our good friend Doug Haims Sales Manager at Beaver Truck Center to the Volvo Driving Success Tour. Talk about strategies for increased fuel efficency. Not to mention on the lot is this Volvo that has driven to the moon and back 4.5 times and only needed one injector.
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My Name is Chris. I was 10.
Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Register today at littlewarriors.ca
Sandy Long - Ouch! That Hurts! We truckers live in a dangerous world. Our trucks that we drive set high and we have to climb in and out of them. We have to climb up into trailers that don't have hand rails and worry every time that we open the doors about freight falling out on top of us. We work around hazardous loads like chemicals and rusty metals. We work in all sorts of weather and the very ground we walk on is an immense obstacle course filled with pot holes, large gravel and the detritus of shippers, receivers and our fellow drivers. Minor injuries are a common part of our working world. One never knows when an injury will occur. Last year, my trailer wouldn't hold to slide my tandems. I found a piece of 2x4 to use as a chock block so I could get my pins locked in and take it to the shop to have the brakes worked on. As I slid the wood into my side box after setting the pins, a large sharp sliver ran itself into my hand over an inch. A couple of years ago, I ran into a driver at a fuel island that had slipped getting out of his truck, fell and had cut his arm in several places on the parking lot gravel and broken his elbow. A driver I know was walking across the grass lawn of a shipper to go inside and stepped in a grass covered hidden hole and sprained her ankle. We all have stories of minor and not so minor injuries that have happened to us or someone we know. Being prepared to deal with the injuries that we might get is a necessity that few think of until injuries happen to them. All drivers
should have a good first aid kit in their trucks, I do, but then I carry some extra things also. I keep a new ACE bandage, peroxide, antibiotic salve, alcohol, ice pack and various sizes of bandaids along with some 4"x4" gauze pads and tape. When I flat bedded, I carried finger splints too. My boss says I am the klutziest driver he knows, I was always busting a knuckle or hurting some body part. You don't need actual first aid training, you can find many websites and booklets on how to treat minor injuries. Here are some basics: Clean any type of skin opening wound with soap and water if available, peroxide if not. Apply pressure to stop bleeding and use an antibacterial salve and some sort of covering; bandaid or gauze and tape. If it is deep or won`t stop bleeding, get to an emergency facility right away. Use ice on sprains asap, and then wrap the joint with an ACE type bandage. Don't use that joint any more than necessary, elevate it if possible and don't sleep with the bandage on. See a doctor to make sure nothing is broken. If you think you have a broken bone, go to the doctor right away. Immobilize the area where the break occurs, pack with ice if possible and call for help if you are unable to drive. Bee stings can be treated with a tobacco poultice. Take either chewing tobacco or crumble the tobacco out of a cigarette. Make the tobacco slightly wet and apply to the bite. Cover with gauze and tape until the poultice is dry and then after gently cleaning the area, apply some antibacterial salve and a bandaid. Get to the doctor if you start feeling sick. Those of you who travel down south may encounter fire ants. These little critters really put the OUCH!!! Factor to work. Their bites carry some heavy duty poison that
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burns like fire while itching like crazy. If you are bitten by one or two fire ants, use alcohol on the bite area and then some cortisone cream, if you are bitten by many ants, get to a doctor immediately! There have been a lot of people that have an adverse reaction to fire ant bites. While on the subject of insects, don't mess with any sort of spi-
der bite. Clean the area, apply antibacterial salve and get to the doctor. Take the creepy crawly with you if you can for identification purposes. Brown recluse and black widow spiders can cause some serious complications in the bite area if not treated professionally immediately and are common in lumber and steel piles and in the corners of warehouses.
Working with your doctor is important in as to the immunizations you need. Tetanus shots are important because of working around rusty met-
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als and the nails and bolts laying around everywhere, this shot has to be gotten every ten years. Hepatitis B is very prevalent and is easy to get eating in truck stops and using public restrooms the way we do. Hepatitis A vaccines are recommended for drivers who work along the southern border. Your doctor or his/her nurse can also help you decide on what to include in a first aid kit specific to your individual needs. Getting minor injuries is not just a maybe, it is a given in our industry. If in doubt as to the severity of your injury, get to the doctor or call the ambulance for help. Notify your company if the injury is severe immediately and follow their instructions for workman's comp coverage claims. It is a good thing to let at least your dispatcher know if you are injured beyond just a scratch or bruise even though it is not initially serious enough for a workman`s comp claim, even a minor injury can become a major one if left untreated or complications set in. Ya'll be safe out there! Sandy Long is a long time truck driver who is also very active within the trucking industry. She was a long time writer for layover.com, is a life member of OOIDA, member of the WIT and owner of two websites: Trailer Truckin’ Tech, a yahoo group dedicated to the education of new and prospective truck drivers and www.satinandsteelsisterhood.com for women truck drivers. Sandy’s first book Street Smarts: A Guide for a Truck Driver’s Personal Safety is available at https://www.createspace.com/34495 66
They Criticize us Truck Drivers - Darwin Awards Eighth Place In Detroit, a 41-year-old man got stuck and drowned in two feet of water after squeezing head first through an 18inch-wide sewer grate to retrieve his car keys. Sixth Place While at the beach, Daniel Jones, 21, dug an 8 foot hole for protection from the wind and had been sitting in a beach chair at the bottom! When it collapsed, burying him beneath 5 feet of sand. People on the beach used their hands and shovels trying to get him out but could not reach him. It took rescue workers using heavy equipment almost an hour to free him. Jones was pronounced dead at a hospital . Fifth Place Santiago Alvarado, 24, was killed as he fell through the ceiling of a bicycle shop he was burglarizing. Death was caused when the long flashlight he had placed in his mouth to keep his hands free rammed into the base of his skull as he hit the floor. . Fourth Place Sylvester Briddell, Jr., 26, was killed as he won a bet with friends who said he would not put a revolver loaded with four bullets into his mouth and pull the trigger. Third Place After stepping around a marked police patrol car parked at the front door, a man walked into H&J Leather & Firearms intent on robbing the store. The shop was full of customers and a uniformed officer was standing at the counter. Upon seeing the officer, the would-be robber announced a hold-up! and fired a few wild shots from a target pistol. The officer and a clerk promptly returned fire, and several customers also drew their guns and fired. The robber was pronounced dead at the scene by Paramedics. Crime scene investigators lo-
cated 47 expended cartridge cases in the shop. The subsequent autopsy revealed 23 gunshot wounds. Ballistics identified rounds from 7 different weapons. No one else was hurt. HONORABLE MENTION Paul Stiller, 47, and his wife Bonnie were bored just driving around at 2 A.M. so they lit a quarter stick of dynamite to toss out the window to see what would happen. Apparently they failed to notice the window was closed. RUNNER UP Kerry Bingham had been drinking with several friends when one of them said they knew a person who had bungee-jumped from a local bridge in the middle of traffic. The conversation grew more heated and at least 10 men trooped along the walkway of the bridge at 4:30 AM. Upon arrival at the midpoint of the bridge they discovered that no one had brought a bungee rope. Bingham, who had continued drinking, volunteered and pointed out that a coil of lineman's cable lay near by. They secured one end around Bingham's leg and then tied the other (!) to the bridge. His fall lasted 40 feet before the cable tightened and tore his foot off at the ankle. He miraculously survived his fall into the icy water and was rescued by two nearby fishermen. Bingham's foot was never located. AND THE WINNER IS.. Zookeeper Friedrich Riesfeldt ( Paderborn , Germany ) fed his constipated elephant 22 doses of animal laxative and more than a bushel of berries, figs and prunes before the plugged-up pachyderm finally got relief. Investigators say ill-fated Friedrich, 46, was attempting to give the ailing elephant an olive oil enema when the relieved beast unloaded. The sheer force of the elephant's unexpected defecation knocked Mr. Riesfeldt to the ground where he struck his head on a rock as the elephant continued to evacuate 200 pounds of dung on top of him.
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Jack Lee 4Refuel the downward trend by the end of this year. I used M.J. Ervin's fuel pricing statistics to make my "call" on the average prices for Canada. They definitely reflect seasonality in the price of gasoline and diesel.”
The calendar reads “October” and I still haven’t used my water skis! Hard to believe, but summer is over and with the new fall season comes optimism for the cost of fuel. Or so it seems. According to Fuel Advisor Bob Van der Valk it looks like we are in for a period of lower fuel costs. Bob has been in the fuel business for decades and over the years we have come to rely on his insight. He writes, “It stands to reason that with demand for fuel down worldwide and refineries switching to the winter-grade blends of gasoline, prices will be going down once again this winter. Prices will be heading down right after Labour Day towards the $2 per gallon mark in the US and $.85 per litre in Canada by Thanksgiving. ”We have heard this stuff before and have been left paying more to fill up, so we challenged the gas guy on his prediction and he is holding his ground. He replied by saying, “I am staying with my prediction both for fuel prices in the U.S. and Canada, with the price of crude oil leading
He goes on to write, “Crude oil prices could flatten further over the next few months, a process which has already started, with more downward pressure anticipated. Prices will remain driven by crude oil with weak demand for diesel fuel and inventories high as it has been in the first half of this year. More refining capacity is coming on line with cargoes of gasoline and diesel fuel imported from the Alliance refinery complex in India hitting the West Coast this month.” If you want to reach Bob he is only a click away at: tridemoil@aol.com We hope Low Price Predictions are correct, but you can GUARANTEE your fuel costs will drop using 4Refuel’s FMO. Even if the predictions are incorrect and for some reason, like a natural disaster or a refinery debacle in your region, fuel prices explode, you can protect yourself with 4Refuels, Fuel Management Online. In a nutshell you get a software suite that shows you exactly where each drop of fuel is going so you can measure and manage your fuel investment better. FMO is the only system that lets you access all your fuel records in one place and in one format. In ad-
Ask The Fuel Expert
dition Fuel Management Online can also help you track the fuel economy of all your equipment right down to each unit. For the first time fuel managers have an easy desk-top tool that makes it easy to track fuel costs, measure equipment performance and manage your operations at peak efficiency.
FMO is a time saving tool as well and after all time is money. If you are still stuck in your office reconciling fuel bills you are wasting a lot of time that could be spent doing other, higher leveraged activities, like project management. FMO has released a new Approval Tool this summer that makes processing invoices faster and easier by eliminating the time you waste on document sorting, printing, scanning, faxing and filing. The FMO Approval Tool allows you to do all that online. Now you can review, query, approve and process invoices all within FMO. It is also exportable and allows a number of users. This means if you are managing a number of projects or regions and require input from others in your management team, you can have them on the FMO system too. NO charge for additional FMO users. No cost for additional training. No cost for additional support! Because The FMO Approval Tool supports multiple approval levels you can sign up as many users as you need to manage your fleet, projects and regional equipment usage. You won’t be surprised by
extra costs to access the software, or for training or for support by 4Refuel’s technology team. When you sign up your company signs up. Everyone has access! Now if Van der Valk’s fuel predictions are true and the price you pay at the pump goes down this fall, great…AND if you are enjoying the benefits of using FMO you could expect a double bonus this fall. If prices move up, FMO protects you. Either way you will enjoy lower fuel costs this fall, guaranteed. Jack Lee Founder and President 4Refuel
Jack Lee is CEO of 4Refuel – the largest onsite fuel management company in Canada and a global leader in technology designed to help businesses reduce their fuel expenses. Got a question about fuel? Ask the fuel expert by emailing Jack at AskTheFuelExpert@4Refuel.com
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Dawn Truell Cross Border Services Beginning September 14, 2010, the license plate readers will be installed in each of the three primary inspection lanes at the Cornwall border. License plate readers capture vehicle plate numbers to provide border services officers with information about the vehicle registration, ownership and passage history. CBSA will introduce security gates in the Primary Inspection Lanes at the interim port of entry in the City of Cornwall effective September 7, 2010. The security gates, along with previously installed speed bumps, will assist with traffic control and the safety and security of officers and pedestrians in the general vicinity of the port of entry. Following routine questioning by border services officers, the security gate will be raised to enable travelers to proceed to the secondary inspection area or to exit the CBSA compound as instructed by the officer. The security gates are similar to ones already in place at CBSA port of entry operations in other parts of Canada
. Regina, Saskatchewan, September 9, 2010 – CBSA and the RCMP have dismantled a significant marijuana grow operation in the community of Grenfell, Saskatchewan. On September 7, 2010, a traveler seeking entry into Canada at the Goodlands, Manitoba border crossing, located approximately 400 km southeast of Regina. CBSA of-
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ficers referred the traveler for a secondary examination. During this examination, a small amount of suspected hash was located in the individual's vehicle along with documents to suggest the presence of a grow operation in Saskatchewan. A 29-year-old male from Calgary, Alberta was arrested at the border. He was taken into custody with the assistance of the RCMP Killarney detachment in Manitoba, prompting an investigation of a property. On September 8, RCMP executed a search warrant on the property, an abandoned theatre in Grenfell, Saskatchewan, located approximately
125 km east of Regina. Inside, RCMP officers found approximately 416 marijuana plants in all stages of growth. The marijuana grow operation used a sophisticated and automated system to support the marijuana plants. Niagara Fort Erie Region $325,000 cocaine seized at the Queenston Bridge. September 2, 2010, CBSA officers seized the 2.5 kg along with a gun in possession of two residents from the Greater Toronto Area seeking re-entry to Canada during secondary screening with the assistance of Detector Dog Ruben and his handler.
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MV Sun Sea Migrants – August 23, 2010 - The safety and security of Canadians remains a priority for the Government of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA is exercising due diligence in the screening of all irregular migrants for both security and criminal threats. The adult migrants have been transferred to appropriate accommodation and detention facilities on the Lower Mainland where the CBSA is conducting more detailed examinations to determine admissibility. Minors are not in detention; accompanied minors will remain with their mothers in low-risk facilities and, wherever possible, will be accommodated together. In the best interest of the children, unaccompanied minors have been released to the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development and are being cared for in a safe and secure facility. Information on any cross border issues contact crossborderservices@cogeco.net 905-973-9136. Dawn Truell, President, Cross Border Services
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