Over the Road January 2023

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.

1189694 Ontario Ltd. C.O.B. as Over The Road

Publisher Peter Charboneau peter@otrgroup.ca

Director of Operations & Editor-in-Chief Cathryn Charboneau cathryn@otrgroup.ca

Account Executive Luke Zentil luke@otrgroup.ca

Account Executive Earle Madden earle@otrgroup.ca

Graphic Design & Advertising lennykuiper.com lennykuiper@gmail.com

Controller Estela Navarrete estela@otrgroup.ca

Office Manager Mary Charboneau mary@otrgroup.ca

18 Parkglen Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K2G 3G9 1.800.416.8712 • 613.224.9947 Email: otr@otrgroup.ca www.overtheroad.ca

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Keep Your Company Moving With Online Training

During this time of crisis, we need to ensure two things continue to happen:

● Continued transportation of vital goods and necessary food items.

● Open communication with drivers, dispatchers, and other employees.

COMPLIMENTARY TRIAL ACCESS WITH ONLINE TRAINING

We are offering 30-day complimentary access to our system to assist companies in maintaining driver safety training, including tracking and reporting.

The Coronavirus pandemic has proven the critical need to Limit face-to-face interaction between employees. But how can your company encourage remote work and still bring on new drivers safely and effectively? How can you keep your drivers up to speed on safety content that would traditionally be covered in safety meetings?

Remote online training allows you to do both:

● Ensures participation and comprehension

● Consistently delivers important elements of your orientation

● Quickly gets your trucks moving safely

● Saves time, resources and money

“Amazing support staff.”

● Simple to implement quickly and with very little effort on your part

There are no shortcuts when it comes to consistency and quality Infinit-I Workforce Solutions offers a communication and learning management system that allows you to simplify orientation through remote, online training. Spread Coronavirus awareness by distributing messages and policies from your company to your entire fleet.

to increase the Take advantage of our 30-day Complimentary Trial efficiency of your orientation. Keep your company moving! For

https://www.infinitiworkforce.com/ppc/comp-access-cn-2/ www.infinitiworkforce.com

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Robert D. Scheper

BHAG - Big Hairy Audacious Goal

Happy New Year! A new year requires new thoughts and often, an evaluation of old goals. What have you achieved this past year? Where do you want to be a year from now; five years from now? It sometimes bodes well to think differently to achieve something special. Think BIG, not just ahead.

Launching my PODCAST this month with a focus on my first book “Making Your Miles Count: taxes, taxes, taxes” was a real treat. It’s been over 15 years since I wrote it and it’s amazing how current it is in principle and how well it shows the escalating tax savings over time. In 2006 (the time of publication), the tax savings were $7,600+ per driver annually, and today, the savings is $12,500+ per driver annually. Remember it’s not about who your accountant is, it’s about what system they choose to use.

Our firm has been recording the tax savings we have generated since 2006. Starting out with a paltry $200 K in annual savings, we recently recorded in 2022, annual savings at $5+ million dollars. Though a lot of the growth came in the volume of clients, the savings per client also rose by 65% over 16 years. Our firm’s 16-year total is more than $60 million.

In Jim Collins’s book “Built to Last” the concept of a “BHAG” or Big Hairy Audacious Goal was introduced. It asked, what one primary goal can an organization focus on that represents the most important issue to the organization? In my opinion, net tax savings per client over and above what other firms produce is the differentiating feature. So, after 20+ years of operating an accounting firm and saving clients’ taxes, what should my ‘Audacious Goal’ be? For some hairy reason, we want to save the Canadian Independent Operator Industry a billion dollars in taxes. Now THAT is an ‘Audacious Goal’. We’ve worked 16 years for $60 million…. which is only 6% of a billion. So, at the current $5 million per year, I’ll achieve a billion in only 188 years. I know I’m a planner but that far ahead is a little ridiculous.

To achieve that level within my lifetime requires a dramatic increase in clients. However, growing just for the sake of growing is not a good idea. There must be a serious infrastructure in place to provide quality service as well as a whole host of other things.

Government and Media throw around the terms “billion” or “billions of dollars”

seemingly every day, making it sound normal or easy, as easy as popping a candy out of a PEZ dispenser. A billion here, a billion there, people get used to it and file it in their brain as a large but achievable number. Having Elon Musk buy and play with Twitter for $44 billion again seems a relatively achievable amount for no other reason than everyone seems to use the ‘B’ word without concern. But, let me assure you, a billion dollars is a LOT of money. It’s a ‘Big Hairy Audacious’ pile of tax savings.

Entrepreneurs such as Independent Operators should all have BHAG’s, those ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goals’ that seem unachievable.

So, what is YOUR BHAG? May I suggest a few? How about getting completely out of debt, mortgage and all? Many of you might think it would take you 188 years… but it won’t. To achieve the seemingly unachievable, you cannot keep thinking and acting in the same linear mindset. You must change your input to change your outcome. How about losing weight? This one was especially hard for me. I lost 50-55 pounds during the pandemic, not because I was bored but because my health was not optimum for a virus. Before COVID I was pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure. I had to change my daily habits and my daily inputs (literally). Though I am not at a perfect weight, I am now at a very healthy and sustainable weight with good blood sugar and blood pressure. It only took 2 years, which in junk food years is six centuries.

Without a clear goal or objective, success rarely drops in your lap. Monitoring your progress towards your goal can often be the most motivating feature in achievement. Engaging in a BHAG can be one of the most encouraging aspects of life. Achieving the nearly unachievable is something to chisel onto a headstone.

About the Author: Robert D. Scheper is a leading Accountant and Consultant to the Lease/Owner operator industry in Canada. His first book in the Making Your Miles Count series “taxes, taxes, taxes” was released in 2007. His firm exclusively serves Lease/Owner Operators across Canada. His second book “Choosing a Trucking company” is the most indepth analysis of the operator industry available today. He has a Master’s degree (MBA) in financial management and has been serving the industry since he and his wife came off the road in 1993. His dedication, commitment and strong opinions can be read and heard in many articles and seminars.

You can find him at www.makingyourmilescount.com or 1-877-987-9787.

SAFETY DAWG Chris Harris

What are the 10 Top Predictors of a Future Crash?

Happy New Year! Every year, I have the same wish and goal for my readers, supporters, and clients. My desire and plan for 2023 are for us all to be safer than last year.

In the past, I have referred to ATRI; the American Transportation Research Institute. This organization does a great deal of work researching transportation industry-specific issues.

To safety geeks, the results are fascinating. In 2005 they did their first “driver behaviour and the associated increase in future crash probability” study. They repeated the survey in 2011, again in 2018, and most recently in 2022. For truck drivers, the results should be listened to and carefully considered.

Why? If we can examine and associate the past and connect it to the future, then we can predict the future with some accuracy. Tracking safety, people would love to eliminate a future crash. A truck driver would love to illuminate a coming collision. Those who share the road with

trucks and tractor-trailers would also love to stop future impacts.

Although this may sound easy because all we are doing is looking at a driver’s past in predicting the future, it becomes much more complicated in the current truck driver shortage. Every day, truck drivers get hired who should have been passed over, even if we know the future for the driver is not promising. This driver has committed many past sins and if we didn’t have so many empty trucks, we would pass this applicant over. But some companies are willing to take a chance. Please don’t be that company.

What does a company that takes a chance look like? Their safety scores may not be perfect. And their insurance provider is watching them closely and asking themselves if they should renew them. So, let’s not be one of those companies.

ATRI has done this crash predictor study four times. Two items have made it into the top 10 every year. Perhaps you should avoid drivers who, on their

application, show a “pass crash” and “an improper or erratic lane change conviction”. These two past violations appear in the top 10 crash predictor models in every study. So, driver applicants with either a past crash or an improper lane change conviction should be avoided whenever possible. The future likelihood of this applicant having another smash is very high.

Six other items made it into the top ten, in three out of the four studies. And I would think that if I were a recruiter, I would try to avoid hiring drivers with any of the following violations: “right of way violation”, “improper signal conviction”, reckless driving violation”, “failure to keep improper lane” and “improper lane conviction”.

When I look at this list of six violations, what stands out to me is that they all appear to be forms of aggressive driving. Read that list over again. Do you agree that they are all indicators of driver behaviour that is unacceptable and perhaps aggressive? If you do agree, then why do we continue to hire these drivers, put road safety at risk and expose our company in this way?

Shouldn’t we be encouraging drivers to behave better? If we are forced to hire a driver with any of the above convictions, what are we doing to change the driver’s behaviour in the future? Are we giving the driver some extra training? Are we closely monitoring this driver more than

others? What are we doing that is extra special in this driver’s case? Because if this driver has a crash, you know the lawyers will be asking the same question.

For your convenience, here is the link to the ATRI info: https://truckingresearch. org/2022/10/11/atris-latest-crashpredictor-model-corroborates-strongrole-of-driver-behaviors-to-future-truckcrashes/

All the best and stay safe this new year.

Chris Harris

Top Dawg, Safety Dawg Inc. 905-973-7056 chris@safetydawg.com @safety_dawg (twitter)

Ellen Voie

Ten Tips to Attract and Retain Women as Professional Drivers

#1. Let them know you WANT to hire women. If your recruiting ad doesn’t include women, or worse yet, excludes women, you won’t get their attention. Don’t always show a male driver in your ads, and don’t assume that the only woman in your ad should be the wife at home. Go back and look at your recruiting advertisements and see if they appeal to women. Ask some of your female staff members if they would respond to your company’s ad.

#2 Tell women WHY you are interested in hiring them. For example, do you have a real desire to hire women as drivers because you believe they are capable and competent? Women don’t want any special privileges; they just want a level playing field to compete for jobs as a professional, not because of gender. Don’t ever patronize women or give them the impression that you are hiring them because you are filling some quota or making a statement. Women can see through that!

#3 Let potential drivers know why you are a good fit for them. Do you have loads that are regional instead of long-distance? Do you have equipment that makes the job less physically demanding? Do you have female trainers available? Do you make every effort to provide a safe environment for all drivers?

#4 Safety is a top priority when hiring women. Making sure the workplace is safe is important, but you should also consider ways to protect your drivers from harassment. The trucking industry is very male-dominated, so women are often harassed on the job. Make sure YOUR drivers aren’t the source of this negative behaviour. Talk to your drivers about how they can work together as peers.

#5 Equipment. The more you can remove the physical aspect of the job, the easier it will be to recruit and retain women (and men!) Order your trucks with as much technology as you can afford. Air ride seats, brakes, hydraulic dollies and even automatic transmissions take less

physical stamina and relieve some of the strain drivers experience each day. More driving, less unloading, cranking, pushing and pulling will save your drivers from pain down the road.

#6 Basic needs. Be sure your terminal has equal access to restrooms and locker facilities. If you have a company store, make sure you stock women’s clothing sizes and feminine products. Ask your drivers for their basic needs and they’ll tell you what you are missing.

#7 Train, educate and mentor. Help your drivers be the best they can be. Teach them about safety and how to avoid a hazardous work environment. Give them lessons on self-defence and how to avoid and deflect harassment. Provide the knowledge they need to do their job well.

#8 Provide mentors. If you have female drivers already, pair them with a recruit to give them a different perspective. Encourage them to talk on the phone and meet in person and help them in the process. Sometimes a driver needs to know that there is someone who understands her (or his) situation and can relate to them well.

#9 Set an example. Promote women into leadership roles and make sure they are visible to your drivers. If you

have female dispatchers, managers and others who are leaders in your company, feature them in your newsletter, on your website and in your advertising. Welcome and encourage women to apply for leadership roles within your organization.

#10 Join Women In Trucking Association. Visit www.womenintrucking.org and become a corporate member. You will have access to many resources, from our anti-harassment employment guide to self-defence videos. Although the organization is based in the United States, there are members outside of North America that benefit from the knowledge and information available from this organization.

Ellen Voie President/CEO/Founder of Women In Trucking, Inc. ellen@womenintrucking.org www.womenintrucking.org

Mission: Women In Trucking was established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and minimize obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.