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From the Editor’s desk... VOLuME 18, ISSuE 5 of 11 PUBLISHER/EDITOR John White john@ptmag.ca PRODUCTION/CIRCULATION Tori Proudley tori@ptmag.ca ADMIN/SPECIAL EVENTS Donna White donna@ptmag.ca ADVERTISING/MARKETING John White john@ptmag.ca Tori Proudley tori@ptmag.ca CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Madill • Ben Proudley Scott Casey • Mel McConaghy Ed Murdoch • Colin Black Tamara Weston PHOTOGRAPHY David Benjatschek wowtrucks.com Brad Demelo HEAD OFFICE Ph: 604-580-2092 Fax: 604-580-2046 Toll Free: 1-800-331-8127 Published eleven times a year by Pro-Trucker Magazine Inc., The contents of this publication may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against legal action based upon libelous or inaccurate statements; the unauthorized use of materials or photographs; and/or any other errors or omissions in connection with advertisements placed in Pro-Trucker Magazine. The publisher can and will refuse any advertising which in his opinion is misleading or in poor taste. The publisher does not endorse or make claim or guarantee the validity or accuracy of any advertisement herein contained. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editing at the publisher’s discretion. The act of mailing or e-mailing material shall be considered an expressed warranty by the contributor that the material is original and in no way an infringement on the rights of others.
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Canadians Helping Canadians On May 1st a local state of emergency was declared as 2 neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray were put under mandatory evacuation. On May 2nd this order was rescinded as the fire moved southwest away from town. But at 5pm on May 3rd it was reinstated for 12 neighbourhoods and by 7pm that night – to the entire community. 88,000 people immediately started to evacuate, many left with just the John White clothes on their backs. Soon the whole country and much of the world was watching in stunned silence as scenes of long lines of cars, trucks, and trailers snaked through the smoke, heat and flames as the fire raged alongside the evacuation route. Pictures of exhausted firefighters sleeping on the ground flashed across our screens as they, and police officers, worked around the clock fighting the flames and escorting evacuees out of the area. Soon gymnasiums and community centres in Alberta were overflowing with evacuees who had left all their possessions behind in the rush to keep their families safe. Food, water, clothes, diapers and toiletries were desperately needed. Instantly companies, individuals and associations, far too many to mention here, many from the trucking community stepped up to do what they could. Rosenau transport, already very well known for their community service, went to work the day the evacuation notice was announced. They worked with CISN FM in Edmonton over 2 days and collected 7 trailers of food and water, which was delivered to the Edmonton Food Bank. They also worked with radio stations in Medicine Hat and Saskatoon to collect another 3 truckloads of supplies. They worked with the Canadian Red Cross and the City of Edmonton Emergency Relief Centers supplying warehousing space and trailers to move product around the Province. They are also working with essential services such as the Fort McMurray Fire Department to bring emergency supplies to Fort Mac. ...Continued on Page 9
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PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL TRUCK TRUCK DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIP The 23rd Annual Alberta Inspectors SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2016 The 23rd Annual Hosted Alberta By AlbertaInspectors Justice SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2016 Championship,
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LETTERS to the EDITOR
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e Whit ine John Magaz
ker Truc ProJohn White
r Magazine Pro-Trucke
John, I wanted to send you a note of sincere thanks for your support of Women Building Futures; and specifically our Class 3 Driver Training Program. Our partnerships with industry, employers, and supporters like Pro-Trucker Magazine are crucial to our success. Our Class 3 Driver Training program ensures our successful graduates have what it takes to succeed in the industry and the confidence to do well there. Our grads have a reputation for being committed, hardworking, productive and safety-conscious. Tuition for our Class 3 Driver Training Program is funded by employer partners who need qualified applicants for open positions; a true testament to the high expectations they have of WBF grads. I wanted to include some words from an employer partner to demonstrate the impact you’ve helped create with your support: “At the end of [the Class 3 Driver Training] process we are very pleased to have made offers to two very
enthusiastic and well-trained candidates. We look forward to continuing to support Women Building Futures by partnering to bring additional well trained, qualified operators into our expert workforce.” -Fred Desjarlais; VP: Volker Stevin Canada Once again John, thank you for sharing our message. We are always working to connect with women who are interested in learning more about a career in the trades and skilled occupations, as well as with industry for employment opportunities and networking. We appreciate your support so very much. Megan Bates Employment Specialist Women Building Futures www.womenbuildingfutures.com 780.452.1200 Editor’s note: Women make excellent truck drivers and we fully support you and your efforts especially since the cost is borne by government funding and company sponsors. This enables many people like single moms, who otherwise could not afford it, to be trained for wellpaying careers. John, A recent report in the Calgary Herald was about a driver shortage, and that the average age at this time of
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the Commercial Driver is 47, and soon to be 49. The transport industry is not doing nearly enough to attract the younger generation to a career as a professional commercial driver. There is still a mentality that if you can flip burgers, you drive a truck, but nothing can be further from the truth. The government has this important profession rated as unskilled, and it is imperative that it be changed to skilled. The current demands of a driver require a huge amount of skill, such as computer use, equipment specifications, dangerous goods movement, load securement, hours of service regulations in both the USA and Canada, traffic rules at all jurisdictions, just to name a few. The onus of the government should be to assure the training standards, the actual training required to achieve the class one drivers licence. Currently there are numerous driving schools offering classes for class one training, but very few are delivering adequate hands on and written material. It is rumoured that in Alberta you can get a class one licence for as little as five hundred dollars. One of the major issues is that training schools are not regulated by government, and that the examiners are private as well. This leads to a less than proper training and a result is a person that has acquired a class one has absolutely no real ability to operate a large commercial vehicle. Alberta has developed a thorough training program
for class one drivers, but the industry did not support this standard and therefore it sits on a shelf at Alberta Transportation and the Alberta Motor Transport Association. The industry feels that if drivers are trained to standards required for the efficient and safe operation of trucks they will have to pay them more, when reality is that a fully trained driver will increase profits and reduce turnover. As a former driver, fleet owner, and former Executive Director of the AMTA, I have witnessed that the companies that take the time and effort to train their drivers on both regulations and safety are the most profitable ones. And remember that everything you consume, wear, drive, watch, listen to, everything has been on a truck at one time or other. Should the trucking industry shut down for as little as one week, our service stations will be out of fuel, our stores will be running out of food, and delivery all goods will come to a complete stop. On the positive side, both Ontario and Manitoba has started working on a training standard that would become mandatory once approved by the respective provincial governments. Other Provinces are becoming aware of the need to properly train commercial drivers and hopefully will follow this initiative. Lane Kranenburg Editor’s note: In general politicians are quick to criticize
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the industry about safety but often as not it is merely fluff and rhetoric aimed at winning votes. What really surprises me is that Alberta has not tightened up their issuing of class 1 licenses. You would think that they would have changed the system after the trouble they had a few years ago, where they had to re-test a large number of drivers when it was suspected that one training school was selling licenses. Most training schools are great and honestly concerned that they put out good drivers, and they do, but that is not always the case. Training schools make their money by making sure students pass and that is a good reason there should be a standardized course across the country with all testing done by an independent agency working arm’s length from the schools.
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Hi John, I just wanted to reach out to see if you have heard about a truck driver here in Chilliwack by the name of Gordon VanLaerhoven. Gord had an idea that he wanted to help out the people of Fort Mac so on Wednesday he put a plan in action and asked his boss at Bulldog Transport for the use of a truck and trailer. On Thursday morning he started taking donations. By Friday afternoon 3 more trucks had joined the cause. And after a long day of sorting organizing and loading gord and the other drivers along with a few others hit the road for a long night of driving to deliver 4 loaded trailers full of much needed supplies to Edmonton. Please take a few minutes and check out the Facebook group (Chilliwack
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for Fort Mac) I have been a trucker for 17 years and to see what they did in such a short time puts a little pride back into an industry that is falling apart. Your magazine should do a story on these drivers and the companies that donated their trucks. Editor’s note: The way the industry instantly came together was amazing. I mentioned some of the people and companies involved in my editorial this month but it is a very partial list as I could not possibly have listed them all. It is something that will be continuing for months to come as you can see by the following letter. John, Please let your readers know that it’s official! ProTrucker Magazine and Supplement King will be hosting a charity strongman truck pull showdown at 2016 BC Big Rig Weekend. All money raised from athlete registration, sponsors and spectator donations will go to Fort Mac. This will be a three event competition with a truck theme. First event will be a harness pull. The second event will be an arm over arm pull. Both of the first two events will involve the ‘Support our Troops’ Big Rig owned by Michael ‘Motor’ Rosenau. The last event will be a half ton load and push medley. The first 10 guys to send their registration and $50 are in...the limit
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is 10 competitors no exceptions. Our professional referee, Mike McGonigal, will oversee the competition and our MC, Robin M. Wright, will ensure that everyone is entertained. We have sponsored awards from Greystone for the top three as well as competitor and volunteer shirts! All registration fees and any donations will be handled by Jordan Grypuik, from Supplement King, in Chilliwack. He will in turn donate the money raised to Fort Mac! We already have some sponsors on board, Ugly Trucks Unlimited, Greystone Awards, Supplement King, Motor Rosenau, and Pro-Trucker Magazine. We welcome all other sponsor and donations. Donations can be made by e-transfer to jordangry-
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puik@hotmail.com or call (604) 997-4308 and ask for Scott. Scott Wallace, Chilliwack BC Editor’s note: Scott Wallace is an ex-truck driver and his father has driven truck his whole life. He is just another great example of how the whole country is pulling together to help where they can. *****
Continued Editorial...
It is not just companies - many individuals have unselfishly done what they could. One compassionate single mom, Tanya Dyck-Foran from Blackfalds Alberta, admitted that she could not afford to give too much but she has one talent – she can cook. She cooked hams, turkeys, vegetables, soups, cookies and homemade buns then delivered everything to the evacuation centre. G o r d o n VanLaerhoven a driver for Bull Dog Transport in Chilliwack wanted to
The
help so he approached his boss for the use of a truck and trailer. At 10 pm on Wednesday, May 4th, the day after the full evacuation notice, he announced on Facebook that he would have a trailer parked at the shopping mall for donations. Amazingly, By 5pm on Friday May 6th not one but four trailers pulled out of Chilliwack loaded with supplies. For those not familiar with the Sikh religion, they have three main principles: 1 Honest living which means working for a living and being responsible for yourself. 2. Being in a constant state of meditative awareness. 3. Sharing what you can with your fellow man. When Sikhs from the lower mainland heard about Fort Mac, on May 4th, they called a meeting to see how they could help. Over 200 families which included approxi-
mately 1,000 individuals from Vancouver to Abbotsford and Mission went to work. Everyone got involved. Temples, schools and businesses. Children instead of being at home with their mothers on mother’s day held a food drive.
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In total 3 trucks of baby products and food and 6 trucks of clothing were collected and shipped to Edmonton. On top of that the group paid all expenses for 15 volunteers to go to Edmonton to put boots on the ground and help out in any way they could. In total over 1 million dollars in goods and services were provided. The people of Fort Mac will start to return home, for those who still have them, on June 1st but the need for help will be ongoing for months to come. That is why people like Scott Wallace, a Strongman competitor and competition organizer approached us to hold a Strongman Truck Pull Competition at BC Big Rig Weekend in Chilliwack on August 20th where they will be collecting donations for Fort Mac. It has been amazing how Canadians have come together to help out in this time of need. Just another reason for us to have the “Proudly Canadian” logo on our cover...
From the Patch By Tamara Weston
Tamara and her husband Eric, were the Rig of the Month drivers in our October 2014 issue.
May started like many other months for us. This month however we had a long overdue trip to Cuba to look forward too. Our fight left May 6th at 6am so we worked the first few days of May then we took a few extra days off prior to our fight to get organized to go. That’s when everything changed. I worked May 3rd while Eric was off work and at home getting ready for our trip. Currently we are hauling Super B loads of butane 30 kilometres south of Conklin, off of the 881. There is no radio reception in that area so I happily listened to the satellite radio completely oblivious to the chaos unraveling north of me. We travel 18 kilometres off of 881 on gravel into a plant site and then it takes a good hour and 20 to offload. While most of Alberta went into shock as they watched the wild fire spiral closer to Fort McMurray I went about my business and offloaded my load. I was pretty much finished up when Eric called. His concern was apparent and once I googled what was happening I too was concerned. They were issuing an evacuation order for parts of Fort Mac.
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I was in no immediate danger where I was but I was nervous and just wanted to get home. It was a long 3.5 hour drive but I made it safe and sound. By the time I got home the full evacuation of Fort Mac was unfolding, we had the news on and were fielding calls from friends and family making sure we were all ok. I spoke with John on the 5th he was enquiring about a story for this month and we talked about Fort Mac and our trip to Cuba. He thought a story about transportation and trucking from Cuba may be a good idea. I’ve taken pictures of the different trucks I saw in Cuba and spoke with locals about the transportation issues there but that story will have to wait as my thoughts keep going back to the heart of my province. Fort Mac may not be where we live but it holds a very special place in our hearts - it’s where Eric and I met and it’s where we started our lives together. Fort McMurray brought us to each other. We met some really amazing people while we lived and worked there. Some of them we call our Alberta family and now those individuals were being thrown into a complete state of emergency… Prior to becoming a driver, and going to work at AFD, I was working as a house keeper at Black Sands Executive Lodge, which is located just north of Fort Mac on the top of super test. At that time it was a non-union environment. After a few months I was approached by a fellow worker asking me what I thought of unions and talking about how it would benefit everyone if we unionized. I jumped on
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board and within months we were holding a vote. It was a very covert operation with loads of sneaking around and it was extremely stressful at times but in the end a very rewarding experience. Myself and Cherie Weeks led the charge and when we won the right to unionize I was asked to become job steward. Negotiations began for our collective agreement and we made huge steps for our members. I made lifelong friends and found a strength in myself I never knew existed. That realization that I could do anything I put my mind to was what gave me the courage to become a driver. Cherie and I are like sisters and until a few months ago she still worked at Black Sands. On May 17th Black Sands was completely destroyed by fire. No one was hurt and everyone got out safe and sound but that important piece of my history is now a pile of rubble and ash. I may have only lost memories or a place associated with those memories I did not lose everything like hundreds of others. My heart goes out to those who have. All of my friends and family made it safely out, and are now waiting to start rebuilding their lives. Eric and I did go on our holiday to Cuba, but it was with huge doubt, should we leave our home and children during this time? What if the winds change and the fire heads south? Before we left we created an emergency plan for the kids to ensure their safety and the safety of our pets. Everyone knew their jobs and who was in charge of
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Canyon Cable 1988 Ltd. 930-6th Ave., Hope, BC 604-869-9036 Toll Free 1-800-588-8868 what. Prior to this fire we had no real plan and if nothing else this fire created an awareness for us all. Throughout this time of tragedy and darkness the one thing that shone through was the coming together of community. Social media and local and foreign news channels( I would find stories from stations from all over the world while I was in Cuba ) are littered with stories of individuals and companies big and small who raced toward the fire to help their fellow man. It’s those stories that restore my faith in us all.
From
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Drivers Seat
By Ben Proudley Ben has been a Class 1 driver for 17 years. He started out driving wreckers and currently heavy hauls for Hertz Equipment Rentals. Ben was our Rig of the Month in March of 2008
1984…
Editor’s note: Nineteen Eighty-four is the title of a book written by British author George Orwell. It is a fantasy novel about a world where big brother is always watching and controls everything in our lives. You have to wonder, are we there yet? I have been following a post on our Facebook page and I figure I might as well put my two cents in on the topic. My opinion is mine and mine alone. The post talks about dash cams as well as cameras in the truck facing backwards to record the driver’s actions. There are some who have no issues and there are far more who are very against it. A few good points have been brought up, as well as a few that really have no real bearing on the situation. Many of us run dash cams to protect ourselves from being falsely accused of doing something. If we happen to be involved in a motor vehicle incident, yes I said incident they are no longer called accidents since most are preventable. So if some yahoo creates a situation that causes you to hit them you can use footage to prove your innocence. By the same token a lot of four wheelers run them as well to use for the same purpose. In reality, someone is always watching. This is where the real problem comes up with most drivers about their every move being recorded in the
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i n fo @ t i m s t r a i l e r re p a i r. c o m pretty much know your every move and speed you are traveling at. If you are involved in an incident they can also download your trucks computer to see what you or your truck was doing before the incident happened. So for those who are worried about “Big Brother” watching. He is doing it now every time you turn the key. There is something to be said that knowing your every action could be called into question, if you have a problem, can make some people nervous. This alone could throw their driving off and have the exact opposite effect than intended. It could make them more dangerous because they could end up second guessing everything they are doing, something as simple as taking a drink of coffee or water. Talking on the radio or on the phone, hands free of course.
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cab. The majority of drivers do not feel comfortable with being watched 24/7. For me it would be a little unnerving to say the least. I drive locally so as far as my off duty time it really would have no effect on what I do or do not do but can you imagine if you were an over the road driver, off duty in your sleeper, and the camera was on?! No thanks. Ok I’m being a bit over the top. I am sure they are meant to shut off when the truck is not moving, but they could malfunction. Ok, simple solution. Hang your dirty underwear on it till morning. Is it Crude? Yes, but effective none the less. Okay so that problem is solved. Now you are rolling down the road it is “on” and doing its job. The footage is most likely being uploaded to a storage device or is being saved on the unit itself. It is not a live stream of your every move. The idea of it being reviewed at some point if there is an incident scares most people. Why? Simple really, none of us are perfect. I know – it’s hard to believe. We are professional’s for the most part. Some may argue that some are steering wheel holders, but I will leave that for another article. I think it is human nature for us to make a mistake. We just do not like to admit it. Nor do we want it to cause an incident or harm to anyone. In this day and age we are already under the thumb of regulators. E-logs are everywhere and are soon to be mandatory. Larger fleet’s run satellite tracking or gps tracking, and
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Or any numbers of normal things drivers do every day. The real question is who wants to put them in your cab and for what reason. Insurance seems to be the logical answer. If that is the case, what about doing it for a driver who has a less than clear record or has had a past incident? If you ask me it seems to make a bit more sense that way. You will have those who say that is not fair, but if it is to help companies reduce costs then why not? Lower costs might mean better pay for drivers. Okay, I was laughing as I wrote that, but you get the point. If you are going to do this for truckers, what about other commercial drivers? Why not buses? Taxis have them to help protect drivers. What about smaller delivery trucks. If insurance is the reason to it, then all commercial drivers in any size vehicle should be included. I will say one last thing, for me, if I was forced to deal with this as a driver, I most likely would just learn to adapt. I would not be happy about it, but if it was what I had to get used to so I could keep my job, then so be it. I like where I work for the most part. I like the job I do. I have a good boss, and I am treated pretty well. I have a lot of freedom in what I do, so if this one thing made them happier, then I would adapt. The world is changing in ways that we may or may not like. We can either get on board or find a different profession. Unfortunately “Big Brother is watching” is the new normal, if there really is such a thing as normal.
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By Scott Casey Scott, our Rig of The Month for May 2003 has written “In the Devil’s Courthouse” a book about his years as a gun toting truck driver while serving as a Canadian Peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia
The Great Divide
Toasters, coffee makers, washers and dryers and so many other things have all progressed by leaps and bounds in the last fifty years. From roasted meat on a stick, perked coffee over the fire or a washboard in a tub and clothes on the line to the convection oven, advanced C
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timed fresh ground coffeemaker, to the programmed, wrinkle free clothes in 35 minutes. Inarguably, technology is ever changing in our world, regardless of where it’s applied, and often quicker than we can comprehend. This techno thought occurred to me as I sat in the seat of an A319 Airbus en route to vacationland. Fixed into the back of the seat ahead of me was a touch screen TV with USB ports and a multitude of other sockets for electrical gadgets. It was a considerable upgrade from the bare bones 737 I had just exited an hour earlier. Of course the deluge of electronic devices isn’t really new, but it did allow me a moment to be reminiscent of a less busy time when we didn’t have all of the toys. The trucking industry is not exempt from this invasion into all things old school. I’m not suggesting that the advances in trucking are a negative. Many drivers old enough to remember running the Fraser Canyon on bias ply tires through 110 degree weather will assure you that the changes are for the most part, positive. Switching from gasoline to diesel fuel was probably one of the first major upgrades to the industry, allowing for more power and mileage combined. Creature comforts like air seats, air ride suspensions, air brakes and going from the old coffin box sleepers to the modular bunk is a big bonus as well. And let’s not forget arm strong steering to power steering. Or how about shifting twin sticks to the 10/13/15/18 speed transmissions to the automatic transmission .....((insert the sound of grinding gears here)) Did he just say automatic transmissions are a big plus? Well they are for some I suppose, but I have my reservations about what technology does when it lends to losing roots entirely. I’ve heard the argument that automatic transmissions allow drivers to focus more on driving and less on making the truck go, which in turn lessens driver fatigue. Bla bla bla. If that is the case why does it appear to some of the veteran truckers out there that the calibre of drivers has sunken to new lows in ability? If they have so much time to focus on trucking and being less tired then why the increase in incidents?
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Maybe I’m being too philosophical about what it is to be a trucker, to be stalwart and true, looking out for those around us regardless of who they are, striving to improve on the intricacies of our profession. From understanding what the readings on our gauges actually mean to feeling the slack in a universal joint just through the gearshift in your hand. My thought is, that while the advances in technology are helpful, they only serve to widen the great divide between what it means to be a professional driver and just being an employee who steers a truck. ***** If I had a dollar for every girl that found me unattractive, they’d eventually find me attractive.
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DriviNG throUGh mY memories
By Ed Murdoch
Ed has held a commercial drivers license for 65 years and has spent the better part of 50 years on the road. You can get Ed’s new book at www.drivingthroughmymemories.ca There has been much rhetoric, both positive and negative, bandied about on the topic of EOBRs or ELDs or the ‘Big Brother Is Watching You’ devices which special interest groups on both sides of the longest “undefended” border – yeah right – in the world, are promoting as a safety measure for commercial drivers. Love or hate the concept, it isn’t going to go away. There are a couple of things to consider. Years and years ago when I started ‘skinning’, log books were not required in Canada and most of us early gear jammers were paid only for miles driven and not for all the other chores that accompanied the job. That mentality, unfortunately, was retained when log books became the law back in the late ‘80s and continues to this day. Drivers and owner-ops continued to hide hours spent ‘On Duty (Not Driving)’ in order to maximize hours spent ‘Driving’ - getting one’s combination of vehicles as far down the road as possible in the time allotted for that function. As little time as possible was shown for activities such as the daily inspection, doing paperwork, fueling, waiting to load or
unload and minimizing the time spent taking on cargo, securing it, getting the paperwork and likewise at the other end at one’s destination. I audit up to 20 commercial driver logs each month and I see it all the time. Naturally revenue-generating activity rules over non-revenue-generating. Purchasing supplies such as oil, windshield washer fluid, logbooks, light bulbs and any of the other myriad items that go into one’s operation such as traffic congestion, waiting at a repair facility or terminal oft goes unrecorded. Washing the truck at home on one’s day off, tinkering with one’s unit in the driveway or anywhere along the trail also never sees the surface of a paper log ... or ‘comic book’ as it is popularly called. Technically every one of these undertakings is an “On Duty (Not Driving)” activity and is required by law to be entered in a commercial driver’s daily log. Indeed every activity directly or indirectly involving the operation of one’s vehicle requires the driver to comply with the Hours of Service (HoS) and must, by a legislative act, be entered accurately in one’s daily log. If a driver or owner-operator were to earn revenue from all these obvious & not-so-obvious activities do you not think that he/she would eagerly record them, even stretch the duration a tad in order to make up for all those lost years? Well it is predictable that electronic logging devices (ELDs) or electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) might just allow this to occur. There will have to be an accounting for every minute of every day and that accounting will have to be accurate and supported by supplementary documentation wherever possible such as sales receipts, toll receipts and the
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like. But then EVERY DRIVER AND OWNER-OPERATOR WILL POTENTIALLY BE EARNING WAGES THAT ARE REALISTIC AND REFLECTIVE OF HIS/HER DAY’S EFFORTS. The carriers and authorities will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to what they have known for years to be true. The downside to this ‘turning-of-the-tables’ will be the need to increase rates at the source, which shippers will vehemently oppose and by nature of the ‘animal’ consumer prices will have to rise in order to offset this increase. Well, darn! Employees in other vocations have been punching clocks and getting paid for piece work for a long time now. Isn’t it perhaps the appropriate occasion for truckers to earn a similar respect and income? After all is said and done how could “America be great again” if there were no trucks or truckers to supply all the nutrition and trinkets that are consumed on a daily basis? However the concept has not been an easy one for the ‘brotherhood’ to accept. Invasion of Privacy keeps popping up in discussions both formal and informal. The OOIDA and William Trescott, a Swift driver, are currently suing the USDOT and the FMCSA in the US Supreme Court. Here’s a quote from an article in Overdrive magazine: “Whereas OOIDA’s suit centers on the rule’s location tracking of truck operators — within a one-mile radius — Trescott takes issue with a whole host of issues with the mandate, such as the devices’ capacity for errors, the selection of the judges overseeing the case, driver harassment via ELDs and the potential, Trescott claims, for ELDs to strip truckers of their collective bargaining power.”
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In reality, last time I looked, Hours of Service fines south of the border to date for 2016 only were approaching $103 million. Every minute that figure increases. That’s a lot of mistakes. ELDs will purportedly reduce this number dramatically and both carriers and drivers will add the results to their individual bank accounts. During that same period of time almost 40 million gallons of fuel would have been saved with the use of ELDs. Who wouldn’t rejoice at these savings? Drivers will also save the time that used to be devoted to all that paperwork - $1.6 billion annually - and will be able to apply said time to moving toward their destinations, a much more productive use of that commodity. If one is honest and compliant what difference does it make where one is situated? I would think either the carrier who owns the equipment or the shipper/receiver who owns the cargo have a right to know that. It is also estimated that besides the $1.6 billion saved on redundant paperwork alone there will be another $395 million in crash reduction costs. All in all the benefits will significantly outweigh the costs. For owner-ops the only cost that is in question is who will pay for the installation of the device, the trucker or the carrier. I think we already know the ultimate answer to that question. More info see : http://eldfacts.com/ eld-facts/ From all that I have seen to date, the vast majority of drivers who toil for those carriers who are already on-board with electronic-on-board recorders are really and truly happy with the outcome and love their ELDs. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of years. It ain’t gonna happen overnight! And the good news is the speed limiter promoters are losing steam. Yay!!
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Rig of the Month
Photo below by WOWTRUCKS.COM Cover photo by: Brad DeMelo
by John White
My name is Mike Hummel. I was born in London, John started out as a painter then a welder and finally Ontario - the middle of 3 children. I have an older a warehouse supervisor for Champion Motor Graders brother Bryan and a younger sister Andrea. My father, which was later bought out by Volvo Construction
TRUCK FOR SALE
It’s with regret but my carrier in trucking has finally come to an end. I bought my first truck in 1963 and have never looked back. Unfortunately my body just won’t go anymore, so it’s time to hang up the keys. With that being said I am selling my 2015 Peterbilt 579. It has 237,500 miles on a 500 HP Paccar engine with 1850 ft/lbs of torque, 18sp and 40 rears. The truck has a lifetime average fuel mileage of 7.2 mpg. Its also equipped with a sleeping well electric APU, and centramatic wheel balancers. The truck has some warranty left and extended warranty is available thru Peterbilt. The truck is currently working with Spady Transport Ltd in Surrey, BC. I have been with them for 2 years now and they are the best company I have worked for in my 53 year career on the road. I recommend to whomever purchases my truck that you look seriously at leaving it at Spady, the prorate for 2016 has already been paid for and goes with the truck. I am asking $130,000 obo CDN for my truck. For more information you can contact me (Vern) 604-344-2082 or Byron @ Spady Transport Ltd 604-535-1825 x 4 PAGE 22
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weekends so I went in and talked to the owner, Darryl McMillan. After the interview Darryl offered me a part time job and I thought, “Yes! I can finally work on the coolest vehicles on the road”. I worked there for several years, first part, and then full time. I learned everything I could about repairing and driving trucks and of course what to and not to do. Darryl was a real straight shooter; he would come in and tell me what I was doing right and also what I was doing wrong. He was a great boss, everything was always in black and white, there was no confusion, you always knew where you stood. I took my Class 1 licence a few months after being hired on at TTK. On the big day the boss and I went to the driving test with a brand new 99’ Peterbilt. I was so nervous! As Darryl left to go to the Casino across the street, while I took my test, he wished me luck, I laughed and said the same to him. I think the driver instructor was probably more impressed with the new truck than my driving skills but I passed and was ready to put on some miles. On the way back to the shop Darryl made it very clear that you just don’t get a licence and head out on the road, there is plenty more to learn and he was so right. (I think that is something that should be emphasized more to the people getting their licences!) While working there, I made some great friends. Most of them truck drivers and it goes without saying - great
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Equipment. My mother Annette was an Operating Room Nurse. My father lives in Ontario and my mother just recently retired and moved to Kelowna BC. A beautiful city that I love to visit in the summer. We grew up and lived in Goderich, Ontario, the home of North Americas largest salt mine. I knew from an early age that I enjoyed working, or as my parents said, destroying many good things. In elementary school, one of my good friend’s parents owned a construction company and most Sunday’s we would go snooping around all the equipment but the trucks were what really interested me. We would climb inside and I would pretend to shift gears and change lanes - I knew from an early age exactly what I wanted to do. When I graduated high school I already had a permanent job working as a mechanic apprentice at a local automotive garage. I would have to say that my boss, Mike Hawkins, who was also the company owner, and co-workers like Rick Berwick taught me more about working and doing the right things than I could ever describe here. It was because of their help and instruction that I managed to get my automotive red seal certification. Meanwhile my older brother Bryan, who already had his Class 1, was working at TTK Transport, a local long haul equipment trucking company. He told me that they were looking for a part time mechanic to help out on the
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story tellers. They all had double bunk sleepers and every chance I got I spent time on the road with either my brother, Gord Crowley, or John Kootstra, One time on a trip to New Orleans, after a long day, we pulled in and parked for the night. In the morning we woke up to see cops all around us. One came to the door and asked if we had heard or seen anything during the night. We told him that we didn’t notice anything unusual and then he told us that a driver had been shot just three trucks over. That’s too close for comfort. On another trip I was riding with my brother on a cattle hauling trip to Ontario. I was asleep in the bunk when apparently at 2am he went through an amber light in Winnipeg that turned red before he got through. I have no idea why it took so long but a cop flipped on his lights and pulled us over just as we crossed into Ontario. The road was narrow and did not have much of a shoulder so Bryan pulled off as far as he could. Just as the cop was walking up to the truck the shoulder gave way. I woke up when it happened to find us on a steep angle. It was just lucky that we did not flop over on our side. The biggest problem was that the cattle were going crazy inside the trailer so we had to let them out. This caused a whole other set of problems as Trans Canada was shut down for about 4 hours while we unloaded the cattle onto the highway, had the truck pulled out and then loaded the cattle back in. When it was all said and done the cop
said that we’d had enough trouble for one night so he was not going to write him a ticket for going through the red light. Funny thing was we went about a ½ mile down the road and found a pull out. If the cop was thinking he could have pulled us over there instead of a place where, even without the shoulder giving way, would impede traffic. In search of more money and different scenery I took a job with Lavis Contracting, a local civil and highway construction company. I drove a ‘98 international triaxle dump truck with a DT466 and a 13 speed trans and spring ride. Always with my seat on the floor! It was there that I honed my skills on shifting, braking, and steering in heavy traffic conditions. This job was likely the one I loved the most. It taught me so much and gave me the greatest respect for how large a vehicle I was operating. I washed and waxed that truck almost daily and I was constantly getting flak from the old guys about how tomorrow it was only gonna get dirty again. Didn’t matter, I wanted to look good getting dirty! I loved that truck and still have a picture of it hanging in my kitchen where I look at it every day. Whenever I got any time off, I was still always interested in going with my brother or any of the guys I knew that still hauled equipment at my old company. On one of these occasions I went with my brother hauling cattle into the southern states. On that particular trip I
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met one of his fellow drivers who was a typical cattle hauler. When he climbed down out of his rig he had his cowboy hat on, his shirt was open to his belly, and his boots just gleamed in the sun. The only thing that seemed out of place was his pair of black skin tight gloves that he called his ‘racing gloves’. His hat never came off, (I’m convinced he slept with it on) and it seemed like he had a different pair of boots for everyday of the week. I think he spent more time polishing his boots than doing his pre-trip. Bryan drove a white 2000 Pete and his truck number was number 1. This other driver had a 1999 red Pete and his truck number was 11. I asked him how he came up with that number and he said that a single 1 was bad luck but he’d take two ones any day. This fellow got on the cb one day, while we were following him though Chicago in a heavy rain storm, and said, “Just follow me and we’ll get through”. Every time he went through an underpass he would lay on his train horns and the traffic would just part in front of him – it was crazy. I make fun of them but these guys are the real truckers - gone for weeks or more and living their family life over the phone. Despite all that, I could tell that they loved their jobs - talking to people and making big miles to get where they needed to go. Like so many others I’ve met along the way. Getting restless again and hearing I could make great
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money out west, I bought a small trailer with money my mom gave me then packed up “my life “, and headed out west to make some real money doing who knows what. I sold the trailer when I got here and sent the money back to her. I arrived in Alberta (8 years ago) on a Wednesday and had a job at a truck and trailer place by Friday, doing CVIP inspections and general repairs. That was during the good times in Edmonton when you could find 10 jobs in one day. I worked there for a few months but I was always looking for more money and better opportunities. That call came after only 6 months and I was hired by a large oilfield construction company in Fort Mac as a mechanic on a 14 and 7 rotation. The money was amazing and I did this for 5 years. During this time, my brother, who was still working in Ontario, contacted me about a ‘03 flat glass, flat top Kenworth for sale. He knew I was always scoping out trucks and looking for a good deal to start a side project. It had some engine issues and the owner just wanted to see it go to a better home. I had searched high and low for the right truck, but this one just seemed to fit the bill. After some bargaining, I managed to purchase the truck and sent it to 12 Ga. Customs in Guelph Ontario. I had a wish list and they had a few ideas themselves, so they began the epic transformation. After a long time and many dollars, which I care not to remember, it was finally completed. I brought the truck
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back from Ontario and it sat in a bosses shop for about a year as my oil field job finally wound down. I ended up working a few other odd jobs, but nothing seemed to fit so I started working weekends for a local Frac Sand producing and hauling company. When my oil field mechanic job ended, they brought me on full time and I mentioned I had a truck I would like to put to use. That same year I entered the truck in the Alberta Big Rig Weekend in Red Deer. I won a few trophies and made it onto the pages of the 2015 Wow trucks calendar. I am still very humbled and proud to have been picked out of so many other good looking trucks. I met a lot of great people there who love trucks as much, if not more, than me. I couldn’t have asked for things to come together any better. While all this was going on, I was approached by 12 Ga. Customs again. They said that they had a glider for sale that the original purchaser had backed out on. They wanted to know if I would be interested in buying and completing it. Well I pondered this question for likely not as long as I should have, and finally agreed. With a few pictures, specs, and custom touches, my 2015 Kenworth W900L glider came to be. With a 6NZ Caterpillar engine 18spd and super 40 , 3:36 rears I picked it up in Ontario in November of 2014 and put it to work immediately hauling Frac sand in a set of custom colour matched Doepker Super B’s which I purchased
june 2016
because trailer renting just wasn’t working out for me. (If you’ve traveled Hwy 43 you may have seen me on a few occasions.) With the downturn in oil, Frac sand hauling comes and goes so I have had to diversify lending my services to another agricultural commodity hauling carrier to make it through these tough times. I get asked a lot why I would have a truck built especially for me, with all the things I like, and custom touches. If you’ve ever gone to a truck show, these questions will all be answered by the many professional drivers that are there. Each truck is a little different. It all comes down to each driver’s desire, where their priorities are, and how good they want to look. There are also some unexpected benefits. Just recently, on a trip that started in the southern part of Alberta and was destined for the north, I was pulled into the scale for the routine weight check. With nothing to fear, I passed through only to get red lighted. I went around back, grabbed all my paperwork, and went inside. We exchanged pleasantries and he got right down to it. He said ‘I noticed you don’t have a license plate on the front of your vehicle. Also you appear to be just slightly heavy on your drive axles”. I agreed with him on both points. He asked me why these things had occurred. I politely told him that my licence plate had been bent under my bumper at the previous farmers and I had removed it to prevent further damage. I also mentioned that it was in
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the truck right beside my seat. He said “Okay, now the second issue is your weight on your drives. It’s 300 kg over. Is there a reason for this?”. I said no as I had been overhead loaded and they must have given me the wrong weight in my front hopper. “Hmmnnn,” he said, “Well let’s see your log book”. I was now starting to sweat a little bit, he looked at it flipped through all of my sheets looked me right in the eye and said, “This is perhaps one of the neatest looking log books I have ever seen, which makes me think you either know what you’re doing or you’re a very good liar”. At this point I’m pretty sure I was pasty white and my mouth fell open. He smiled and said, “Here’s all your stuff. Let’s go outside and get that plate put on.....besides I love the way your truck looks”. It’s moments like those that keep me going, knowing even in his position he recognized I was doing the best I could and just out here for the love of trucking. Lastly I think everyone should have a dash cam....I have one and it runs from the moment I release the brakes. It’s your only witness to everything that is happening in front of you. Because unfortunately the large portion of society still thinks that we all are out to get them, drive unsafely, and cut them off every chance we get. Not usually the truth. All I wanna do is cruise down the road, make the customer happy, chat with my other trucker friends, and honk that air horn at every kid that does the arm pump. Oh and attend every truck show
I can of course!!! Thanks for reading my story. Mike Hummel Editor’s note: On April 26, Mike had a medical issue while driving which resulted in an accident in High Prairie Alberta where he collided with a building. No charges were laid in the incident but unfortunately his beautiful truck was a write off. Up to that point Mike had an exemplary record where he had not had any accidents, fines at the scales, or even tickets for traffic violations. Mike is currently working as a shop manager for a company that he used to haul frac sand for. I asked him what his plans were and he said that he is just going to see how everything works out but he hasn’t ruled out another truck as he has such a great love for trucking. I’m sure that one day soon we will see him back at Alberta Big Rig Weekend, showing off another truck, talking to his friends and checking out any changes they have made. ***** Two boys were walking home from Sunday school after hearing a strong preaching on the devil. One said to the other, “What do you think about this Satan stuff?” The other boy replied, “Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. It’s probably just your Dad.”
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reFLeCtioNs thrU mY WiNDshieLD By Dave Madill Dave was Pro-Trucker Magazine’s Rig of the Month in June of 2001 The Trucker and the Dust Bunnies Finally, I am at the edge of town. Three weeks on the road and twelve thousand miles behind me and now I will get some much deserved home time. My big Western Star purrs softly as we pull off the highway and head down the side street to the yard where I back the trailer into line and unhook. Bobtail now, I head for the dealership, and without that sixty thousand pounds behind me the tractor handles like a sports car and my trip is over almost before it began. I park my truck, turn in my keys to the service manager and inform them of all the work to be done, then it’s out to the car where my wife awaits me and then off to home. Our two Chihuahua’s meet us at the door and the house rings with joyous yips and whines of welcome and things take a while to settle down before I can crawl into the bed beside the lady I have been missing for the past three weeks. Morning comes, as it must, and my
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on the floor to retrieve them. WHAT IS THIS UNDER THE BED???? I believe I have come upon a Dust Bunny convention so I go for the broom to sweep them up, meanwhile figuring all the brownie points this will earn me with my spouse. The broom goes under the bed and as I begin to swing it sideways I am met with stiff resistance and a gnawing sound. The broom vibrates in my hand and I hurriedly draw it back and pull out two feet of broom handle! Splinters and straws are ejected and then a crew of aggressive Dust Bunnies pour out from under the bed, do a victory lap of the room and then dive back under the bed to the cheers of their supporters. Sounded like Daytona during a NASCAR event! I AM A MAN AND I CAN NOT ACCEPT THIS DEFEAT! Out to the garage I go where I collect my big dustpan and a large hammer, half fill a pail with water and reenter the area of conflict collecting my two attack Chihuahua’s on the way. The plan is simple; the two dogs will go under the bed and flush the Dust Bunnies out; I will then scoop them up with the dustpan, stun them with the hammer and then drop them in the water where they will drown. The dogs attack and I am swept off my feet by a thundering herd of Bunnies that circle the room three times, using me as a speed bump, and sending my attack dogs up onto the bed where they hide shivering and whimpering under the pillows. Time for plan B ! Tattered and bleeding I stagger out the
door to the garage and collect my big twenty gallon wet/ dry vacuum cleaner, trundle it into the house and half fill it with water. Next I remove the small motor and replace it with the engine off my Harley, plug in the suction hose and fire that mother up. Now we are working with about five hundred pounds of suction and I stick the hose under the bed and start sucking up those Dust Bunnies, who pass through the suction fan, stunning them, and then are drowned in the bottom of the barrel. Three trips to empty the vacuum into the back of my pickup truck and a quick trip to the local landfill site and I just have time to put things away, have a quick shower and greet my loving wife at the door. Over a candlelight supper I explain my day and my wife is so impressed with my performance that later she greets me at the bedroom door dressed in that little black see through nighty that means I am about to reap the fruits of my labor. Things proceeded at high speed from that point and just as things were coming to a climax I found out I had missed a few of them Bunnies. At least four of them picked the bed up, spun it around twice and set it back down with a resounding thump. My wife’s eyes opened in disbelief and with a look of total adoration on her face she told me that I had surpassed myself as this time she had literally felt the earth move. Now I am not the world’s greatest lover but with that look in her eyes I knew I just could not admit the truth so I
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business manager. Business Manager International Brotherhood of Dust Bunnies Local # 1 Phone 1 -555 - Dus-tbuny
tYres aCross the PoND 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.
just grinned, kissed her and held her as we drifted off to sleep. Now I admit I may have a problem, but the next day, after the wife left for work I crawled under that bed and began negotiations with the remaining Dust Bunnies. I hit a streak of luck as those Bunnies all turned out to be card carrying union members and we were able to work out a contract that was fair to all involved and with a no strike provision. It does turn out, however, that I have a few too many Bunnies for such a small site so if anyone knows of any couples that need help with their love life give me a call. Just as a side note, seeing as their union was not really representing the Bunnies too well they started their own union and have elected me as their
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Driving Styles
Maybe it’s just as well new technology is going the way of driverless trucks, albeit with a driver in attendance in the cab, because over here on my wee lump of rock I’d say we were almost there. At a guess, I would say about 90 percent of trucks are already fully automatic. So the driving style we old timers grew up with might be nonexistent in a few years. You just need to look in the cabs of any big supermarket truck as you pass it, with top speeds limited to 52 mph or 54 mph, on long trips the drivers are sitting on cruise control just keeping the truck in a straight line. Those drivers know they’ll never pass another truck so some drivers fill their time with computer tablets or phones. It’s another guess, but I would think on the Canadian side of the pond if you opened a cab door the percentage of manual v automatic would be the other way round and you’d be looking at an Eaton or Fuller gearstick in 90% of trucks. Although the distances Canadians travel is probably more, I think there’s less chance of boredom when the driver has to read the road and make sure he’s in the right gear. But it makes sense for big companies to go automatic in their fleets, because one inexperienced driver can cost the company a lot of money. When I worked for Legget Freightways years ago, it was an all ERF fleet, a real UK classic make, they were all Cummins engines with a fuller ‘box’. There was a driver on holidays one night so an agency man was brought in to cover his shift. It was an easy enough run, a nightshift depot to depot trailer swap. The truck he was driving had been in for a new clutch a week or so previously and was in good shape. I just happened to be in the yard when the agency driver came back at the end of his shift and you didn’t have to be very close to that truck to be able to smell that new clutch. I don’t know if he rode that clutch all night but it had certainly been roasted and it was days before the smell of that roasted ferodo faded away. Like Keith Prigmore in a past issue of Pro-Trucker I was almost caught out with a Scania and poor brakes. It was one of the first 110 Scania’s to come to the UK, certainly not anything like the newish 500 bhp truck Keith
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had been given. When I inherited the Scania it had been through the hands of a few drivers and was getting on a bit. But with almost no draughts and a great heater blowing on your legs it was a big improvement on my previous truck. My first trip with the Scania was a run up to the Kingdom of Fife with an empty 40 foot container to load paper. The paper mill used to load 20 ton in the container, that was a normal payload back then when we were running at 32ton gross on four axles. But with another empty container weighing about 4 ton I was actually overloaded on the trip back to the railhead. I thought nothing of it though as I’d done the run before with no problems. On the return trip, I was about ten minutes away from dropping off the loaded container and I’d had no problems so I was enjoying my “new” truck as I came to a long downhill slope. I pressed the brake pedal and not a lot happened so I quickly dropped the gears on the ten speed box and, while the truck was slowing down, there was a junction approaching and it was becoming more and more obvious that I was not going to be able to bring the truck to a complete halt. Luckily the traffic was light and I was able to roll through the junction. I found out when I got back to the yard that the old Scania had a worn out compressor that had pumped a black oily sludge into the air tanks so the volume of air in the tanks was seriously reduced. I like to think my old driving style averted disaster that day, but I made sure that I always
kept the tanks well drained after that. ***** A golfer accidentally overturned his golf cart and with blood on his face as he crawled out. Nearby an attractive woman, who lived in a condo on the golf course, was sunbathing on her patio. When she heard the noise she looked up to see the overturned cart and the man with blood on his face. “Hello, are you okay?” She called. “I’m fine, thanks,”he replied. “You look bloodied and frazzled,”she said, “Come to my condo. I’ll bandage your cut and give you a drink.” “That’s mighty nice of you,”he answered, “but I don’t think my wife would like that.” “Oh, come on,”she insisted, “I can see you’ve cut your head. Let me take care of that I’m a nurse.” She was very persuasive so he agreed and added,”But my wife won’t like it.” She bandaged the cut on his forehead, and gave him a glass of brandy. They talked about golf and he discovered she was an avid golfer with a four handicap. He confessed to a weakness in his putting, so she gave him a putting lesson ... holding him close as she did so. He said, “I feel a lot better now, but I better get going. My wife will be really upset that I’m here with you.” “Don’t be silly,” she said with a smile. “Your wife won’t know anything about us. By the way, where is she?” “Under the cart,”he replied.
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Dragon Tales The Knight slew the Dragon and rescued the Lady Fair Then they rode off to the castle, her with flowers in her hair That was in a fairy tale; real life is not the same The dragons that I have to face don’t want to be slain. Mortgages and payments that last for years and years Taxed by the government right up to my ears One kid needs new braces, the other needs new shoes Every time that I call home I just get more bad news. Where oh where is my magic sword, where is my prancing steed Where is my magic armor in this, my time of need, Merlin, wave your magic wand, make my dragons go away Give me a little time to rest; let me and my Lady play Still I know I will stagger on, I’ll fight until the end, Slaying Dragons one by one, until my story ends.
by Dave Madill
Dave Madill was Pro-Trucker Magazine’s Rig of the Month in June of 2001 and he has been entertaining us with his poetry ever since. Dave has published three books of poems that are available by special order through Chapters Book Stores or amazon.com PAGE 38
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