Did you remember Valentine's Day? It was yesterday...that means President's Day is coming up. You still have time to send out your Happy President's Day cards. Or, better yet, just drop us a line telling us what's on your mind. These folks did.

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Mail Call

From: MB
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 1:26 AM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com

Subject: on per diem pay from first news letter

On the subject of per diem. It is a way for companies to pay less
worker's comp and social security on employees. So it benefits them.

Yes, it benefits you at the moment, but in the long run it's just to put more money in
corporate pockets and hurt you. When you retire social security is based on your taxed gross, so stay away from forced per diem if possible.

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From: CC]
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 8:24 AM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com
Subject: Drivers Can't Win

 

With the way the regulations are now, there is no way a driver can make a living. I don't know why the regulations can't be at least realistic.

Why not drive the way people work and live? Drive 4-6 hours; take a 1-2 hour break; drive 4-6 hours more; take a 4-6 hour break; drive 4-6 hours; take a 1-2 hour break, etc. This way the driver would get a break in between driving which can be very entrancing and also get in anywhere from 12-18 hours drive time per day (legally).

Drivers are the most disrespected resource we have. They keep the country going and are treated like mules!!! I applaud drivers!

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From: Gpa4403
Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 7:52 AM
To: jobs@truckdriver.com
Subject: Re: February 2007 eReport

Dude ,you guys can call me anything except late for dinner We are trucking !!!

And, if anyone is to uptight to be called by an odd handle they probably don't understand trucking either. Have a nice day....

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TruckDriver.com
Carrier of the Month
Hill Brothers Transportation, Inc.

Hill Brothers Transportation, Inc. was started in 1986 by the four Hill Brothers, but their experience in the trucking industry goes back three generations.

Their grandfather, Robert L. Hill, retired from PIE as district manager of the Midwest in 1970. His trucking career began as an office manager with McMaken Transportation in 1932. He went on to work for RISK of Omaha in 1935 and was transferred to Chicago. There he eventually went to work for Union Freightways and was transferred back to Omaha in 1946. Later, Union Freightways was bought out by PIE, and Robert climbed the corporate ladder to district manager and retired in 1970.

Their father, John "Pete" Hill, began his career with Union Freightways in 1949. It was here he met his wife, LaRue. They married in 1952. Pete went on to work for Boss Truck Lines, and together he and Lu began their family.

In 1962, he started working for Sioux Transportation. The older children were brought in to learn the trucking business. Pete resigned as executive vice president in 1977 and formed Hill Truck Line with his wife, Lu and older son, Pete, Jr. Soon the rest of the family began work in the operation and eventually the brothers formed Hill Brothers Transportation.

Today, Hill Brothers operates 325 late model tractors and a fleet of 800 trailers. They offer truckload service to all 48 states as well as Canada. They have terminals and/or drop facilities in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Tulsa, and are staffed 24 hours a day.

Hill Bros Transportation has received numerous awards and recognition from customers for providing superior on-time service. They pride themselves on an "on time delivery record" of 95%. This is accomplished by a thoroughly trained and conscientious operations staff that follows each shipment from start to finish. They have a reputation for dependability and dedication to each customer's needs and are committed to safe, dependable, claim-free service.

Hill Brothers Transportation is a family-owned and operated trucking company in Omaha, NE. dedicated to meeting the needs of their drivers and their families by providing driver-friendly truck driving jobs.

Hill Brothers is looking for top drivers to fill the best trucking jobs in the industry. Their driver-friendly freight lanes allow drivers the type of family life that every OTR driver deserves. Their excellent pay scales for owner-operators and company drivers make it easy to see why we have been one of the most recognized carriers in the Midwest since 1986.

If you are interested in driving for a family oriented company, contact Hill Brothers recruiting department at 800-258-4456 or visit their website here.

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Those of you with access to XM Radio may have listened to a press conference hosted by the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association) on January 11th.

The press conference pertained to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBR). Below is a recap of that press conference that appeared on the CCJ website.

FMCSA would mandate recorders for serious offenders

By Avery Vise

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced today, Jan. 11, that it is proposing to require electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) for motor carriers that have demonstrated serious noncompliance with the hours-of-service rules. In announcing the proposal, FMCSA Administrator John Hill said that the agency has identified 930 motor carriers employing approximately 17,500 drivers that have a pattern of violations and would be subject to mandatory EOBRs if the rule were in effect today.

In a related announcement, Hill said the agency will not be issuing the HOS supporting documents rule that the White House Office of Management cleared almost four months ago because FMCSA has discovered errors in the paperwork analysis portion of its required studies and reviews. Hill, speaking at a news conference, did not detail those errors nor how they might affect the supporting documents rule, saying, “We will be issuing a timeline in the next couple of weeks.”

FMCSA’s decision to mandate recorders only in situations where public safety dictated was based on the agency’s reviews, including a cost-benefit analysis, Hill said. “Companies most likely to be a safety hazard on the road will be the focus,” he said. “EOBRS will help ensure these important rules are followed.”

The threshold for ordering a carrier to install EOBRs would be a finding based on a review of hours-of-service records during each of two compliance reviews conducting within a two-year period that the carrier had a 10 percent or greater violation rate for any of the hours-of-service regulations. Such carriers would be required to install EOBRs in all their commercial motor vehicles, regardless of the date of manufacturer, for a period of two years.

The agency also is proposing to revamp the performance standards for EOBRs that would apply to devices installed either voluntarily or on a mandatory basis on trucks built on or after two years from the effective date of the final rule. Current performance standards for automatic onboard recorders, which numerous trucking fleets have chosen to use for managing compliance, date back to 1988 – long before widespread use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), wireless communications or even technologies for rapidly and reliably downloading data.

The proposal would require EOBRs to record basic information needed to track a driver’s duty status, including identity of the driver; duty status; date, time and location of the commercial vehicle; and distance traveled. FMCSA also would require systems to use GPS technology or other location tracking systems to automatically identify the location of the vehicle. Although motor carriers using onboard recorders would have to use devices meeting these standards on trucks built after a certain date, they could continue to use existing devices until the trucks in which they are installed are retired.

In addition, FMCSA is proposing several incentives for motor carriers to voluntarily install EOBRs, including revising the compliance review standards to permit examination of a random sample of drivers’ records of duty status and partial relief from HOS supporting documents requirements if certain conditions are met.

“The goal is to get more trucks and buses using innovative safety technologies like onboard recorders that will improve safety on our nation’s roads,” Hill said.

Comments will be accepted through April 18. Although the NPRM will not be published in the Federal Register until Jan. 18, a copy is available in TIF and PDF format on the Department of Transportation’s Document Management System. To download the document, go to http://dms.dot.gov/search and search Docket No. 18940. Then select “Reverse Order.” The NPRM is 18940-357.

If you would like to share your thoughts on this issue, please visit FORUMS at TruckDriver.com and share away.

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As we go to press, the TruckDriver.com Truck Driver's Age survey shows that over half of you are between the ages of thirty and fifty, with around 20% of you under age thirty and 20% of you over age fifty. We're not sure what that means or how that information can be used, but we got it!

Okay, now we know how long you have been driving a truck, and how old you are. Let's see what you can tell us about retirement. Take the TruckDriver.com Hope I Retire Before I Expire survey and let us know if you are ready for retirement.

Until next time, keep on truckin' and please drive safely.

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Your Comments Are Always Welcome