Have you ever heard the expression 'a cool August evening'?
Neither have we.
Mostly, all you hear about are the hot August days, and that is exactly what we've been hearing about all month. It's the annual August conversation.
That's probably why there are no official holidays in August. Except of course for Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
Speaking of Truck Driver Appreciation Week...
ATA Launches Truck Driver Appreciation Week Campaign
Companies honor those who deliver the "Good stuff."
The American Trucking Association today launched its 2007 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week campaign, aimed at celebrating the men and women delivering goods across our nation. An annual national event, NTDAW takes place this year Aug. 26 – Sept. 1.
"National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is about letting our professional drivers know they are valued," said Tim Lynch, senior vice president of the American Trucking Associations. "ATA is proud to provide a way for companies, suppliers and customers to show their appreciation to these hard working and dedicated drivers, and to let the American people know how important truck drivers are for our country."
Motor carriers, state trucking associations, and trucking industry manufacturers and suppliers can order items to give drivers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. NTDAW items include t-shirts, lapel pins, baseball caps, truck chip bag clips, travel mugs, LED mini-lights, multi-purpose tools, air-fresheners and toothbrush holders, all with the 2007 National Truck Driver Appreciation Week Logo.
In addition, 2007 NTDAW banners are available to fly at terminals, company offices and truck stops.
THE U.S. TRUCKING INDUSTRY: KEEPING SAFETY FIRST
- Over the past 20 years (1984 to 2004) there has been a 51 percent increase in registered large trucks and an 84 percent increase in miles traveled by large trucks.
- Over the same time period, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has declined by 5 percent, and the vehicle involvement rate for large trucks in fatal crashes has declined by 49 percent.
- In 2004, the fatal crash rate was 1.96 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, compared with 4.58 in 1975, the first year the USDOT began keeping records.
- Over the past decade alone, the large truck fatal crash rate dropped by 29 percent.
- The trucking industry has a zero tolerance standard in place for drug and alcohol use. The latest violation rate for alcohol use on the job, based on random alcohol testing of truck drivers, is just one-tenth of one percent (0.1 percent).
PROFESSIONAL TRUCK DRIVERS AND THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY
- Professional truck drivers drove 338 billion miles in 2004, most individual long haul drivers average from 100,000 to 110,000 miles driving per year; regional and city drivers will put in an average 48,000 miles behind the wheel; the average daily run for an over the road driver is nearly 500 miles.
- The trucking industry averages $7,000 to $8,000 in taxes and fees per truck.
- The trucking industry uses 51.4 billion gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline annually.
- There are more than 2.7 million large tractor trailers on the road in the U.S.
- There are 3.276 million truck drivers in the U.S.
- There are more than 600,000 trucking companies in the U.S.; 96 percent of them have fewer than 20 trucks.
- In 2005, the trucking industry hauled 10.7 billion tons of freight, or 68.9 percent of total U.S. freight tonnage. Rail was the next busiest mode, moving 13.2 percent.
- Over 80 percent of U.S. communities depend solely on trucking for delivery of their goods and commodities.
- New trucks emit only one eighth the pollution of heavy duty diesel trucks built 15 years ago.
For some reason, the boss thinks we should talk more about TruckDriver.com in the eReport.
And, since he is the boss...here's some talk about TruckDriver.com.
Do you think he will notice we did the old cut and paste from the FAQ page?
Answers to Driver/Applicant Questions About TruckDriver.com
Do you have jobs in my area?
Probably yes. You can see our current trucking job openings here. Most of the time we have job openings listed for all 50 states and several Canadian provinces. Our job listings change daily as positions are filled and others open up, or as new trucking firms list openings with us for the first time. Therefore, even in the rare case that you don’t see any openings in your area, submit your application to Truckdriver.com so that you’ll be considered when new openings come up.
Can I get a truck driving job if I have a felony conviction or DUI/DWI on my record?
This depends on the trucking company, of course, but some fleets are willing to overlook a felony conviction or DUI/DWI, depending on the driver’s other qualifications. By looking up a particular company you are interested in driving for in the Our Fleets directory, you can find the qualifications that that firm requires.
Can I make sure my application doesn’t go out to my current or former employer?
Yes. If you want to make sure your application does not go out to a particular company, simply uncheck the box in front of that company’s name on the bottom section of the Application Form.
How do I apply for a certain job opening and not to all the rest?
In the bottom section of the Application Form, uncheck boxes so that only the company or companies to which you want your information sent are checked.
Is it possible to update my application after I submit it?
Yes. Login to your account by entering your email address and password in the upper right corner of any page of this website. If you’ve forgotten your login information, retrieve it here.
Do you sell or rent my email address to other companies after I apply for a job through your site?
No. We respect the privacy of your information. Review our complete privacy policy here.
What if I have other questions?
The fastest way to get a question answered is to click on the Live Chat link in the upper right corner of any page of this website, if that box says that we are online. Otherwise, please submit your question through our Contact Us page.
ACS MultiMedia's Trucker Buddy of the Month
August 2007
Ray White
Teacher Sarah Marmara wasn't sure what to expect when she signed up for the Trucker Buddy program for her 2006-07 class. By the end of the year, she was quoted in the school publication with this testimonial:
"I would highly recommend this program to any teacher, as it has been and continues to be an inspirational awakening for my class, myself, as well as our Trucker Buddy Ray."
"Trucker Buddy Ray" is Ray White, and he is matched with Marmara's 20 fourth-grade students at Adelaide McLaughlin Public School in Oshawa, Ontario. A company driver since 2000 with Liberty Linehaul, Ayr, Ontario, White lives in Kitchener, Ontario, with his wife, Jean.
White is a volunteer with Trucker Buddy thanks to Liberty Linehaul.
"We have been involved with this program over the years with various drivers," said Brian Taylor, president of Liberty Linehaul. "We wanted to stay involved so Teresa Barclay looked through our employee list and picked Ray White. What a great choice that has turned out to be. Ray was certainly very interested in volunteering, and he has given of his time freely. Ray has put a lot of thought into his interaction with these children. He has worked closely with the teacher and added some real value to their educational experience. Liberty Linehaul is very fortunate to have quality people like Ray."
Marmara feels the same way.
"Ray is an amazingly special person. He has been a part of our class from pretty much the beginning of the year and was an instant friend to each and every one of my students," she said. Through White's frequent e-mails, he "recounts his week's travels in such detail that we often feel like we are right there beside him."
The fourth graders track White's travels throughout Canada and the United States on the class map, which makes learning geography fun. White includes trivia questions in his e-mails and all of the students participate in researching the answers.
According to the students themselves, White has made learning fun.
"Spirit, inspiration and kindness can be spelt in three letters: 'RAY.' Ray is now part of us and we will never forget how much Ray has taught us. He works really hard finding us a lot of educational methods which are interesting and fun!" wrote Olivia, Jen, Bailey and Julia in their nomination letter. "Another reason Ray should win is because he takes us on trips through his e-mails and letters."
"He sends us cool posters and maps to help us with our social studies. Ray also sends e-mails every other day to tell us where he goes and describes his travels in such details it's like we are right there with him," wrote Jerett, Blake and Kyle.
"Ray tells us just how much he appreciates our letters. Ray gives us challenges to figure out...one challenge was about math and another was about a lady named Adelaide McLaughlin. We will miss writing to Ray next year, he has made this year special," wrote Emily, Brianna and Desiree in their nomination.
It is evident just how important their education is to Ray," Marmara said. "He sends them tons of pictures of his travels, educational pamphlets and magazines, which they
love, posters, and items such as a cotton plant from Memphis and a tumbleweed plant from Wyoming for them to see and touch. Ray has created such a fun and dynamic way for my students to learn."
The cotton plant stands out for the students, according to what one student wrote for the nomination: "He has also sent us a cotton plant and dirt from the earth from which it grew."
When White was able to visit the class with his wife, he also made sure to address important topics such as safety and the importance of accepting each other for who they are. The children were able to tour the truck - and of course pull the air horn! - and the couple treated the children to pizza and drinks, stuffed animals and Trucker Buddy t-shirts.
"Ray continues to make this an unbelievable experience for both my students and myself," Marmara said. "There are not enough words to thank him for everything he has done for my class."
"Ray certainly deserves to be recognized for his contribution," Taylor said. "I would like to thank Trucker Buddy for their efforts and certainly see some great benefits to our industry for their hard work."
Each Trucker Buddy Driver of the Month receives a personalized jacket, along with a check for $300 to spend on the class and $200 in Trucker Buddy merchandise, compliments of program sponsor ACS MultiMedia Advertising ( www.tmi-multimedia.com), the advertising agency of choice for the trucking industry. They also receive an IdleAire adaptor ( www.IdleAire.com), a Koolatron cooler and a complete set of Airtabs for their tractor or trailer ( www.airtab.com). Five owner operators have received a set of steer tires from Continental Tire. The class will receive a CrossCountry USA game from Ingenuity Works ( www.ingenuityworks.com), which will help them learn more about how trucks move freight across the continent.
White is among some 3,500 other professional drivers who share their time with elementary classes throughout the world. The only criteria to be a Trucker Buddy is to be a professional truck driver with a CDL who is willing to send a postcard each week to a class in grades two through eight. Drivers and teachers can find out more about the program by visiting www.truckerbuddy.org or calling 1-800-MY-BUDDY.
Trucker Buddy is dependent on corporate sponsors such as ACS MultiMedia Advertising and TruckDriver.com to fund the program.
From the results of the TruckDriver.com Time Online Survey, it appears many of you have been spending these hot August nights on your computer. As it turns out, 68% of you reported you spend more than three hours a week on your computer performing non-work related activities.
31% of you reported spending more than ten hours, with around 25% reporting less than two hours.
3% of you claimed you didn't waste your time on the computer, which kind of made us wonder how you found the survey in the first place.
Anyway, our next survey is called the TruckDriver.com Spam-o-Rama Survey.
We know you've heard of it, but how much of it do you receive each week?
Until next time, keep on truckin' and please drive safely.
Your Comments Are Always Welcome
We do like to hear from you and invite you to let us know how we can improve the e-Report. Please send your ideas and suggestions to: jobs@truckdriver.com
