trucker`s international gear jammer - Truckers International

TRUCKER’S INTERNATIONAL
March Issue
GEAR JAMMER
In this Issue
Member of the month
Member of the
month
Michael Schotter
Was born on September 13, 1967 Michael was born Lapeer, Michigan he has been married to Penny Schotter
since 2011, He was previously married to Michele. He
has three children, Steven who is 25, Joe who is 24 and
Lindsay who is 19. Michael also has two granddaughters
who are his world, Aubriella Rose and Lenyx Rose
whom are both 7 months old. He has been a member of
TI since Jan 31, 2015 He started trucking been trucking
on and off for the past 19 years. Michael learned to
drive in a 47 Mack deuce on his granddads farm. Been
driving local to Michigan the past 15 years. Favorite
Hobbies: Florida Gator sports, spending time with family
(especially granddaughters), More Gator sports, trucking, and running my business Gator Express LLC
Schooling: UF Alumni studied to be a paralegal
TI News
Church of the
road
Trucker News
Tips for new
drivers
TI youth crew
Maddog Trucker
Deadline for
stuff to be put
in next Newsletter is March
30th
Upcoming
Events:
Sweet Water Freedom Rally
Jun 10, 2016Jun 12, 2016
Location
Lakenin Missouri
TI NEWS
Club Meetings
All meetings @ 6:30 CST
1st Monday of every month is BOD Meeting.
2nd Monday of every month is Club Meeting.
Youth crew and car club meetings will be the first Tuesday of every month
Division Heads will be the first Wednesday of every month
Riding club meeting will be the first Friday of each month
Promotions:
Welcome Russell White as our temporary club chaplain.
Welcome our new Prospects:
Barb Greenwood Dehnel
Courtney Lee
Penny Curtis– Schotter
Welcome our full Members:
Russ White
Patty white
TI CHURCH OF THE ROAD
Church of the Road will hold bible study on Thursday evenings and Sunday
evenings at 6:30pm for those who wish to attend. Please note that all meeting times are at 6:30pm CST
Anger is never without Reason, but seldom with a good one.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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Trucker News
CVSA Cites FMCSA for Burdensome Exemptions
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has taken to task the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration for unduly burdening roadside inspectors by issuing carriers and
drivers too many safety-rule exemptions.
“Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued notices of final
disposition that hinder the roadside inspector while conducting inspections,” stated
Collin Mooney, CVSA executive director, in a Feb. 18 letter to Scott Darling, FMCSA’s
acting administrator.
He went on to point out that in the past year, over 20 exemption applications or renewal requests were granted.
These included final rules exempting vehicle equipment, such as mounting of video devices to windshields and the transportation of metal coils, along with several affecting
drivers, including records of duty status exemptions and exempting certain drivers from
having to obtain a CDL.
“Due to the amount of exemptions allowed by FMCSA in the past year,” Mooney continued, “an excessive burden is being placed on inspectors to ensure all active exemptions
are being followed properly. Furthermore, this puts an undue training burden on agencies that must be diligent in informing all inspectors of the new exemptions and ensuring they understand and apply the exemptions properly.”
Mooney contended that allowing “such a large number of exemptions” puts in jeopardy
“the likelihood of achieving a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that
is expected by the current regulation.”
He wrote that with so many exemptions, beyond those within the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations, “it is possible that roadside inspectors will no longer accurately enforce the regulations, or may stop enforcing certain regulations all together.”
Mooney added that inspectors “must be able to perform their duties without the apprehension that one of these exemptions will be overlooked, and a driver or vehicle placed
out of service notwithstanding an obscure exemption, or an exemption being given to a
driver or vehicle that is not in the exemption group.
CVSA does not object to the exemptions on an individual basis, he pointed out, but
holds that “exemptions complicate the enforcement process, causing confusion and inconsistency… which undermines the very foundation of the federal commercial motor
vehicle enforcement program— uniformity. The regulations are only effective if they are
clear and enforceable.”
Mooney said the alliance also wants to “further encourage” FMCSA to “invite to the table” state and local inspection/enforcement partners when working on new or updated
regulations and/or exemptions.
FMCSA Spokesman Duane DeBruyne told HDT that CVSA’s letter was under review by
the agency.
HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS
Automatic on-board recording devices.
(a) Authority to use automatic on-board recording device. (1) A motor carrier may require a driver to use an automatic
on-board recording device to record the driver's hours of service in lieu of complying with the requirements of § 395.8
of this part.
(2) Every driver required by a motor carrier to use an automatic on-board recording device shall use such device to record the driver's hours of service.
(b) Information requirements. (1) Automatic on-board recording devices shall produce, upon demand, a driver's hours
of service chart, electronic display, or printout showing the time and sequence of duty status changes including the drivers' starting time at the beginning of each day.
(2) The device shall provide a means whereby authorized Federal, State, or local officials can immediately check the status of a driver's hours of service. This information may be used in conjunction with handwritten or printed records of
duty status, for the previous 7 days.
(3) Support systems used in conjunction with on-board recorders at a driver's home terminal or the motor carrier's
principal place of business must be capable of providing authorized Federal, State or local officials with summaries of
an individual driver's hours of service records, including the information specified in § 395.8(d) of this part. The support systems must also provide information concerning on-board system sensor failures and identification of edited data. Such support systems should meet the information interchange requirements of the American National Standard
Code for Information Interchange (ANSCII) (EIARS-232/CCITT V.24 port (National Bureau of Standards “Code for Information Interchange,” FIPS PUB 1-1)).
(4) The driver shall have in his/her possession records of duty status for the previous 7 consecutive days available for
inspection while on duty. These records shall consist of information stored in and retrievable from the automatic onboard recording device, handwritten records, computer generated records, or any combination thereof.
(5) All hard copies of the driver's record of duty status must be signed by the driver. The driver's signature certifies that
the information contained thereon is true and correct.
(c) The duty status and additional information shall be recorded as follows:
(1) “Off duty” or “OFF”, or by an identifiable code or character;
(2) “Sleeper berth” or “SB” or by an identifiable code or character (only if the sleeper berth is used);
(3) “Driving” or “D”, or by an identifiable code or character; and
(4) “On-duty not driving” or “ON”, or by an identifiable code or character.
(5) Date;
(6) Total miles driving today;
(7) Truck or tractor and trailer number;
(8) Name of carrier;
(9) Main office address;
(10) 24-hour period starting time (e.g., midnight, 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m.)
(11) Name of co-driver;
(12)Total hours; and
(13) Shipping document number(s), or name of shipper and commodity
HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS
d) Location of duty status change. (1) For each change of duty status (e.g., the place and time of
reporting for work, starting to drive, on-duty not driving and where released from work), the
name of the city, town, or village, with State abbreviation, shall be recorded.
(2) Motor carriers are permitted to use location codes in lieu of the requirements of paragraph
(d)(1) of this section. A list of such codes showing all possible location identifiers shall be carried in the cab of the commercial motor vehicle and available at the motor carrier's principal
place of business. Such lists shall be made available to an enforcement official on request.
(e) Entries made by driver only. If a driver is required to make written entries relating to the
driver's duty status, such entries must be legible and in the driver's own handwriting.
(f) Reconstruction of records of duty status. Drivers are required to note any failure of automatic on-board recording devices, and to reconstruct the driver's record of duty status for the current day, and the past 7 days, less any days for which the drivers have records, and to continue
to prepare a handwritten record of all subsequent duty status until the device is again operational.
(g) On-board information. Each commercial motor vehicle must have on-board the commercial
motor vehicle an information packet containing the following items:
(1) An instruction sheet describing in detail how data may be stored and retrieved from an automatic on-board recording system; and
(2) A supply of blank driver's records of duty status graph-grids sufficient to record the driver's
duty status and other related information for the duration of the current trip.
(h) Submission of driver's record of duty status. (1) The driver shall submit, electronically or by
mail, to the employing motor carrier, each record of the driver's duty status within 13 days following the completion of each record;
(2) The driver shall review and verify that all entries are accurate prior to submission to the employing motor carrier; and
(3) The submission of the record of duty status certifies that all entries made by the driver are
true and correct.
(I) Performance of recorders. Motor carriers that use automatic on-board recording devices for
recording their drivers' records of duty status in lieu of the handwritten record shall ensure
that:
(1) A certificate is obtained from the manufacturer certifying that the design of the automatic on
-board recorder has been sufficiently tested to meet the requirements of this section and under
the conditions it will be used;
(2) The automatic on-board recording device permits duty status to be updated only when the
commercial motor vehicle is at rest, except when registering the time a commercial motor vehicle crosses a State boundary;
(3) The automatic on-board recording device and associated support systems are, to the maximum extent practicable, tamperproof and do not permit altering of the information collected
concerning the driver's hours of service;
HOURS OF SERVICE OF DRIVERS
4) The automatic on-board recording device warns the driver visually and/or audibly that the device has ceased to function. Devices installed and operational as of October 31, 1988, and authorized to be used in lieu of the handwritten record of duty status by the FMCSA are exempted from
this requirement.
(5) Automatic on-board recording devices with electronic displays shall have the capability of displaying the following:
(i) Driver's total hours of driving today;
(ii) The total hours on duty today;
(iii) Total miles driving today;
(iv) Total hours on duty for the 7 consecutive day period, including today;
(v) Total hours on duty for the prior 8 consecutive day period, including the present day; and
(vi) The sequential changes in duty status and the times the changes occurred for each driver using the device.
(6) The on-board recorder is capable of recording separately each driver's duty status when there
is a multiple-driver operation;
(7) The on-board recording device/system identifies sensor failures and edited data when reproduced in printed form. Devices installed and operational as of October 31, 1988, and authorized to
be used in lieu of the handwritten record of duty status by the FMCSA are exempted from this requirement.
(8) The on-board recording device is maintained and recalibrated in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications;
(9) The motor carrier's drivers are adequately trained regarding the proper operation of the device; and
(10) The motor carrier must maintain a second copy (back-up copy) of the electronic hours-ofservice files, by month, in a different physical location than where the original data is stored.
(j) Rescission of authority. (1) The FMCSA may, after notice and opportunity to reply, order any
motor carrier or driver to comply with the requirements of § 395.8 of this part.
(2) The FMCSA may issue such an order if the FMCSA has determined that—
(i) The motor carrier has been issued a conditional or unsatisfactory safety rating by the FMCSA;
(ii) The motor carrier has required or permitted a driver to establish, or the driver has established, a pattern of exceeding the hours of service limitations of this part;
(iii) The motor carrier has required or permitted a driver to fail, or the driver has failed, to accurately and completely record the driver's hours of service as required in this section; or
(iv) The motor carrier or driver has tampered with or otherwise abused the automatic on-board
recording device on any commercial motor vehicle.
Published by T/S
TIPS FOR NEW DRIVERS
Tips for Backing Up
Many incidents or accidents occur while new drivers are backing up. These
tips for backing up are similar to tips for learning anything else new.
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8
Realize that you are normal. No one was borne knowing how to back up a
big truck. Some pick it up quick, some take a little longer. Don't wonder if
you can learn it, the answer is yes you can. How long it takes is how long it
takes.
When the time comes simply breathe slowly and deeply in and out. This
is not a joke or to be taken lightly. It actually creates a physiological change
in the body. It's why meditation works to relieve stress and achieve other
benefits. Do it and....
Visualize yourself backing up like a pro. Touching no cones or hitting no
curbs. You are backing it a straight line with no troubles. You are doing
blind sides and 90 degree backing to the dock as well as parallel parking
with no troubles. That is you. Imagine it down to the color of what you are
wearing and the smell of diesel.
Mentally prepare by telling yourself, "I will learn backing up just like I
learned how to ride a bike, or like I learned to swim, or like I learn to drive a
car for the first time." Think of all the new things that you have learned.
This proves to yourself that it is doable. So assume already that you are
able and it just takes going through the motions of perfecting the skill.
Pay attention and be present. If you relax and focus on instruction, not on
messing up or what if... you can pick up the process quicker from the trainer. Be aware of how much you turn and at what point in relationship to the
positioning of the tractor and trailer. One thing you will notice is that there
is a certain point at which small corrections will be easier to control than
waiting late and having to do major corrections.
Do not give up on yourself. Do not get discouraged. You will pick this up
as long as you stay at it. It's a lot easier than you assume. It's only when
you are anxious and rush that you miss a beat.
Practice makes perfect so do it often. When you have free time practice. I
don't know if they will let you do this at the trucking school but once you
get on the road, if you are at the truck stop early or at a dock where no one
minds, practice backing to the dock or into the parking space.
Tips for safe Parking at Truck Stops:
SOME TRUCKSTOP TIPS EXPLAINED
Park beside a curb if possible. At least that side of the truck will be protected from getting
snagged by someone pulling out. You'll usually find these spaces at the back of the parking lot or furthest away from the building because drivers don't want to walk. But they
are still the first to go so good luck. lol
And finding a parking space in the truck stop parking lot is the second parking tip for
truck stops. Instead of riding around the front rows over and over as some drivers do,
just go straight to the back or to the vacant spaces and enjoy that walk driver! :-)
Also, practice your backing if you are a new driver. Find that curb or empty space and
back in several times.
Drivers often ask me for backing tips. The best tip I can give is to practice AND don't be
embarrassed to stop and get out as many times as necessary to see where you are and
understand how you are doing (placement of trailer as a result of adjustments) oh, and
make sure you are not hitting anything of course.
Don't do your regular shopping at the truck stops if you are trying to save money. The truck stop is basically a convenient store. The prices are higher than average for
most items. Which is not abnormal, you always pay for convenience.
Good truck stops provide a valuable service to the truck driver, most of it for no fee. (In
the form of parking) It's not their fault if we don't plan ahead and bring what we need.
Plus there is probably a discount store near, if you need to buy a lot of stuff. Whatever
you do, don't pay the higher price and then stand in line complaining or talking junk to
the truck stop cashiers. Never made sense to me, makes you look silly. Pay the price or
just buy it somewhere else.
If you go to the buffet, get your food from the back of the pan. If the buffet is accessible
from both sides get your food from the middle of the pan and cross your fingers. (just
saying). People are always going up there without washing their hands. Just real talk.
Watch for yourself when you are in the bathroom. You don't have to be a trucker to witness this.
Also, consider this, we have become accustom to using the buffet in order to pig out. Been there, done
that. It's natural to want to get your money's worth. Here is the deal, we stretch our stomach when we
stuff ourselves and so it takes more and more to feel full. Which of course means you are able to hold
much more food than you are willing to exercise and get rid of. Meanwhile the older you get and the
more you sit the slower your metabolism and higher the digits on the scale. It's best to regulate by having a strategy now. I learned the best strategy is to NOT STUFF YOUR FACE.
9
TI YOUTH CREW
1. How often do you get to see your truck driving parent?
2. How does the amount of time you get to spend with that parent affect you?
3. Would you rather your trucker parent be in a different profession? And if so, why?
Lil Gator1. Every night
2. Don't really know
3. he's always taking naps
Scooby Doo1. every other weekend
2. it affects me a lot because I love Paul
3. yes because Paul gets bad loads
BG1. every other week
2. it makes me happy and sometimes it makes me mad
3. yes because once Paul got a load to New York
Dopey Smurfette–
1. I get to see my dad once a month
2. I get to see him for 3-4 days so it affects me a lot because I don't feel its enough time
3. I would rather my dad be a local driver.
Lil Pup1. Every night
2. It doesn't
3. No because I really like going with him
TI YOUTH CREW CONTINUED
Do you understand why & what your trucking
parent does is important?
Lil Gator Flatbed, deliverers wood for building houses
Dopey Smurfetteyes, my dad helps keep America going by delivering food, clothes,
supplies for houses and businesses to sum it up it keeps us happy
and going .
BGTo give the world stuff
Scooby DooTrailer trucks carry food sometimes
Lil pupYes I understand why its important he helps keep the country running by what he does and what he hauls
Maddog Weekly
Trucking Changes You
Rewind the hands of time to yesteryear. Young-blooded rookies full of piss and vinegar.
We had no idea we were stepping onto a roller coaster ride career. Start off at the bottom
and slowly climb to the top. Click, click, click... Training is an uphill battle of transformation. Reminisce and look at pictures when we first became Truck Drivers. Excited to
explore the lower 48 States. Excited to be the captain piloting a massive machine ready
and willing to proudly respond to the arm pump. Ready and willing for the next load to
see towns only talked about by strangers. A stranger of our own as we approach the top of
the tracks on the roller coaster of our new career. There's a long pause at the summit.
Pause and admire the beauty on the horizon. Smell the diesel that becomes our blood.
Look deep within the confines of our hearts hoping and praying we made the right decision to become Truck Drivers. A lifestyle of its own and we're about to launch.
Do you remember your first day flying solo? Were you scared? Were you excited? Were
you nervous?
Trucking is like boot camp. The industry breaks you down mentally and then builds you
back up. A mistake in this business and someone dies or you go home in a body bag. It's a
serious game of victors and victims. Some succeed and some fail. Soldiers fighting for our
freedom will tell you it's never the same once you cross the line. Soldiers will say you feel
like a stranger and sometimes it's hard to unwind. Step back into the civilian life and
nothing seems the same as it was before since you became a Truck Driver. The road is our
enemy, but at the same time it's our home calling us back to where we belong. Picture perfect sunsets and sunrises. Endless nights beneath a full moon clear sky surrounded by a
blanket of stars. High value important freight with an impossible deadline successfully
challenged and conquered. A day of hell with a cup of coffee Texas black. Rest, reset, roll
out, and do it all over again.
Roller coaster ride full of twists and turns. Roller coaster ride with a few loops no safety
net to catch us when we fall or fail. Rest in peace to all of our fellow Truckers that paid the
ultimate sacrifice. Roller coaster ride and if we survive we become seasoned warriors.
Thoughts and feelings change. Friends change. Family changes because now they hope
and pray for our safe return to the home-20. Reach down and touch the ground because some days out here
its a wild ride.
-Maddog Trucker