Portable Solar Charger Power Bank, 63200mAh, Dual Outputs & Dual Inputs, Charge via USB, Solar, or Hand Crank, 4 LEDs Flashlight, Fast Charging Battery Pack, for Truckers, Outdoor Camping, Survival Gear. This is the exact unit Vicki bought, uses, and recommends. Buy Now. #ad

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2025.01.04

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2025.01.04 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending January 4, 2025, written by Vicki Simons.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback on the items of your choice below.

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding collapse, future, new year, top news, and weather:

Collapse

It’s hard to believe (according to the second article in this section) that:

DAT TruckersEdge - Most Loads. Best Rates. Serving Owner-Operators Since 1978. 10% off your first 12 months. New customers only.

  • “The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland collapsed in the early morning hours of March 26th, 2024…”;
  • “Demolition of the remaining bridge structure will begin this spring” (meaning that I’m surprised that the rest of the bridge has not already been demolished); and
  • “The entire construction project is expected to take years.”

I recognize that building a bridge over/in water is more complicated than building one on land.

Couldn’t this construction project be done faster?

Who is in charge of this reconstruction: private businesses or one or more government entities?

Hmm…

Here are the resources:

Future

New year

Top news

Weather

Please prepare ahead of time for this potentially very nasty ice storm.

I encourage you to have in place:

Years ago, I wrote a post about a “First Winter Driving Season” and refer to the section “Emergency Provisions in the Winter,” which may be helpful for some.

2. Regarding congestion pricing, insurance, and tolls:

Congestion pricing

Once again, I disagree with the concept of “congestion pricing.”

Insurance

Tolls

3. Regarding consumers, cost reduction, debt ceiling, detention, economy, rates, and tariffs:

Consumers

Cost reduction

Debt ceiling

For reference purposes, you may wish to look at the History of the United States debt ceiling.

Detention

The article in this section describes among the longest detention times that I’ve ever seen.

This situation is another reason why I strongly recommend that truckers be prepared with in-truck resources for food, water, and the ability to take care of bodily needs (including having a portable toilet for these reasons).

Economy

Rates

Tariffs

4. Regarding autonomous vehicles, batteries, electric vehicles, emissions, fuel, oil, and Tesla:

Autonomous vehicles

I firmly oppose the operation of driverless, autonomous, or self-driving commercial motor vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public — but I share articles on this topic with our readers to help us stay current on the topic.

Batteries

Electric vehicles

Before you buy an all-electric Commercial Motor Vehicle, please do your due diligence by asking some questions and getting answers.

Emissions

Fuel

Oil

Tesla

The first article in this section has a headline that doesn’t match the content.

5. Regarding crashes, deaths, drugs, fatalities, fire, incidents, smuggling, and violence:

Crashes

Please look through these articles to see if there is anything you can learn to help you prevent being involved in a similar crash.

Deaths

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died, as reported in these articles.

Drugs

Never ever haul or take illegal drugs.

Fatalities

I express my deep sympathy — and offer my condolences — to the families of those whose loved ones died in these crashes.

Can you learn anything from the articles below that would help prevent being involved in a fatal large truck crash?

Fire

It seems to me that there are a lot more truck fires than their used to be and I wonder if that is because more electric trucks with lithium batteries are in use.

Incidents

Preparation is the name of the game regarding “incidents” that happen on the road.

This article specifically mentions:

  • “Dash cams are worth their weight in gold” (I call these devices truck cams); and
  • “Every truck should be equipped with a kit that outlines, step by step, what a driver should do after a road incident.”

If you do not have these kinds of things in your truck, please prepare now.

In some cases, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when” you might be involved in an “incident” on the road.

Smuggling

Never ever transport people made in the image of God as if they were cattle or cargo — no matter how large of an incentive you’ve been offered.

Violence

It is never right to perpetrate violence upon someone in an unprovoked manner.

All perpetrators of violence must be dealt with in a just legal manner.

6. Regarding employment, fall, parking, and permits:

Employment

Fall

This short article says:

Officials say the worker slipped during a standard procedure involving the feed hauler.

What about the “standard procedure” wasn’t good enough to keep the subcontractor from slipping and falling into the tanker trailer?

Parking

Permits

This article says:

“Drivers are required to use either credit cards or checks as a form of payment at all Ports of Entry locations…”

  • purportedly “to enhance security at the facilities”;
  • but no reason was given as to why Ports of Entry do not fall under the Colorado law passed in June 2022 to “require retail establishments to accept United States currency, including federal reserve notes, at no fewer than one point of sale at each address”.

How can requiring a credit card or check enhance security versus cash?

According to what is written on Federal Reserve notes (fiat currency):

“THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE”.

So why is cash no longer being accepted at these places?

In my opinion, forcing truckers to “go cashless” is another means of control when The Declaration of Independence clearly says:

… That to secure these [Creator-endowed and unalienable] rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

I disagree with this requirement and encourage truckers who also disagree to press for more information and oppose it.

7. Regarding AB5, brokers, business, business – anniversary, and business – BOI:

AB5

Brokers

Business

Business – anniversary

Are there clues about this achievement that truckers can learn?

Business – BOI

According to the article:

On Dec. 26, a federal appeals court reinstated a nationwide injunction halting enforcement of BOI reporting requirements, reversing an order the same court issued earlier that week.

I disagree with this “Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement” as it, too, is another layer of control.

8. Regarding containers, hole, inspections, regulations, snow chains, and speed limiter:

Containers

Hole

It seems as though news about sinkholes and other types of infrastructure deterioration are becoming more regular.

How would one know if one is approaching a sinkhole?

Inspections

If you keep yourself and your rig in perpetual readiness for an inspection, you’ll never be caught off-guard.

Regulations

Snow chains

Regarding the first article in this section, I don’t understand how this was allowed to happen.

Speed limiter

According to the article:

In [a] strongly worded letter [by James Lamb, executive director of the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC)], he asserted that the FMSCA lacks legal authority to impose speed limiters due to the fact that Congress repealed the NMSL in 1995, fully returning speed limit-setting authority to the individual states.

If this is correct, “NMSL” may mean “National Maximum Speed Law”.

The article also refers to litigation and says “that the rule is unlawful and potentially harmful to small trucking businesses.”

I think this situation bears watching.

9. Regarding ports, prevention, recalls, and safety:

Ports

Prevention

Recalls

If your tractor or trailer is under a recall, please have the work attended to as soon as possible.

Safety

10. Regarding politics and UCR fees:

Politics

UCR fees

Given this stiff increase, I started looking for “what UCR fees are used for” and found in this article:

In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed the UCR Act as part of the highway reauthorization bill known as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, A Legacy for Users (“SAFETEA-LU”), Public Law 109-59. The UCR Act established a federally-managed state revenue system, aimed at collecting funds to implement highway-safety programs and initiatives.

So, how are those “highway-safety programs and initiatives” working out?

Are the highways in the USA any safer now than they were in 2005 when this law was passed?

Based on statistics, I don’t see that they are.

In “Faces In The Water,” 1982, Janet Frame wrote:

“For your own good” is a persuasive argument that will eventually make a man agree to his own destruction.

I think that there needs to be some accountability regarding UCR fees.

11. Regarding technology, testing, traffic, and truck stops:

Technology

Testing

Traffic

Truck stops

12. Regarding awards and recognition:

Awards

Congratulations to all professional truck drivers who attained a level of achievement to have been nominated for, selected as a finalist for, or been given a “Driver of the Year” award!

Recognition

I recognize those who helped their fellow human beings in a time of need, whether a trucker was the helper or was being helped.

I wish you — and all professional truck drivers — safe travels and lots of money saving opportunities on the road.






Return from TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2025.01.04 to our TDMST Weekly Round-Up Trucking Commentary or our Truck Drivers Money Saving Tips home page.


Men's Winter Military Casual Jacket with Removable Hood Warm fleece lining, functional pockets, windproof collar, high density fabric, chest pocket, heavy duty brass zipper, ribbed cuff. Small to 4XL. Buy now. #ad