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TDMST Weekly Round-Up: 2021.01.09

This is the TDMST Weekly Round-Up of news affecting professional truck drivers, written by Vicki Simons for the week ending January 9, 2021.

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

 

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

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1. Regarding legal, politics, rule, self-defense, clearinghouse, training and Chao:

Legal

Politics

Rules

There are several different rules in the news, which I have divided by category:

Adverse driving conditions

Hours of Service

Independent Contractor

Yard moves

Self-defense

Clearinghouse

Training

Chao

From this article — USDOT Secretary Abruptly Resigns Citing “Traumatic Event” at U.S. Capitol — we read this quote:

However, many truckers expressed frustration with Chao’s leadership especially as she was largely silent on the increasing attacks on professional truckers in the wake of the George Floyd riots.

Similarly, Chao never commented on the historic three-week protest in Washington D.C. while more than one hundred truckers sought relief from plummeting freight rates.

 

2. Regarding accidents and drugs:

Accidents

Please learn what you can from these articles so that you aren’t caught up in a similar accident.

Drugs

Never offer to haul illegal drugs, no matter how much the promised pay-off is.

 

3. Regarding business, career, operations and repair:

Business

Career

Operations

Repair

 

4. Regarding border:

Border

 

5. Regarding economy, holidays, AB5, employment, perseverance and best:

Economy

Holidays

AB5

On January 6, 2021, I made the following comment about the article linked immediately above:

Quote from article:
—–
the firing of in-house delivery drivers at a major supermarket chain.
—–
I was not aware that there were “in-house delivery drivers” at major supermarket chains.
I wonder how they were being compensated for their time and vehicle usage in that capacity.
From the perspective of the supermarkets, outsourcing this work to independent contractors may be a smart move for a number of reasons.
Many, many people are working as food delivery independent contractors — or gig economy workers — with DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber Eats, etc.
Didn’t AB5 in California put these folks “out of work” until Proposition 22 came along?
Now that Proposition 22 has passed, I expect this other segment of workers will have to “flex and roll” — or find other work at the supermarkets where they’ve been working.
Independent contractors working the gig economy determine their own hours and are paid when they complete a task, choosing which tasks to take.
Meanwhile, many truckers are working many hours for free — which is wrong.
I read an article recently about a trucking company that offers a minimum amount of pay per week with an expected (my word) number of miles traveled for solo drivers and other compensation for team drivers.
It is time for truckers to be compensated for all of their time on the job!

Employment

Perseverance

Best

Please note that even though the carriers listed in the articles linked below have been named the “Best Fleets to Drive For,” they may not fit every trucker.

My husband Mike once got hired by one of those “best fleets” — that had a terminal close to where we live.

Because they routinely wouldn’t bring him home on weekends for his 34-hour restart, he ended up leaving to go work somewhere else.

Before you hire on with any company, make sure that you have a good understanding of how they operate and how they will treat you!

 

6. Regarding COVID-19 and events:

COVID-19

Please note from the article linked immediately above, we read this:

The flyers contain information on quarantine requirements and mask requirements in the state of Pennsylvania.

Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police stated that “troopers will not proactively stop a vehicle to investigate quarantining and testing compliance, although enforcement is possible on a case-by-case basis.”

Events

 

7. Regarding electric, fuel and autonomous:

Electric

Fuel

Autonomous

Please note that a change in terminology does not necessarily impact the scope or intent of a project.

 

8. Regarding inspections and insurance:

Inspections

Insurance

 

9. Regarding lottery, taxes and tolls:

Lottery

Let’s hope that this trucker has the financial discipline to make his winnings work for him.

Taxes

Tolls

 

10. Regarding technology, drones, predictions, and wish:

Technology

Drones

Predictions

Wish

 

11. Regarding roads and speed:

Roads

Speed

 

12. Regarding statistics and supply chain:

Statistics

Supply chain

 

13. Regarding food and weather:

Food

In the article These drivers know how to ROCK an in-cab kitchen, I saw:

  • the word “skillet”;
  • the trucker’s statement, “I almost have a full kitchen”; and
  • the appliance “slow cooker”.

But I did not see any other appliances or heat sources listed that allows a trucker to cook in his/her truck.

We cover numerous appliances in the meal preparation section of our site.

Weather

 

14. Regarding award, charity, and standing in the gap:

Award

Charity

Standing in the gap

Here’s a huge shout-out to former police officer, now-trucker John McKown, for speaking out against human trafficking!

 

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

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