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TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.11.18

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2023.11.18 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending November 18, 2023, written by Vicki Simons.

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

TDMST Weekly Round-Up

1. Regarding brokers, pay, strike, and Thanksgiving:

Brokers

According to this article:

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

FMCSA published a final rule regarding broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility on Thursday, Nov. 16. The rule was published ahead of schedule as the agency had projected it to be released next March.

The part of the broker situation that concerned me most was not addressed in the article — even in OOIDA’s petition to the FMCSA — namely the inclusion in contracts that brokers have the right to refuse payment to carriers for the most spurious of reasons.

However, this article opened:

The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will soon suspend the operating authorities of brokers that fail or refuse to pay carriers for legitimate services, or those who let available financial security fall below US$75,000.

That makes me feel at least a little better.

Here are some of the most recent articles about brokers:

Pay

If you feel strongly about bills regarding paying truckers overtime, please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator to express your thoughts.

Strike

If striking parties affect you, perhaps these articles will help:

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 23, 2023, is Thanksgiving Day in the USA.

In order to help retailers and stores prepare for Christmas, this is the time of year when Christmas freight is moving and many OTR, long haul, and regional truckers will be working.

Since we have taken multiple Thanksgiving trips on the road as truckers, we understand what truckers on the road at this time of year are going through.

If you cannot be at home, please touch base with your home support team members sometime on Thanksgiving Day.

One option, which allows users to both hear and see each other, is the video conferencing Zoom cloud meeting app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Just because you’re out on the road does not mean that you can’t enjoy a lovely Thanksgiving dinner right in your truck.

If you have a battery-connected inverter or APU in your truck, a crock pot or slow cooker, and a hot pot, you can create a meal complete with cooked turkey, sweet potato casserole, and the works.

You will need to do some advanced planning, but since you’re already skilled as a trucker in making on-time pick-ups and deliveries, planning a fancier-than-usual meal in-truck should be a snap!

If your company offers — and you plan to earn — holiday pay for driving through some part of the Thanksgiving holiday, make sure you understand and abide by all of the rules.

Once again, we are offering our Thanksgiving Prayer on behalf of truckers.

Here is a recent article about Thanksgiving 2023:

2. Regarding business, dynamic pricing, economy, holidays, parts, and Postal Service:

Business

Dynamic pricing

Economy

Holidays

Parts

Postal service

3. Regarding crashes, fatalities, I-10, I-55, I-70, and low clearance:

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.

Fatalities

We express our deep sympathy — and offer our 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?

I-10

The articles in this section specifically address Interstate 10 in the USA.

I-55

I-70

Low clearance

If you do not yet have one, please always use a truckers atlas and learn how to navigate yourself and your rig with it.

Also, make sure that if you prefer GPS navigation when you’re driving a big rig, you use only one that is specifically geared for commercial motor vehicles.

Do not risk a low clearance crash.

4. Regarding AI and technology:

AI

In your opinion, which forms of AI (Artificial Intelligence) are suitable and which are unsuitable?

Please comment through the form below.

Technology

5. Regarding autonomous vehicles, batteries, electric vehicles, and fuel:

Autonomous vehicles

I am decisively against the operation of self-driving, driverless, or autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles on the same roads as the motoring public, but share these articles to help keep our readers informed.

Batteries

Electric vehicles

Before you buy an electric commercial motor vehicle, please do your do diligence.

Fuel

6. Regarding border, containers, and ports:

Border

Containers

Ports

7. Regarding drugs, predatory, protest, staged, and theft:

Drugs

Never, ever haul illegal drugs, no matter the incentive to do so!

Predatory

The idea of having one’s rig immobilized against one’s will is horrible!

Please be on the lookout for signs regarding:

  • “no parking”;
  • “no truck parking”; and
  • time restrictions on parking.

If you encounter “booting” or “immobilization” of commercial motor vehicles, please contact us.

Protest

Please be aware of the Hobbs Act:

18 U.S. Code § 1951 – Interference with commerce by threats or violence

(a)Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do, or commits or threatens physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

While this is a matter for attorneys and judges to decide, in my opinion, any action by people on a road that “shuts down” or “completely stops” commerce is a violation of federal law and the perpetrators need to be held responsible for their actions.

Staged

I am glad that those who perpetrated fraud in this respect are being held responsible for their actions!

Theft

Please take reasonable steps to prevent theft in every respect as a trucker, of yourself, your tractor, your trailer, and the freight on board.

8. Regarding employment and retention:

Employment

This section is about the employee side of the employment situation.

According to a November 16, 2023, article:

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased to a three-month high last week, suggesting that the labor market was gradually cooling in another boost to the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation.

I am aware that there are cycles within the trucking industry and for the last little while, we have been on a decline.

Seek to do more than you’ve been asked to do — but never outside the Hours of Service regulation — in order to help protect your trucking job.

What low-cost ways can you think of to make yourself more valuable to your trucking company?

Please comment through the form below.

Retention

This section is on the employer side of the employment situation.

9. Regarding inspections, legal, legal – crush, parking, and safety:

Inspections

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

Legal

Legal – crush

Parking

Safety

10. Regarding hitchhiker and operations:

Hitchhiker

Please see the article on our website entitled:

Hitchhikers On Trucks; How Can Hitchhiking Be Stopped?

The most recent article on this topic that I’ve seen is:

Operations

Please do not take unnecessary risks or fail to prepare for exits ahead of time.

11. Regarding HOS, household movers, and lottery:

HOS

Household movers

Lottery

Let’s hope that this trucker has financial discipline in his life.

12. Regarding awards and freebies:

Awards

We congratulate every professional truck driver who got as far as the “finals” in any safe driver or “Driver of the Year” competition!

Freebies

Please be aware of all rules or terms and conditions involved in trying to get freebies.

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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