TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2025.03.08

TDMST Weekly Round-Up 2025.03.08 is the trucking commentary on news affecting professional truck drivers for the week ending March 8, 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 Daylight Saving Time, inspections, overtime pay, and roads:

Daylight Saving Time

Thanks to the LunaSolCal app on my phone, I checked the “length of day” — or the amount of daylight before and after the “Spring Forward” time — for today and tomorrow.

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  • Saturday, March 8:
    Length of day:
    11h 43m 41s

    • Sunrise: 6:45 AM
    • Sunset: 6:29 AM
  • Sunday, March 9:
    Length of day:
    11h 45m 47s

    • Sunrise: 7:44 AM
    • Sunset: 7:30 AM

The only difference is the usual lengthening of the day — that occurs daily between the winter solstice and summer solstice — which amounts to 2 minutes and 6 seconds.

Moving the clock ahead and back an hour doesn’t “lengthen” or “shorten” a day by any amount of daylight.

In my opinion, since the USA is no longer an agricultural-based society, this practice is antiquated and needs to be eliminated.

Have you as a trucker ever had problems with the change of time, especially when it comes to your logs?

Please comment through the form below.

Inspections

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

Overtime pay

According to the first article in this section:

The [Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act] GOT Truckers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require that truckers receive overtime compensation when they work more than 40 hours in a week.

If you are in favor of the “Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act” or “GOT Truckers Act”, please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and ask them to support the bills and ask them to vote in favor of them.

Roads

Some of the big news this week was the partial reopening of I-40, which was damaged due to flooding associated with what was called Hurricane Helene.

2. Tariffs:

This topic has so many articles this week that I have broken it out into its own section.

Please be aware of the pros and cons.

Tariffs

3. Regarding autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, emissions, fuel, fuel economy, hydrogen, and oil:

Autonomous vehicles

I totally oppose the operation of self-driving, autonomous, or driverless 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.

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

Fuel economy

Hydrogen

Oil

4. Regarding crashes, drugs, fatalities, fires, theft, 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.

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?

Fires

Since I live in South Carolina, I believe that at least some of the fires that have been burning in my home state have been deliberately set.

The weather has been unusually dry of late and based on research I have done, I believe that weather can be manipulated technologically.

Theft

Never take something that doesn’t belong to you unless you have permission from the owner.

With as much surveillance equipment in place in the 21st century, it’s only a matter of time before the thieves are apprehended.

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.

5. Regarding economy, employment, fines, future, lottery, per diem, rates, and retention:

Economy

Employment

Fines

Future

Lottery

Let’s hope that this trucker has financial discipline.

Per diem

According to the article in this section:

Employee truck drivers had been allowed to deduct 80% of the per diem rate in expenses for meals while on the road from their taxes until the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated the provision. The tax bill eliminated several miscellaneous deductions but increased the amount of a worker’s standard deduction. However, the math did not work out to the benefit of company truck drivers.

If you agree, please contact your U.S. level elected officials to express your approval.

Rates

Retention

6. Regarding legal, low clearance, and regulations:

Legal

Low clearance

Both articles listed in this section share the aftermath of a truck crashing into and/or getting stuck under an overpass too short for that size rig.

The first article stated, “It is unclear what citations, if any, were issued to the truck driver. No further information has been released.”

However, the second article was clear: “A trucking company and a truck driver were issued more than two dozen tickets and nearly $40,000 in fines after a bridge strike crash in Edmonton this week.”

Ouch!

Of course, both of these crashes were completely preventable.

What if you were driving behind these truckers and all of a sudden you got stuck on the road for an undefined length of time?

Sometimes, it can be helpful to be able to earn a second income from the cab of one’s truck!

Regulations

7. Regarding BOI, business, Teamsters and weather:

BOI

Business

Teamsters

Weather

8. Regarding politics and ports:

Politics

Ports

9. Regarding parking and truckers:

Parking

Truckers

10. Regarding recalls, right to repair, technology, and towing:

Recalls

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

Right to Repair

Technology

Towing

11. Regarding operations and weights:

Operations

Never attempt to do something that puts you, your tractor, your trailer, or the cargo within at risk of a crash.

Weights

12. Regarding awards:

Awards

Recognition

Thanks to those who helped their fellow human beings in a time of need!

Skills

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



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