An eye for an eye: Part 2

THE STORY SO FAR: Mark is heading to Vancouver when he gets a call. One of Bud's drivers was attacked while helping a supposedly stranded motorist on the highway to Prince George. Mark takes the load, but drives to Vancouver first to drop off...

TSQ: Is there an acceptable alternative to electronic on-board recorders?

BOWMANVILLE, Ont. - The prospect of mandatory electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) has been a hotly contested topic since the US DoT introduced legislation in January that would require all interstate motor carriers to use the devices to track...

Trucking: An industry that solves its own problems

When people - outsiders, of course - ask me how it is I don't get bored covering the trucking industry, I'm never short for an answer. Of course, there's the usual rant about how the industry is constantly evolving, my fascination with the...

Is FMCSA cooking the numbers?

If you haul into the US no doubt the firestorm of debate raging right now over the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) new proposed hours-of-service rules for trucking has captured your interest. And possibly left you...

Beware the Wreckhouse winds

CAPE RAY, Nfld. - Electronic warning signs, installed at both ends of a notorious stretch of Newfoundland highway in the Wreckhouse region of the province, seem to have done little to prevent truck rollovers.

Government giving greenbacks for greenhouse gas reductions

QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Determined to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), Quebec is busy putting its money where its mouth is: $27 million dollars is up for grabs for Quebec-registered trucking companies that install approved equipment that reduces fuel...

Relics of trucking industry’s past may soon be homeless

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. - If you've built it, there's a historical society that just might want to come - especially if you make them an offer they can't refuse.

Working for a good carrier makes it easier to overcome life’s challenges

As the new year gets underway, we drivers are faced with a host of issues to cope with. The list gets longer with each passing year. Hours-of-service, CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability), electronic on-board recorders, speed limiters,...

Driver shortage will be reflected in coming capacity crunch

The demographics of the trucking industry, combined with concerns over compensation of company drivers and owner/operators as well as lifestyle issues are creating the conditions for a severe shortage of professional truck drivers in North...

Recessions can’t stop all the good news

'While everyone in the trucking community is concentrating on keeping things afloat these days, here's a vote for taking time to acknowledge excellence.'

In Europe, children dream of driving the classic-styled conventional

Many years ago as a small boy, I used to push my toy trucks around the floor, dreaming of the day I would become a trucker myself. Model trucks were my only toys, I wasn't interested in anything else and there was one truck in particular that...

An eye for an eye: Part 1

Mark was driving westward through Saskatchewan when his cell phone rang. He checked the number on his phone, saw that it was Bud calling and put the call onto his hands-free device.

Economic outlook

TORONTO, Ont. - The driver shortage, which is expected to get much worse in the years ahead, could prove a vital aid in helping trucking companies improve their profitability and find a way to pay the...

The (new) Social Nework: Trucking’s unexpected flirtation with social media

TORONTO, Ont. - "Trucking driving: a great job for people who hate people." While you probably won't see this slogan included on the cover of a trucking company's recruitment brochure any time soon, t...

Is CSA just days away?

WASHINGTON, D.C. - If all goes according to plan, and in government that's never guaranteed, the US Federal Carrier Safety Administration's new carrier safety measurement system CSA will be in place a...