REAL Women in Trucking, an organization that supports women drivers, will announce its 5th Annual Queen of the Road winners during an award ceremony on August 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In this Friday Short Haul, OOIDA discusses AB5, married couple sentenced for their parts in truck crash scam ring, and Werner denied motion to dismiss in a wage-related class-action lawsuit.
The California Trucking Association, almost alone in its fight to preserve the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of California’s independent truckers, hopes to earn an AB5 appeal hearing in front of the entire slate of judges presiding over the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released details about its newly introduced surface transportation reauthorization bill, known as the “Invest in America Act.” And, not surprisingly, lines are being drawn within the trucking industry among the usual players on both sides of the issue.
Several of the biggest names in the American trucking industry have signed up ahead of time to receive TuSimple’s first rollout of its Level 4 self-driving International LT Series trucks.
In this Friday Short Haul, Women in Trucking names finalists in its Distinguished Women in Logistics Award, the DOL deals a blow to truckers hoping for relief from California's AB5, and an FMCSA official asks for stricter seat belt enforcement.
In this Friday Short Haul the FMCSA makes push for ADAS awareness, trucking in Fiji curing COVID, looming gas shortage due to lack of tank drivers, and California's AB 5 becomes law with removal of injunction protecting truckers.
Jake Peters, a writer at DriveTeks, posted a comprehensive article at CDL Life last Friday on "How to make more money as a truck driver." The gist of the article is that although truck drivers enjoy job security in this current era of driver shortages, many might feel that they aren't reaching their salary goals. Peters offers several tips to get those drivers going in the right direction, salary-wise.
In this Friday Short Haul Embark announces a universal interface for four major makes of truck, OOIDA pens letter to the U.S. Senate about truck parking, about truck size and weight, and funding, and Crete increases driver pay.
A recent article at TruckDriversSalary.com with salary statistics from 2020 shows that Walmart has been displaced from its coveted number one spot by the major food distributor Sysco – though the difference of only a little over $1,000 is nearly negligible for that level of annual pay range.
Industry watchers are becoming increasingly concerned about the privacy invasive tactics being employed by Amazon against its delivery drivers, and worry that if it spreads throughout the trucking industry it could have an impact on driver retention.
Introduced by U.S. Rep Robert Cortez Scott (D-Virginia), H.R. 842 builds on California's AB 5 in order to institute the ABC test for all companies across the United States that hire gig workers and independent contractors. Some 212 representatives have signed on as co-sponsors.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Associated has entered the fray in the newly resurrected effort to propose a mandated Federal speed-limiter law.
In this Friday Short Haul CVSA announces 2021 inspection blitz, Nikola cuts a deal giving it a hydrogen production boost for its fuel-cell-powered semis, and OOIDA lobbies CDC for COVID vaccines at truck stops.
Outspoken advocate for truckers, Lewie Pugh with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, is expected to drop some more of his infamous "truth bombs," as one of six witnesses testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this Thursday.
In this Friday Short Haul Texas border officials see upswing in human smuggling attempts, the DOL rescinds an earlier trucker-friendly opinion, and comments come in about the FMCSA's yard moves clarification.
With all the attention being given to independent contractor driver status among trucking firms, and in light of the U.S. Department of Labor recently releasing a rule on that issue, the question has arisen whether a carrier can require their contracted drivers to implement safety measures and still allow those drivers to maintain their non-employee status.
In this Friday Short Haul truckers can now take training in how to stay safe during protests, new administration means dark days ahead for small carriers, and two mega carriers invest in TuSimple's autonomous truck programs.
In this Friday Short Haul TCA announces the top 20 best fleets to drive for in 2021, the U.S. Dept. of Labor publishes its final rule on employee and independent worker status, and ATS says yard jockeys need more training.
For truckers the pairing of a service where a dispatcher finds and assigns a reserved parking space for them, and also calls up a mobile tanker to fuel them while they rest would be a marriage made in heaven. And that, indeed, is the concept dreamed up by two transportation industry companies that have been individually serving truckers on the road.
A hard deadline looms for carriers and owner-operators to register and make their first query with the FMCSA's Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. That deadline is tomorrow, January 5. And FMCSA proposes new guidance defining yard-moves for HOS purposes.
In this Friday Short Haul OOIDA sends letter to Congress claiming COVID-relief bill does little to help truckers, J.B. Hunt partners with the University of Arkansas to develop inclusiveness and diversity in trucking, and a major winter storm hits the mid-West and moves on to the East.
While the rest of the world awaits a final count of legal, legitimate votes in several battleground states that will determine who occupies the White House for the next four years the results are in that California voters handily gave the California State Legislature a beat-down with passage of Proposition 22.
The driver shortage, driver compensation, and truck parking ranked in the top three concerns among drivers, carriers and other trucking industry stakeholders in the just-released American Transportation Research Institute's survey titled "Critical Issues in the Trucking Industry – 2020."
One question that drivers should be constantly asking … even long before a lawsuit situation develops, after an accident for example … is what am I doing now that is going to be used against me big time if I am sued?"
A major new player has joined the independent contractor fray that was created when California legislators passed Assembly Bill 5 last year mandating a strict definition of employee-contractor status that virtually eliminated independent contractor work for huge segments of the economy.
As freight demand grows, especially in anticipation of an early holiday sales season, Amazon is finding itself losing its owner-operator line-haul drivers to the spot market, and is needing to find capacity elsewhere. And FMCSA creates a drivers advisory panel, and reminds owner-operators to register for the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Friday a State Assembly bill that carves out more exemptions to Assembly Bill 5, commonly known as the independent contractor law, that went into effect this year. Unfortunately for California trucking companies and contract drivers, however, the changes brought by Assembly Bill 2257 do not help California independent contractor drivers, but instead double down on keeping them under the original AB 5 enforcement umbrella.
In this Friday Short Haul the FBI sends out a notice warning about hacker attacks against trucks' ELDs, college students study how to hack trucks, and OOIDA writes a letter to Congress asking them to suspend the HVUT.
In this Friday Short Haul Prime escapes a potentially nuclear verdict, Teamsters applaud legislation that might undo recent HOS changes, and OOIDA opposes efforts to give brokers exemption from posting a $75,000 bond.
In this Friday Short Haul the driver shortage appears to be over - for now, Amazon announces its freight brokerage is going nationwide, and lawyers are learning how to extract "nuclear" verdicts from carriers.
The time for completely unattended autonomous freight hauling via Class 8 trucks is still somewhere down the road, but because self-driving vehicle innovators are stuck with regulations requiring a "driver" (and sometimes an engineer as well) to accompany the vehicles on each trip they are beginning to ask for hours of service exemptions for those attendees.
In this Friday Short Haul the FDA offers guidelines in cleaning and disinfecting reefers that were used as temporary COVID-19 morgues, ATRI announces 2020 research priorities, and FMCSA extends again the HOS emergency declaration.
As reported recently in a Trucking Truth news article freight brokers are taking the brunt of truck drivers' anger at dramatically declining rates, but now brokers are pushing back against the accusation that they are price-gouging those drivers.
In this Friday Short Haul - Tank truckers suffer COVID-19 revenue decrease, former Arrow Trucking CEO gets an early prison release, and FMCSA offers to strike non-preventable crashes from fleets' and drivers' records.
As the commercial truck transportation industry settles into its COVID-19 virus era new way of doing business the American Transportation Research Institute and the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association Foundation have released the results of a survey from the industry on how the reaction to the pandemic has affected them.
In this Friday Short Haul - Truckers protest low freight rates, FMCSA gives out 1 million masks to drivers, and the SecurSpace app finds parking spots for drivers.
In this Friday Short Haul truckers meet at White House for heroes reception, California state senator tries to undo AB5, and TA furloughs more than 3,000 employees.
At a time when the public's awareness of the importance of the trucking industry in general, and truck drivers in particular, is at an all-time high because of the COVID-19 virus crisis, at least one industry leader has found an irony in the situation.
In this Friday Short Haul a company moves forward with autonomous, electric yard trucks, Knight-Swift partners with Truckstop.com for load brokering, and a TA security guard shoots a driver who was parked in a reserved spot.
The United States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety invited testimony from trucking representatives on February 4 to allow them to sound off with their opinions on the U.S. trucking industry … and committee members got an earful.
In this Friday Short Haul ATA attends White House signing of the USMCA, AB-5 to be challenged in 9th Circuit Court, and most physically demanding jobs are ranked.
In this Friday Short Haul another court rules against California's AB-5, a truckers' coalition takes on FMCSA, and Can Opener Bridge continues to entertain.
In this Friday Short Haul, Sweatshop on Wheels video, a Federal District Court judge exempts truckers from AB-5, and another carriers closes its doors.
In this Friday Short Haul -- Fallout from California's AB-5 continues, winter weather resources, and Louisiana's ransomware attack affects trucking companies.
In this Friday Short Haul the CTA files a lawsuit against California's AB-5, Highway Heroes seek nominations, and Iowa DOT posts a "Move Over" crash video.
In this Friday Short Haul PBS examines AI and it's eventual effect on drivers' jobs, truckers are arrested for a CRV scam, truckers protest AB-5, and ELD quit working for thousands of drivers.
The mission of Trucking Truth is to help prospective new drivers make important decisions about starting their driving careers – like, which training/licensing method is best, and which are the best companies to begin driving for, among others. And, while many independent-minded new drivers initially believe they would be happier going on their own as owner-operators, Trucking Truth generally discourages new drivers from taking that route.
As the dust settles on the recently passed new California independent contractor law motor carrier companies and independent drivers are scrambling to make sense of the law and to decide what to do about it.
America's 1.8 million truck drivers haul some 71 percent of this country's freight, amounting to an $800 billion dollar chunk of the economy. So, the question remains: Why don't truck drivers wield this supposed influence and strike nationally, ending their grievances and bettering their situation?
As if California truckers didn't have enough to worry about with the signing of the independent contractors law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, a proposed new law that mostly flew under the radar got signed into effect by him on Friday that requires smog testing on heavy-duty diesel trucks.
In this Friday Short Haul Volvo introduces its dynamic steering, Meals for 18 Wheels seeks volunteers, trucks nabbed in speeding crackdown, OOIDA opposes trucking legislation.
In this Friday Short Haul Walmart promotes a Driver Appreciation Week video, expert says it is churn, not driver shortage, California passes an independent contractor bill, and hemp drivers accept pleas.
A recent ruling by the National Labor Relations Board not only kicks the teeth out of the independent contractor/employee controversy, but sets the stage for some major head-butting with California authorities if that state's latest attempt to force employee status on independent truck drivers is successful.
The effects of last year's California Supreme Court ruling against Dynamex Operations West, Inc., continue to reverberate through the halls of California's state legislative bodies with the ultimate result that California will no longer recognize a truck driver's status as an independent contractor.
Friday Short Haul - HOS revisions are still under OMB review, Legislators introduce an AEB bill for trucks, and Koch & Sons is sued for sex discrimination.
In this Friday Short Haul CRST awarded $15.5 lawsuit against Swift, OOIDA opposes legislation hiking insurance rates, and UPS has an in-house navigation system that saves millions a year.
In this Friday Short Haul the DOL writes an opinion on sleeper berth pay, UPS set for nationwide drone deliveries, and Geowiz offers no-fee, FMCSA-compliant ELD logging.
In this Friday Short Haul Rhode Island rakes in big bucks with truck tolls, man guilty of sneaking illegal aliens onto trucks, and California Senate considers contractor driver law.
Now, into its second year of full mandatory use, there are concerns in the industry that not only have ELDs not reduced accidents, but that the devices are causing some to question whether the wall of separation between independent contractor and employee status is disappearing.
Uber, the ride-hailing giant that gives taxi companies headaches has set its sights on competing against the top players in the freight brokerage business.
With electronic logging devices now mandatory and enforced, and with more than half of American trucking companies in its customer base, a relatively new technology company called KeepTruckin is now entering the load board field with a new app called Smart Load Board.
In this Friday Short Haul we look at possible changes in the way freight rates are calculated, find out about new HOS rules possibly coming soon, and get January's tonnage report.
Fleet drivers, like a lot of other company workers who have un-reimbursed expenses, and whose income is reported on a W-2, can no longer deduct their daily expenses of meals, cell-phones or other common expenses used in doing their jobs that were deductible until this year's new tax laws went into effect; which results in decreased refunds this year.
That America's roadways are a deteriorating mess is no surprise to anybody who has sat behind a wheel any time recently. But the problems of our nation's crumbling infrastructure go far beyond just the discomfort of a jarring ride. Simply put, our country's economic health demands that our roads get an upgrade.
Detention, the on-duty but not-driving time a driver spends waiting at a shipper or receiver, is a necessary evil in the trucking industry, but the consensus among drivers is that there should be compensation to the driver for his or her non-driving, on-duty time.
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