Comments By Michael W.

Stay away from the CBD pills too folks, they will pop on a hair and or urine test. Lawsuits already in the works suing these CBD outfits that state no THC and state they will not show up, well they do.

Get a decent pair of boots, I like the Wellingtons, slip on. I have a pair of Wellington insulated Carharrts that are very comfortable. https://www.cabelas.com/product/CARHARTT-MN-SOFT-TOE-DS/1940665.uts?productVariantId=4078726&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=04084019&rid=20&ds_rl=1246522&ds_rl=1246585&ds_rl=1246588&ds_rl=1252079&gclid=Cj0KCQiAno_uBRC1ARIsAB496IVkPH6ei6zcFShz5GWcoqOdZADhGfAj9k90QVaDKKmeb8BUnlBG7zkaAgNdEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

There are also western style work boots, like seen here, I have a pair of the Twisted X... Very nice boots, and very comfortable, wearing them right now. https://www.bootbarn.com/workwear/work-boots/mens-pull-on-boots/

Depending on where you are working, I also throw a pair of Muck brand boots in the truck too... Sometimes they are required if you get into some dirt yards after a snow melt or heavy rain. You roll the tops of the boot shaft down, you can slip right in and out of them that way, love these boots when they are needed, which is quite often in the winter if you go to a variety of places. https://www.amazon.com/Muck-Chore-Classic-Rubber-Womens/dp/B000WG7***?ref_=ast_sto_dp

I wear tennis shoes too, usually drive in those, and I would never go barefoot or wear socks, that is insane and unprofessional, just as driving with your feet on the dash is. See that all the time out here, feet on dash, barefoot, flip flops and pajamas cruising down the road and texting... Ridiculous, very sad state this industry is in, very little if any professionalism or basic etiquette out here any longer.

There's carnage every winter since....about 1975.

What's next, Michael? Against the ELD, the 70 hour clock, and the 10 hour break?

Mr Smarmy... Whatever, I've been out here 30 years this past March, it gets worse out here by the day, and the egg timer on the dash is not helping with everyone playing beat the clock, myself included. Here in MI, truck fatalities for 2018 were up 18% over 2017. I wonder what happened? I just spoke to my insurance agent, truck accidents are way up and so will my insurance rates here in the next few weeks, a substantial increase is what I was told, across the industry.

This is not just a Michigan problem, accidents and fatalities are up across the board. I have gotten to the point I am calling safety departments of companies that have reckless drivers out here. I had one tailgating me at 72 mph in Iowa, up hill! I could not even slow down as he would have hit my trailer, he was that close. He got around me, and nearly took a few cars off into the median. This driving behavior went on for 30 or 40 miles, I finally had enough and called his safety department and reported him. And yes, I tried to get him on the CB... No answer. Maybe he did not speak English?

Drivers like the above are the reason we have more regulations and egg timers on our dash board. I'll be retiring soon, actually not soon enough, hopefully I will survive.

Just a few news clips with links...

Commercial motor vehicle-involved fatalities, however, increased in 2018 to 112, up 18%, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/04/24/michigan-traffic-deaths-2018/3561027002/

Trucking Fatalities Reach Highest Level in 29 Years https://www.trucks.com/2018/10/04/large-truck-fatalities-29-year-high/

Will 5-year fatal truck accident trend in MI continue to rise? https://www.michiganautolaw.com/blog/2017/11/21/fatal-truck-accident-trend-michigan/

That is going to sting... Going to have more than a few guys closing the doors and or moving.

Can't blame you one bit for leaving, I would look at running containers or something along those lines. Craigslist is usually a good place to find local work too.

I have had driving jobs for 25 years but only recently started driving a truck that's governed at 65. It seems like every night I come up on another truck going 62-ish and when I start to pass them they bump it up a notch and block me from getting back over. When I finally do crawl past them and get back over they slow down again.

The last thing I want to do when someone is slowly passing me is speed up, prolong the process, and aggravate the other driver. I just bump the cruise off for a second and dim my lights when it's safe for them to get back over.

What is the mentality behind this?

Has it always been like this?

Seems to be SOP out here anymore. Same issues, but I am not governed. Really ****es me off. And I am like you, if a guy wants around me, I slow down to let him pass. It is easy for me as I do not use the cruise to save on fuel. Few will give you the lights nowadays either, really annoying at night or in bad weather. No etiquette out here anymore. And don't get me started on the fact that few if any drivers use a CB radio. Going to be some real carnage out here this winter.

I had an issue like that the other day, some clown was tailgating me up on I-80, then he proceeded to nearly take a car out beside me, then finally got around me and about darn near took my bumper off before hauling tail up the road. I could not even slow down to allow this clown to pass, 72 mph, he was that close to my ICC bumper. I watched this same behavior for around 30 or 40 miles. I punched in his company name on the iPhone and called his safety department. I told the gal in safety where I was, and that I could still see this clown up ahead of me tailgating and pushing cars off the road into the median. Gave her the mile marker and with the use of her telematics she was able to pinpoint the idiot. She thanked me.

Now, I can hear some of you saying that was dirty. Me, no way was it dirty, it is because of jerks like that driver that I have this egg timer on my dash that tells me when I have to take a bodily function along with not allowing me to drive my truck in the manner I am used too. Now, hammer down, playing beat the clock. No more taking a nap and waiting for traffic to clear or just taking a couple hour break and driving on down the road after a needed refresh. Now, drive tired and irritated. I can in a way sympathize for the jerk driving like a JERK. We did not drive like this out here, not when I was coming up. And we used the CB radio too... No one does that anymore either. Going to be some mega pileups this winter, trust me on that. if any of you are running the mountains this coming winter, turn the damn CB on and use it. The life you save may be your own.

Needle nose vice grips, they work fantastic on air and coolant lines when or if they fail. Saved my bacon more than a few times. I CARRY FOUR PAIR, Home Depot sells them. Just get the inexpensive ones.

Torx bit screwdriver with different sized bits, you will need this to tighten up the rattles in the cab and elsewhere, or if you need to get into the dash to make a repair.

A good electrical kit, strippers and various connectors. Butt connectors, splice connectors, and go to Home Depot and get some screw on cap connectors, they work in a pinch to get you rolling. Not for permanent repairs, get a few for each wire gauge. These are for quick repairs on the road, get the truck to a shop or the house and repair correctly.

A tube of dialectic grease, use this on everything electrical, put a new light bulb in, apply the grease to keep corrosion out. Use in butt connector ends too, push some grease in and connect your wire, again keeps corrosion out.

Go over your motor and and undercarriage if possible, you are looking for cables and hoses rubbing against things. They rub enough, they will fail and leave you stranded. Really inspect the airlines coming out of the firewall. If you see something rubbing against something, and cannot reposition it, rubber hose will normally fix the issue. Find some scrap hose, slice it down the middle, long ways, and wrap it around the problem hose or line to protect it. Secure with zip ties.

And you will need zip ties, a good utility knife along with a roll of Gorilla Tape.

A good ratchet socket set too, I tend to use the 1/4" set the most, a mix of 3/8" and 1/4" should get you by.

I don't know if this has been said yet or not. When backing always watch that rearmost outer tire on the trailer. That is your guide, not the rear of the trailer. One thing you will discover in time, is that if you slide your tandems all the way to the rear, it is much easier to guide the trailer into the position you desire. There will also be times where you will have to release your tandems and leave them unlocked when backing. This works in really tight spots. You guide the trailer into position, use the trailer brake (Johnny or Trolley valve), so that you can slide the trailer on the tandems to move the back of the trailer forward to avoid hitting a truck or other obstacle. Get her straight, back her in and lock down the tandems.

From a lot of company owners , the trade fight that Trump has been having with China has been hurting them big time

Because most of the new start ups only saw the pot of gold and did not correctly plan for the hard times when rates dropped to near normal levels. Lack of planning leads to poor results. In their case too much money going out and not enough coming in. Simple economics.Rates now are what they were 24 months ago, so it has little to do with Thr President. Nice try, though.

Biggest problem right now: rates lower than 2018 and out of control insurance rates, helped by tort lawyers.

End of rant.

Imho... It could mainly be about those tariffs. Consumption falls when prices rise (and income is held constant). So it makes sense that freight bookings decline because sales are declining because prices are rising because tariffs are a tax added to prices. And rates will fall, too, as carriers compete for a shrinking number of loads.

That said, those startups may simply not be diversified enough to weather a downturn, so you're right about them perhaps not planning well.

I don't see this trade fight hurting trucking as is stated above. I'm seeing what always happens in a good economy, everyone jumps into trucking and or expands. We are now reaping the consequences. I've been out here thirty years... And I am an independent with my own authority.

I have run into so many guys out here that have no business in this racket over the past two years it is not even funny. And sadly, many do not even speak English, and that is a very real issue. I would say immigration and our visa program are more of an issue than any tariffs in regards to rates.

And I am not trying to start anything, don't throw this racist crap at me, I am just stating facts and my own personal observations, along with many private conversations with more than a few brokers. Another thing I have seen first hand that really disturbs me, are these outfits that are ran from overseas. The entire back office staff is located in Europe, other than one safety person in the office, and the recruiter. The drivers are all paid via 1099, the dispatch is overseas, the owner is overseas, payroll is overseas. Bottom line, these outfits have no skin in the game, they can afford to haul that freight for .70 a mile when needed without batting an eye. You would be amazed at how many outfits just like the above are operating out here, and they are into everything, vans, flats, reefer, etc. How do I or any of you compete with that? I can't.