I got a question about getting a ticket on home time in a car.  Can that be a problem?  YES.  At many companies this is the same as a ticket in the truck.  You could possibly be fired just for tickets in your personal vehicle.  Be very careful.  That license is your ticket to a paycheck.  Don't ruin it with some tickets.

Be sure to check out a Company that is Doing it Better HERE.  It is nice to see some decent pay and good online reviews from drivers.

​See you on the road!

So, what is the solution?  Boycotting truck stops that have paid parking will not work because there is not enough parking as it is plus some companies pay for the spots so the truck stop is unlikely to stop offering them.  Also, drivers are not good at sticking together on anything.

Here are my solutions to this and it involves self-help.  These spots aren't going away so one solution is to work for a company that pays for them.  This solves the out of pocket issue.  I know, owners can't do that.  Welcome to the world of running your own business.  They will have to factor in this as a cost to determine if a load is profitable.

Another solution is to avoid parking entirely.  I have drivers that write all the time on dedicated runs that provide parking, like being on a Wal-Mart account.  Parking at every stop.  You could drive for a private fleet that has the same program.  Many years ago I drove for US FoodService OTR.  I could park at any US Foods warehouse even if they didn't allow others to park because I was their own truck.  Right now we are trying to get a driver on a dedicated run Minneapolis to Indianapolis.  It is D/H on both ends but more importantly there is parking on both ends.  That driver will never need to hunt around at night looking for parking at the J.  That is the kind of self help I am talking about.  It will take years to solve the need for parking and really it may just get worse.  Plan now for that.

​See you on the road! 

Trucking Answers takes time to run but it also takes money.  To keep most everything free to drivers I have been looking around for companies that would like to partner up and bring products to us.  Blue Parrott is on board with that!  Drivers need to use a headset because of safety and because it is the law.  Blue Parrott has these noise cancelling headsets and I have asked them for a 350XT to be sent over.  When I get it I will test it out and do a review video.  Then, I'm going to give it away on a live show to one of you!  I will from time to time bring products that we can use and I promise you this:  I will never accept any money from a trucking company.  I want my reviews to remain unbiased and I don't want people to think that I am being paid for a company review.  If you are a company that would like to be reviewed on the channel, send over your company info and I will get it out there!

​See you on the road!

I got several emails over the weekend and this has also been an ongoing spot of discontent in the driver community.  Paid parking.  Are drivers being taken advantage of now?  NO.  There has been paid parking forever.  I started in the 80s there was paid parking.  Why the grumbling now?  You used to have to either pay, buy 50 gallons or buy $50 in the store or parking was only free for 2 hours.  The Detroiter was one of the first places where I experienced this.  Before you start yelling at me, consider this honestly:  If I told you of a way to simply put up a sign at your company where you park your car and they would have to give you $14 a day for no extra work, would you do it?  Of course you would.  Would you feel like you were taking advantage of your company?  Maybe but I bet 95% of you reading this would do it anyway.  Don't gripe at a truck stop for doing exactly what you would do.  They are there to make money, not provide free parking for everyone if they don't want to do so.  They have made a business decision to charge.  Remember, they have a right to do that.  If you were honest in your answer, you would do they same in their situation.  We always want to make the most money, the highest pay but no one ever wants to pay for anything.  There are solutions to the parking and I will go in to them on another blog.

​See you on the road!

The day after is here and now we are in a turkey coma.  Hope to snap out of it soon.

Had a great live show on Thanksgiving!  I was hoping for a few people but in fact there were over 100 people and we went over 3 hours so that is excellent!  I hope I could bring some entertainment and answer a few questions for everyone.  Thank you for being there!  Next live show on Monday.

So, for those of you that don't know, I have a Teespring store with some hilarious (I think) shirts and stuff.  This shirt was suggested on the live show yesterday  and you can get it HERE.

One of my very talented viewers sent in a Movie file of Trucking Answers and I am using it on the Join page and the Gallery.  Check it out!
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The small chat went well today.  If you are a new driver or someone who is interested in becoming a driver, I do a small group chat on Google Meetings twice a month.  You can be sure to get your questions answered this way and we can bounce questions off of each other.  Sign up HERE.

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Winter is upon us, be even more careful.

See you on the road!

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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the United States!  For the rest of the world, happy Thursday!  I hope everyone who wanted to get home got home.  The Love's was still 75% full last night so I see many of you are staying out.  Remember, please turn off your lights when you are parked.  Very annoying.

I will be live today, Thanksgiving, at 1pm EST.  I hope to see you all there.  Does your family have questions about trucking?  Today would be a good day to get them answered for them.  

​See you on the road!

Gas prices are low so expect tons of traffic today.  Many of these people are not experienced drivers and don't often travel the interstate so be mindful of that and be very careful.

I put out a survey and people said they want me to go live on Thanksgiving so I will be live at 1pm!  Bring your questions.  Maybe you are considering trucking and your family has questions.  If they are with you, ask those questions so they can get answers.  When people have information they can make a better decision and feel better about it.  I will be at least an hour tomorrow and more if you want it.  I hope to see you there!

Remember, its Crap Company of the Week today!  Due to the holiday and live show, there will not be a company doing it better tomorrow.

Have you checked out my Teespring store?  Purchases help support the channel and the work we are doing to change the industry to help drivers get paid for all of their time.  Here is a LINK.

​See you on the road!

I am getting more reports of this.  Drivers are being called by their truck school and are told that if they don't pay they will have their CDL revoked.  This is just not true.  Now, if you signed a contract you owe the money and you should pay it but they can't lie to you to collect a debt.  Look up the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  What can you do?  Tell them "This call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes" and then record the call (if they don't hang up).  Ask for it in writing.  If they have actually sent you a letter, I'd love to see it.  Send any letters or a recorded call to me here.  This seems to be a new tactic these schools are using.  I'd also report them to the FTC and BBB although I don't know if it would do any good.  Remember, any call you have legally recorded can be posted anywhere.

Due to popular demand there will be a live show on Thanksgiving at 1pm EST.  Stop by and say hi!  Truck drivers work 365 so I want to be helpful in the best ways I can.  If people want me to do a show on Thanksgiving, I'm in.  If you are new and your family may have questions that could be a good time for them to ask because you may be with them and here I am.

​See you on the road!

Who is ready for winter?  Yikes.  I am putting together, by request, some winter tips in a video.  A few quick tips in each video to help people with things they may not have thought about.  Yesterday was ice much of the night and it was not fun.  This is where we really earn our money.  Stay vigilant. By the way, now more than ever I am convinced the 30 minute break has to go.  I am creeping along at 35-40 and break time is coming up. UGH.  End this once and for all.

New picture in the gallery of a viewers ride!  I don't mention it enough, I have a gallery on the site and I want to post a picture of your truck or some other such interesting thing you send.  So, send it in!

​See you on the road!

I am always saying that pay isn't everything but at some point it is something.  What is good pay?  Part of that depends on you.  How you are treated can really change how it is to work at a company.  Still, at some point we have to say enough is enough.  No matter how good you are treated, if you are losing out on a dime or even more every mile, is that worth it?  There are places that drivers seem to enjoy that are paying much better than other places. I would encourage experienced drivers in the low 40s a mile to really examine their situation and it may be time to start looking around.  A dime a mile is $10,000+ per year out of your pocket.  Part of treating drivers like the licensed professionals we are is paying a professional wage.  Companies are reporting record revenues and profits so underpaying drivers is just not the right thing to do.

Yesterday was fun being a guest on Auto Transport Intel.  I will be on for a full hour this Friday on Trucking Business Freedom at 1pm on YouTube.  You can catch the show here and I hope you will come watch!

See you on the road!