Rollover Avoidance
TruckNewsTalk
Rollover Avoidance Remember when CB radios were the main communication system between truckers? There was an entire lingo between drivers…but maybe the most popular one was “Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down.” CB radios aren’t as popular as they once were, but it seems that these days, keeping the shiny side up is also not as popular as it once was. Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear about another rollover or see one on social media. In some cases, lives are lost. What are we going to do about that? Well Jim Park will have a conversation with Brian Bullock,...
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Diesel Fuels Tools with Jim Park and Stan
TruckNewsTalk
Fuel Tools You Can Use We have come down with the crude oil blues. Thanks to Donald Trump’s adventure in Iran and the subsequent closing of the Strait of Hormuz, we are feeling the pain at the pumps. Diesel is at an all-time high in Canada and the USA, and it may get worse before it gets better. We aren’t left with many options, except to moderate our driving habits, in an attempt to cut down on diesel fuel expenses. Our TNT co-host, Jim Park, a driver for twenty years, understands the challenges. As a journalist he has also been involved in several fuel saving studies, where he learned a...
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Andy's Red Seal Questions
TruckNewsTalk
Andy’s Red Seal Questions With all the buzz around Red Seal designation for truck drivers, even turning truck driving into a designated trade, some skepticism remains. Most industry stakeholders, including us here at Truck News Talk, believe the objectives are solid, and worth pursuing. But ... Driving school owner Andy Roberts wonders, if schools are interested in training to a Red Seal standard, why aren’t they already delivering that level of training to their current clients? He wonders why many are leaning toward Red Seal when MELT and the old Earning Your Wheels course had limited...
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Driver Abuse
TruckNewsTalk
DRIVER ABUSE According to the authors of a recent report on labour abuses in the Canadian trucking industry, one of the worst problems drivers face is wage theft -- which they frame as uncompensated work. Think, waiting time, inspections, layovers, etc. While the report deals primarily with the Driver Inc. environment, many of the problems they highlight exist in traditional employee/employer relationships too. The Driver Inc. discussion is often framed in the context of its impact on the marketplace. It distorts fair competition, and creates safety risks that affect...
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Driver Inc - New Way or Scourge
TruckNewsTalk
Driver Inc – The Epitome of Evil Driver Inc. The epitome of evil? A scourge on the trucking industry? Or, is this the new way in the gig economy, the future of trucking employment. Driver Inc. is a label that describes a tax-avoidance scheme in which truck drivers are treated as independent corporations rather than employees - even though they function as employee drivers. Instead of being paid wages with source deductions such as income tax, CPP, and EI, the driver is paid as a corporation. No payroll deductions are withheld by the carrier. Carriers avoid paying employer portions of...
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Red Seal in the Hot Seat
TruckNewsTalk
The Red Seal in the Hot Seat Over the past couple of months there have been any number of questions being raised about the feasibility of a Red Seal certifications for truck drivers. We know that many truck driver schools are supportive, but I know of a few that question the probability that such a project will ever happen. Many have other questions about how such a high-minded project will solve the problem of the quickie schools, and what are we going to do about governance and enforcement of current laws? One thing we can agree on is that something needs to be done to raise the bar for...
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Driver Inc-The Transformation
TruckNewsTalk
Driver Inc -The Transformation Driver Inc…a phrase that sends chills through the hearts of legacy fleet carrier owners everywhere. But…come on, is the Driver Inc way of doing business really that bad? Could there be such a thing as Driver Inc Lite? However, I’m sure that anything other than the rules and the long-held traditions of legacy carriers is unacceptable. But not so fast. There are new kids on the block, and they are getting noticed, and even, praised by the Truckload Carriers Association. This week, on the TNT podcast, I talk to a lady who I view as somewhat of a...
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Red Seal -The Debate with Guy Broderick-Jim Park-Stan Campbell
TruckNewsTalk
Over the past several TNT podcasts we have talked about the campaign to create a Red Seal level of training and certification for truck drivers. I have spoken initially to Mike McCarron, who is probably the most outspoken voice in the Canadian Trucking industry and then Don MacDonald of the PTTAC, then journalist Jim Park, and this week Jim Park is back with me to talk to Guy Broderick, former Highway Star of the Year and now Safety & Training Supervisor at Kriska. We will discuss and maybe debate the Red Seal campaign and truck driver training standards in general. Personally, I have my...
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Pilot Program
TruckNewsTalk
The Pilot Program Good quality truck training schools are not doing as well as they once were, thanks to the budget quickie so-called schools. A good quality school can cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000. It’s tough for a young guy or girl to come up with that kind of money. But this is interesting…did you know that there is no shortage of young people showing up to fork out around 20 thousand to become a pilot…and $80,000 to become a commercial pilot. Yet, it’s interesting that, unlike in the trucking world, there a no bad or crooked quickie pilot schools. Well, I...
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Ben in Enforcement Territory
TruckNewsTalk
The Enforcement Province There seems to be a lot of handwringing and anger about the scourge of bad poorly trained and sometimes fake licensed truck drivers on our highways…and the suggestions and strategies to fix the problems. There have been, as usual, plenty of disagreements about what needs to be done to make our highways safer. The one seemingly logical simple solution that obviously evades us is… ENFORCEMENT. Enforcing minimum training standards and enforcing verifiable testing and licensing. It’s a bigger problem in Ontario than just about anywhere…but there is one...
info_outlineAndy’s Red Seal Questions
With all the buzz around Red Seal designation for truck drivers, even turning truck driving into a designated trade, some skepticism remains. Most industry stakeholders, including us here at Truck News Talk, believe the objectives are solid, and worth pursuing. But ...
Driving school owner Andy Roberts wonders, if schools are interested in training to a Red Seal standard, why aren’t they already delivering that level of training to their current clients?
He wonders why many are leaning toward Red Seal when MELT and the old Earning Your Wheels course had limited success? Will Red Seal be the silver bullet?
Andy doesn't have the answers, but he has some questions that will bring the Red Seal debate into clearer focus. Andy Roberts, owner and president of Mountain Transport Institute of Castlegar British Columbia joins Jim & Stan on the Truck News Talk Podcast.
Thanks to Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender - a diesel fuel lubricator and injector cleaner with advanced IDX four detergent.