“Too many new drivers are involved in road accidents and are not properly prepared for driving alone. It is time for a new approach to learning to drive.” –Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for transport, United Kingdom

Though roadway deaths and serious injuries dropped by 33% in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Scotland … oh, all right, we’ll throw Northern Ireland in there too for now, much as I’d rather not) since the mid 1990s, the casualty rate for young drivers has not changed – and that’s promulgating a new effort spearheaded by Ruth Kelly, the U.K.’s transport secretary, to totally revamp driver training processes.

“The aim … is to create safer drivers for life by strengthening the current learning and testing procedures and creating a culture of extended and advanced learning,” she said in a statement to the press kicking off this new program. And it’s a program we in the U.S. should take a close look at ourselves, suffering as we do from some 43,000 highway deaths every year.

The problem in the U.K. is simple and brutal: One in five people get into an accident within six months of passing their driver’s test, with another 70% reporting near-misses in the same period. Newly qualified drivers and their passengers also account for one in five of all car deaths in Britain as well.

Note some of these statistics: Two million people take a car driving test every year in the U.K. but only 750,000 end up qualifying for a license. That means the pass rate is 44%, meaning the average learner takes more than two tests before passing. Three quarters of those 750,000, by the way, are under the age of 25, according to the U.K.’s department of transport.

“We must make sure that novice drivers are safe drivers when they have passed their test,” Kelly added. “We must also create an expectation of lifelong learning, so that people continue advanced learning after their test. That is why I am publishing proposals that offer new drivers more opportunities to learn both before and after the test, including at school.”

Her plan is to create a foundation course in safe road use for under 17 years olds to be piloted in schools and colleges in Scotland from this Autumn – leading to a qualification program available across Great Britain by 2009.

For the first time, Kelly said, there will be a syllabus to ensure more effective and comprehensive training is offered to learner drivers. This will set out more clearly the necessary steps to driving safely – beginning with the basics of car control, progressing to skills such as driving in difficult weather or at night and culminating in ensuring driver awareness is enhanced, to help novice drivers predict the intentions of other road users.

Here are some of the key points of her proposal:

* A more focused and thorough learning process before the driving test that focuses not just on vehicle control but also the wider skills needed to be a safe driver, from driving in difficult conditions (for example at night or in poor weather) to learning to predict and respond to other road users’ intentions;

* A new training syllabus to ensure learners understand what is required of them to become a responsible driver, enable them to undertake structured and efficient learning and accurately assess when they are ready to pass their driving test;

* An improved driving test which requires the driver to demonstrate independent driving skills and clear understanding of different situations on the road, with the option of modular assessment;

* New opportunities to take extra training post test; working with the insurance industry and employers in the driving for work sector we will develop new courses and qualifications to be taken after the driving test that could lead to lower premiums and a better chance of securing a career in the driving for work sector;

* A star-rating system for driving instructors so that learners can make an informed choice based on pass rates and the level of training instructors have undergone;

* A review of driving instructor training and testing to ensure they provide a quality service and are focused on those areas of driving performance that are closely linked to safe driving.

What are the results that Kelly hopes to achieve with all of this? Pretty straightforward:

* A driving test that gives a more realistic and rounded assessment of whether someone is fit to drive alone;

* More focused and efficient learning, with greater clarity about what is required, so learners should not face any increase in costs;

* Better training and testing of driving instructors and better information for the public on instructors’ qualifications and performance

* A wider range of opportunities for drivers to acquire skills and demonstrate that they have done so, both before and after they qualify, creating a culture of lifelong learning and driver development.

* Lower numbers of accidents;

* More opportunities and greater incentives for post-test learning, with this becoming increasingly common;

* Higher levels of employer confidence in the driving test and driving qualifications;

* Lower insurance costs for drivers who have taken advantage of a wider range of learning options, both pre and post test, to improve their competence.

It’s bold stuff, what the U.K. is attempting to put in place here, as it will require a lot of time, effort, money, and above all patience. But if this program results in fewer highway deaths and better drivers for the long term, it will be well worth it – and may be something we need to look at copying here in the U.S.

“This is hard work. It’s a serious job and you really have to be alert out here on the road.” –George Ertel, 41-year veteran driver for Batesville Casket Company

This week I got the privilege to meet four new inductees into the National Private Truck Council’s Driver Hall of Fame: George Ertel, James “Jimmy” Perkins, Tommy Stoddard, and Kenneth Wright.

(Left to right: Perkins, Stoddard, Ertel, and Wright.)

In the words of Gary Petty, NPTC’s president and CEO, these four represent “the best of the best” from the truck driver community – guys that have racked up millions of safe miles without a single chargeable accident, that do it the right way every day and night, year in and year out.

Ertel, for instance, racked up 4.8 million safe driving miles over a 41-year career with Batesville Casket Company in Batesville, IN – a carrier his father work for, and one his son has joined as well.

The luck of Irish has smiled on Perkins over the 4 million miles he’s accumulated during 36 years of driving, most recently with Trimac Transportation Inc. in Braddock, PA.

(Perkins receiving his “Driver Hall of Fame” plaque.)

Tommy Stoddard, a contract driver with Vanguard Services, totaled 3.75 million miles over his 34-year career, lately spent with Bridgestone/-Firestone North American Tire’s fleet in Memphis TN.

(Stoddard gets his “Driver Hall of Fame” award.)

Finally, there’s Kenneth Wright, a 36-year veteran driver with 4.3 million safe miles under his belt, most recently tallying them up for NCI Building Systems out of Houston, TX.

Dan Baker, a trucking consultant and noted motivational speaker with this industry, noted during his speech at the luncheon inducting these four into NPTC’s Driver Hall of Fame that they represent the rock-steady truckers of the old school, that drive trucks because they love to drive trucks.

“This is a passion-based business – they get that inner something behind the wheel that makes their blood run,” Baker said. “That’s the kind of passion that needs to be passed on in this industry – we need to infect other people with it.”

(Perkins is the first driver from Trimac to be inducted.)

Unfortunately, I only got to talk to Ertel myself about his truck-driving career and about some of the reasons he thinks he’s been so good at it. For these are the types of drivers a reporter like me wants to talk with the – the “iron cowboys” representing the top class of driver, the ones who live and breathe high performance every single day.

“The equipment sure is a lot better these days and so are the roads – but the roads are also far more congested than they used to be,” Ertel told me. “That’s what makes this job so hard today – watching all the other drivers on the road.”

As noted before, Ertel is but one link in a generational chain of drivers – a tradition handed down to him from his father and passed on to his son. Working for Batesville Casket Company also offers a range of benefits not found at the typical trucking carrier. For starters, he runs dedicated routes from factory to warehouse, out at most two to three days on the road. Batesville also remains a family-owned company, one that honors and respects the value of its driver corps.

For example, Ertel told me that when he reached the two million safe mile mark, he got a new truck with a $10,000 credit for the options of his choice. At the three million mile mark, he got a new Freightliner FL Class 8 with a $15,000 credit for his choice of options. At 4 million miles, he could’ve gotten a new truck, but since he loved his current rig, he asked – and received – a bigger upgrade package, which included new paint, chrome, exhaust stacks, and seats for his ride. “My feeling is, if the truck works for you, stick with it,” he said.

The secret to this industry is really no secret at all, Ertel noted: work for a good company, one that treats you with respect. That and really watching yourself when you are out running fully loaded down the highway. “There’s not as much courtesy anymore from the motoring public for us – means you must really keep your eyes open,” he explained. “Aside from that, though, it’s a great lifestyle. It’s what my dad did, what I do, and now my son does. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

“Don’t give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks.” – Capt. James Lawrence, U.S.S. Chesapeake

I’ve seen the same grim, steely determination that no doubt infused Capt. Lawrence and his crew as they faced the HMS Shannon in battle on the high seas in 1813 reflected in the eyes and words of many owner-operators I talk to nowadays. With the U.S. national average for diesel fuel at $4.21 a gallon, fuel surcharges hard to come by, and lackluster freight demand, many are fighting hard just to survive, much less eke out a profit at the end of each week.

(The indomitable Capt. James Lawrence)

Many may also face the fate of the Chesapeake, which ultimately lost its battle with the Shannon, followed by Lawrence’s death from wounds sustained from small arms fire during that historic clash. Yet many others won’t – not only surviving the current rough patch but also perhaps profiting as trucking capacity begins to again get scarce – much the way the United States escaped from several catastrophic losses during the War of 1812 (the burning of Washington D.C. the biggest of them) to eventually win that conflict against England.

I got the chance to talk with Robert Zuckerman, a veteran owner-operator operating from (of all places!!!) Rhode Island about the challenges facing independent truckers like himself these days. “There’s two ways to look at the business these days: either you tough it out or get out of it,” he told me over the phone as he wrapped up a haul. “The question you need to ask yourself is, will I make the same amount of money I do now if I get out of this business? Because most likely, in whatever other career you choose, you are going to start at the bottom. So I am just going to tough it out. But here’s the thing: I love this job and I don’t want to do something else.”

(Robert Zuckerman, posed in front of his rig.)

Zuckerman is also of the “old school” when it comes to driving trucks, as he acquired and honed his skills in the late 1970s over the course of several years, maneuvering an ever-larger vehicle for his family’s scrap metal business. “I learned on one piece of equipment at a time: from forklifts to a series of straight trucks, then a tractor, a tractor and 20-foot trailer, followed by a tractor and 40-foot trailer, and so on,” he related.

These were old 1950s and 60s Mack trucks, along with a 1966 Autocar, Zuckerman added, so shifting was like learning an ancient, intricate form of tai chi, with every movement requiring precision or disaster would strike. These trucks didn’t have power steering either, much less air conditioning or air ride seats, so Zuckerman is more than appreciate of the modern-day comforts found on today’s tractors.

“I appreciate trucking today so much, because I didn’t have the air conditioning or all the electronics kids today take for granted,” he said. “It makes driving a lot easier.”

The important thing Zuckerman believes will get him – and others like him – through the current rough patch is the ability to adapt, the remain open to learning new skills (especially ones related to business management), and to renew his focus on the small details of trucking. For today, every single penny counts – not a one can be wasted, he told me.

“How do you survive? You need to make smart business decisions and pay attention to the small stuff,” Zuckerman said. “I never used to give a second thought to the small stuff, like $10 air filters. Now I do – and the $5 and $1 items as well. Not only am I paying attention to all the numbers, I am also trying to manage my time and effort better too – that’s worth money to me as well. Because your time is NEVER free.”

Zuckerman’s also been working with Tim Brady — FleetOwner’s contributing editor, a former driver, and formidable trucking consultant in his own right — to beef up his business and financial management skills as well. “You have to go with the flow or get left behind in this business now,” Zuckerman explained. “I’ve been an owner-operator for over 15 years, but just now I am getting my business organized on a laptop computer so I can track the numbers better.”

Yet he’s also a big believer in keeping home and work life separate from each other: a hard thing to do when you are an owner-operator, but one he thinks is necessary. “Business is business and personal is personal: you need to remember you wear two hats when you drive for yourself,” he said. “I go so far as to not park my truck out in front of my house: I keep down the street a ways in a secure area. That way when I am home, I am completely focusing my time and effort on my family.”

Zuckerman applies his “steady as he goes” philosophy to his equipment as well, staying on a strict maintenance schedule that he thinks helps him stave off larger, more costly repairs over the life of his truck. For example, Zuckerman said he changes the oil on his 2000-model Volvo VN 660 every 10,000 to 14,000 miles – a much shorter interval than the manufacturer suggests – because he wants to keep the inside of his engine just as clean and in good working order as the outside of his truck.

“It’s got 847,000 miles on it and I only had to rebuild the bottom-end of the motor at 500,000 miles and change one fuel injector. That’s it in terms of major repairs,” he said. “I change all the filters at every oil change and change the transmission fluid every other year because that helps keep my truck in good working order. This truck has never given me any problems as a result.”

Still, he and his wife and their three kids are tightening their belts, cutting costs where they can, not going out to eat as much, watching every penny. His wife recently took her retail clothing business online so she could save the money spend on store rent. They plan to do what it takes so Zuckerman can keep driving, awaiting better days to return.

“The first four years after I bought my new Volvo were great – then the costs started increasing,” he said. “Also, the business isn’t what it used to be. Common courtesy on the road isn’t there anymore. We as drivers don’t treat each other as equals anymore. But I am going to do what it takes to stay in this business. I’ve been driving all my life: I could never sit in an office and push paper. This is what I love to do.”

“The men and women of the Armed Forces have all the motivation and tools necessary to move successfully from the military into many areas within our industry.” –Bill Graves, president and CEO, American Trucking Associations.

Military veterans have always been a prized labor pool for the trucking industry, largely for their work ethic, ingrained discipline, and ability to get the job despite the circumstances.

Now, however, the trucking industry is ratcheting up its efforts to recruit from this honored segment of the U.S. populations is an effort to get ahead of the impending labor crunch coming down the pike over the next few years as the so-called “baby boom” generation begins to retire form the workforce.

(Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense.)

For example, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) just signed a recruiting partnership agreement with the U.S. Army Reserve that will provide experienced truck drivers for the military while also opening up careers to truck drivers leaving the military.

The two organizations said they would focus on recruiting commercial vehicle drivers into the U.S. Army Reserve, and recruiting members of the U.S. Army Reserve and those transitioning from active duty to the Army Reserve into careers in the trucking industry.

“Army reservists are ideal candidates for America’s professional truck drivers,” said Bill Graves, ATA’s president and CEO, in a statement. “By the same token, the Army Reserve can offer qualified transportation professionals exciting opportunities to learn new skills, develop management and leadership abilities, excel in a high-stress climate and work in a team environment.”

“This is a mutually beneficial relationship for the trucking industry and the Army Reserve,” added Lt. Gen. Jack Stultz, Chief of the Army Reserve and Commanding General, Army Reserve Command. “Together, we will build and sustain a strong shared workforce.”

The alliance with the ATA is the first of its kind in the nation between the Army Reserve and the motor transport industry, said Stultz, who aims to give employers incentives for employing Army Reserve soldiers. “We’re into the seventh year of the global war on terrorism, and employers are bearing the burden when their soldier-employee takes a leave of absence from the workplace to support the war in Iraq or Afghanistan” he noted. “We’re offering employers who want to partner with us the chance to gain tangible benefits by hiring Army Reserve Soldiers.”

(Photo courtesy of Department of Defense.)

More importantly, the trucking industry gets a line on new driver and technician candidates in what’s soon to become a very tight labor market as the “baby boom” generation retires and is replaced by a far-smaller population termed “Generation X.”

“Look at the overall demographic shift here – you have 78 million baby boomers that start retiring in 2008 being replaced by Generation X, which is comprised of only 45 million workers,” said Richard White, VP-marketing and communications for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Assn. “Basically, you have a lot of people retiring very soon and not enough people to fill the jobs they are leaving.” That trend is only going to worsen between 2012 and 2025 as the baby boom generation fully retires, he noted.

It’s not all peaches and cream for veterans, however, as many are dealing with a variety of physical and mental health issues due to combat duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, many groups are taking the lead in helping funnel veterans to job vacancies as this report from television station KMEG 14 in Iowa shows.

The effort to tap into the ranks of military veterans by trucking isn’t new; what is new is how it’s becoming much more widespread and is now being coordinated at higher levels in the industry. Indeed, all kinds of transportation companies – from trucking fleets to third-party logistics providers and railroads – are trying to attached fresh blood from the ranks of military veterans, using various sites on the Internet, such as MilitarySpot.com, to reach them.

PaYS was developed to help the U.S. Army attract, train and deploy talented young people who want to serve their country, but also want to help secure their future success once their Army service is complete. Under terms of the agreement between USAREC and Cardinal, enlistees interested in gaining specific job training and qualifications will receive that training while in the U.S. Army.

(Photo courtesy of Cardinal Logistics.)

As part of the enlistment process, recruits sign a statement of understanding of intent to work for Cardinal upon completion of their term of service and, as they near the end of their enlistments, the soldiers get an opportunity to interview with Cardinal for a specific job at a specific location nationwide.

“We see the PaYS program as the perfect vehicle for attracting, training and hiring outstanding employees for many years to come,” said Jerry Bowman, Cardinal’s president and COO at the time. “We look forward to tapping into the incredible talent, skills and integrity possessed by our country’s enlisted men and women who join us through this program.”

“We have to be creative with our customers and our drivers as well.” Matthew “Bo” Bates, Vice President, The Evans Network

I’m a big admirer of fleets that look for new and different incentives to improve safety, especially during these tight times in the trucking industry. For it’s not easy for a fleet to go out and set up rewards for drivers that drive accident-free when fuel is up over $4 a gallon and freight volumes are sluggish.

The Evans Network of Companies, based out of Schuylkill Haven, PA, gets my vote this time around for a neat safety award: a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Since 2005, the Evans Network randomly selects a winner for its grand safety prize (the Harley) from a select pool of eligible drivers – those with perfect driving records in a calendar year, as in no accidents, failed roadside inspections, etc.

“Each month of the year, eligible drivers are selected at random for various prizes, such as computers, digital cameras, apparel, bags, coolers, among many other items,” said Kim Lorimer, director of safety for the Evans Network. “Drivers are eligible for our safety program by following all government rules and regulations, such as completing daily logs and inspections, and maintaining a record of no accidents or incidents.”

Evans’ grand prize winner for 2007 is Luis Alfonso, who believes being a safe driver should be “second nature” in this business. “Safety on the road for the protection of life and quality delivery of cargo is my most important responsibility when I get into my truck each day,” he said. “This is the primary thought of every dedicated driver and the golden rule at Evans. To be honored for something that is second nature is extremely exciting. Now, I have to make time to enjoy my new motorcycle.”

(Luis Alfonso plans to take his new Harley Davidson out for many a ride.)

Alfonso has driven for Evans out of its Jersey City terminal for since December 2006. A 10-year truck driving veteran, he came to the U.S. from Cuba and resides in Kearny, NJ, with his wife, Grisel, and his two children, Claudia and Albert.

“Luis’s driving record demonstrates an outstanding commitment to safety and I’m proud our drivers value every phase of safety, just as Luis does,” noted Matthew “Bo” Bates, vice president of the Evans Network. “Our safety incentive program was implemented in 2005 to reward drivers who always operate safely and to ensure our trusted and dependable service that our customers expect.”

(That’s Matthew “Bo” Bates on the right, giving Luis Alfonso the keys to a new Harley.)

I got the chance to talk with “Bo” Bates not too long ago about the state of the trucking business and from his perspective the market dynamics right now are not pretty. “The freight environment is certainly spotty and soft and that’s lasted longer than I thought,” he said. “We think pricing is going to be flat at least for the foreseeable future.”

There are a ton of other issues, too: traffic congestion, anti-idling and truck pollution restrictions, tougher security requirements, etc. All of that adds more cost to trucking operations – cost that’s hard to make up when rates are flat.

The Evans Network is a collection of six trucking companies – West Motor Freight, All Points Transport Corp., Hale Intermodal Trucking, Century Express, Evans Delivery Company and DM Transportation Management Services – that operates a combined fleet of over 1,350 tractors and 80 service centers nationwide. Those six different companies provide a wide range of services, too, everything from transporting intermodal containers and trailer drayage, truckload and flatbed services. All told, the Evans Network generated $150 million in revenues last year.

And that money wasn’t easy to come by, as there’s a lot of competition in all of those markets right now, especially for intermodal containers. “We’re competing against local drayage operators and big intermodal fleets like J.B. Hunt and Schneider National,” Bates told me. “How we compete is that we offer services across a very wide spectrum, with significantly more capacity at ports than most, and we sell our IT system, which gives the customer unified data in real time.”

It also helps that the Evans Network has consolidate all the “back office” functions of the six carriers under its umbrella – billing systems, safety compliance record keeping, accounting, etc. – to make it more nimble while substantially reducing overhead. “That makes us a lot more efficient and helps us share freight more easily among our divisions,” Bates noted.

But at the end of the day, it’s the drivers – and the rest of Evans’ combined staff – that makes the real difference. “We really try to keep a personal connection with drivers – to make sure we can be available if they have an issue,” he said. “And I rely on a great team to get it all done. My time here at Evans is really all about developing people – finding the right players for our team.”

“Retention is Job #1.” –One of many mantras emblazoned on the walls at Mercer Transportation

I look forward to my annual visit to Mercer Transportation every year ahead of the Mid America Trucking Show. It’s a great opportunity for me to sit down with Dale Corum, Mercer’s general manager, to get a feel for what’s going on out there in the trenches of the truckload freight world.

(Dale Corum at his desk.)

Needless to say it’s been tough out there, with freight slow and diesel fuel prices high. And the number one complaint Dale gets from Mercer’s owner-operators is all about the high cost of fuel – but there’s a lot more to this situation than meets the eye, Dale said.

“Fuel is indeed a huge issue – but it’s not all about the price at the pump,” he told me. “It’s about how you manage fuel. Look at fuel economy, for example. If one of our drivers is getting 5 miles per gallon, with all the fuel surcharges added in, he’s paying 23 cents a mile for fuel. Get his truck up to 6 miles per gallon, however, and his fuel cost drops to 9.7 cents a mile. That’s a big, big different to the bottom line.”

(Rigs parked at Mercer’s headqaurters in Louisville, Ky.)

Not only does the fuel efficiency of their trucks make a big difference, how they select loads impacts their costs as well. For example, some flatbed drivers pass on a load 10 or 20 miles from their current location they’d need to tarp, and instead deadhead 100 miles for a non-tarp load. “That decision takes a lot more money out of their pocket, as bad as fuel prices are,” Dale pointed out.

One thing Dale emphasized to me over and over is that owner-operators by and large are excellent drivers – they know all the finer points of shifting gears, securing loads, and maneuvering in traffic down cold. It’s the business side of things – paying taxes, building up cash reserves, and managing their money – that tends to trip them up.

(The front door to Mercer’s headquarters.)

“I had one guy with a million-mile truck that blew a motor – and he needed $5,000 for a new one,” Dale said. “When you’re running a truck with that many miles, you know something like that can happen so you need to put away money just in case. You need reserves to fall back on.”

That being said, Dale is well aware of how much more frustrating it is to be a truck driver today – much less and owner-operator – than even three or four years ago. The high price of fuel and insurance, plus the demands of family back home, are driving many to hang up the keys for good. “I know a lot of guys who are on their last truck,” he said.

(Libby Fagan helms the front desk at Mercer — home also to a flag the carrier earned by helping out the Special Olympics.)

That frustration is reflected in Mercer’s 39% turnover rate in 2007 – a number most fleets would kill for, but a level that the folks at Mercer can’t stand, as they are usually dealing with turnover levels in the teens. “We roll everything into that number, by the way – if a driver gets dismissed, or has an accident, or quits for a non-trucking job, or goes to another carrier, that all gets rolled into our turnover figures.”

That’s why Mercer works so hard at recruiting and especially retention – not just bringing warm bodies in the door, but also figuring out what will be needed to keep them on board for the long haul.

(Safety director Len Dunman collects toy trucks, as you can see from the wall behind him.)

“It’s about hiring the right people at the beginning,” said Len Dunman, Mercer’s safety director. “You do everything up front – explain your expectations, listen to their needs – and that saves you a lot of trouble down the road. You need to respect the driver and treat them well – that’s missing from so much of our industry today.”

I talked to Len in Mercer’s new building: a 53,000 square-foot facility that houses the company’s safety and recruiting departments, along with other administrative functions and 23,000 square-feet of warehouse space. “It’s allowed us to dedicate a building to our driver lounge,” Dale told me. “We are also tearing down our old warehouse to add more parking spaces for our drivers.”

Mercer’s also adept at developing unusual strategies for finding and keeping its prized drivers. Chris Swanks – one of Mercer’s young recruiters – gave me a tour of the company’s latest venture, www.showusyourtruck.com. It’s a monthly “show truck” contest where both Mercer and non-Mercer drivers send in photographs of their rigs. Every month, Mercer’s staff picks a Mercer and non-Mercer winner that each get $200 worth of coupons for work at the famous Four States Truck chrome shop in Joplin, MO.

(You can see one of Mercer’s show truck winners on Swank’s’ computer behind him.)

The big prize, however, is a $13,000 sleeper makeover Mercer is sponsoring with sleeper-maker ITC: raising the profile of their show truck site even more.

It’s a sharp site – partially funded by sponsorships – that serves as both a subtle recruiting and retention tool, Swanks told me. “I can go to a non-Mercer driver and start talking right away about their pride and joy – their truck,” he said. “It’s a way to really connect with a prospect first before getting into the recruiting pitch.”

But it also serves as a way to recognize long-time drivers by encouraging them to put their rig Mercer’s show truck ring. “Our veterans also encourage their non-Mercer friends to participate – putting more good drivers in touch with us,” said Dale. So far, the show truck web page been quite a hit and is driving traffic to Mercer’s other sites, and by selling sponsorships, it lowers Mercer’s costs to fund such outreach as well. Pretty smart, if you ask me.

(A long-time husband and wife team for Mercer, Tom and Debbie Berkel, sit down to catch up with some of Mercer’s staff in the company’s new building.)

All of this dovetails with Mercer’s other long term recruiting and retention efforts, such as matching up drivers and dispatchers with similar interests: former Marines, or ones that like the same NASCAR teams, or that enjoy fishing. Everywhere you look, there are mantras reminding everyone in the office how important drivers are to the operation – that they are not an afterthought to the business. “Drivers are what make this company roll. Without them, we don’t haul freight and we don’t make money. So we make sure that everyone here understands that – and understands it every single day,” said Dale.

“Truckers do not just carry freight: they carry us.” –Motto of truckload carrier Mercer Transportation, Louisville, KY.

Being a truck driver in today’s society ain’t easy. It’s not a career encouraged in most homes or schools and truckers themselves are at best ignored or at worst treated as third class citizens by most of the general public. Everyone complains about big trucks incessantly, attributing to them total responsibility for a whole host of ills – traffic congestion, roadway degeneration, highway fatalities, air pollution, take your pick – without considering why they are there in the first place.

Trucks deliver roughly 80% of the food on the shelves, raw materials in the factories, and finished goods from appliances to new cars. I mean, without trucks – and especially without the truck drivers at the wheel – the economy stops. Period. End of story.

So I’m going to take a moment here to salute the truck drivers – the heroic ones that step into the breech to save lives on down to the regular Joe’s and Jane’s putting in the miles day in and day out to keep the goods flowing and the economy humming. The saying goes in journalism that a picture says a thousand words. I’m thinking these probably say ten thousand, if not a whole lot more.

Goodyear’s 25th Highway Hero, Richard Filiczkowski (left) and Goodyear’s 1st Highway Hero, Ronnie Stapleton, span the company’s history in promoting North America’s truck drivers. They recently joined forces at the Mid America Trucking Show in Louisville, KY, to describe the heroics of truck drivers on America’s highways.

Ronnie Stapleton, of Beckley, W.Va., used his bare hands to tear off the back door of a burning car, and then breaking the back seat in two as he extricated two unconscious occupants. At that time, Stapleton – who also was a preacher – was hauling explosives in his DuPont truck. The 67-year-old owns two trucks and is still driving.

Richard Filiczkowski, of Zion, IL, and a driver for C.R. England, jumped into an icy South Dakota pond on April 26, 2007, to save Abby Bern, a 9-year old trapped in a car after it skidded of the road. Richard’s wife Janet Filiczkowski, at the wheel of their truck at the time, witnessed the crash and alerted Richard in time for him to save Abbey’s life.

Earl Martin out of Ft. Wayne, IN, is not only proud of his motto (’It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy’), he’s proud of the detailing the Chrome Shop Mafia put on his Peterbilt.

When longtime driver Leonard Testerman died last year in a construction accident at his home, the tributes poured in from everywhere. One of the best is a mural of the truck Leonard and his wife Charlene used to drive – a customized Peterbilt nicknamed “Rollin’ Thunder” – painted on the side of Bob Martin’s newly made-over truck, courtesy of S&J Truck Sales and Shell Lubricants. It’s a more than fitting tribute to a driver sorely missed by the trucking community.

A husband and wife team I am fortunate enough to know, Tom and Debbie Berkel, travel the highways in fine style – with a sleeper compartment that contains a shower, full kitchen, and more. Debbie is a great cook so I hope to sample a slice of the homemade bread she cooks in her trucking kitchen someday soon.

Nothing says ‘fun’ the way the one and only ‘Frightliner’ does. Owned and operated by Starshine Express out of New Kingstown, PA, I’ve always enjoyed seeing this ‘scary’ truck at various truck shows – and if there’s a more fitting salute to Halloween out there, I don’t know of it.

To my mind, at least, Joe Schmitt would’ve made one hell of a cowboy.

A lean, rangy owner-operator from Wisconsin, Schmitt is about to notch his 20th year on the road, running long haul refrigerated routes across the U.S. His weathered hands bespeak his devotion not only to his profession behind the wheel, but also to his pride and joy, a 2003 Kenworth he’s turned into a working show truck on his own, with the help of friends and family.

Like Union cavalry general John Buford, Schmitt follows a simple maxim when it comes to his craft: taking care of “horse, saddle, then the man,” in that order. Dubbed “Wreckers & Checkers,” Schmitt’s rig features hand-laid wooden floors and a matching tractor and trailer paint scheme, with his reefer unit’s engine painted to match.

The unusual name for Schmitt’s operation stems from the commitment he made upon becoming an independent two decades ago: like a stock car racer, he was either going to wreck or take the checkered flag, both in terms of succeeding at the business of trucking and winning a few show truck trophies in the bargain.

Though Schmitt indeed built a successful career as trucker and won a passel of trophies (though just falling short of winning the top prize at the National Association of Show Trucks [NAST] contest at Mid America for the second year in a row) he’s now ready to hang up his keys.

Though the trials of the road are hard and getting harder (this winter proved particularly bad), and though fuel prices are out of sight ($800 one way between Utah and Wisconsin now; a price that would’ve covered him round trip with some left over not long ago), the reasons he’s leaving the long-haul business and selling his truck boil down to one thing: family.

“I’ve got two little ones still at home yet, so I want to be with them more,” he told me. Once he sells his truck (which is almost paid for – he’s got a year of payments left), he plans to take a local trucking job so he can be home every night. “It is just time to do this,” he said.

I am more than sure this is a common sentiment today among long-haul independent drivers – a sentiment that’s getting a lot of help, no doubt, from $4 per gallon diesel, out of sight insurance rates, higher sticker prices due to new pollution control technology, and ever-stricter idling rules. No doubt Schmitt, like a lot of drivers, found that the hassles now far outweigh any of the benefits life as a truck driver used to offer.

Ah, but what memories of the road Schmitt has – ones he shares with an easy laugh. Back in 1996, for example, he found himself stuck in a horrible blizzard, pushing a bank of snow into the back end of a completely jammed truck stop parking lot. “I jumped out of the cab and immediately sank up to my hips in snow,” Schmitt told me. “I called my customer back in Wisconsin and told him, ‘I have some good news and bad news. The good news is your lettuce is safe and sound. The bad news is we’re all sitting in snow so you won’t see if for a few more days.’” As a result, a two-day run turned into five days, with the National Guard helping dig everyone out of the truck stop.

This past winter of 2007-2008 proved just as tough, he said. Every trip seemed to be fraught with blizzards, Schmitt told me. One proved so bad most of the paint off the front end of his vehicle wore off, forcing him to spend two days of nearly non-stop sandblasting and re-painting to get his truck for the shows.

Though he relishes those memories – especially all the hard work that went into building his one-of-a-kind “Wreckers & Checkers” creation – the call of home is now stronger than ever and has won out over the long-haul life.

Good luck to you, Joe, and many happy trails. We’ll see you on the flip side.

“O most dear ones … I can see you, beginning the journey to the land where there is no night nor sorrow nor death.” –St. Patrick

If I could pick a patron saint for the trucking industry, it would be Saint Patrick (who of course, would have to do double duty as he’s also the patron saint of Ireland). Now, sure, we’re coming up on St. Patrick’s day and all the frivolity that goes with it – parades, people dressed as leprechauns, green beer, etc. – but that’s never what St. Patrick was about.

(Contrary to the legend you’ve heard, St. Patrick did NOT banish snakes from Ireland)

The reason I feel trucking and St. Patrick go together is that he’s a living representation of the power of one – how one person can make not just a difference but huge, mammoth change; the kind that eternally resonate down the pathways of human history. His belief in leading by example, by facing danger head on, is the same stuff exhibited by truckers every day – especially those honored by Goodyear’s “Highway Hero” award, the ones jumping out of their cabs to rescue fellow drivers and motorists, no matter the danger to their own life and limbs. For who knows what the lives saved by the selfless bravery of truckers will go on to accomplish?

The Irish are a good example of what one person can do in this context. Today the Irish are largely known as an open hearted, happy-go-lucky people with a dash of wildness that gets them into trouble from time to time. But turn the clock back to St. Patrick’s time, the 5th Century, and a much darker, more horrible picture emerges.

Back then, the Irish (a race then known as the Celts) were universally feared and loathed: they were the stuff of nightmares. Might made right as hundreds of small-time kings and queens led gangs of thugs into frequent battle against one other, stealing cattle and other goods along the way. Human sacrifice was an everyday occurrence. (You can read about all about it in “How The Irish Saved Civilization,” by the one of the great historians of our time, Thomas Cahill)

Worst of all, the Irish were slave raiders – skilled at snatching children in particular. Up and down the coast of what much later became England, Wales, and Scotland, they preyed on native villages and Roman towns alike. Patrick was one of those unfortunates – a 15-year old Roman, Patricius his given Latin name, plucked in a raid and made a shepherd-slave for six lonely years, ill fed and poorly clothed. You can argue – living as he did, fearing for his life every day – that the voice Patrick heard calling on him in his head to escape might have been his own; a mind driven to desperation by his circumstances.

But escape he did – traveling 200 miles on foot across Ireland to the sea, somehow managing to get aboard a ship to Gaul (later-day France) even though he’d been recognized as an escaped slave. Not only that, he saved the crew from hunger after they’d landed in Gaul to find the region a wasteland (caused by invading Visigoths). They called upon him and his God for food – and then it appeared, provided conveniently by a herd of pigs.

Coincidence? Luck? Divine intervention? Call it what you will. But here’s the important part: after surviving all of that, after rejoining his family in England, he decided to go BACK – to return to the lands of his oppressors with only his faith as protection. He first went to Gaul to become a monk, struggling to speak, read, and understand languages and concepts he barely understood due to his utter lack of formal education. Then he took ship and came back to Ireland. There he changed the course of history.

(Statues of St. Patrick cover Ireland today)

Within his lifetime, human sacrifice stopped in Ireland, as did slavery and slave raiding. The rampant pillaging and plundering went way, way down as the Irish embraced him and his teachings. By the time of his death in 461, monasteries dotted the land and the monks within them would go forth and rescue the books of the then-collapsing Roman Empire, tirelessly copying them page by countless page, then return their horde of priceless knowledge and literacy a hundred years later to medieval Europe – laying the foundation for the Renaissance to come.

Sure, Saint Patrick didn’t do it all himself, but his example convinced many to join with him, and together they changed a people, a country, and eventually a world for the good of all mankind. And he didn’t do it by force, with armies at his back, armed to the teeth. He did it only with a book of prayers, the clothes on his back, and his own inner strength. Not too shabby for a one time Roman and former slave, if I say so myself.

So many truck drivers I’ve met over my career display the very same courage and fortitude of St. Patrick; their willingness to perform a tough job that’s (to put it VERY politely) disdained by much of our society. I’ve no doubt that the monks who taught Patrick looked down their noses at him and probably thought him way off his rocker for going back to the people who enslaved him – to a land they themselves, with all their educated sensibilities and self-righteousness, feared and loathed. But his was a necessary if dangerous task, something any trucker can relate to.

(An Irish trucker’s rig — decked out appropriately!)

Maybe this is all over the top; OK, it IS over the top. But it’s worth remembering the real story of St. Patrick and what he truly achieved in the course of his life – indeed, the change he set in motion that continued long after he passed from the Earth. That’s inspiring and it shows that one person can still indeed make a huge difference on this planet of ours – even a truck driver, as the case may one day be.

Recently, LTL carrier New Penn celebrated the achievement of one million miles driven without a preventable accident by 21 of its drivers and gave props to two others – Keith Degler of Reading, PA, and Michael Swingle of Scranton, PA – for reaching the two-million mile safe driving mark: truly astounding accomplishments all the way around.

I mean, one million miles is about equal to driving around the world at its widest point – the equator – about 40 times, meaning Degler and Swingle did that 80 times. (Just think if they’d racked up that mileage in a commercial jetliner! They’d have free airline tickets for a lifetime and then some!)

“We are all extremely proud of our skilled drivers for their outstanding achievement. They exemplify the engagement and pride essential to make our highways safe while meeting our customers’ needs,” said Steven Gast, president and CEO of Lebanon, PA-based New Penn, which is a subsidiary of transportation conglomerate YRC Worldwide, which is headquartered in Overland Park, KS.

That comment, taken from New Penn’s press release announcing their drivers’ achievements, is expected – if not demanded – from a trucking executive, for safe driving of this extraordinary caliber is absolutely vital to carriers, knowing how crowded the highways are these days.

But what do million-mile safety records really mean? What’s its true value to a carrier, much less the general public?

I talked to Andy Kerlik, vice president of safety at New Penn, about this and he told me that while million-mile safety records are a big deal internally, they usually fall on deaf ears outside the trucking community. “We advertise these records both internally and externally. But it really has the most value internally to us and our driver corps,” he told me. “While we broadcast these achievements outside our company, they are just not recognized by the public. It’s the same old story: good news doesn’t make the paper, especially when it comes to big trucks.”

Kerlik’s been at New Penn for close to 36 years now, with the safety department since 1981, and has watched the company go from a $12 million a year carrier to one garnering $300 million annually in revenue – all without compromising safety one iota. “We have it easier, in many ways, because as an LTL we have very little turnover,” he said. “Our guys are driving set routes and are home almost every night. And it’s a lot easier to build up a focus on safety when you know a driver is going to be with you for decade, instead of seeing new faces every couple of weeks or months.”

And safety is a big deal at new Penn – like at most carriers – because it recognizes safety is integrally tied into revenues and profits. “One hand feeds the other,” Kerlik explained to me. “Good drivers plus good equipment plus good safety adds up to good operating results.”

And it’s not just about driving skills completely anymore, either, Kerlik said: attitude and physical well-being are key components in the mix as well. “Our best drivers are calm people, because they know driving on the highway can be extremely difficult with all the rudeness and road rage out there,” he said. “More and more of them are also getting into physical fitness as they realize that has an impact on their capability behind the wheel. And they love what they do – most of our successful drivers really love driving trucks. That really ties them into the profession in a positive way.”

On a final note, Kerlik stressed that New Penn doesn’t wait to give praise to drivers until they compile stratospheric numbers like a million miles – that’s a career’s worth of driving. The company strives to recognize safety accomplishments on a yearly basis, awarding watches, rings, jackets and other goodies to mark those achievements in a very public way among its drivers.

“You’ve got to have near-term goals most everyone can achieve,” Kerlik said. “And that means looking at both the positive and the negative. I’ve got three safety supervisors that go out in the field every day making sure our drivers are doing their best, going on check rides with them, etc. Safety is in constant focus here.”