Trucks at Work Blog

Ten years. It seems so strange that one of the grimmest of grim days in our nation’s history will soon be a decade behind us.

Already, there are countless television programs, print magazine articles, and online stories marking the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

And though there is much critical (and often negative) analysis of the paths America strode in the decade that’s followed the thousands of murders committed that day, many still pause to salute and share comfort for what transpired on 9/11 – even trucking magazines half a world away from us. [A special “thank you” goes out to FleetWatch andPatrick O’Leary for that effort.] more

“Me and my dad thought it would be a good idea to get into racing as a way to spend time with each other and to do something fun.” –Jared Beyer, Grand-Am race car driver for Beyer Racing

I bumped into Jared Beyer at the Rush Truck Centers (RTC) 2010 Technician Skills Rodeo this week out in San Antonio, TX, and, well, what can I say? I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to talk to someone who wants to spend his days strapped into a small car going over 200 miles per hour (mph).

Only a handful hardy souls can do this kind of thing for a living (I know because I’ve been in a stock car going over 160 mph and it’s scary as hell) and what makes Jared’s story all the more interesting is that he’s been chasing the speed demon since 12 years of age – first racing go-karts, then moving on to faster pursuits.

[His passion for motorsports mirrors that of another young driver I spoke with recently, Caitlin Shaw, who you can read about by clicking here.] more

“We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end.” –Winston Churchill

There have been many dark times in American history (including the one of which we’re living through right now) when we as a nation stood horrified amid carnage and wreckage, surrounded by chaos and failure, wondering if indeed the proverbial final ending had come round at last.

December 7th of course was one such tragic day – a day when war finally came and engulfed America. In short order, following the surprise attack against the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, we were officially at war not just with Japan but Nazi Germany as well, for Adolf Hitler declared war on the U.S.A. even before the smoke of battle fully cleared from around Oahu.

The tragedy at Pearl Harbor that day 69 years ago is of course amplified by the many failures on the part of the U.S. to realize the imminence of a Japanese attack. We were not only surprised in Hawaii, either, for Japanese Naval and Army forces destroyed American outposts such as at Wake Island and invaded the Philippines. Eventually, the U.S. would be routed entirely from the Pacific. more

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual – or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” –Samuel Adams, from The Writings of Samuel Adams.

We’ve come again to that seminal moment which occurs each and every year in this great country of ours, from the smallest of localities to national contests: Election Day. This is the day so many Americans have fought and died for, both on our soil and over the waters in lands far out of reach.

As many, many authors past and present have argued (far more eloquently than I), we as U.S. citizens at the very least owe it to the memory of those who gave their lives for America to exercise our right to vote.

[And what better way to celebrate this right than using one of the greatest movie quotes of all time, taken from the film Network.]

So no matter your political affiliation, go out there and vote today. It’s a right we as Americans should truly cherish.

Tomorrow marks nine years since three hijacked planes were deliberately crashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, with a fourth wrestled to the ground in Shanskville, PA, by its brave if doomed passengers. All told, the attacks killed in excess of 3,000 people, most of them civilians; as terrible a day as any in our nation’s history.

As I said in my post last year, the legacy of Sept. 11 remains murky; no doubt in part because the enemies that hatched the Sept. 11 plot are murky. They hide in caves yet have access to great sums of money stashed in the financial underworld; their beliefs are so radical and strange all but a bare handful flock to their banner. They have no armies, no government, no organized structure to speak of – and that lack of form makes them hard to find and to stop.

We’ve also, since that terrible September day nearly a decade ago, gone forth to war in Afghanistan and Iraq – with our troops still in combat in both places, though our involvement in Iraq is officially in the “winding down” phase.

Aside from the grief and heated debate the somber anniversary of Sept. 11 brings – about the wars we’re fighting and the anti-terror policies we now espouse – we should remember something else, too: the courage of everyday Americans.

We forget that one of the reasons the CIA and FBI rapidly pinpointed Al Qaeda as the culprit in those terrorist attacks resulted in no small part by the staunch bravery of stewards and stewardesses on those doomed planes – calling their counterparts on the ground via cell phone to relay priceless data about the terrorists on those very aircraft. They kept talking right up to the end, no doubt suspecting all the time their chances of survival were nil.

We should remember, too, that the information about the terrorist assault that day spread so fast that the passengers on United flight 93 rallied together to launch a counterattack of their own – and I’ll bet my bottom dollar the smug fanatics on that aircraft were mightily surprised. The end result is that they never reached their target, whatever it might have been (The White House? The U.S. Capitol? One can only guess) – again, all due to the courage of everyday Americans.

It’s easy to forget about all of this because so much of it is obscured by the inane drivel poured out on our television and movie screens (just the word “Kardashian” alone should tell you what I mean). We hear the constant drumbeat from bloviating “experts” that we as a people are too fat, too dumb, too backward in our culture, too tacky in our dress.

But we forget that only those that are the most extreme, who say and do the most ridiculous of things, get the spotlight. For what is exciting about Americas going to school and jobs every day, on time, doing their work well, taking care of friends and family, serving our country in times of war and crisis, lending a helping hand where needed? “Boring” is the label attached to such deeds and duties, and so the media lens trains instead on trash talking buffoons posing as athletes, politicians, talk show hosts, reality TV stars, and the like.

That’s why it’s important to think about how, on Sept. 11, the innate courage of every American finally shone for all to see, in a million different ways, in a million different places, in response to terror. That’s something worthy of remembrance.

Memorial Day, May 31, 2010: Hot – blazing hot, actually. It’s so hot that despite drinking water and Gatorade nonstop for 10 hours, I haven’t required a single bathroom stop.

I’m piloting an Isuzu NPR model “city van” rental truck from Ryder (something similar to what you see below) through crowded local roads on my way to the second of three soccer fields on the route I’ve got – dubbed The Northern Route as testament to my lack of imagination at this stage of what’s become something of a waking logistical nightmare for me.

Somehow, someway, I seemed to have morphed into the very stereotype drivers in the trucking industry have worked so hard to dispel for decades now. I’ve got on grungy home-made cutoff denim shorts, a T-shirt splotched with old paint and soaked with sweat, a dingy baseball cap, and I haven’t shaved in three days – definitely police blotter material.

[And NO, I will NOT be subjecting anyone to photos OR videos of me in this state!]

The A/C ain’t working too well, so I’ve got the windows cranked all the way open and the AM/FM radio’s cracked speakers are blaring out AC/DC’s Highway to Hell – theme music that’s more than a little appropriate to my situation at this point.

So this, I tell myself, is but a small taste of what the world of logistics is really like.

That’s one reason I took on the volunteer position of “logistics coordinator” for a local soccer tournament earlier this year – to really live and breathe (albeit on a VERY small and limited scale) the trials and tribulations of what occurs daily in the transportation sector.

Of course, to a logistics veteran, what I did barely amounted to child’s play: plotting the delivery and pick-up routes for three trucks and a series of drivers over the course of four days, shuttling tents, goals, and various other soccer field gear across Fairfax County in Northern Virginia.

It’s a task that didn’t even hold a candle to the daily undertakings of logistics operations of regional or even national scope, let alone at the global level. Yet learned an awful lot awful fast – some of which, considering how long I’ve covered the transportation industry as a reporter, I should’ve known from the outset.

Still, I hearken back to an old saying I’d learned from my father – sometimes burning your fingers is the only way you learn. (He always stressed that his drill sergeants in the U.S. Marine Corps were EXCEPTIONALY well versed in this training method.)

With that in mind, here’s what I learned from my logistical baptism of fire:

You’re it: Everything in some way, shape, or form revolves around logistics. Soccer games can’t be played without goals; merchandise is handled better when organized under tents on tables. Yet none of that happens unless the trucks deliver it all. So everyone is going to be looking at you at some point because their jobs can’t happen unless you do yours first; thus, expect a lot of scrutiny. And if something goes wrong, you must fix it. Case in point: several folks had to drop out as drivers. Thus I ended up behind the wheel piloting a truck – no one else was available and the trucks needed to roll.

Plans change constantly: I had three routes to organize and I must’ve redone each of them four or five times to meet various needs that cropped up, such as a driver helping set up a tent. No matter how many times I thought, “There, that’s done,” I’d have to go and redo a route again – usually late at night when utterly exhausted.

Expect the unexpected: One of my biggest fears centered on the weather – what if it rains? If that happened (and thank the good lord it didn’t!) trucks and drivers would’ve been pressed back into service to help re-locate playing fields. I also worried about breakdowns and accidents and again, though neither occurred, I had to be ready with a backup plan. Would my “Plan B” ideas have worked? Thankfully, I did not have to test them, for I regarded them as half-baked at best.

Be prepared: This weathered Boy Scout motto remains oh-so-true. Each driver got a map, turn by turn directions from stop to stop, list of field addresses (in case they wanted to use their own GPS device to plot their tour), as well as cell phone numbers for the contacts at their stops. Also, instructions for how to assemble the large tents used at several sites as well as the specific count of cargo for each drop went with each driver, too. Each driver also had detailed instructions as to what to do in case of an accident. Was it overkill? Probably, but I also think it made everything roll more smoothly, too.

How you load a truck is critical: I spent a long morning on my last day unloading and then reloading a truck by myself because I knew it would save me a boatload of time at the end of my run. Simple reasoning: tents, tables, and field equipment were being returned to different places. So neatly segmenting all of those items at the start would result in a faster finish for all concerned – especially for the folks at the equipment warehouse. I can’t credit myself as a genius, for the FIRST truck on that last day was an absolute mess – and I helped load that one. It’s but one of many logistics lessons I learned the hard way.

In the end, it all worked out – but not perfectly, mind you. We were way late on several pickups despite my attempts to build in extra time for cargo loading. I also endured a long morning where the actual location of a truck differed from what I had on paper – requiring me to make an emergency “re-positioning” run with the help of my neighbor (who, thankfully, was up early despite the holiday weekend. George, my friend, my hat’s still off to you!)

This experience also increased my admiration for the folks to do this for a living – the truck drivers, dispatchers, route planners, and logistics managers that deal with all of these hassles day in and day out to get the goods we take for granted in our everyday days where they need to be.

It also surely proved something else: that I am NOT cut out for this line of work! I’ll stick to writing, methinks, which is safer for all concerned … at least, I think it’s safer …

“I really am proof that the Lord do giveth, even when he taketh away.” –Larry Koester, champion driver, National Tractor Pull Association (NTPA)

You can’t help but be inspired by someone like Larry Koester.

Outgoing and personable (with a crushing handshake, I might add), Koester is living proof that tragedy not only can be overcome, but also sometimes opens the door to experiences and opportunities that might never have existed if fate hadn’t taken it’s cruel twist.

I met Koester (at right, with fellow racer and son Adam) several weeks ago during the 28th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition at the LEE HI Travel Plaza outside of Lexington, VA. A onetime trucker and farmer, Koester lost both his legs at the knee in a freak farm tractor accident in 1986 – and isn’t bashful in the slightest in terms of talking about it.

“One minute I’m on the tractor, the next minute its six weeks later and I’m coming out of a coma with no legs,” he told me matter-of-factly.

It must have been a personal catastrophe of untold magnitude. How could it not, to go from walking to wheelchair in what probably seemed a blink of an eye?

Yet far from crippling his life, that accident opened a new chapter in Koester’s life – that of a champion driver in the National Tractor Pull Association (NTPA).

What started as a hobby to help him recover from his injuries turned into a full-fledged career in 1998 when Pennzoil Lubricants offered him a full-time racing sponsorship. Larry had to modify the throttle and braking mechanisms, of course, to compensate for his lost legs, but it sure didn’t affect his ability to find the winner’s circle.

Over the last 12 years since Larry’s been racing, he’s been a repeat NTPA champion in the “mini-modified” racing tractor division – behind the wheel of “Footloose,” as his machine is called.

[Here’s a look at how these “mini-mods” perform, from video shot at a truck and tractor pull event at The Danville Pittsylvania County Fair Grounds.]

In 2001, Larry captured his first Grand National Points Championship, later nabbing championships in 2006 and 2008. He bagged runner-up placements in 1992, 2002, 2005, and 2007 and was also (unsurprisingly) named “Mini Modified Puller of the Year” in 1992, 2001, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

Larry is also involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northwest Ohio through his tractor-pulling career, acting as the group’s spokesman for more than 10 years running. I can only imagine what the kids think when Larry shows off his racing machine, telling him how much power it cranks out.

Because driving these racing tractors is no mean feat, even for drivers that still have two legs. The super-charged engines powering these mini-mods – fueled on methanol – crank out 2,700 horsepower, turning the rear wheels at 160 miles per hour. All the power is necessary, as these tractors need to try and pull 16,000 pound sleds as far and as fast as they can to sew up a win.

[Below you can watch Larry give a “tour” of his unique mini-mod racing machine.]

The best part of Koester’s story is that tractor racing is now a true family affair, with his son Adam Koester piloting “Double Play” on the same team as his father. Adam himself is a champion, having gained the winner’s circle in 2007 while placing second in 2006 and 2008.

Today, Shell Rotella now sponsors the Koester father-and-son racing team, with their mini-mods and trailer now revamped with Shell Rotella paint schemes, “Larry and Adam are two of the hardest working pullers out there, and it is an honor for us to ‘energize’ them in the 2010 season,” noted Mark Reed, global brand manager for Shell Rotella.

The 2010 season marks Larry Koester’s 24th year of tractor pulling in the mini-modified division and he hopes to come out and add another title to his ever-growing list – unsatisfied with anything but the top slot unless he falls second to son Adam, as he did in 2007.

Adam is entering his sixth year of tractor pulling in the mini-modified division and is a champion in his own right – not a shock, since the now 24-year-old grew up in the sport and is a “natural puller,” according to Larry.

Adam clinched Rookie of the Year honors in 2005, then placed second in points to his father in 2006 before beating him in a close finish in 2007 to win the championship. Dad was not to be out-pulled, however, reclaiming the championship in 2008.

Mechanical difficulties kept both Larry and Adam out of the winner’s circle last year, but they expect great things of themselves in 2010. For those so inclined, their racing schedule is below – and they’ve still got a lot more events to go in the current season:

May 14-15 Pinetops, NC

June 25- 27 Tomah, WI

July 9- 10 Arcola, IN

July 17- 18 New Hampton, IA

July 23- 24 Chapel Hill, TN

July 30- 31 Fort Recovery, OH

August 13- 14 Saluda, SC

August 17 Armada, MI

August 20- 22 Bowling Green, OH

August 24 Greenville, OH

September 3 Wauseon , OH

September 4 Findlay, OH

September 9 Wauseon, OH

September 18 Urbana, OH

October 15- 17 Raleigh, NC

Yet Larry is more than aware that he’s already claimed the greatest victory possible – a life reborn out of the ashes of split-second tragedy. “I really am proof that the Lord do giveth, even when he taketh away,” he told me.

Amen to that.

“Doing slides with the right techniques allows you to do them faster while still having the same safety margin … this is HUGE.” –Mark Aisbett, stunt driver

I’ve always been in awe of stunt drivers. I mean, these are men and women who perform the most amazing feats with automobiles and big trucks – feats that, as we all know, are EXTREMELY dangerous, so don’t try anything you see in the videos below at home (PLEASE!)

I’m in awe of such capabilities because (of course) I DON’T have them. Barreling down the road at 65 mph on a crowded highway in ye olde minivan (as I like to call my “ride”) is enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.

The time I rode shotgun in a stock car going 162 mph nearly sent me to the funny farm for an extended visit (it took TWO hours for my hands to stop shaking after THAT experience.)

So folks that can glide and slide both cars and trucks in all manner of positions – and at high speeds – astounds me each and every time I see it.

Take, for example, Mark Aisbett – a veteran stunt driver with his own school for learning how to do this kind of stuff. He took a big rig out for a spin and made some spot-on stops, at high speed, with the trailer sliding way out of position – as you’ll see below.

Now take a gander at a stunt driving team Cadillac hired for a show last year at Shanghai’s Formula 1 Circuit, all to celebrate the introduction of Cadillac’s newest sedan in China.

Be sure to watch John Heinricy at the wheel of a Cadillac CTS-V at the end of the clip below set a speed record for production vehicles at Shanghai’s F1 course of just a hair over 2 minutes and 32 seconds.

Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

“Our research provides hard evidence that constituents and consumers alike are fed up with the polarization of our political system and the uncivil tone of our country as a whole. As a result, Americans are tuning out and turning away from news, information and informed opinions that make up the very foundation of American democracy.” –Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick

Anyone that’s been driving on the highways and byways of late (including this reporter) isn’t surprised one iota by the statement above – nor by the finding in a recent poll conducted by public relations firms Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, in partnership with KRC Research, that two out of three Americans consider a general lack of civility to be a major problem for the nation, with some 72% believing poor behavior has gotten worse in recent years.

While poll also found that Americans believe their friends, family and places of worship are bucking the trend toward incivility, a majority of the public sees uncivil behavior throughout society – especially in politics and high schools; on talk radio; our nation’s highways; in Hollywood and professional sports.

[Here’s a clip from the Associated Press about how New York City got pegged as the “Road Rage” capital of the U.S. last year – and why many NYC residents actually agreed with that determination!]

The online survey conducted by KRC in April asked more than 1,000 Americans how civility affects people’s views of and participation in social media, politics, media and buying behaviors

Extrapolating from the data gleaned in that research, three out of four Americans believe the financial crisis and recession have lessened the level of civility in American life, with 72% of Americans viewing the political world and government as uncivil – the highest percentage recorded in the poll.

Nearly half of Americans (49%) are tuning out government and politics, and almost two-thirds of those people (63%) cite the general tone and level of civility as a major factor in their decision. Another 46% are tuning out opinion pieces and editorials in the media, and 45% cite incivility as a major factor, while 38% tune out news coverage and reporting – with half of them (50%) attributing their actions to the lack of civility.

With regard to social media, the survey found that blogs are considered more uncivil than social networking sites and Twitter (Oh no! So much for blogging!)

The poll also found that there is a high cost to rudeness and inconsiderate behavior. Three-quarters of Americans believe that companies that exhibit uncivil behavior should be boycotted. Based on personal experiences of incivility, one half or more of Americans have refrained from buying a company’s products (56%), reevaluated their opinions of a company (55%) or advised friends and family against purchasing their products (49%).

Although Americans pointed fingers at many segments of society for engaging in uncivil behavior, they strongly believe that everyone is responsible for improving such behavior. Asked who is responsible for improving civility, 87%answered “the American public”; 83% said political leaders; and 81%, 79% and 76% percent cited the news media, businesses and places of worship, respectively.

What does all of this prove? That civility – basic good manners – still matters not only in everyday life but in the business world, too. I’ve talked to plenty of truck drivers and trucking executives in my relatively short career and I can attest that the ones that survive the ups and downs this business dishes out are inevitably ones with high standards of personal and professional civility. Let’s hope more of that is encourages as the industry continues to travel on the long road back to fiscal health.

“We are trying to tell the world about our great coffee program.” –Tim Purcell, director of merchandising, Pilot Travel Centers

You may remember way back in January this year this space discussed the boast by Pilot Travel Centers that it offers “The Best Coffee on the Interstate.” Not just “good” coffee, mind you; not even “great” for that matter. But the very BEST coffee you can get out on the highway today.

As a mega-consumer of the black brew (no story from me gets written without it!) I couldn’t wait to put Pilot’s claim to my own personal test. Luckily, just such an opportunity arose this weekend on a road trip to North Carolina for a ride and drive of Volvo’s new 2010-compliant VN tractor, which the OEM says offers a 5% fuel economy boost over its 2007 emission-compliant models (but more on that later).

Jason Kidd, the manager on duty at the Pilot Travel Center off I-85 outside Mebane, NC, gave me quick a rundown of the different blends of coffee I’d be tasting, pointing out the “condiment” station nearby packed with a wide variety of flavored coffee creamers, plus chilled creamers and real half & half (kept at a steady 37 degrees Fahrenheit), along with sugar and other natural and artificial sweetners.

Now, in all fairness to the java, I sampled everything without any creamers or sweetners – “straight up black” so to speak – in order to get the full flavor of the coffee, in the process adhering to an old trucker belief that, “if you wanted cream and sugar, why didn’t you order that?”

First up, the “Pilot House Blend,” which is a mild roast crafted to appeal to any palate. Me? I like coffee that’s got some bite and boldness – so, no, the house blend didn’t cut the mustard with my taste buds. (The house decaffeinated blend also didn’t make my coffee team – and it’s DECAF, too, so two strikes against this one!)

The flavored Hazelnut blend was OK (and Kidd warned me that if I had any nut allergies to stay away from this one), with the Hazelnut flavor barely there, seeming to fade out quickly.

Next came the “origin” premium blends, made from 100% Columbian, 100% Costa Rica and 100% Sumatra beans.

The Columbian blend offered a nice rich but smooth taste with no bite to it – a medium-to-bold flavor with a clean finish. The Costa Rica blend proved to be stronger, with definitely more boldness yet still a smooth and clean finish. Both a thumbs up in my estimation.

Ah, but then the Sumatra blend – African-grown coffee beans that offer a brash and bitter brew. Yeah! This particular coffee packs an uncompromising punch – you either love it or hate it; there is no middle ground with Sumatra. A big plus in my book!

To finish things off, though, were two interesting blends. The first is another Pilot “house” variety but in this case a 100% Arabica dark roast blend. Arabica blends are typically made from many different beans grown at high altitude to provide a strong but not too bitter bite to the coffee – and this one delivered a good “earthly” taste with a mild bite. Put this one down in the “I like it!” category.

And last but not least is what’s dubbed by Pilot as its “Intense” brew – coffee that’s got twice the caffeine as regular java, Kidd told me. This stuff had a very strong yet smooth flavor – sure to deliver a serious jolt whether gulped in the eight ounce or mammoth 24 ounce cup. And no doubt I’ll need it on this road trip! So to this blend another big thumbs up.

In talking with Rosa (seen here at right), one of the ubiquitous “coffee hostesses” staffing Pilot Travel Center locations, customers seem to favor several blends – but the favored few change based on whether it’s day or night. As Rosa works both the day and night shift, she told me the house, Columbian, and Hazelnut blends are the top choices during the day, shifting to the house, dark roast Arabica, and “Intense” at night.

Pilot’s invested a lot of time and money into its new “coffee program,” kicking off the “best brew” effort back in 2003. For starters, away went the old three-gallon coffee brewing “urns” so ubiquitous across the fast food industry, replaced by upwards of eight Bunn brand “soft heat” brewers that not only make coffee in smaller, more tasty batches but keep the java at an even temperature so it does not “cook” the coffee post-brewing.

Kidd, the manager at the Mebane, NC, Pilot location, told me his “regulars” noticed right away how much better the coffee tasted after the company upgraded his coffee dispensing equipment. They also appreciated the beefed up “condiments” station, too: stocked with six different artificially flavor creamers (Irish cream, hazelnut, amaretto, French vanilla, white chocolate mocha, and caramel macchiato), with chilled half & half, French vanilla, white chocolate mocha, and caramel macchiato available as well.

One interesting (and scary!) addition to the condiment offering is “stok,” while comes in both sweetened (silver top) and unsweetened (gold top) varieties. This stuff contains an “espresso shot” worth of caffeine – a 40 milligram per dose power punch – and there’s a warning on the label not to ingest more than two of these per day.

“It’s for those that need a little extra energy on the road,” Kidd told me. (And how! But let it be known that I didn’t partake of this liquid dynamite – at least not on this road trip!)

Let it also be known that several readers out there conducted their own taste tests, as well – with some telling me they liked Pilot’s java blends, while others saying they were neither better nor different than other coffees plied on the highway. It’s also important to stress that my reviews shouldn’t be considered definitive! Feel free to go out and taste on your own, and tell me what you think of them.

But whether you end up liking or loathing Pilot’s “Best Coffee on the Interstate,” the mere fact that they’ve launched this effort should hopefully help raise the quality of the brew across the highway travel service industry, including truckers (and trucking reporters, too!)

“In the past, the coffee served on the interstate was often just an afterthought; you needed to have it, it needed to be hot, but the quality largely got ignored. We’re trying to change that,” Pilot’s Purcell, told me the last time we chatted about the company’s coffee program. At the end of the day, you really can’t argue with that philosophy.