December Canadian Trucking Magazine Issue

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Dave brings to you 36 years of valuable experience in transportation, management, business and compliance. Dave has driven in every condition across North America and overseas as military, police, company driver to owner operator to now Publisher Editor of Canadian Trucking Magazine.

This is December my Friends where life is wonderful for some of us and depressing for others.

I would hope that each and every one of my readers can see the bright side of this time of year and spread some cheer and good will.

The transport driver has always been know for being there for those stranded on highways and

for great stories and jokes in the truck stops. 2010 was a hard year for a lot of us, but as we leave it behind and head into 2011 there lays glowing hope and a raise in tonnage which we have all been waiting for.

2011 will be a better year for everyone, so leave the problems and troubles in the past and show your best side this season and let’s all have a merry merry Christmas and a fantastic outlook to prosper in 2011.

Look forward to seeing you all in the truck stops and truck shows!

From my family to yours!

God Bless and Merry Merry Christmas!!

Happy Trails,,,,,,,, Dave

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WHERE DO YOU GO TO UNWIND?

By Dave MacKENZIE With me it is the Royal Canadian Legion Henderson Branch 215.

A lot of you out there are former Military or Police or had parents that were. The RCL is a place where you can feel at home, sit down relax, share stories and good times.

Most run meat draws on Saturdays and Fridays and more importantly remembrance.

On November 11th at the 11th hour, if you can’t be at your branch, you can stop at any branch acrosss Canada and take in the event. Your membership is a membership to every branch in Canada, and you are always welcome!

Last November 11th Grumpy stopped on Hwy 1 west of Cowtown, pulled the rig over, stepped out in front, took off his hat and bowed his head in silence.

Truckers, not a vehicle went passed and what was there stopped and also bowed thier heads.

Now is the time to join.

Find a Legion close to you or email me and join 215. You would be more than welcome. It is not your grandfathers club, but a vibrant club with activities, games and VLTs. Something for everyone.

Don’t wait! Start a membership today and have a place to call your branch.

LITTLE WARIORS

By Dave MacKENZIE Little Warriors is a national charitable organization, based in Canada, focusing on the education and preven tion of child sexual abuse.

Little Warriors teaches adults how to help prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. In addition to prevention education, Little Warriors also provides information about the prevalence and frequency of child sexual abuse and information about healing and support resources.

•1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys experience an unwanted sexual act.

•4 out of 5 incidents of sexual abuse will occur before the age of 18.

•95 % of child sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator.

•Children and youth under 18 years of age are at greatest risk of being sexually assaulted by someone they know.

•While children and youth 4

under the age of 18 represent only one-fifth of the population, (21%) they were victims in 61% of all sexual offences reported to police in 2002. (A total of 8,800 sexual assaults against children and youth were reported to police, 2,863 of which were sexual assaults against children and youth by family members.)

•In 2005, the rate of sexual assault against children and youth was over five times higher than for adults (206 children and youth victims compared to 39 adult victims for every 100,000 people.)

•In 2005, girls under 18 years experienced rates of sexual assault that were almost four times higher than their male counterparts. (For every 100, 000 young females there were 320 victims of sexual assault, compared to a rate of 86 male victims for every 100, 000 young males.)

•Sexual assault against children by family members was more then three times higher for female victims than for male victims (108 compared with 32 incidents per 100,

000 population). (Rates of sexual assault are higher for female victims than for male victims regardless of the relationship to the accused.

were sexually assaulted by family members were on average 9 years old compared to 12 years old for victims of non-family members.

•54% of girls under 21 have experienced sexual abuse; (22% of these female victims reported two or more sexual offences.)

•31% of boys under 21 have experienced sexual abuse; (7% of these male victims reported two or more sexual offences.)

•64% of sexual offences reported to police took place in a residence 26% took place in public and open areas, and 11% took place in commercial places.)

•60% of all reported sexual assaults are against children.

•30-40% of sexual assault victims are abused by a family member.

Non-parental relatives – 35% Friends and Peers – 15% Stepfathers – 13% Biological Fathers – 9% Other Acquaintances – 9% Boyfriend/Girlfriend of Biological Parent – 5% Biological Mother – 5% •Very few cases (2%) of substantiated sexual abuse involve a stranger.

•Child and youth victims who 6

•Boys 4-7 years of age were 3 times more often the victims of sexual abuse than boys of other ages.

•Girls aged 4-7 and 12-17 were twice as likely to be victims of sexual abuse as girls aged 0-3 and 8-11.

Contact Little Warriors @ http://www.littlewarriors.ca/in dex.html

Nick picked up some leaveitthere Gold from the coffee crew at Wells Gray Inn @ Clearwater BC

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Don’t Spend your Life in the Truck !

Hey driver ! I hear all the time how the new drivers hate the road. Then why are you doing it?

The trick driver is to make the road and stops your family away from home. Don’t eat all your meals fast food in a sack. There are so many great places with fantastic food and people to make you feel right at home.

Gloria’s Diner for example off Lickman Road in Chilliwack. If you are stuck there over night, spend a dollar and treat yourself to a room at the Rainbow Inn, have a hot tub and walk over to Gloria’s and feel at home with one of her home made meals and great smiles.

In Golden BC is the Ponderosa with a full size hot tub with LegendZ right across the street.

Ask these hotels for a CTM discount and take in a bed some TV and a hot shower and make the road your friend.

This is what I have done for years. As an owner operater the amount I would spend on fuel in the bunk just about pays the room charge. As a company driver, it is just a good treat.

If you are going through BC on Hwy 5 past Clearwater, plan it so you stop the night at Wells Gray Inn. The food there is awesome!

© ACS Advertising 2010

Professional drivers like you can be a hero to school children across the country by becoming a Trucker Buddy. It’s a free, fun and meaningful way to spend your down time on the road. Make a difference, learn more about becoming a TRUCKER BUDDY today.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN BE A TRUCKER BUDDY, GO TO

WWW.TRUCKERBUDDY.ORG OR CALL 1-800-MY-BUDDY

BRANDON HUSKY A SPOT YOU HAVE TO STOP Here is a favorite stop of mine and for good reason!

The people here are fantastic.

I talk about stops that make you feel at home and treat you right. Brandon Husky has plenty of parking, good hot food and a staff that when you treat them with a smile and good greeting, that is what you get back two fold.

If you just want to get out of Winterpeg on the road or have travelled your hours heading into the peg, or perhaps waiting for a meat load.

Fuel your truck and spirit here. Tell them Dave sent ya!

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Emergency Road Services Corporation.

New Name, Same Great Service!

Along with a new company name, they have also rolled a new logo and website domain name. For more information regarding the services provided by Emergency Road Services Corporation, please visit www.emergencyroadservices.com or call 1-877-377-2262.

Mississauga, Ontario, November 16, 2010.

Emergency Road Services Of Canada Inc. would like to announce that they have changed their company name to Emergency Road Services Corporation due to their expansion into the U.S.A The company has been providing their services in the U.S.A for the past year, but it became apparent that many customers still assumed that the company only provided their services in Canada because of their original name which included the word ‘Canada’ in it.

Although the company’s original plan was to only supply their services in Canada, it was through customer demand that they decided to expand their services into the U.S.A. Of the 17,000 service providers that the company has put together to provide emergency breakdown services, about half of them are in the U.S.A.

Dawn and Alvis Violo, the owners of the company,

would like to thank their staff and their loyal customers for their support over the last four years.

Emergency Road Services Corporation would also like to remind their customers that they will be open throughout the holiday season 24 hours per day including Christmas, Boxing Day and New Years Day.

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Sandy Long - Truck Stop Walking Safety O n c e again we hear that a trucker has been hit and killed while walking in a truck stop; this time it was a double tragedy as two truckers were killed four days apart at the Pilot Travel Center at exit 4 on Interstate 81 near White Pine, TN. While these types of accidents are not a daily occurrence, they do happen with some regularity mostly at night. What is going on in the truck stops that truckers are killed while walking across the lot?

A combination of factors is most likely at fault, dark parking lots, wearing too dark of clothing by the pedestrian, both driver and pedestrian not paying attention, and last but not least; speeding through the truck stops by truck drivers. Sit in any truck stop and pay some attention and you will see all of these factors at work at any time.

Truck stops, or as they prefer these days to be called, Travel Centers, are all feeling the hit of the economy and one way some are saving money is to cut down on the outside parking area lighting. Add to that factor that many drivers are coming into a lit area from driving in the dark and might not be able to see while they adjust from night vision and you have an accident of some sort waiting to happen.

Truckers tend to wear darker clothing; dark blue jeans or other pants, darker T-shirts and in

winter dark jackets and hats. The darker clothing makes sense to those who drive truck; a trucker’s clothing is a grease and road grime magnet. A trucker walking across the lot will blend into any shadows due to their clothing choices and will be totally non visible in many cases out of direct light.

With all the talk about texting and driving, texting and walking is a real problem too and takes one’s attention from where they are walking. Other distractions are normal; having to rush to the bathroom, hungry, tired, stressed or pushed on time for a delivery/pickup are some that affects both drivers and walkers. A trucker coming into the truck stop is also thinking about getting into the fuel island or getting that parking spot along with the former distractions.

Finally; it makes no sense, but there are times when a truck stop parking lot looks like a NASCAR track with trucks doing warm up laps. A truck whipping into a driveway or driving around the parking lot at 25-35 miles per hour equals a speeding torpedo and can do the same damage to walkers or even to other trucks. Tsk, Tsk. To save your life in any parking lot if you are going to be walking: Wear something light colored, put reflective tape on your jacket or hat or carry a small flash light that can be seen while you walk.

Look before walking out from between two trucks or stepping out into the driving lanes.

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Watch for other trucks backing up and never assume that they see you…wait out of the way or walk around them the other way.

Give the truck the right of way unless the driver motions you to go ahead and then look before you clear their protection for any other trucks moving.

Before walking in front of any truck that is idling, look up if the driver is in the seat and make eye contact with them.

Wait to do any texting until you are inside or back in your truck.

Keep your head up and your eyes moving while walking so you can see anyone that is driving near you.

Do not get out of your truck if someone is getting ready to either back in or pull out of the space on your driver side and always use the three point entry or exit strategy.

To avoid hitting someone who is walking: Slow that big rig down Mr. or Ms Truck Driver! Is that two seconds you save getting to that parking spot, into that fuel island or hitting the road worth anyone’s life?

If it is, then you should have left sooner or not stopped as often and need to rethink your priorities.

As you enter the truck stop take a quick look around for anyone who might be walking near your path of travel.

If you are going to back up from the fuel islands or into a parking spot, make sure that there is no one behind you; get out and look works in the truck stop too.

As you pull into or out of the fuel island or parking spot, take a second and look both ways care-

fully for anyone walking near your path of travel.

If you motion someone to walk in front of you while you stop, help them by watching for another truck that might come around you on the walker’s blind side; let them know if it is unsafe to proceed.

We truckers face enough dangers from everyone else on the roads and in the truck stops without having to worry about our brother and sister drivers running us over.

All drivers need to take responsibility for each other’s safety while walking or driving in a truck stop or warehouse parking lot. Finally, we all have to have some respect for each other and show that respect by being courteous to each other especially when our lives are at risk when we are in the supposedly safe haven of a truck stop. Working together on this, we can avoid having to read of another report of a trucker hitting and killing another trucker in a truck stop; that would make my day, wouldn’t it yours?

Ya’ll be safe out there!

Sandy Long is a long time truck driver who is also very active within the trucking industry. She was a long time writer for layover.com, is a life member of OOIDA, member of the WIT and owner of two websites: Trailer Truckin’ Tech, a yahoo group dedicated to the education of new and prospective truck drivers and www.satinandsteelsisterhood.com for women truck drivers.

Sandy’s first book Street Smarts: A Guide for a Truck Driver’s Personal Safety is available at https://www.createspace.com/3449566

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Dawn Truell

Let’s get these Compliancy Issues Straight!

By: Dawn Truell, President, Cross Border Services Compliancy & Regulations are very key to running any Transportation Company. Unless you do your own investigating you may not know or understand what the compliancies and regulations are. Here are specifics for your guidance : First you must to have a valid A-Z Driver’s License, you must license your vehicle, you have to be aware of the CVIP the Commercial Vehicle Impoundment Program, if any critical defects are found on the truck or trailer, the officer will remove the plates and impound the vehicle for minimum 15 days. The BAC – blood alcohol acceptable level is a zero tolerance policy, under the new guidelines if you blow .05, automatic 72 hour suspension and vehicle impoundment, this also affects your insurance and for truck drivers, companies are firing drivers who have that record. This record is easily accessible via the MTO Driver Abstract. Transportation companies are being carefully watched by government enforcement agencies such as MTO, DOT, CBSA, CBP, & FMCSA therefore they will run Driver Abstracts on every driver. Companies must also have a registered CVOR – Commercial Vehicle Operators Registration and this must be kept up to date as per licensing and insurance guidelines.

As a commercial driver you are required by law to have random drug & alcohol testing done if your company is part of the Canadian PIP – Partners In Protection and/or the U.S. C-TPAT – Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and the FAST – Free And Secure Trade Program.

If a transportation company wants to do any Cross Border Busi-

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ness here are those licensing requirements: You must have a valid SCAC – Standard Alpha Carrier Code, you must have a registered DOT number with the U.S. Department of Transportation, and you must also register with the FMCSA for an operating authority that is referred to as an MC – Master Carrier License.

If you are going to carry Hazardous Materials, you must register both in Canada and in the U.S.A. for an HMSP – Hazmat Safety Permit and those carriers are required that all drivers must have their Valid FAST Cards.

A BOC3 (processing agent) is also required in order to conduct any Intrastate authorized for hire trucking services in the U.S.A. You are required to use the ACE manifests, U.S.A. bound, which are available free online for formatting, producing and sending which are a Pre-Border notification of your trip details i.e. what border you will be crossing, approximate time, truck/trailer identification, driver identification and commodities being carried. You must also have your PAPS and PARS in order.

You can find out any companies safety status by going online to the SAFER SYS website which has become a very useful tool for companies, insurance purposes and prospective employees. Also please keep in mind that under the new CSA 2010 – Comprehensive Safety Analysis, a Motor Carrier Safety Rating which is an American program set out by the FMCSA. Under this new program, which has not “Officially” taken affect yet but will very soon, this directly affects the operation of all commercial vehicles by drivers who are unfit to operate due to medical non qualification, unsafe driving, lack of training and experience.

Continued next page:

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Now, regarding cell phones usage, here is the law: When travelling by land within Canada and the U.S.A. you cannot talk nor text on your cell phone, blackberry or iphones while driving, this is an offence and you will be fined up to $500 in Canada and up to $720 in the U.S.A. Cross Border Services deals with all of these government compliancy programs and regulations, for Information please contact

www.crossborderservices.org crossborderservices@cogeco.net

905-973-9136 Information on any cross border issues contact crossborderservices@cogeco.net 905-973-9136.

Dawn Truell, President,

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Do you Hear the Bells? mas music, but it was a sporadic ringing. Then I saw the guy standing in front of the grocery store ringing those bells on behalf of the Salvation Army.

It’s Christmas time in the city.

I was caught up in the holiday hustle last Friday night. I made two or three stops then realized we had not yet stocked the fridge with eggnog, so I pulled into the local grocery store before heading home. It was busy. As people dashed in and out of the store I could almost hear the countdown clock that was ticking inside everyone’s head. Then I heard that real sound that always reminds me of Christmas: jingle bells.

It wasn’t that echoed, perfect, bell ringing we hear in the background of Christ-

This past year has been a year of transition and transformation for many companies.

Times have changed and we do business differently.

We check our revenues and expenses more closely than ever. If you are fuel reliant you know how important it is to manage your fuel.

After all, it is your highest largest expense after labour.

Fortunately technology has evolved so there are fuel management applications you can use, like Fuel Management Online (FMO). It helps

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By: Jack Lee us keep score so we have a few extra dollars left over, to make a donation to your favourite charity.

How did your year finish? How will you celebrate?

Some companies have a Christmas party, some bosses give gifts to staffers, while some celebrate the holiday season early in the new year. Whatever you do I encourage you to support a charity of your choice, because they all face extreme challenges.

It was four years ago this December when Margaret and I lost our 18-year old daughter, Janice, to suicide. In her memory we established the Blue Wave Foundation specifically built for youth struggling with

depression, anxiety, even suicidal thoughts.

Blue Wave has gained huge momentum over the past two years - especially with our website ok2bblue.com In addition, the Blue Wave program continues to raise awareness and educate youth, a service that is in ever-growing demand at our local schools.

This time of year there is a special emphasis placed on social responsibility, both personally and at the corporate levels. Our dream is to build Blue Wave Centres in re-

gions across Canada. I am proud to announce that the constant cry from youth at risk: “There’s no place to go” is no longer going unheard.

If this article has touched you, please visit our website, regardless of where you live, in Canada or the US. This is an international problem and above all we hope to raise awareness in mental health issues and to eventually erase the stigma attached to those struggling with depression and anxiety issues.

If you can, please partner with Blue Wave to help us make these Centres a reality, to give our youth somewhere to go for support and help. You can help by making a donation.

Please go online to: https://www.gifttool.co m/donations/Donate?I D=1926&AID=603 If you know of any kids struggling with mental health issues, please encourage them to visit our website where they can watch a two minute video. Here’s the link: http://www.ok2bblue.co m/CallToAction If you’d like to talk to me about The Blue Wave Foundation please call me at: 604889-5386.

The bells are ringing for you. Have a safe and happy holiday season.

Jack Lee is the President and CEO of 4Refuel Canada Inc, The Leader in Fuel Management.

If you have any questions or comments about this article Jack can be reached at (604) 513-0386 or on line: askthefuelexpert@4refuel.com

www.courtneydickinson.com

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