August 2009 Volume 20, Issue 8 Delivering daily news to Canada’s trucking industry at www.trucknews.com
Convoy travels west Alberta to host female-only truck convoy By James Menzies CORNWALL, Ont. – This convoy is gaining a lot of momentum. What began as the brainchild of professional driver Rachele Champagne as she motored down the 401 one night in a small convoy including two other female drivers, has now grown into a North America-wide event. The first all-female Convoy for a Cure, aimed at raising money for breast cancer research, garnered a lot of attention last October after 29 drivers raised $15,000. This year, Champagne said there will be three Convoys for a Cure: the original in Cornwall, Ont. on Oct. 3; another in Edmonton, Alta., also on Oct. 3; one in Moncton, N.B. on Oct. 17; and the first US version, which will take place in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 24. (Each convoy is held in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). “Convoy for a Cure is going international this year,” Champagne excitedly told Truck West. Each of the events will have a similar Continued on page 14
– Photo by David Benjatschek
SHOW TIME: The Western Canadian show truck circuit kicked off with the Pro-Trucker B.C. Big Rig Weekend July 4-5 in Chilliwack, B.C. A new record was set with more than 160 trucks taking part, according to organizers. Pictured here is a 1988 Peterbilt 379L owned by Craig Oliver.
Want benefits? Take your PIC Revitalized PIC program continues to expand By Jim Bray CALGARY, Alta. – It could be called the relentless pursuit of perfection, except for possible legal ramifications from a certain car company. But Alberta’s Partners in Compliance (PIC) program
This year’s Truck News/Chevron Charity Golf Event raised over $17,980 And fulfilled the wishes of two deserving children!
does, indeed, pursue perfection – or at least as close to it as mere human beings and their machines can come. It appears to be paying off, though it wasn’t always this way. PIC started originally in the early
1990s, but its initial “pursuit” wasn’t as successful as had been hoped, partly because of a perceived lack of benefit for carriers. “The concept was sound,” says Lane Kranenburg, manager of the Continued on page 6
Mark Dalton O/O
Inside This Issue... • A rugged throwback: Profiling Phil Walton, a proud Albertan who has witnessed a lot of change in the industry.
See pages 16-17
Page 10
• Case closed:
It was a murder mystery that shocked the trucking industry, and three years later justice is finally served. But it’s little comfort to victim’s wife. Page 18
• Are your reefers ready?: If you haul refrigerated goods in or out of California, there’s an impending new requirement you Page 21 need to prepare for.
• Border brouhaha:
Talk of closing the Aldergrove border Page 24 crossing to trucks sent the BCTA into action.
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