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FMCSA Hours of Service: July 1st Rules Compared to Other Countries

I am happy to share a great article by Aubrey Allen Smith where he details the various HOS rules in USA and the rest of the world.  What I really like is that Aubrey focuses on the result of the US FMCSA rules changes on driver safety and driver fatigue as well as the need for the carriers and shippers to address the issues of unecessary wait times.

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Plan for new July 1st HOS rules as written: Are you ready?

A good article about the coming Hours of Service Rules Change slated to come into effect on July 1, 2013.  Many fleets and drivers may be hoping this doesn’t actually get put into effect as scheduled, but according to Richard P. Schweitzer, general council/government affairs for the National Private Truck Council (NPTC), it will.

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GPS fleet tracking: Maintenance, Logs, Smart phones

A good article about technology in trucking from Homer Hogg, Maintenance Supervisor for TA and Petro,. Homer highlights the benefits of technology, mobile and otherwise, as well as explores the benefits of things like a truck Blackbox (EOBR, AOBRD, ELD…..).  He also discusses the need to get drivers on board and not resisting technology that may help them and improve fleet operations at the same time.  Technologies like BigRoad can be used to automate electronic driver logs and improve CSA scores for the fleet.

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New HOS Rules – are electronic logs the answer?

It now looks like the FMCSA is not going to delay the proposed July 1, 2013 implementation of the new HOS rules after all.  Even though the new rules will cost the industry a lot ($230M according to the ATA) in terms of lost productivity while also decreasing the flexibilty drivers have to choose their sleep/drive/work cycles it will not cause too much trouble to adopt for those fleets using electronic logs today.  

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Professional Appearance for Truck Drivers: does it affect CSA Scores?

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that first impressions are the most important. People make immediate judgments about a person’s ability, knowledge, attention to detail, etc, based entirely on their appearance. Rarely do people forget their first impressions of someone, so you should always make sure that yours was a good one. This is especially true for truck drivers. It may not be something you have considered, but truck drivers are the face of their business, so first impressions are important. A negative DOT inspection directly affects the Driver’s PSP score and the carriers CSA Scores, presenting a professional appearance makes a difference.

As Truckers, you are out on the road most of the time and it’s easy to get caught up in running as many loads as possible and concentrating on making money. But even when you are on out the road, you encounter numerous people every day. Therefore, you need to be thinking about the impression that you are conveying because it will affect how people view your business. According to Mike Card, the chairmen of American Trucking Associations, Truckers do not always “garner the respect [they] deserve from the news media, the general public and our political leaders. The image of our drivers and our companies needs a makeover.”(Transport Topics) Truckers have a difficult and sometime treacherous job that deserves a certain level of respect.

Truck drivers need to start looking at their professional appearance as a component of running their business successfully and gaining the respect of their customers and peers. Here is a list of some of the most important aspects of having a professional appearance that will help your business be more successful:

  • Personal Appearance. Personal appearance and hygiene are probably the most obvious aspects of your professional appearance. Since you are the face of your business, you want to make sure you come across as experienced and reliable. No matter how good you are at your job, people are not inclined to take you seriously if you do not look like a professional. Although I’m not suggesting you wear a suit to drive your truck around, it is important that you are wearing clean clothes with minimal holes, stains, etc. Also, you should make sure that you maintain an acceptable hygiene level, i.e. brushing hair and teeth, showering on a regular basis, and washing your face. All these things add to your professional appearance and make it easier for people to respect you and value your business.
  • Truck Appearance. The appearance of your truck is another important part of how people perceive your business. It should be cleaned inside and out, on a regular basis, as well as regular maintenance. A clean truck is both for safety and so your truck does not look or sound like it’s falling apart. You want to inspire confidence in your customers.
  • Business Practices. Business practices are an equally important part of a professional exterior. Every aspect of your business that your customers are privy to should look professional. Your voicemail greeting should have the name of your business, your name, and an assurance that you will return the call as soon as you are able to do so. Your email address should also be professional. You do not want an email address that is derogatory, silly, or sports related. It’s a good idea to have the name of your business as your email address, but it’s not necessary.
  • Mannerisms. One final part of your professional appearance are your mannerisms. As an owner-operator, it is important to be on time, knowledgeable, and polite. When you look like you know what you are doing, your customers will be more likely to do business with you again. Also, you never know when you will be talking to potential customers and you never want to burn any bridges.
  • Professional Paperwork. Applications such as the free BigRoad Electronic Logs can help fleets and drivers present a more professional image as well to the roadside DOT inspectors.  Hundreds of accounts from drivers using BigRoad confirm that the DOT inspectors appreciate the clean logs, lack of errors and elimination of illegible handwriting.  see previous blog post about Why Paper Driver Logs Suck
paper driver logs suck

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Do you Know your PSP Score, CSA Scores? You Should!

This is the first article in a good series by Todd Dills of OverDrive Online describing PSP (Pre-employment Screening Program) and other data collection techniques by FMCSA under the CSA program.  It is becoming increasingly important for truck drivers and fleet operators to regularly verify and protect their PSP and CSA scores.  Link to original article in OverDrive Online

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CSA Scores a Competitive Weapon for small fleets?

A good article was published in the Truck News Blogs by James Menzies regarding CSA as a competitive weapon. More of the smaller companies and O/O’s will need to establish their own track record and procedures if the trend of the larger trucking companies to hold their data and methods as a competitive advantage, because they have the money and the means to collect/process and control the information.  We see many small fleets customers using the BigRoad fleet management platform to level the playing field and compete fairly with the big guys.

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