When starting at a new job, many people simply want to learn their role and focus on only what they were hired for. You know, the not my job, not my problem mentality. If they're hired to pick up a phone to answer and make calls, then they'd make sure to just learn that job. Anything else is considered above or below their paygrade. So that's it. If they're brought into a company to process paperwork, or maybe they're a sales or tech specialist, then that's what they do. That...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and state agencies will begin enforcing stricter English-language proficiency standards for commercial drivers operating in the U.S. Under the updated enforcement rules, drivers who cannot adequately speak and understand English may face out-of-service violations on the spot. The changes follow a new enforcement policy distributed by the FMCSA on May 20, which mandates that all roadside inspections begin in English. If t...

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has officially announced that this year's Operation Safe Driver Week will take place from July 13 to July 19, 2025. This annual initiative focuses on improving driving behaviors across North America through a coordinated effort of law enforcement, public education, and industry outreach. Operation Safe Driver Week is a collaborative campaign conducted in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, targeting both commercial motor vehicl...

Each May, the nation observes Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to shine a spotlight on the importance of mental well-being for everyone. For those in the trucking industry, this month carries added significance. Driving a commercial vehicle isn't just a job - it's a lifestyle, one that often comes with extended isolation, long hours, and high stress. These factors can create a perfect storm for mental health challenges, which are too often overlooked or silently endured ...

U.S. Representative Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma is once again challenging federal regulators over proposed speed limiter mandates on heavy commercial vehicles. His latest legislative effort, the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act, seeks to prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from requiring that trucks weighing over 26,000 pounds be equipped with speed limiting devices. "I'm Just a Bill" The now reintro...

Year-in and year-out, I try to set goals (not resolutions) as I shift into each and every new phase of life. And as we're already closing the book on the first two months of 2025, it seems a good time to assess just where we each reside in terms of our own personal goals and the sights we might set on our future. We all have responsibilities. We all have hopes and dreams of our own. But sometimes, the outside world can beat us down and, unfortunately, it often seems like the ...

Over the years, I've engaged with many truck drivers attempting to make the jump from company driver to independent contractor. And if you didn't already know, the world of expedite trucking is vastly different from your typical truck driving career. Instead of a driver's income being determined by the number of miles run, such as in truckload, expedite is based on more of a pay-per-load structure and mentality. Also, in such cases with expedite, most drivers are considered a...

Career truck drivers tend to prefer the solitude of the open road. But really, who wouldn't? I mean, you get to take your work with you and make money wherever you go. No one to answer to (other than perhaps dispatch and the Department of Transportation), and you're touring the countryside while getting paid to do it. So, what's not to like about that? However, as gratifying as driving solo can be, it's often accompanied by the risk of losing out on some extra cash by limitin...

Referring to expedite as "the Band-Aid" to the trucking industry may have, at one time, been the best way to describe what it is and why it's so important to logistics management. Or explaining to a career over-the-roader that the term "expedite" signals that the freight is time-sensitive, and it must be delivered with haste, was also often used in an attempt to drive the point home. When a driver has spent all, or the majority, of their career in an over-the-road capacity, g...

In the transportation industry, honesty is a door that swings both ways. Not only are drivers seeking employment and expecting a straight-up recruiter to give them the honest scoop on what to anticipate with a potential company, there is also a certain level of honesty that recruiters require out of potential driving candidates as well. And as long as we're being honest here, both sides could certainly learn a thing or two from the other. Don't Sell Me A Story A recruiter tel...