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American Truck Dealers have announced the nomination of nine trucks for the 2012 ATD Commercial Truck of theYear. The annual award, which recognizes a winner in both the heavy- and medium-duty truck categories, will be presented at the 2012 ATD Convention and Expo, which is being held for the first time in conjunction with the National Automobile Dealers Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas, February 3-6, 2012.
The heavy-duty (Class 8) truck entries are the Freightliner 114SD conventional dump truck, International ProStar+ tractor with MaxxForce 15 engine, Kenworth T660 Regional Hauler with Paccar MX engine and Peterbilt 587 SmartWay conventional tractor.
The medium-duty (Class 3-7) truck entries are the Fuso Canter FE160 low cab forward, Isuzu NPR-HD Gas, Kenworth T440 conventional, Peterbilt Model 210 low cab forward and UD 2600 low cab forward.
The nine trucks in the competition for 2012 are the most since the competition began four years ago. Key judging factors included the trucks’ overall appearance, cab comfort, noise levels, roominess, ease of getting in and out of the truck, and convenience of maintenance.
After driving all day, the last thing Kenny, a truck driver from Dayton, Oh., wanted to do was exercise. After a day trapped in the cab, stopping only to gorge on greasy fare at truck stops, who could think of working out?
But once he ballooned to 405 pounds, he knew he had to make a change. So last year, Kenny, 58, did something all too rare for someone in his profession: He began a diet and exercise program.
The six-pack of Coca-Cola he drank each day? Gone. The hamburgers, chips, and chocolate he relished? No more. Today, he drinks a protein shakes mixed with ice water or soy milk for breakfast, nibbles cantaloupe and red grapes, and makes “sandwiches” with thinly sliced meat and cheese but no bread. He keeps a fold-up bike in his truck and zips around rest areas on his breaks.
His weight is down to 335 pounds, and he’s managed to reduce the amount of blood pressure medication he takes. “I rarely, maybe once a week, even go into a truck stop,” said Kenny, who has been navigating an 18-wheeler for the last 30 years.
On the road for weeks on end, with poor diets and little exercise, the nation’s truckers are in bad shape. Now, rising insurance costs and stringent government health tests are moving trucking companies and industry groups to try to persuade truckers to change their habits.
Eighty-six percent of the estimated 3.2 million truck drivers in the United States, according to a 2007 study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, are overweight or obese.
It’s a problem not just for truckers, but for anyone who shares the road with them. In 2010, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers accounted for 13 percent of all fatal occupational injuries, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A 2007 report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that 87 percent of crashes involving truckers stemmed to some degree from driver error. Twelve percent of these cases were because the driver was asleep, had a heart attack, was in diabetic shock or had some other health problem.
The United States Department of Transportation requires drivers to pass a certifying medical exam every two years. While the statistics are bleak, they are not especially surprising. Routines that keep other Americans healthy—exercise, cooking at home—are nearly impossible for truckers, since drivers aren’t in one place for more than a day or two.
Until recently, few in the transportation industry cared to tackle its health issues. Now transportation carriers, industry organizations and even truck stops are promoting initiatives to help truckers slim down, shape up and improve their health. Employers are holding health seminars, building on-site gyms, bringing in nutritionists and fitness trainers, and offering financial incentives to employees who stop smoking or lose weight.
While driver health is certainly a force behind the wellness initiatives, economics also plays a role. The trucking industry is grappling with sky-high insurance rates and rising medical costs. The industry is also struggling to retain veteran drivers while recruiting new ones.
Some of these programs have had moderate success. Steve signed up with Lindora last summer after hitting 226 pounds. Several months later, he weighs about 208 pounds, and his truck doubles as a makeshift gym. Now, Steve, and many like him, are starting to see the value of staying healthy. “I’m being stupid if I don’t lose the weight,” he said, “because I’ll lose my job.”
Attention truckers: if you use a cell phone while driving and do not yet have hands-free technology, you could soon face a serious fine and possible disqualification once the DOT’s new rule takes effect.The action follows a 2010 rule that prohibits texting while driving a commercial vehicle. Multiple offenses can lead to a disqualification of a driver’s CDL.
The rule, authoredby the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, applies to commercial operators engaged in interstate commerce.
Similar to the texting rule, the hand-held rule targets specific actions to discourage distracted driving. The use of hands-free technology is still allowed under the rule.Research by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that talking and listening on a hand-held phone pose little, if any, risk for commercial drivers, and that hands-free talking and listening actually has a protective effect on drivers.
The agencies did not address an issue raised by OOIDA about the use of cellphones for GPS navigation. Many operators choose to use a cellphone for navigation rather than purchase a separate GPS device.
Local small businesses create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods across the country. There are approximately 24 to 27 million small businesses in the U.S. About 6 million of them have employees. Half of working Americans either own or work for a small business, which accounts for two-thirds of new jobs in the US.
In 2011, the SBA approved “1,285 loans to small truckers for nearly $297 million,” according to SBA Administrator Mills. The average loan amount is more than $230,000. “SBA isn’t known for being a big supporter of truly small businesses, like the thousands of small-business truckers and other really small business operators who really need these loans to upgrade their small but critical operations,” said Jim Johnston, president of OOIDA. The SBA defines small businesses as having under 500 employees or as companies with revenues of $25.5 million or less.
Many OOIDA members have previously tried to secure an SBA loan, but few have reported that they have received one. The SBA lumps owner-operators with bigger small businesses in the competition for its loans. Johnston said OOIDA would like to see that changed. “It very well may be time for SBA to change their definition of small business,” Johnston said.