Trucking Advocate and Activist Allen Smith of TruthAboutTrucking.com : Articles Current News and Information for CDL Truck Drivers and Truck Driving Students…"Raising the Standards of the Trucking Industry"
An Alabama trucking company has been shut down after one of its drivers crashed into a van in March, killing 10 people in the van, many of whom had Lancaster County connections. Killed in the crash on a Kentucky highway were eight members of the John and Sadie Esh family, along with two family friends. The tractor-trailer truck driver was also killed.
The only survivors of the crash were two little boys, ages 3 and 5, who were grandsons of the Eshes.
Both John and Sadie Esh, who were Mennonite, were from large Amish families and had many relatives in Lancaster County.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered Hester Inc., of Fayette, Ala., to cease operations after failing to correct “critical” violations, including allowing drivers to operate trucks longer than allowed by law.
The order was issued in June, but was released to The Courier-Journal on Wednesday after the newspaper requested it through the Freedom of Information Act. Scott Hester, the owner of the company, declined to comment to the newspaper.
Truck driver Kenneth Laymon went across the median on I-65 near Munfordville on March 26, striking a van carrying the Esh family and their friends, who were traveling to a wedding in Iowa.
Better fuel mileage and cleaner emission control is always on the mind of trucking companies and many owner operators, especially these days. BetterFuel.org is an organization providing and promoting fuel saving technologies with the use of Ethos. As their site explains:
“Ethos is a product that is added to fuels to help engines burn fuel more completely. Ethos is non-toxic, non-hazardous and works with any fuel used in cars, trucks, buses, ships, trains and generators. Ethos is free of carcinogens and is not derived from petroleum. It utilizes cleaning and lubricating esters suspended in a mineral oil base.”
One gallon of Ethos FR treats 1,280 gallons of fuel, while four gallons will cover 5,120 gallons. Studies have shown that this product are the following:
Non-toxic, Non-hazardous
Extends Engine Life
Reduces Maintenance
Bridges the Lubrication Gap
You can see the difference that Ethos FR had when tested on two separate engines. BetterFuel.org will come to your place of business and provide testing on your vehicles showing you the end results. They will then implement a technology of your choice or one that they have tested and proven to be sufficient. They will then compare the difference between the two test results. This will allow you, as a trucking company or owner operator, to view what is really happening within the vehicle’s engine.
BetterFuel.org is showing proven technologies for fuel saving and emission control products. Technology is getting bigger and better with products that will increase the life of your truck’s engine which, without a doubt, will lead to more dollars staying in your pocket as a professional driver or fleet owner. Stay up on the newest technology for trucking fuel and emission products. Check out: BetterFuel.org
The trucking company owner operator lease-purchase scam. I’ve talked about it … I’ve written about it … I’ve done talk shows about it. Truth About Trucking was established with one goal in mind: to provide the answers to the insider secrets of the trucking industry for new CDL students and drivers. All those things that every veteran driver knows about, but, for whatever reason, few would discuss. Four years ago, we changed all that.
Suddenly, there was someone actually talking about the scams of OTR trucking. Scams, that every newcomer to the industry should be aware of, in order to know exactly what they are getting into when it comes to long haul trucking. Furthermore, by understanding and realizing the Truth About OTR Trucking . . . they would be better prepared to face those situations head-on and know what is to be expected of them in order to survive and make it in the OTR trucking game.
Being available through email, phone and from our Truth About Trucking “LIVE” talk radio show, I have received thousands of questions from students and new drivers. It is the best part about being involved with an informative on-line format. Still, I find that trucking companies continue to prey on drivers’ hopes and dreams and wanted to reiterate in this post about one of the BIGGEST scams in the trucking industry: the Owner Operator Truck Leasing Program.
“I RECENTLY SIGNED A TRUCK LEASE WITH A COMPANY CALLED XXXXX , THE TRUCK PAYMENTS WERE OVER $1000.00 PER WK. BUT I WAS TOLD MY TRUCK WOULD BRING IN OVER 4500 PER WK AVERAGE. THIS NEVER HAPPENED, SO AFTER STARVING FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND LISTENING TO THEIR BULL, I FINALLY TURNED IN THE TRUCK. BUT NOW MY DAC REPORT IS NEGATIVE.”
For all of you new CDL students and new drivers trying to break into the industry, be very leery of these trucking company lease purchase plans. This is a big money maker for these companies and the chances of you succeeding with one of these plans is highly unlikely. I know that many of you would really like to be an owner operator and these purchase plans are so enticing, but the best way to be an O/O is to drive several years, save up the down payment and purchase the truck on your own from a reputable dealer . . . NOT A TRUCKING COMPANY. The only exception to this “rule” is obviously, if you have worked for a company for a good length of time and know for certain that they are a good, reputable company and one you can trust. Until you have some serious background experience with them, stay away from leases!
One of our highest rated shows on Truth About Trucking “LIVE” was about this very subject. I would urge you to give it a listen if you missed it:
Remember . . . there are many fine trucking companies out there to work for, but you will have to build up between one to three years of driving experience before you will be considered for hire. There are also very good companies that offer CDL training other than those we all hear and know about. Keep in mind, with the current state of the economy, companies such as these may not be accepting new students right now.
The point here, is that OTR trucking does work for many drivers . . . but a successful career in trucking does not happen overnight. It can, literally, take several years. Understand the scams that exist within OTR truck driving and know what to be suspicious of when it comes to this industry. One of those things is the Lease Purchase Plan. Not only will they use it to rake in more of your hard earned money, but when you cannot hang on any longer . . . they will turn around and place a negative report on your DAC, hitting you twice and very possibly ruining your truck driving career.
I’ll say it again . . . Until you have worked for a company long enough to know that they are a good and honest employer . . . then . . . Stay away from trucking company leases!
Heartland Express, Inc., based out of Iowa, reported a 2% second-quarter profit earlier today. The company stated that they are seeing the worst economic downturn in its history, and commented that it: “has not seen any strong indicators of improvements in the demand for freight services that would increase our levels of business in the near future.” The company earned $17.6 million dollars for the quarter, up 2% from the $17.2 million from the same time last year.
Heartland Express is known for being a debt-free company, which is very enticing for drivers looking for a good and reputable trucking company. They ended the quarter with $205 million dollars cash-in-hand, and is still one of the few trucking companies that can lay claim to having a debt-free balance sheet.
Truck driver, Andre Walls had been trucking over the road for two and a half years. He had never had an accident and had never received a ticket. Two and a half years of perfect driving and being an excellent employee. Then, he was terminated by his company for violating a company policy : having an “unauthorized passenger” in the truck with him. The company reported it to his DAC Report and just like that . . . Mr. Walls found himself out of the job he loved and now, cannot find another employer to hire him.
Yes, he made a mistake by allowing an unathorized passenger to ride in the truck with him . . . but here’s the rest of the story:
Andre had been running hard all week with very little rest in order to make extra money for himself and his family. He was taking every run he could so they could get “back on track” with their finances. He was dispatched on a load to Northern Arkansas and even though he had little rest, he headed off under dispatch. During the run, he received a phone call from his brother-in-law who was on his way home, but his car broke down. The brother-in-law’s child, Andre’s nephew or neice, was dying. He asked Mr. Walls if he could give him a ride home. Andre did.
Andre completed the load to Arkansas, but was then called in to the company and was advised that he was terminated due to violating company policy. He was asked to write a statement explaining his side of the story, which he did. He was still terminated and with an “unauthorized passenger” on his DAC report, he has not been able to find another trucking company that will hire him.
Before the next morning, the baby died.
What would you have done?
This driver is now at the point of “losing everything.” I mention often that there are good and decent trucking companies. I know there are, because I’ve worked for several of them. Is there one trucking company out there that will prove me right? Will you give Andre Walls a job? Will you look past the fact that he had an “unauthorized passenger” in the truck? Will you understand that a baby was dying?
Help prove me right. If you’ll hire this driver, email me at : allen@truthabouttrucking.com and I’ll forward your email to Andre. I won’t post about it . . . I won’t talk about it . . . it will just be between you and this driver.
What would you have done? What if it had been your child?
As elementary as it may seem, intimidation by the workplace bully has actually become a silent epidemic . . . not only in this country, but worldwide. A recent study on bullying in the workplace, showed that 37% of the population is or has experienced being bullied while performing their job duties. It is believed that many cases go unreported, and worse yet, many companies do nothing about it once reported.
Often told to “just gut up and handle it” – bullying has become so overwhelming for some, that in recent years a new term has been coined: bullycide. In recent years, kids as young as 13, as well as adults, have taken their own lives due to the cowardly acts of these still-existent bullies. The trucking industry is no exception.
Many CDL students and specifically, female drivers are finding themselves being “bullied” by some driver trainers. Many of these trainers are known convicted felons, still hired by the trucking company. With the lack of professional women trainers, female students are placed in a truck with a male trainer and are finding themselves harassed, assaulted and even raped. Many male students are being “thrown out” of the truck in the middle of nowhere by these bully trainers and left stranded . . . yet, the trucking company will terminate the student, and do nothing in response to the trainer’s actions.
Even when an act as violent as rape has occurred, the situation is turned around in order to place the fault upon the female driver. When one female driver was recently raped by one of the felon trainers, the trucking company simply asked her, “Well, did you keep your curtain closed?” This driver was terminated from her job and the felon male driver trainer remained with the company, receiving no repercussion of any kind. There are hundreds of cases like this one playing out within the trucking industry today, yet, they remain to be reported by the main news media.
Most trucking companies and driver trainers are professional and respectful individuals. Still, there are a handful of trucking companies who continue to hire known felons and place them in a position as a driver trainer, and simply turn the other way when acts of bullying and violent crimes take place . . . punishing only the victim. We are taking a stance to reporting this type of behavior and to push it out into the main stream media in order to let it be known. It has got to STOP!
There is a massive difference between bullying and rape. Recently, one trucking company received 265 complaints by female drivers and very little was done. Now facing 35 counts of sexual harassment, the other 230 reports were “thrown out” by the courts because they were not filed within the 45 day reporting deadline. Another tactic used by these trucking companies that allow these acts to take place.
Truth About Trucking “LIVE” will begin bringing this epidemic to light on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 7:30 PM EST. Host Allen Smith, will present a one hour commentary on the trucking talk radio show, setting the stage for the main broadcast which will be on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 PM EST. With a special guest panel, the 2 hour show will reveal the truth behind the bullying and violent assaults that many CDL students and new drivers are facing within the trucking industry. Future shows will be slated, as we continue to push forward in order to stop these acts from occurring, and to demand that the trucking companies who knowingly allow these acts to continue, STOP!
Solutions to the problem will be a major focus for the show. It’s time to report these acts of violence and let it be known that the correct measures must be put in place to prevent them from happening.
What is “Due Process?” The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” If a public employee has a property interest in a job, he or she cannot be discharged without due process. Due process requires that the employee be given notice of the reason for being discharged and a fair hearing at which to contest the decision.
But when is a job considered “property”? An employee has a property interest in a job if there is:
a written or implied contract granting the employee a property interest in the job;
if past practice of the employer shows that the employee has a property interest in the job; or
if a statute gives the employee a property interest in the job
Therefore, if a truck driver, already employed by a trucking company, re-takes the DOT physical exam and passes, and the medical doctor signs off on the medical card, would this not constitute “property interest” on part of the driver? Shouldn’t the driver have the right to due process? How could the trucking company terminate the driver on grounds of “health condition” when the driver had been given the green light from the DOT medical examiner?
To make matters worse, this driver has not been able to find an attorney that will stand up for this drivers’ “Due Process” rights.
The driver sent me an email explaining the situation. After the email, is my short reply to him with links I thought would be helpful. In posting this, I hope that perhaps our readers could provide some insight into this matter, and more importantly, an attorney will step up and help this driver in need.
Here’s the email:
Mr. Smith,
First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is John M. and I am a former CDL Class A tractor-trailer driver and a resident of Cocoa, FL. I started driving big trucks fairly late in life, at age 58 and made it to 60 when my world and my life, most assuredly, fell apart.
I hope that I am not being presumptuous in taking this liberty to share my story with you, Mr. Smith. It is a story that my former driver-colleagues (the survivors, I call them) have taken great interest in, for even the old-timers have never witnessed anything quite like what has transpired with me. If you do continue to read this email and find it of interest, you are quite free to share this email with any of the many contacts in the trucking industry that you’ve developed over the years. They may also find it interesting and perhaps even thought-provoking.
My story, in its simplest and most basic form, is nothing more than this:
Come time to renew my DOT physical certificate, I passed the physical and have (since the very day that I passed my physical) been barred from making a living with my former employer. Ultimately, I was terminated by this company under the general guise of “your recent health condition” as the termination letter stated.
If you’re like most people, Mr. Smith, you’re probably saying to yourself “there must be more to this story.” Indeed, there is MUCH more to the story, none of which, I submit to you, has the first thing to do with my health or any so-called “health condition” cited in my letter of termination. It has everything to do with how people more powerful than myself, for whatever their reasons and motives, can, through force and coercion, herd a perfectly healthy man into an impossible corner (at least, it ended up being impossible for me for a number of different reasons) from which there is no escape. And then actually destroy his/her very health and well-being because they stole their very livelihood away from them.
I’m not trying to be overly-dramatic when I use such words. This is exactly what has happened to me and it could well end up happening to many others in the trucking community if the mad-dogs-of-war against truckers continue to roam freely and consume their victims.
As with just about any topic concerning this industry, literally, ALL responsibility and burdens are being placed directly on the shoulder of truckers. Whether it be my circumstance, the Virginia parking problem … ANYTHING. Everything falls, all consequences, fall on the shoulders of the beleaguered trucker. Like so many others, I was aloof as to what truckers actually go through until I, too, finally experienced strapping on 80,000 lbs. of tractor/trailer and freight and then let out the clutch. Now I’ve driven more than a few miles in the shoes of these remarkable men and women. They are truly the REAL heartbeat of America.
I first learned of you and your work while researching for some material that would, hopefully, bolster a case for what ended up being, I certainly believe, wrongful termination from my former employer, which is a large Florida- based trucking firm. The particular article that I took away from your site as a result of that initial search was the following …
After that initial introduction to your web site, I did, indeed, purchase your e-book on 17 January 2009. It is a well-done and most valuable publication, Mr. Smith. One that I so wish I’d had before embarking on this, as it turns out, relatively short-lived career. You’ve provided a valuable service and much valuable information for not only those thinking about pursuing a trucking career but for those already involved. You are to be congratulated. (You are more than welcome to use my words as a testimonial, if you so wish to, Mr. Smith.)
Anyway, my reasoning for seeking out such information, in the first place, was my hope to demonstrate the utter hypocrisy of those destroying my life. Perhaps expose the many hypocrisies that exist within trucking in general. The trucking industry, for sure, has some legitimate problems that do, indeed, need to be addressed, as can be gleaned from your link just above. All that I was, and still am, trying to prove is that, again, trucking does have its unique problems. I just wasn’t one of them – and I say that humbly. But I was “converted” into a “problem” … where NO problem whatsoever ever existed to start with, by any rational, reasonable and everyday common sense measures.
Let’s just say that, like airline pilots who carry “loss of license” insurance, I wish that I’d had a ton of such an insurance policy. To my knowledge, though, no such insurance exists in the trucking industry. Puh-lenty of ways to lose one’s license. Just not many, if any, “antidotes” for such an eventuality, or so it seems.
Believe me when I say, Mr. Smith, the No. 1 cause of truck accidents cited in your posting – Prescription Drug Use 26% – is a very large component of my story. Not because I was on any prescription drugs – but because of my refusal to be “medicated” by the world of Big Pharma! Please understand that the promotion of the wonderful world of prescription drugs, by parties who held my very driving career in the palm of their hands, came AFTER I returned from the medical examiner’s office … with a passed medical certificate in my hand!
Attached to this email, Mr. Smith, is what I passed along to one of Orlando’s largest and well-known law firms, just last week. Hopefully, it will fill in some more blanks for you. All that it availed me was to incur my fourth rejection from as many different law firms who, supposedly, claimed to have expertise in “employment law”. For some reason, when I approach them and they get a glimpse at my case, they all of a sudden really don’t seem to practice employment law anymore. I’m not sure what to make of all these rejections, quite honestly.
So at this juncture, since it doesn’t appear that I’ll ever find legal relief, I wanted to present my story to you, Mr. Smith. Again, I hope that I haven’t been presumptuous in doing so. I fully realize that this email has already grown fairly long. For that I apologize but there is no easy or simple way to explain the full story on the quick and short. Still, it is my hope that you’ve found my words to of potential trucking community interest. I will certainly answer any further questions that you, or anybody else, may for me.
I have come to believe that I may possibly have a “due process” violation case. All that I think that I can say for sure, Mr. Smith, is that common, “everyday people”, such as my former driver colleagues, think that I was treated unjustly and unfairly. If they’re correct in their assessment, then I want to see what I can do to make sure that nobody else in the trucking community suffers as I have. None of this had to happen, for there never was a problem to start with. Until one was “manufactured”. I wouldn’t be writing this email if this “manufacturing” of non-existent problems had not happened.
I passed the physical … now, let me get back to work. Just that simple. That’s all that should have transpired. But it was not to be … and my life is in absolute tatters now.
If you’re down “here” now, Mr. Smith, I can’t thank you enough for taking your valuable time to hear me out. Once again, I consider this letter public now, if you wish to pass it along to others for their assessment. Again, I’ll be glad to answer any question that you or anyone else may have for me. Certainly, any advice and counsel would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for everything that you do for all truckers, Mr. Smith.
Respectfully yours,
John M.
Cocoa, Florida email – champ7eca@bellsouth.net
My reply:
Hi John:
I am working on posting your story to our blog and through some research, I found the below site while investigating the “due process” legalities:
Trucking firm, YRC Worldwide, Inc., has applied for a governmental bailout seeking $1 billion in federal money to help relieve pension obligations. Last month, the company reported a first quarter loss of $415 million, and states that the $1 billion in relief money would help them cover the cost of an estimated $2 billion in pension payouts over the next four years.
Many oppose the plan citing that the so-called stimulus plan is not working and it’s already giving undue power to the government, in areas where it does not belong – i.e. auto makers, banks, etc. Many experts believe that YRC has no chance in receiving the bailout funds anyway, but the mere application by the trucking company opens the door for many other companies and organizations to seek bailout assistance from the Federal Government, throwing our country more into debt than we are already capable of handling.
On the other hand, some groups believe it is quite possible for the firm to receive the billion they are seeking. Why? Because the problem with YRC is not its trucking company, but its union pensions. Politicians work for big special interest groups. Unions are some of the most vital groups that Democrats have. Therefore, some believe that the Democrats will want to bailout unions, just like the Republicans sought to bailout banks.
With our country slipping into bankruptcy and the furthering of building big government as their top priority, many people wonder “will this bailing out scenario ever end?”
There are those truck driving training schools that will use one technique that will insure a new drivers’ failure at a driving career every time:
Another email from a CDL graduate with the same story:
“Just because my teacher at XXXX Training School told me not to put my DUI on my application because the DUI was over 5 years old, they fired me because I did not put it down. I was out on the road with my trainer for a week and they red flagged me and then fired me. I can’t seem to get any trucking company to even look at me now.”
When I receive emails like this one, and I get a lot of them, it simply makes my blood boil. As author of the first and original, Truth About Trucking, I want to reiterate the TRUTH about what some truck driving schools will do that will end your truck driving career before it even has a chance to begin. It’s not like I haven’t already made this SCAM known, but it’s time to let it be known again.
It is true that trucking companies will normally do a back-ground check for the past 5-7 years. The above email was sent to me by a new driver that had experienced a DUI back in 1996. So, here’s the truth AGAIN:
The trucking company means absolutely NOTHING when it comes to the completed hiring process. The ultimate decision will nearly always come from the insurance carrier. The employment application will always ask the question in similar form such as, “Have you ever been….?” or “Have you ever had a…?”or“Have you ever been convicted of…?”and so forth. The key word here is: “EVER“.
If the question is, “Have you ever been convicted of a DUI?” - then it means “ever.” Even if the DUI was 75 years ago, ever means ever. By not putting it down on the application constitutes “falsifying a Commercial Motor Vehicle Application” which is a very serious offense. State and Federal Laws are very clear about this matter:
“Any person who falsifies any information in an application or test for a commercial driver’s license shall not be licensed to operate a commercial motor vehicle, or the person’s commercial driver’s license shall be canceled, for a period of one year after the director discovers such falsification.”
These truck driving schoolinstructors, recruiters and driver trainers know this. By telling you not to write it down on the application because they only go back several years, is nothing but a lie and a scam. The school still keeps your money and you could very well be in a situation where you may never find work as a truck driver. At the minimum, you will be out of luck for at least one year. Then, after one year has passed, you will be required to go through CDL training all over again, and yes, you will have to pay for it once more.
Because you may have driven for one or two weeks before the insurance carrier caught it, the trucking company will then turn around and place a “falsifying” report on your DAC. All future employers will see this report and thus, the reason for not accepting you within a driving position. Also, the HireRight DAC Trucking Solutions, who oversees the DAC report, could care less about the truth. You have the right to place your side of the story on your DAC and try to have it removed through the use of an attorney, but this can be very time consuming and costly.
REMEMBER: When a recruiter or truck driving school official or driver trainer tells you not to worry about writing down a violation that occurred over 5-7 years ago … they are either lying or they are just ignorant. It is a SCAM!
Doing so, will end your driving career and landing another truck driving job could take a very long time.
ALWAYS list EVERYTHING down on the Commercial Motor Vehicle Application no matter what the offense and no matter how long ago it was.
Trucking talk radio, Truth About Trucking “LIVE” discussed the 2nd Amendment this evening, your right to carry a firearm in the commercial motor vehicle. With a huge “live” listener turn-out, the show ultimately came down to the fact that trucking company policies stating a driver cannot carry a firearm in the truck with them, is the main cause of violating your Constitutional Right.
On the other hand, by violating your company policy, you risk losing your driving job. Should a company policy be able to override a Constitutional Right? Thanks to the callers, those in the chat room and all of the listeners on this evening’s program. As long as we remain silent, nothing will change and our legal rights as citizens will continue to be abused.
: alabama, FMCSA, hours of violations, lancaster, online, shut down, trucking company
Better fuel mileage and cleaner emission control is always on the mind of trucking companies and many owner operators, especially these days. 
The trucking company owner operator lease-purchase scam. I’ve talked about it … I’ve written about it … I’ve done talk shows about it. 
As elementary as it may seem, intimidation by the workplace bully has actually become a silent epidemic . . . not only in this country, but worldwide. A recent study on bullying in the workplace, showed that 37% of the population is or has experienced being bullied while performing their job duties. It is believed that many cases go unreported, and worse yet, many companies do nothing about it once reported.
What is “Due Process?” The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” If a public employee has a property interest in a job, he or she cannot be discharged without due process. 
