Driver kudos: Pork rinds, bagpipes and making a difference

You may well recall pork rind maker Rudolph Foods’ high-sprited video competition to lead in to this week’s driver-appreciation events around the nation. I blogged about it early in the summer here, and essentially the company was taking video submissions from drivers filling in this blank: “Three things I always have in my truck: a bag of pork rinds, a roll of Duck Tape and ____________.”

The winner? Check out driver Chip’s vid below for some classic sounds, and you can catch the runners up via this page.

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Making a difference
The XRS Corporation (formerly Xata) has been hosting its own series of driver-appreciation efforts, asking for entries to the Xtra Mile Award — to “recognize a truck driver who has gone above and beyond” the call of duty.

They’ve posted several stories on their Facebook page, where you can vote by liking the picture and accompanying story. The driver receiving the most votes wins a Huawei Mediapad 7 tablet computer — you have until Thursday, Sept. 20, at 10 p.m. CST to vote. Vote via the XRS page here.

You’ll notice that among the drivers up for consideration is Channel 19 regular Allen Smith, who in addition to driving for fuel-hauling Pipeline Transportation out of Florida also hosts the Truth About Trucking Live online radio show, has written extensively attempting to help new drivers and others in the industry with perspectives and information about the business of driving, and is one of the primary organizers of the Truck Driver Social Media Convention, due for its second annual happening next month (hope to see you there).

The XRS winner will be announced Friday on Facebook.

CSA smackdown redux
California Congressman Duncan Hunter, following the CSA hearing I wrote about yesterday, issued a formal letter to the FMCSA expressing alarm over the issue of dismissed citations continuing to figure into drivers’ and carriers’ CSA score. You can read the full text via this link.