Overdrive Extra: Page 3

Want to improve retention in trucking? Define 'professionalism' to set the standard, build value
While "any truck operator can develop skill over time to effectively back into tight places ... the professional always acts with integrity, with bedrock safety in mind," notes Clifford Petersen. Yet he's "never known a carrier" to define professionalism.
September 27, 2022
trucks on highway
Titans of the Road: Reflections of the son of an American truck driver
Omari Faulkner pays tribute to his father, Arthur Faulkner Sr., and more: "Today, and every day, let’s salute those who transport goods around our country and remain a backbone to supporting our economy and supply chains day in and day out."
September 21, 2022
Arthur Faulkner Sr.
'Sisters of the Road' a haunting, iconographic portrait of professional truckers
What began as just a photo shoot of a few female U.S. truckers for Britain-based Anne-Marie Michel grew into a passion, then a book, one she'd not originally contemplated. "Sisters of the Road" is the result, out now.
September 19, 2022
Carol Nixon
How to make sure your vote gets counted
With absentee-ballot and other deadlines approaching ahead of this November's midterm elections, it's now more important than ever to make sure you're registered and able to vote. Access state rules and more via this quick-glance guide.
September 6, 2022
Absentee voting map
How to find the best BBQ where you can park a tractor-trailer
Amid the news of meat packers shuttered with COVID outbreaks in early pandemic days, Long Haul Paul trucked on an informal quest to find the best barbecue around. Long overdue, here are his four favorites, with special respect for the state of Georgia.
August 31, 2022
Four-pound pigzilla challenge pork sandwich
How to do more than just live with the horror of high fuel
We all gawked earlier this year at fuel-pump pictures shared to social media that showed high costs to fill our tractors’ big tanks. Yet continuing shock over gross cost begs bigger questions for owners about what really matters: profit.
August 24, 2022
$5.999 price per gallon, all taxes included diesel
How Steve Kron took his 2001 International above 10 mpg
Steve Kron is a miles-per-gallon pioneer. He’s not running a newer truck, and has added little in the way of electronics-enabled technology. He’s just an owner-operator with a distinct ability to look outside the box for effective tactics to boost mpg.
August 17, 2022
steve kron's 2001 international
From daily habits to business decisions, how to choose the right fork in any road
At a fork in the road, making the most productive choice by anticipating outcomes is a goal any operator can pursue. Get there, and fate is not out of your control at all, writes Clifford Petersen in this meditation on choice.
August 10, 2022
semi-trucks on a highway
Admission of emissions anxiety: A look at roadside testing, now and into the future
An emissions check at a New Jersey scale house sparked this look at implications for the rest of the country into the future from Gary Buchs. "It’s not a far stretch to think trucking may begin seeing additional random testing" in years to come.
August 2, 2022
New Jersey Vehicle Inspection Report
Leasing out equipment? Call your insurance agent first
Both trucks and trailers that are leased out bring increased potential to be damaged, stolen, abandoned or vandalized. Coverage necessarily will be the responsibility of the party leasing equipment from you. Be extra careful who you do business with.
July 25, 2022
Trailer black and white
California just doesn’t get it, or maybe just doesn’t care
An open letter from the Port of Oakland to owner-operators who have halted port operations this week while protesting the state's AB 5 independent contractor law extends an olive branch but largely misses the point of what the protests are about.
July 22, 2022
Protesting owner-operators at the Port of Oakland
Eulogy for a friend: Ken 'Shoestring' Waugh, 1955-2021
With a new podcast in the 'Over the Road' series, Long Haul Paul remembers a friend lost, longtime trucker, storyteller, musician and more -- Ken "Shoestring" Waugh.
July 22, 2022
Ken Waugh
Say no to legalized theft: Rein in exorbitant nonconsensual tow fees
Colorado trucking association's Greg Fulton calls for an end to tow company abuse of "the privilege of being on a state’s safety rotation" -- trucking companies, he says, "should not be at the mercy of unscrupulous towing operators'" excessive fees.
July 15, 2022
semi-truck and tow truck on side of road
The slip-seaters of your nightmares, and how not to be one
Nothing will reveal to you the true depths of your character deficits like a small herd of goats and a bad fence -- or a slip-seating situation with an absolute slob. Long Haul Paul shares more than one path to maximum cab freshness.
July 11, 2022
baby goat in the driver's seat
Forget speed limiters: Safe parking, highway infrastructure should be top priority
Clifford Petersen argues that lawmakers/regulators should set aside legislative and regulatory projects pushed by those with little to no familiarity with OTR realities, in favor of a push for real progress on parking, highway infrastructure needs.
July 6, 2022
Tanker and hay hauler on highway
Understanding costs/profit in relation to time for better load evaluations
Trying to select the loads based on the information showing on the load boards, or received from a broker on the phone, can play out with huge differences when it comes to bedrock costs/profit. Use these cost strategies for better self-dispatch results.
June 27, 2022
owner-operator talking on cell phone in truck's driver seat
How to change your decision-making for successful self-dispatch
Are you moving to assume greater control of your load selection, negotiation, planning? This two-part feature, by longtime owner-operator and business coach Gary Buchs, looks closely at aspects of self-dispatching that can set you up for success.
June 27, 2022
Owner-operator in driver's seat look at load board on tablet
OTR to home: Making local trucking work with Mike 'The Boston Trucker' Gaffin, Terry Shelton
Gaffin, with a growing profile as a videographer, details his long history in, and huge love for, OTR trucking, running back to childhood with a trucking father, a Teamster turned OTR post-deregulation. Gaffin's run the reverse path back to local work.
June 24, 2022
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'Everything is a lesson' -- Pulli Express Inc.'s path to profits through continual adjustment
Owner-operators Tim and Shelley Puzek-Pulli's steady-as-she-goes approach to their two-decade-old owner-operator business, now a three-truck fleet, got a shot in the arm in 2012, after a crash launched in-house reckoning, big shifts in management.
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Holding the line: Owner-op's playbook to push back on cheap freight
250' tall, 190' long and 150' wide. These on-shore furnaces are 'some of the biggest things to be moved this far' on land, said Mammoet's team lead on this five-mile move from the coast inland to a pastics facility in Texas.
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The Business Manual for Owner-Operators
Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the 2022 edition of Partners in Business.
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