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Overdrive Radio
An era’s social unrest finds an anthem in the rebellious ‘Convoy’
The legacy of history behind the unlikely 1970s hit "Convoy," by C.W. McCall, aka ad executive Bill Fries. The song, heavily laden with CB slang and conversation, tells the story of a spontaneous truck convoy that clashes with authorities.
June 7, 2021
Custom Rigs
The day five famous 70s/80s rigs made history on 'Hollywood Hill'
A firsthand account of the event, bringing together restored trucks from movies “Duel,” “Convoy," and “Smokey & the Bandit” with “Movin’ On” and “B.J. & the Bear” TV rigs — among others at the Southern Classic Truck Show in 2016.
December 21, 2016
Trucking History
'Bandit' lives on as a classic trucking movie
As the movie debuted, the May 1977 Overdrive highlighted the magazine’s involvement in 'Smokey and the Bandit,' notably the inclusion of a truck race banner bearing its name.
May 24, 2021
Channel 19
The proud trucking legacy of the Bixlers, Updegraves in Pennsylvania
How's an estimated 1,500 years' worth of cumulative trucking experience for one family over the course of just a few generations? Meet another trucking family here with a proud legacy, via longtime owner-operator Steve Bixler and kin.
May 20, 2021
Overdrive Radio
'Six Days on the Road' and the outlaw trucker image
“Six Days” remains in contemporary times one of trucking’s most popular songs -- a decade ago around Overdrive's 50th anniversary, readers voted the track as the No. 1 trucking song of all time. Hear more about its history in today's podcast.
May 17, 2021
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Channel 19
Generations of owners' family legacy in Overdrive
How a trucking culture was built and maintained through the years with family, past and present. Meet Eddie Karwaski of Pennsylvania, Carl Nyhof of Wisconsin, Carl Rhodes of West Virginia, and others who learned from family, hereditary or not.
May 10, 2021
Overdrive Extra
Lisa Kelly of 'IRT' still drives Alaska’s Haul Road
Kelly runs between Fairbanks and the oil fields around Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s northern shore. She still gets "Ice Road Truckers" fan mail.
May 3, 2021
Overdrive Radio
Remembering the inaugural Pennsylvania Make-a-Wish Mother's Day convoy
A special edition of Overdrive Radio looks way back into history to the first Make-A-Wish convoy to set off from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with former trucker George Ruelens, hauling for Ned Bard & Son at the time. This year's convoy sets off May 9.
May 24, 2019
Trucking History
What's behind 'Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel'
This Red Sovine classic celebrated heroic wives and mothers, who shouldered the burdens of maintaining a household while their husbands drove over the road. It also subtly addressed doubts either spouse might have about the other ...
April 19, 2021
Overdrive Extra
Truck stop is part of Alaska's backcountry history
Coldfoot Camp and the Dalton Highway, which runs past it, have ties to development of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and, more recently, the popular "Ice Road Truckers" TV series.
April 12, 2021
Custom Rigs
A salute to the 'Old Filthy' 1957 Kenworth fuel hauler
For this week's Overdrive 60th-anniversary installment, the story of how one longtime hauler came to own one of his first employers’ classic 1957 Kenworth 925. “Old Filthy” was the first truck bought new by Montana-based owner-operator Gene Ballinger.
May 15, 2017
Overdrive Radio
Hey, mate, this classic American trucking song isn’t exactly American ... or much about trucking
"I've Been Everywhere," one of trucking's classic American road songs, has roots in another continent. Decades before Johnny Cash's popular rendition, it was recorded by Hank Snow and others.
March 29, 2021
Custom Rigs
Race-winning V12 KW still in action after four decades
As seen in the short film from Overdrive’s late-1970s N.J. diesel drag races, the winning rig alive and kicking four decades later -- and one race attendee's reflections on trucking enthusiasm through the decades.
May 24, 2016
Trucking History
The 'Mother Road' heyday of independent truck stops and diners
Take a tour down old Route 66 through the highway postcard collection of Joe Sonderman, which began early on for him on family stops at Gaspar’s Truck Stop in Kingdom City, Mo., where he saw a postcard showing its prior incarnation... The rest is history.
March 15, 2021
Channel 19
A '70s film at Overdrive's diesel drag races, and a 'Back in Time' tour
In 2016, a late-1970s short film on U.S. trucking, via Overdrive’s Englishtown, New Jersey, truck drag racing event, provided a clear window back in time, including a glimpse of Overdrive’s founder. This 60th-anniversary special takes you there ...
May 19, 2016
Trucking History
First hit trucker song in history channeled road woes
Louisianan Ted Daffan visited honky-tonks frequented by truck drivers to help write his 1939 hit "Truck Driver's Blues." Find more about what's believed to be the first national hit of a trucking song in this Songs of the Highway special-edition podcast.
March 1, 2021
Overdrive Radio
The long tail of the CB's social utility
Owner-operator Mike Crawford in this Overdrive Radio edition expands on some of the themes showcased earlier this week in our special-edition podcast in part about the ongoing safety utility, and the decreased cultural importance, of the CB in trucking.
February 26, 2021
Overdrive Radio
Use the CB -- it works
For Overdrive's 60th-anniversary series, a look back at the emphasis readers have placed on the citizen's band radio as a primary safety tool in dangerous driving conditions, right up to the present moment, and highway culture through history.
February 22, 2021
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Business
Liability insurance hike left in House's highway funding bill
The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee voted Wednesday to leave a provision in the bill that would increase carriers' minimum required liability insurance to $2 million. A raft of other trucking-related provisions remain as well.
Overdrive Extra
Quarterly estimated taxes due next Tuesday
Regulations
DataQs: Are truckers mere 'victims' of the inspection, crash review process?
Business
Staying in control as driver assist technology continues to expand
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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 2021 edition of Partners in Business.
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