Voices

The ugly truth about screens and driving
Following the recent story of a driver caught using a tablet at highway speeds, we polled readers on the practice of "movie night at the wheel" and other handheld use, with some drivers admitting to doing it themselves.
March 24, 2023
tesla semi screens
Tales from a trainer's truck: Good, bad, ugly with reefer operator Bill Douglas
The rewards that come with knowing you've set a driver up for success, and difficulties setting boundaries with a trainee taking your credit card for dinner -- while you're asleep. Long Haul Paul takes the mic for this podcast with the longtime trainer.
March 24, 2023
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Join us at MATS -- new owner-operator business manual to be released, live benchmarking seminar, more
Join Overdrive and ATBS 1:45 p.m. local time on Friday, March 31, in Louisville at MATS for the annual Partners in Business seminar, a presentation of 2022 owner-operator income, revenue, cost performance against which to measure your own business.
March 23, 2023
Pib 2023 Cover Thumbnail
Owner-operators dish to the motoring public on parking, ELDs, appreciation, sharing the road ...
A recent episode of a local radio program delivered a dose of reality to the motoring public, digging into a variety of topics near and dear to owner-operators: parking/time stresses and the ELD mandate, unrealistic brokered rates and much more.
March 20, 2023
Ekulona (left) with Davis in-cab -- read the story the host wrote after the experience via this link.
Oversize hauler's shower solution for small sleepers | More 'Winter from hell' on I-80
Landstar-leased heavy-specialized owner-operator Andy Freedman walks Overdrive Radio through his career and the long road to an inexpensive mobile shower solution fit even for 70-inch sleepers. Also: Passing the mic to Paul in Wyo.'s "winter from hell."
March 17, 2023
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Starlink Mobile: Hacking Elon Musk's high-powered internet service
One operator reports there's a way to hack Starlink dishes to get powerful internet almost anywhere for a fraction of the advertised price. He uses the high-speed internet connection to fuel his TikTok fame during downtime over-the-road.
March 17, 2023
starlink on bryan bailey's truck
POLL: Movies/screens while driving -- what's your bedrock take on the practice?
In the wake of recent high-profile call-outs of late-night-movie-watching drivers by law enforcement, what's your basic take on the phenomenon, whoever's doing it going down the highway? Weigh in here.
March 16, 2023
Wyominghpmarkup
Proposed CSA-scores change a mixed bag, particularly for hours of service category
With two months still remaining for owner-operators to comment on FMCSA's proposed CSA changes, early commenters see some improvements -- and plenty drawbacks, particularly with higher HOS scores. The changes "don't help small carriers," some say.
March 16, 2023
truck inspector, driver exiting cab
'Estimated opening time is unknown': Winter from hell on I-80 in Wyoming
"Long Haul Paul" Marhoefer's report from his own marooning two weeks back with road closures in frigid Wyoming, culminating a rash of closures this winter season and a threefold increase in related crash fatalities.
March 13, 2023
Wyoming I 80 Pileup White Out 63d8264c8b69e
Team Dreamline: Success designed, executed for a long-term home
The owner-operator dream team hauls leased to Southern Pride Trucking, the culmination of about a decade spent designing and executing their plan for a long-term home as business owners. Hear their story on Overdrive Radio here.
March 10, 2023
overdrive radio
Driver caught using tablet at highway speeds on I-80
Wyoming Highway Patrol put drivers on notice after one was caught looking at a tablet while drifting in his lane down I-80. Troopers contend it's not uncommon to see some drivers full-on watching movies along straight expanses of the interstate.
March 9, 2023
wyoming highway patrol tablet reader driver
Ohio, Arizona hazmat disasters hold lessons for owners, carriers in the fight against safety complacency
In the wake of the high-profile Ohio train derailment, and later hazmat spill from a dry van that closed I-10 for a day in Arizona, Overdrive contributor Gary Buchs urges owner-operators to fight against safety complacency that can come with success.
March 8, 2023
i10 hazmat spill
Can you hear the difference? New dual-mode AM/FM CB radios
Cobra's Mark Karnes here tells the story of the petition that the company put to the FCC to allow the use of FM rather than just standard AM in CB Radios. With new dual-mode radios out now, Overdrive Radio samples differences in sound quality, clarity.
March 3, 2023
overdrive radio
'It came with work': CAP Trucking's flagship 2003 Peterbilt 379
A visit with 2022 Small Fleet Champ and CAP owner Chris Porricelli yields the story of this '03 classic, bought with the "truck, trailer, bulkhead and pallet jack and with the southbound load" out of Pennsylvania as part of the deal in 2017.
March 1, 2023
Chris Porricellie's 2003 Peterbilt 379
How to avoid application errors when applying for your USDOT/MC numbers
All too often, application errors lead to extra start-up costs, delays and lost income. Longtime owner-operator and insurance agent W. Joel Baker here shares some of the more common filing errors he sees and issues associated with them.
February 28, 2023
instructions for form op-1
POLL: Do you currently haul freight for the U.S. military?
Overdrive wants to hear from owner-operators and drivers who have successfully entered the military freight game via this poll. Weigh in here.
February 27, 2023
Military Vehicle On Flatbed Truck Highway
Running the lease roads to well sites with tank operator Edward Jackson of John McGee Trucking
This bumpy, slippery run with an operator at one of Overdrive's 2022 Small Fleet Champs pulled the small fleet's bread and butter: Production water from oil and gas fields in Northern Louisiana. Ride along to unload in this Overdrive Radio edition
February 24, 2023
Edward Jackson
'We don't give directions' -- how GPS is changing our social selves
Long Haul Paul's talk with a blue-haired receiver with a hipster affect takes a surprising turn. Have GPS and other trucking tech "permanently altered our sense of social obligation toward one another?" he asks. Or just turned necessity into opportunity.
February 21, 2023
Denise Marhoefer with Provolone cheese
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Tales from a trainer's truck: Good, bad, ugly with reefer operator Bill Douglas
The rewards that come with knowing you've set a driver up for success, and difficulties setting boundaries with a trainee taking your credit card for dinner -- while you're asleep. Long Haul Paul takes the mic for this podcast with the longtime trainer.
Bielucki's 2023 international hx
Business
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 heaviest of hauls: Peek into 2022's biggest, baddest jobs by specialized carriers
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Oversize hauler's shower solution for small sleepers | More 'Winter from hell' on I-80
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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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