I thought I was one tough trucker.

The American Trucker is often seen as the last American mountain man, a nomad of sorts traveling across America through some of the worst of conditions to deliver his freight. A way of life for most, a job for others but one thing is for certain.  We’re a tough as nails subculture who can  do more then tell you about what it takes to keep a nation running we can show you the bruises.

As I like to say “trucking is not for pussies“. I have seen men travel under some really bad conditions and when I say conditions I’m not talking about the weather in this case. Most people have the luxury to call out if they feel a cold coming on. Have you had the flu or a cold lately? did you call out of work?  When normal civilians can call their doctor and schedule a appointment to take care of their health that is often not a option for a trucker who could be thousands of miles away from his doctor, if he even has one.

I once had a medical emergency that was life threatening, So I drove myself to the ER in Pasadena CA they told me “you can’t park that big truck here!” I said “watch me #$@#$ I’m about to die!!”. Finding a legal place to park to seek medical attention is another huge problem in the trucking industry.

I have dealt with all kinds of medical conditions on the road before I could get home or to a qualified doctor to take care of myself such as: broken bones, abscessed teeth. pinched nerves etc.. No one should have to compromise their health, their safety and the life of everyone around them because no one is there to help in their time of need or they’re to stubborn to seek out help. When I first started driving I hated the idea of taking time of to take care of my health after many health problems and nearly loosing my life on several occasions I realized taking care of your health should be every drivers number one priority.

I digress, I want to share a story with you about one trucker who’s medical situation makes my “dealt with medical problems list”  look like a whiny excuse to write a article. Trucker Jason Ripley was cruising through Darlington, Co Durham when he hit a crash barrier. What is so strange about that, you say “it happens everyday” you say “stop wasting my fu#king time” you say.  Alright mother #$@$# I’ll get to it. What makes this different is not only that he was impaled by a 8ft pole but that he was conscious enough to call his boss and say “I’ve had a bit of an accident - I’m in a spot of bother sir.“  That is truly a tough trucker. Jason recovered and was back to work shortly after the accident.

When was the last time you got your head cracked open for doing your job?

Clayton Agostini started off September 15, 2009 like it was any other day however this day would end with a beating and eating bad food at the hospital, which just totally disgust me! He just finished up a delivery in the Union Industrial Estate, which leads to the Trinidad Generation Unlimited (TGU) power plant being built to supply the Alutrint aluminum smelter stalled by a court order.

You see earlier last week some 350 workers downed tools to demand better terms and conditions of work. The company responded by locking out workers last Friday. Work on the $708 million power plant has been stalled since. I could see how this would piss off a group of workers who just wanted what was right for them

Clayton Agostini had just finished his delivery and was on his way out of the park when a angry group of protesters started to slam his truck with rocks, being blinded by glass he stepped out of his truck and was smashed in the head with a rock. Which sounds similar to the Reginald Denny beating during the Los Angeles riots back in the ninety’s. It is total fu#ked in both cases.

One of the protesters said “We were meeting in front of the gate and the truck wanted to go in, so we asked the driver to wait a bit but he just drove by, bouncing the man, and didn’t even stop.” No one could confirm if this even happened, no police reports where filed. Even if it did happen how about calling the fu@king cops and deal with the situation in a rational way. Yes you motherfuc^er$ are out of work, that sucks, I understand but damn. One thing is for sure, if this was my truck, in this situation the report would have been more like “trucker kills thirty protesters trying to save his life”

What would you do in this situation, would you take a as$whipping or roll a son of a b!tch over?

Bad Road Conditions

The economy is strongly impacting the trucking industry

The blind spot  radio talk show is a leader in trucking industry news and product information for the truck driving community. In this episode of the blind spot trucker talk show we talked with trucking industry experts and friends from around the world about the recent truck stop acquisitions and the American truckers Association’s push for larger vehicles.

Other Topics:

• Over length and weight regulations pushed by the ATA
• California’s GO GREEN push for tighter epa regulations
• Truck Stop buyouts                                     Free Download| Subscribe
• Dealings with hookers                   

One young girl, one big heart, Ready to make a difference for the American Trucker.

Running With Jazzy

Jasmine Jordan grew up in a trucking family environment, her parents own a small trucking and pilot car company out of Minnesota. Jasmine realizes the importance for truck drivers to stay healthy she says ” I do understand the need for truckers and all involved in the trucking business to stay healthy, as that’s the way they make a living and make it possible for many others to make a living as well, America moves by truck!”.

Sheila Grothe a employee of the pilot car side of their family run business passed away on April 17th 2009 due to cancer. Jasmine who was training for the 2012 summer Olympics at the time decided that there are things in life more important then a shot at Olympic gold. She put her plans on hold to help raise awareness and funds by being the youngest at 16 years old to run across America to help support those truckers who are not insured or are under insured, so that they could get much needed treatments.

Jasmine sought out a way to help through a non profit organization started by Dave Nemo called The St. Christopher Fund which provides financial assistance to professional truck drivers who have medical problems and can not otherwise afford health care. I must say, I have listened to most all of the trucking industry commentators through out my career. Not to belittle anyone else but Dave Nemo is a genuine fella who really cares about truckers, he is not in this to get rich and it is more then just a job, he is truly one of the few that I enjoy listening too.

You can help support Jasmine by checking out run with jazzy and buying a running with jazzy t- shirt which will help fund the run across America. We all have a chance to help a young girl make history in the name of all truckers. Lets get behind this girl and show her we are RUNNING with her!

The St. Christophers Fund

If you would like to make a donation directly to the ST. Christopher Fund please do that as well. Look, I know we are all hurting, times are tough I know that but rest assured someone is far worse off then you are, every little bit counts. We know the Government is not going to give us a bail out we need to take care of our trucking brothers and sisters, together we can do this. I would really appreciate it if you could share this article with your network of friends the more eyes that see this the stronger we as truckers become.

Texting while driving a tractor trailer.

Recently Virginia Tech Transportation Institute completed a study claiming that truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones.(read that full story here) First I want to point out that I can agree with the fact that it is obviously dangerous to text and drive. However I would like to know why this “study” was done in the first place, They claimed “we are scientist, not politicians”, yeah alright fucker. This project has to be funded by someone hmm I wonder who that is? Clearly they have a political agenda. to BAN use of Cell phones all together.

driving and texting

I personally avoid texting while I’m driving. Not just because of the danger of it but because I refuse to have a conversation with someone in text when I could just pick up the phone and talk (Chicks love to have text conversations, gets some balls and man up, tell that bitch listen this is fucking stupid call me if you want to talk). I think anyone who holds down a conversation via text or IM instead of  picking up the phone to connect on a level where at least the tone of your voice carries some emotion really needs to consider, is this out of convenience or are you sheltering yourself from the outside world to live your virtual life? Technology is great,  at the same time it has made it really easy for people who suffer from anti social behaviors and other mental conditions to push themselves further into a dark hole, Lurkers are the majority of internet users after all.

To get back on point,  I question the validity of this study all together. With out facts as to how they came to this conclusion I wouldn’t consider the use of this study in any legislation changes. Further more, even with all the data there are so many variables in a study such as this that it would be generalizable at best. Of course it is dangerous to drive distracted or even walk for that matter. Do you really need a three year study to show what common sense already tells you. No, of course not,  however to change the law  you do.

The bottom line is this, even if you put a ban on cell phones you can not put a ban on stupid. There are a million and one things to distract drivers,  not just cell phones. I believe using cell phones is dangerous, I also believe that people  should have the right to use their own discretion. More importantly is that if goverment starts with banning cell phones while driving where does the banning end?

By now I’m sure most of you have heard of trucker bombs?
Just in case you have not a trucker bomb is; A plastic bottle that serves to contain human waste products, and that, through long exposure to intense sunlight, has swelled with vaporized liquids, particularly ammonia from the urine. Once a Trucker Bomb is driven over with a lawn mower or some other machine, the bomb “detonates”, leaving the the operator and the machine covered in (usually hot) human waste products.

That sounds like the plot to a evil prank video eh? I assure you I will not be making a video like this as I find the whole idea foul. I feel that if you are in such a hurry that you can’t find time to get out of the truck and use the bathroom then you need to learn how to manage your time better. Get out of your truck and smell the roses, lets hope they don’t smell like piss.

Personally the term “trucker bomb” pisses me the fuck off. These asscaps try to put all the blame on truckers however I’m sure there are many sick bastards that use a bottle as a bathroom. A more accurate term would be urine bomb.

I’m writing this article because of a video I seen on youtube. The video is for a product called the Superslab 100. I have to give this company some credit for offering a alternative to a nasty habit. However I feel this product is doomed to fail.

Here is a short description of the product.

The SuperSlab 100 is a discreet, biodegradable, hygienic, portable, urine collection solution to combat poor or problematic circumstances. This revolutionary urinal collects liquid waste and transforms it into a solid for easy retention and ethical disposal. It’s the perfect product for any male or female traveler, including truckers, campers, and children.

Apparently the inventor of this product didn’t put much thought into the reason there are trucker bombs in the first place. Do you actually think that the shit heads that toss these nasty little packages will consider paying money to be more hygienic. These fucktards can’t even manage their time to find a bathroom further more I think advocating someone to piss while they are driving or even parked in their vehicle is just sick.

Some of you might say “well I can’t always find a bathroom to use” In that case sign the petition for jason’s law to secure better facilities for all travelers. I personally think that is a weak reason for pissing in a bottle I would never urinate in my vehicle I have always found a bathroom, if your a lazy bastard you might want to buy the superslab 100 atleast try to be prepared.

On a side note I found this nasty information:

As stated by the American Meth movie- Under the delusional belief that most truck drivers are on meth, several addicts have admitted to searching roadsides for bottles of truckers urine, in hopes of recycling� what meth might be left, by drinking it.