Over the years, I have received reports from customers who arrived at their destinations safely because of their Onspots. However, the most humbling accounts are from people who were saved because someone else had Onspots or the realization that they wish they had Onspots.
Guest Blog, no 2 from the Haaks
After quite some vacation we’re on tour again! In a way, the winter is our favourite season when we perform in the different ski resorts, and the audiences are always wonderful. Our first week of the tour was spent in the classical hotel Sälens Högfjällshotell, in Sweden. The sun was shining, the slopes were filled with skiers, and already by four o’clock, the after ski was crowded with partygoers. A very special thing about this week was us co-arranging a corporate event, resulting in 250 happy hairdressers on the show.
Nothing is a direct route in trucking and we had to attend a recertification class in January. We carry a lot of hazardous materials, hazmat for short. As a result, we are required to attend classes every two years, have a background check, provide fingerprints, and take a hazmat test to keep our commercial driver’s licenses compliant. This year we had to attend the class which was held in my birthplace of Tucson, Arizona. We had to be in class on January 13th and our route was anything but straight.
Guest Blog
In this week's post we'll get a glimps of how it is to work in the expedite industry as a team truck driver. A way of working that is quite common in the USA, but not so familiar to us outside the USA. A team truck driver drives with another driver. While one driver operates the truck, the other rests or sleeps. Drivers on a team can work out their own schedule and hours. Using a driving team allows a truck to be on the road continuously, resulting in faster delivery of the products on board. This week's writer, Linda Caffee, is an industry leader and a well known team truck driver in the USA. She will share her experience from the roads on the Onspot blog. We think that Linda's experience is of great value for all of us in the haulage industry.
/The Onspot team.
Getting started as truck drivers was not as easy as it sounds. After twenty years as a diesel mechanic Bob decided he wanted to start driving trucks instead of working on them. I, Linda at the time worked at our local county courthouse and we were facing the “empty nest syndrome” as our youngest daughter was heading off to college. The idea sounded appealing and we started our research.
Black ice on the road is rightly considered very dangerous when driving. Still, many drivers are not watchful enough in weather conditions where there is the risk of black ice. But, what is this black ice – and what should I know about it?
Typically, black ice is invisible. It’s a thin coating of glaze ice on the road surface. Since it’s thin and transparent, the black road surface is clearly seen through it, and that is why it’s called black ice.
The typically low levels of noticeable ice pellets, snow, or sleet surrounding black ice means that areas of the ice are often practically invisible to drivers. Accordingly, the driver is not prepared for the slippery road area, and there is a risk of unexpected loss of traction. This in turn may result in a subsequent accident.
Black ice sometimes forms from super-cooled rain which freezes into ice and constitutes a particular risk to winter traffic because it is extremely slippery and hard to spot. The temperature may be above freezing but the road surface may still be slippery.
The road surface can be well below freezing temperature – while the vehicle thermometer suggests it is not freezing.
When purchasing a new vehicle, 4x4 is an option to consider. No wonder, it’s a familiar and well-tried solution with good features for safer driving – but it’s easy to ignore its weaknesses believing there’s no better alternative. However, when reflecting on those situations where traction is really crucial for your operations, you may conclude that 4x4 is not the perfect solution, but rather a compromise.
The fact that schedules and deadlines are critical for transport operations is not news. Missed deadlines could mean profit loss and even lost contracts but may also result in causing a bad reputation for the company. The professional driver is well aware of this and knows how to keep up their schedule. However, missed deadlines may occur due to instances beyond the control of even the best drivers. There are different ways to deal with the possibilities of these unfortunate circumstances.