With all the noise surrounding the federal election called for October 21 I decided to log out of all my social media accounts until October 22. I did that a few days ago.
What do I hope to accomplish in doing this?
Pay attention to policy and put personality politics aside.
It's important to open ourselves up to all the policy options of the different players when we vote. It's important not to allow the algorithms of social media giants to sway us toward our biases and comfortable preferences.
There are difficult choices and decisions to make. Long term benefits will mean short term discomfort when we vote in this election. Echo chambers created for us within Twitter, Facebook, and Google are not in our best interest. We have to push ourselves outside our comfort zone if we want to learn anything.
Confirmation bias is real. It's a big deal. It lives on social media.
We need to get to know our local candidates and how they want to represent us. We need to know what their priorities are and if they align with our own values and aspirations for our future. Especially our children's future.
Voting isn't simple. I have no intention of allowing my vote to be influenced by comfortable messaging in this election.
Thursday, 12 September 2019
Social Media Blues
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Done Like Dinner
This past few months every trip has been a huge mental challenge. It's about fatigue. Burnout. Maybe just aging and the fact I run on too little sleep that doesn't come to me at the same time every day.
My granddaughter has this huge soft spot for me. Every time she sees me she just hugs me for several minutes. It's a deep, unconditional love she exudes, and it sticks to me, a constant reminder that the days I'm away from my family I can never get back.
Fatigue and a deep constant longing for those you love. What a volatile combination.
When I contrast those feelings against the work that's causing the fatigue and seperation I find I still love what I do almost as much.
Poor me. Life is pretty fucking difficult at times isn't it?
Saturday, 31 August 2019
Benefits of Fuel Efficient Driving can't be Denied
This post was first published in the September 2019 edition of Truck News.
Earning a living doing what I love to do means burning 1200 – 1500 litres of diesel per week. Those actions pose a direct existential threat to my grandchildren’s future. This is a contradiction I’ve been contemplating for some time. One of the guiding principles of my life is to do no harm, directly or indirectly. I’ve spent a good deal of energy coming to terms with the tension that exists between my actions and my intention because I accept the scientific research that climate collapse is imminent if we continue down our current path of dependence and expansion of fossil fuels as our primary source of energy.
Climate change is a toxic topic within the trucking community. It is divisive. As a result we have very few meaningful conversations about the role we play as individual drivers in terms of the impact our actions have on future generations. The discussion of climate science is a complex one. The industrial revolution and the resulting carbon economy has been a path to a better future for all of us. But just because fossil fuels have been the foundation of our growth to date doesn’t mean they can continue to sustain and support that growth. That is what the scientific research tells us. That research is clearly outlined in the Special Report on Global Warming (SR15) published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published on October 8, 2018. Canada’s latest greenhouse gas emissions data, recently published in the National Inventory Report, highlights transportation as one of the dominant factors in the continued growth of Canadian carbon emissions. This I also accept. You have the freedom to reject this research and the over 6000 scientific references that support it. I recognise that as your choice. There is no reason we can’t agree to disagree.
If we disagree do we share any common ground? I think we do on a number of fronts. First and foremost is the shared joy of driving and trucking for a living. Second is the fact that we are all highly interdependent in an increasingly globalised world so trucking is not going away. Another thing we all have in common as drivers is the fact that we have a choice as to how we drive and that affects the amount of fuel we consume. It is on this point of fuel consumption where we are able to find common ground that is meaningful and measurable, especially to the individual driver.
It has been a number of years since I made a conscious decision to aggressively limit the amount of fuel I burn. This is a skill you can develop. Just like driving, the actual doing is a lesson in itself. Let’s face it, as drivers, sometimes we just want to go. There is no fuel efficiency in that action but it sure makes you feel good. For me the key to fuel efficiency was the development of a large reservoir of patience. Now I’m able to consistently achieve ten to twenty percent fuel efficiency averages above the fleet average. I work within an employee only fleet that is spec’d universally from the same OEM. Actions and attitudes at the individual level matter.
The impact of ten to twenty percent fuel savings branches out in many directions. It supports my point of view that although fuel reduction is not the answer to reaching emissions targets it is a big part of the solution. But it is on the economic side where fuel savings is the easiest to measure. Based on my experience and following my own measurements a 10% - 20% savings equates to $8,000 - $22,500 dollars per highway tractor per year. That’s using an Ontario average of $116.1 per litre of diesel at the time of writing. So a 100 truck fleet is presented with an $800k to $2.25m potential in savings.
This is where I remind you that all of the fuel not burned and all of the money saved is a result of the decision made by the individual driver to act.
But it goes deeper than just measuring the savings. We need leaders with the will to motivate and educate the individual then use the resulting savings appropriately. There is a time investment needed to be made by drivers so compensation should be offered. We make much of carbon taxes but must recognise that need as we transition to a sustainable ecology and economy. Finally, a portion of those dollars saved buffer company profits providing returns for investors as well as dollars to reinvest in equipment that becomes increasingly less dependent on fossil fuels.
Let’s also think about the image we want to put forward. Today’s young people are demonstrating in the public squares around the world on a weekly basis asking the adults in their lives to act in a responsible manner. That’s what we need to do. By doing so we create a win-win-win-win. A win for ourselves. A win for the environment. A win for the economy. A win for society as a whole.
Change comes from each of us choosing to act. That’s something we should always bear in mind.
Friday, 23 August 2019
ELD's as a Time Management Tool
This post was first published in the August 2019 edition of Truck News.
What if Electronic Logging Devices (ELD’s) were used as time management tools rather than enforcement devices? Sure, they would still limit the amount of time you are able to drive each day but the primary intent of the device would be to improve a driver’s quality of life, enhance safety in her workspace, and improve productivity. That sounds a little like magical thinking doesn’t it?
First we have to talk a little bit about applying the rules. I don’t mean work to rule by industrial action, to reduce output and efficiency by following official working rules and hours, I’m interested in how we follow the rules in terms of simply reporting all on duty time as on duty time. We’ve spent many years reporting a drivers on duty time in 15 minute increments while dumping the bulk of the on duty time we actually do work into the off duty or sleeper berth categories. This is an ongoing garbage in, garbage out scenario. Techopedia.com gives a simple definition of GIGO – the output quality of a system usually can’t be any better than the quality of inputs. That’s exactly where we are at today. A system based on a pick up that takes 15 minutes, a delivery that takes 15 minutes, a border crossing that takes 15 minutes, a fuel stop that takes 15 minutes, a pretrip inspection that takes 15 minutes, and so on. This is actually where the magical thinking lives and it has for the full 20 years that I have worked as a long haul highway driver. At some point we have to stop thinking we can successfully hammer that square peg into a round hole labelled “safety & compliance”. It’s never worked and it’s never going to, especially under the pending universal implementation of ELD’s.
As painful as it sounds (and it is) to drivers, the only way to lance this boil is to give the decision makers – the legislators, safety organizations, and megacarriers – the information they need to make the right decisions for drivers. That means logging all your on duty time as it happens.
At this point you may be thinking, Goodhall, you’re a dreamer, that’s never going to happen. You’re right, but here is what I do know from my experience about applying the rules. It works in our organization. I log all my on duty time. If I show up at a delivery and it is a driver assist and I’m working in the trailer for 90 minutes that’s on duty. If I sit at the border for 2 hours that’s on duty. If I pick up a full load and it takes 3 hours to load I will be on duty to check in and once I bump the dock and have to wait in my truck until loaded I go off duty. Basically, when I work, I log it. But here’s the catch. I work for a company where executives are licensed and often jump in a truck to do deliveries or switches. They are passionate about trucking and as a result are close to their drivers and to their customers. We don’t have excessive waiting time or have to deal with “time vampires” feeding on drivers. Basically I work for a great carrier that manages its business in a very hands on manner and is not data dependent as so many carriers seem to be these days thus avoiding the GIGO information trap. Not surprisingly this model of leadership through integrity allows us to run by the rules making the data captured by ELD devices meaningful to those same hands on leaders.
So it’s how our leaders lead that is really at issue when we look at ELD’s and ask the question, is it a time management tool or is it an enforcement tool? For me it has become a tool of empowerment I can use not a tool used by others to impose control over my day. Believe it or not this approach makes it easier for me to deal with motor carrier inspectors and police enforcement. When you’re not spending your day trying to appease everyone but yourself life gets a whole lot easier and you can enjoy what you do.
Life isn’t perfect where I work, we have our challenges. In the high pressure world of trucking this is the reality of daily life. What we get right is the understanding that drivers are the focal point of the business while remaining dependent on every other branch of the company for their individual success and security. It is in this light that the ELD can be used by a driver to manage their time to their benefit rather than view it as a gun that is held to their head to enforce compliance.
What if Electronic Logging Devices (ELD’s) were used as time management tools rather than enforcement devices? Sure, they would still limit the amount of time you are able to drive each day but the primary intent of the device would be to improve a driver’s quality of life, enhance safety in her workspace, and improve productivity. That sounds a little like magical thinking doesn’t it?
First we have to talk a little bit about applying the rules. I don’t mean work to rule by industrial action, to reduce output and efficiency by following official working rules and hours, I’m interested in how we follow the rules in terms of simply reporting all on duty time as on duty time. We’ve spent many years reporting a drivers on duty time in 15 minute increments while dumping the bulk of the on duty time we actually do work into the off duty or sleeper berth categories. This is an ongoing garbage in, garbage out scenario. Techopedia.com gives a simple definition of GIGO – the output quality of a system usually can’t be any better than the quality of inputs. That’s exactly where we are at today. A system based on a pick up that takes 15 minutes, a delivery that takes 15 minutes, a border crossing that takes 15 minutes, a fuel stop that takes 15 minutes, a pretrip inspection that takes 15 minutes, and so on. This is actually where the magical thinking lives and it has for the full 20 years that I have worked as a long haul highway driver. At some point we have to stop thinking we can successfully hammer that square peg into a round hole labelled “safety & compliance”. It’s never worked and it’s never going to, especially under the pending universal implementation of ELD’s.
As painful as it sounds (and it is) to drivers, the only way to lance this boil is to give the decision makers – the legislators, safety organizations, and megacarriers – the information they need to make the right decisions for drivers. That means logging all your on duty time as it happens.
At this point you may be thinking, Goodhall, you’re a dreamer, that’s never going to happen. You’re right, but here is what I do know from my experience about applying the rules. It works in our organization. I log all my on duty time. If I show up at a delivery and it is a driver assist and I’m working in the trailer for 90 minutes that’s on duty. If I sit at the border for 2 hours that’s on duty. If I pick up a full load and it takes 3 hours to load I will be on duty to check in and once I bump the dock and have to wait in my truck until loaded I go off duty. Basically, when I work, I log it. But here’s the catch. I work for a company where executives are licensed and often jump in a truck to do deliveries or switches. They are passionate about trucking and as a result are close to their drivers and to their customers. We don’t have excessive waiting time or have to deal with “time vampires” feeding on drivers. Basically I work for a great carrier that manages its business in a very hands on manner and is not data dependent as so many carriers seem to be these days thus avoiding the GIGO information trap. Not surprisingly this model of leadership through integrity allows us to run by the rules making the data captured by ELD devices meaningful to those same hands on leaders.
So it’s how our leaders lead that is really at issue when we look at ELD’s and ask the question, is it a time management tool or is it an enforcement tool? For me it has become a tool of empowerment I can use not a tool used by others to impose control over my day. Believe it or not this approach makes it easier for me to deal with motor carrier inspectors and police enforcement. When you’re not spending your day trying to appease everyone but yourself life gets a whole lot easier and you can enjoy what you do.
Life isn’t perfect where I work, we have our challenges. In the high pressure world of trucking this is the reality of daily life. What we get right is the understanding that drivers are the focal point of the business while remaining dependent on every other branch of the company for their individual success and security. It is in this light that the ELD can be used by a driver to manage their time to their benefit rather than view it as a gun that is held to their head to enforce compliance.
Building a Healthier Mind and Body
This post was first published in the July 2019 issue of Truck News.
At the end of June I will have completed my first Healthy Trucker Challenge. Lead by wellness coach and nutritionist Andrea Morley, Healthy Trucker is a health and wellness program for all of us in the transportation industry. Healthy Trucker is powered by NAL Insurance. This program provides the tools and support to take a more critical and objective look at your overall health then take a step each week towards healthier choices about how you feed and care for your body and mind. It’s a source of community support, a source of support that I have given short shrift to over the course of pursuing a healthier lifestyle while long haul trucking.
I’m of the belief that a large part of your makeup needs to be of the lone wolf if you are to succeed as a driver in the field of long haul trucking. That’s the nature of this business. As a driver you are at the tip of the spear, always. We are not alone as we face the challenges of our day but this industry depends on the independent and solitary characteristics of its drivers to make the right decisions, be accountable, follow the rules, and ultimately make everything work smoothly where the rubber meets the road.
But the lone wolf’s approach to life has its drawbacks. Fierce independence and a solitary life may be the Achilles heel of a trucker when it comes to making decisions about personal health and well-being. Successful truckers are filled with confidence and self-assurance when it comes to decisions made in the moment, the safety of all road users depends on it. But truckers should take the time to think about and analyze the decisions they make about their personal health and they need some community support, some expertise in the field, to help them do that.
I’ve been looking for the magic formula to live as a healthy trucker for the past 19 years. I quit smoking in the autumn of 2000. A year later I started addressing the weight gain that resulted as I used eating habits to replace my smoking habit. I have had a lot of success over the years and have always attributed that success to myself, to my own stubborn stick-to-itiveness, until recently.
Our lives are dynamic and ever changing. In the past 5 years my tough mindedness, that sense of dogged determination that has kept me focused on a healthier lifestyle has been wearing thin and failing me. I’ve always understood the strong relationship between physical and mental health, recognising that when you eat the right foods and get the right amount of exercise & sleep then a healthy body will result in a sound mind. But I discounted the fact that I have lead a life free of any severe emotional or physical trauma, that I have never had to depend on support or help from family or community to live from day to day. The result of this privilege is having to come face to face with the fact that my own self-assuredness and independence is only a band aid when it comes to dealing with issues of mental health. Toughing it out hasn’t been working for me lately.
Aging is a funny thing. It fills you with wisdom while waking you to a deep sense of your own mortality. In 2017 my oldest brother, a healthy and active man in his early seventies, was diagnosed with sudden onset leukemia that took him down hard and fast. He died just 8 months after his initial diagnosis. At the same time I have seen a number of my peers, much younger than my brother, diagnosed with ailments that have been either debilitating or terminal in nature. I view this out of a sense of how precious time is and not out of any sense of fear. It is that value over my time that I have come to recognise as the source of my greatest anxiety. I can recount many days of highway driving that my mind has turned to thoughts of my family at home and amplified an anxiety of separation in my mind. Toughing it out doesn’t work here. This is when you most need a community, someone close you can just reach out and talk to. This is a hard place for the lone wolf to wake up in each day.
So I joined the Healthy Trucker challenge to get back in “shape” in terms of nutrition, exercise, and sleep and was awakened to the fourth ingredient, community. As truckers we work hard for the time away from trucking that we need for a healthy mind. That time is spent by most drivers with other people – loved ones, friends, family – that we can just talk to. We need that. Getting the right nutrition, the time to exercise, and the time to sleep depends on it. I felt a healthy body leads to a healthy mind but now find myself needing a healthy mind to lead to a healthy body. Maybe that’s just a little wisdom gleaned from aging.
At the end of June I will have completed my first Healthy Trucker Challenge. Lead by wellness coach and nutritionist Andrea Morley, Healthy Trucker is a health and wellness program for all of us in the transportation industry. Healthy Trucker is powered by NAL Insurance. This program provides the tools and support to take a more critical and objective look at your overall health then take a step each week towards healthier choices about how you feed and care for your body and mind. It’s a source of community support, a source of support that I have given short shrift to over the course of pursuing a healthier lifestyle while long haul trucking.
I’m of the belief that a large part of your makeup needs to be of the lone wolf if you are to succeed as a driver in the field of long haul trucking. That’s the nature of this business. As a driver you are at the tip of the spear, always. We are not alone as we face the challenges of our day but this industry depends on the independent and solitary characteristics of its drivers to make the right decisions, be accountable, follow the rules, and ultimately make everything work smoothly where the rubber meets the road.
But the lone wolf’s approach to life has its drawbacks. Fierce independence and a solitary life may be the Achilles heel of a trucker when it comes to making decisions about personal health and well-being. Successful truckers are filled with confidence and self-assurance when it comes to decisions made in the moment, the safety of all road users depends on it. But truckers should take the time to think about and analyze the decisions they make about their personal health and they need some community support, some expertise in the field, to help them do that.
I’ve been looking for the magic formula to live as a healthy trucker for the past 19 years. I quit smoking in the autumn of 2000. A year later I started addressing the weight gain that resulted as I used eating habits to replace my smoking habit. I have had a lot of success over the years and have always attributed that success to myself, to my own stubborn stick-to-itiveness, until recently.
Our lives are dynamic and ever changing. In the past 5 years my tough mindedness, that sense of dogged determination that has kept me focused on a healthier lifestyle has been wearing thin and failing me. I’ve always understood the strong relationship between physical and mental health, recognising that when you eat the right foods and get the right amount of exercise & sleep then a healthy body will result in a sound mind. But I discounted the fact that I have lead a life free of any severe emotional or physical trauma, that I have never had to depend on support or help from family or community to live from day to day. The result of this privilege is having to come face to face with the fact that my own self-assuredness and independence is only a band aid when it comes to dealing with issues of mental health. Toughing it out hasn’t been working for me lately.
Aging is a funny thing. It fills you with wisdom while waking you to a deep sense of your own mortality. In 2017 my oldest brother, a healthy and active man in his early seventies, was diagnosed with sudden onset leukemia that took him down hard and fast. He died just 8 months after his initial diagnosis. At the same time I have seen a number of my peers, much younger than my brother, diagnosed with ailments that have been either debilitating or terminal in nature. I view this out of a sense of how precious time is and not out of any sense of fear. It is that value over my time that I have come to recognise as the source of my greatest anxiety. I can recount many days of highway driving that my mind has turned to thoughts of my family at home and amplified an anxiety of separation in my mind. Toughing it out doesn’t work here. This is when you most need a community, someone close you can just reach out and talk to. This is a hard place for the lone wolf to wake up in each day.
So I joined the Healthy Trucker challenge to get back in “shape” in terms of nutrition, exercise, and sleep and was awakened to the fourth ingredient, community. As truckers we work hard for the time away from trucking that we need for a healthy mind. That time is spent by most drivers with other people – loved ones, friends, family – that we can just talk to. We need that. Getting the right nutrition, the time to exercise, and the time to sleep depends on it. I felt a healthy body leads to a healthy mind but now find myself needing a healthy mind to lead to a healthy body. Maybe that’s just a little wisdom gleaned from aging.
Do No Harm
This post was first published in the June 2019 edition of Truck News.
With some of the poor driving skills I’ve been exposed to at the hands of my fellow truckers on highway 401 and 400 over the past year I thought I would see if there was a code of ethics posted online for truckers. I googled “ethics for truckers” and “Canadian trucking ethics” and got nothing back. But when I googled “Truckers code of ethics” I was directed to a number of posts, mostly out of the USA. What stood out was that these posts were more about trucking etiquette and code of conduct rather than any specific human values or moral principles.
So I’d like to propose a code of ethics we can apply to anyone working in any capacity within the trucking industry and it’s really easy to remember because it is only three simple words. Do no harm.
I have found these three words aspirational over the years and they are especially pertinent to professional drivers. First, do no harm to others. Safety is what we do, so this is a no brainer, or it should be. Second, do no harm to yourself. Without self-care, without a healthy body and mind, we handicap ourselves from the outset. These are the foundational building blocks for long term success as a commercial truck driver.
For the trucking industry as a whole we have to recognise that we are one of the supporting structures in the society we have built and as such we have a responsibility to not harm the society we live in. That society is global in nature for the transportation & logistics sector.
The principle of do no harm generates a range of detailed and complex conversations about our roles in the trucking industry and in broader society. I know many of you are familiar with this principle, it is certainly nothing new. It’s a principle that lives in all major religions, recognised as the law of reciprocity to many, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. From what I can see out on the road lately we can go a long way to improving the image of the industry and that starts with an individual commitment to conduct ourselves in an ethical manner. Do no harm.
So as an individual driver what does do no harm look like when it comes to caring for those that we share the public space with? There are thousands of specific issues. Here are a few that stand out for me.
Following too closely. A couple of months ago Middlesex OPP in southwestern Ontario charged a semi driver with stunt driving after observing the driver tailgating for a number of kilometres on highway 401 near London. That is a big dollar fine, big demerit points, and a 5 day vehicle impoundment. Look for more of that to happen. This is incredibly threatening to other drivers, especially car drivers. You know you can’t stop in time. Don’t do it.
Driving too fast for the road conditions. This goes hand in hand with following too closely. You can’t stop in time. People get injured and killed as a result. Don’t do it.
Lack of courtesy. When I was a child my mother always said to me, in a very kindly way, “what about your manners Alan”? She also demonstrated what she meant, as did my father. When you create space for yourself there is nothing wrong with sharing that space as others need to move through it to get where they are going. The zipper merge is the equivalent of holding open a door for a stranger while you offer up a smile. It promotes kindness. Squeezing other vehicles out at merge points and in heavy traffic doesn’t speed anything up. It promotes more friction. Friction slows everything down and raises the emotional temperature. Don’t be a jerk. Be kind. Do no harm.
With some of the poor driving skills I’ve been exposed to at the hands of my fellow truckers on highway 401 and 400 over the past year I thought I would see if there was a code of ethics posted online for truckers. I googled “ethics for truckers” and “Canadian trucking ethics” and got nothing back. But when I googled “Truckers code of ethics” I was directed to a number of posts, mostly out of the USA. What stood out was that these posts were more about trucking etiquette and code of conduct rather than any specific human values or moral principles.
So I’d like to propose a code of ethics we can apply to anyone working in any capacity within the trucking industry and it’s really easy to remember because it is only three simple words. Do no harm.
I have found these three words aspirational over the years and they are especially pertinent to professional drivers. First, do no harm to others. Safety is what we do, so this is a no brainer, or it should be. Second, do no harm to yourself. Without self-care, without a healthy body and mind, we handicap ourselves from the outset. These are the foundational building blocks for long term success as a commercial truck driver.
For the trucking industry as a whole we have to recognise that we are one of the supporting structures in the society we have built and as such we have a responsibility to not harm the society we live in. That society is global in nature for the transportation & logistics sector.
The principle of do no harm generates a range of detailed and complex conversations about our roles in the trucking industry and in broader society. I know many of you are familiar with this principle, it is certainly nothing new. It’s a principle that lives in all major religions, recognised as the law of reciprocity to many, do unto others as you would have others do unto you. From what I can see out on the road lately we can go a long way to improving the image of the industry and that starts with an individual commitment to conduct ourselves in an ethical manner. Do no harm.
So as an individual driver what does do no harm look like when it comes to caring for those that we share the public space with? There are thousands of specific issues. Here are a few that stand out for me.
Following too closely. A couple of months ago Middlesex OPP in southwestern Ontario charged a semi driver with stunt driving after observing the driver tailgating for a number of kilometres on highway 401 near London. That is a big dollar fine, big demerit points, and a 5 day vehicle impoundment. Look for more of that to happen. This is incredibly threatening to other drivers, especially car drivers. You know you can’t stop in time. Don’t do it.
Driving too fast for the road conditions. This goes hand in hand with following too closely. You can’t stop in time. People get injured and killed as a result. Don’t do it.
Lack of courtesy. When I was a child my mother always said to me, in a very kindly way, “what about your manners Alan”? She also demonstrated what she meant, as did my father. When you create space for yourself there is nothing wrong with sharing that space as others need to move through it to get where they are going. The zipper merge is the equivalent of holding open a door for a stranger while you offer up a smile. It promotes kindness. Squeezing other vehicles out at merge points and in heavy traffic doesn’t speed anything up. It promotes more friction. Friction slows everything down and raises the emotional temperature. Don’t be a jerk. Be kind. Do no harm.
Why Refuse a Helping Hand?
This post was first published in the May 2019 edition of Truck News.
One of my pleasures every Saturday morning is listening to the Trucker Radio News and Talk podcast with Stan Campbell. This podcast is a great way to stay current with industry news. So back on the first Saturday in March I was listening to Stan and Truck News editor James Menzies discuss the world’s first production series class 8 truck with level 2 autonomous capability, the Freightliner Cascadia. What stood out for me was the discussion over the lane departure protection feature of the Detroit Assurance 5.0 protection package that is the “brains” behind the automation.
What interests me about this new automation is not the titillating newness of the much touted “self-driving” capability but the ability of the system to work in tandem with the driver, which is something James made central to his reporting and review of this technology.
When the discussion of lane departure protection turns to the limits of this technology we talk about the need for clear lane markings and the inability of the system to work on snow covered roads, intersections, construction zones, and roadways on which the line painting has faded or worn away. So the system reverts to the driver in these conditions, as it should. It’s my opinion that this is not a drawback of the system but rather exactly what we need as drivers.
Driver distraction is something that I have always believed is a psychological issue, a mental issue. As drivers we are distracted by our mind wandering away from the task at hand and daydreaming is just as distracting as a phone call. Remaining focused on the driving task at hand for 12-13 hours per day is the issue. Focus and being mindful at all times behind the wheel is the real challenge every driver faces every day. This is especially true on clear days on dry roads in ideal driving conditions. Statistics show us that most collisions occur under these conditions. This is exactly when the lane mitigation system on the Freightliner Cascadia works at its best, exactly when we need it.
As a driver I am always the most attentive to my driving when I am challenged not when I am least at risk. Poor weather, winding roads, construction zones, and heavy traffic demand your attention and hold it in a manner that a wide open interstate on a sunny day will not. But we do become distracted on secondary roads and busy urban streets as well.
Every driver, whether a beginner, novice, or expert has missed a sign, exit ramp, or looked in their rear view mirror at the red light behind them after driving through an intersection and wondered, ‘did I just drive through a red light’? The only moving violation I have ever received as a commercial driver was in the first year I was licensed and ran a 4 way stop in Montreal on a Sunday morning. I was distracted looking for a drop yard in an industrial area. You’ve all been there in terms of breaking the rules of the road unintentionally as a result of distraction, I know you have. If no harm came of it that was just dumb luck or other drivers acting defensively to avoid your mistake.
Let me say here that we should look at the tragedy that took place in Humboldt Saskatchewan as the most horrid result of harm that can result from distracted driving. This is not the first time nor will it be the last that a driver blows through a stop sign.
It is in this light that automation can work hand In hand with drivers to enhance safety for all of us. At present the Detroit Assurance 5.0 protection that is built in to the new Cascadia does not read stop signs and automatically brake but it does read and display speed signs so the capability is at hand. Distraction is our Achilles heel. Driver assist technology is something we should be embracing.
One of my pleasures every Saturday morning is listening to the Trucker Radio News and Talk podcast with Stan Campbell. This podcast is a great way to stay current with industry news. So back on the first Saturday in March I was listening to Stan and Truck News editor James Menzies discuss the world’s first production series class 8 truck with level 2 autonomous capability, the Freightliner Cascadia. What stood out for me was the discussion over the lane departure protection feature of the Detroit Assurance 5.0 protection package that is the “brains” behind the automation.
What interests me about this new automation is not the titillating newness of the much touted “self-driving” capability but the ability of the system to work in tandem with the driver, which is something James made central to his reporting and review of this technology.
When the discussion of lane departure protection turns to the limits of this technology we talk about the need for clear lane markings and the inability of the system to work on snow covered roads, intersections, construction zones, and roadways on which the line painting has faded or worn away. So the system reverts to the driver in these conditions, as it should. It’s my opinion that this is not a drawback of the system but rather exactly what we need as drivers.
Driver distraction is something that I have always believed is a psychological issue, a mental issue. As drivers we are distracted by our mind wandering away from the task at hand and daydreaming is just as distracting as a phone call. Remaining focused on the driving task at hand for 12-13 hours per day is the issue. Focus and being mindful at all times behind the wheel is the real challenge every driver faces every day. This is especially true on clear days on dry roads in ideal driving conditions. Statistics show us that most collisions occur under these conditions. This is exactly when the lane mitigation system on the Freightliner Cascadia works at its best, exactly when we need it.
As a driver I am always the most attentive to my driving when I am challenged not when I am least at risk. Poor weather, winding roads, construction zones, and heavy traffic demand your attention and hold it in a manner that a wide open interstate on a sunny day will not. But we do become distracted on secondary roads and busy urban streets as well.
Every driver, whether a beginner, novice, or expert has missed a sign, exit ramp, or looked in their rear view mirror at the red light behind them after driving through an intersection and wondered, ‘did I just drive through a red light’? The only moving violation I have ever received as a commercial driver was in the first year I was licensed and ran a 4 way stop in Montreal on a Sunday morning. I was distracted looking for a drop yard in an industrial area. You’ve all been there in terms of breaking the rules of the road unintentionally as a result of distraction, I know you have. If no harm came of it that was just dumb luck or other drivers acting defensively to avoid your mistake.
Let me say here that we should look at the tragedy that took place in Humboldt Saskatchewan as the most horrid result of harm that can result from distracted driving. This is not the first time nor will it be the last that a driver blows through a stop sign.
It is in this light that automation can work hand In hand with drivers to enhance safety for all of us. At present the Detroit Assurance 5.0 protection that is built in to the new Cascadia does not read stop signs and automatically brake but it does read and display speed signs so the capability is at hand. Distraction is our Achilles heel. Driver assist technology is something we should be embracing.
Thursday, 4 April 2019
Cutting our Emissions is a Moral Obligation
It was interesting watching two opposing forces at play in
February. The United We Roll convoy and the student Climate Strike protests. One
group being in support of fossil fuel expansion and the other diametrically opposed.
But what we often ignore is the common thread they share. The fear of what the
future has in store for them.
Looking at this play unfold as a driver is a balancing act. At a glance you would think that the oil & gas sector and the trucking sector are tightly tied together. Well they are, in terms of supply and demand. After all I do burn a thousand litres or more of diesel fuel every week just doing my job. In this way I support the quality of life my fellow Canadians working in oil & gas currently enjoy and they support mine. I have no interest in intentionally undermining that relationship. But as a driver I have a significant impact on the amount of fuel the truck I drive burns, affecting carbon emissions, which in turn affects the quality of life of my grandchildren.
There is no doubt in my mind that we have to curb our use of fossil fuels. I don’t state that to be contentious. I see it as our responsibility to future generations. At the same time I recognise we cannot turn off a tap. We have built our modern society on the fossil fuel industry but we are now well past the point of disregarding the negative effects of emissions and we must move past any belief that expansion of the industry can build a “greener” future for all. At the same time we will continue to depend on diesel fuel in the Canadian trucking industry for many years to come. But I believe it will be, should be, and needs to be, greatly reduced. We only need look around to see how plans to do exactly that are underway, especially in terms of electrification of last mile delivery.
I know what it is to lose everything when the sector you're working in simply evaporates along with your financial security and personal aspirations. We need a transition plan for the many thousands of workers in the oil and gas sector. I have learned over the course of my life that the skills we develop over the course of our careers are transferable. Does that come without fear and uncertainty of what the immediate future has in store for you? Of course not. But with some additional training and the support of your fellow citizens it can be done.
Future generations face far greater uncertainty in which only our collective effort can make a difference. This is exactly why tens of thousands of schoolchildren around the globe participate every Friday in Climate Strike protests rather than attend school.
The oil and gas sector along with the transportation sector are the top two emitters of carbon in the Canadian economy and those emissions are growing year over year not shrinking. So what is it that we are doing to support our young people in order to ensure that they have a viable future and the quality of life that they deserve? What is our plan to insure that this comes to pass? Do we have a plan? I don't think that we do. This is the greatest failure in terms of recruiting new people to the trucking industry. We should focus on how we can change the world for future generations not on how great we have been in the past.
As individual drivers there's a lot that we can do to change the world. It’s as simple as burning less fuel. That goes hand in hand with reducing costs and increasing profits. It also goes hand in hand with improving our safety culture through training and moral leadership. We can all win in this battle if we focus on our common needs.
Looking at this play unfold as a driver is a balancing act. At a glance you would think that the oil & gas sector and the trucking sector are tightly tied together. Well they are, in terms of supply and demand. After all I do burn a thousand litres or more of diesel fuel every week just doing my job. In this way I support the quality of life my fellow Canadians working in oil & gas currently enjoy and they support mine. I have no interest in intentionally undermining that relationship. But as a driver I have a significant impact on the amount of fuel the truck I drive burns, affecting carbon emissions, which in turn affects the quality of life of my grandchildren.
There is no doubt in my mind that we have to curb our use of fossil fuels. I don’t state that to be contentious. I see it as our responsibility to future generations. At the same time I recognise we cannot turn off a tap. We have built our modern society on the fossil fuel industry but we are now well past the point of disregarding the negative effects of emissions and we must move past any belief that expansion of the industry can build a “greener” future for all. At the same time we will continue to depend on diesel fuel in the Canadian trucking industry for many years to come. But I believe it will be, should be, and needs to be, greatly reduced. We only need look around to see how plans to do exactly that are underway, especially in terms of electrification of last mile delivery.
I know what it is to lose everything when the sector you're working in simply evaporates along with your financial security and personal aspirations. We need a transition plan for the many thousands of workers in the oil and gas sector. I have learned over the course of my life that the skills we develop over the course of our careers are transferable. Does that come without fear and uncertainty of what the immediate future has in store for you? Of course not. But with some additional training and the support of your fellow citizens it can be done.
Future generations face far greater uncertainty in which only our collective effort can make a difference. This is exactly why tens of thousands of schoolchildren around the globe participate every Friday in Climate Strike protests rather than attend school.
The oil and gas sector along with the transportation sector are the top two emitters of carbon in the Canadian economy and those emissions are growing year over year not shrinking. So what is it that we are doing to support our young people in order to ensure that they have a viable future and the quality of life that they deserve? What is our plan to insure that this comes to pass? Do we have a plan? I don't think that we do. This is the greatest failure in terms of recruiting new people to the trucking industry. We should focus on how we can change the world for future generations not on how great we have been in the past.
As individual drivers there's a lot that we can do to change the world. It’s as simple as burning less fuel. That goes hand in hand with reducing costs and increasing profits. It also goes hand in hand with improving our safety culture through training and moral leadership. We can all win in this battle if we focus on our common needs.
MELT is a Good First Step
This post was first published in the March 2019 edition of Truck News.
I’m tired. There are a lot of things in the trucking industry that can wear you down as a driver. But nothing drains me more than the jabber that rains down about safety. You see, I think that rather than being expected as a driver to deliver safety at the tip of a bayonet, that is regulations and fines, I should be delivering safety as a result of the exceptional training and treatment I receive as a professional driver.
I’ve written about this before. Truck driving is one of the top ten occupations with the highest numbers of deaths per thousand workers. Without a strong industry and regulatory focus on my personal safety how can I be expected to deliver on a commitment of keeping others safe around me? Without a workplace culture that is virtuous in its moral and ethical approach as to how the requisite safety skills are delivered to guys like me, how can the trucking sector make strides towards a safer workplace? Remember, my workplace IS the commons we all share.
So we’re looking at Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT) as a federal responsibility. Good. I’m in agreement with that. But don’t forget that each individual truck driver in Canada will accumulate more driving time in the next 2 weeks than the time that is currently spent to certify a new commercial driver to operate in our public space. What happens after that is dependent on how the individual driver is treated. It’s not about the ability to stick to a set of rules. It is about delivering a high moral sense of purpose to all drivers. The rules are tools enabling drivers to build a safer workspace.
MELT is only the first step on a journey that ends at the conclusion of a driver’s career. It is a beginning, nothing more. This is where the lip service and hand wringing that trickles down from the top starts to wear out guys like me.
You see, once a driver has been on the road and accumulated that first 10,000 hours of experience, it becomes all about attitude. Four or five years of life and learning has passed by. The majority of a drivers time is now spent thinking about their day rather than the moment to moment experience at their fingertips. A drivers muscle memory has been developed in terms of the physical skills needed to safely operate a heavy piece of equipment. A driver has made some career decisions over this course of time and decided to stick it out. The majority of drivers have reached a point in their career that being treated well for doing what they do well is the most important thing to them in terms job satisfaction. Yes, they want to be paid well too.
It is at this point in a professional driver’s career that we usually find, or have found, a carrier that is a good fit. We find a sector of the industry that speaks to our passion for driving and challenges us with additional skill sets. Every professional driver that reaches this point, usually about 5 years in to their career, has a passion for driving and safety.
What professional drivers in Canada don’t have is a network to feed back their experience to the regulatory bodies that govern their workspace. Drivers don’t have the training infrastructure needed that provides ongoing career training and national standards for the carriers they work for. Drivers need MELT. Drivers need apprenticeship training after MELT. Drivers need certification and recognition as a trade. Drivers need ongoing training over the course off their careers.
Professional drivers and carriers of integrity know what has to be done to eliminate collisions on our public roads. We just need the public will to get it done. Living with the unresolved problem and seeing the simplicity of the solution is what tires me out.
Lessons Learned From a Broken Window
This post was first published in the February 2019 edition of Truck News
My last road trip of 2018 was supposed to be a simple one, a straight run between terminals from southwestern Ontario to Winnipeg and back. But sometimes even the simplest of plans goes off the rails for the most unlooked for of reasons, that’s the nature of the trucking business. When that happens it’s a reminder that theory always meets reality at the same point that the rubber meets the road in this business. This is the story of a broken window.
I was rolling along Ontario highway #17, northbound, about 40 km south of the town of Wawa on December 27. I was heading into a winter storm that had been forecast. That in itself was not a big deal. It was not the first heavy winter weather I had ever encountered and it won’t be the last. I was well prepared for it and in a sense actually looking forward to the driving challenges ahead of me. At this point I rolled down my driver’s side window to clear some snow that had started to accumulate on my mirror. The window would not roll back up. Great! I pulled over at the first available safe space on the roadside and proceeded to try and free up the window in order to close it after determining it wasn’t something as simple as a blown fuse. This is the point where the train went off the rails. I broke the window in my efforts to free it and close it. The safety glass disintegrated into many thousands of pieces. I wish I had a picture of my face when that happened. It would have illustrated stunned disbelief.
So for a few minutes I sat on the side of the road with no window in my driver’s side door in the sub-zero temperature with a winter storm building around me and stretching for several hundred kilometres in front of me with the only thought in my head being, now what?
I did what every driver has to do at this point, drive. I put on my toque and winter jacket and headed for Wawa ahead of me, formulating a plan in my head as I drove. The one godsend was that this happened on a business day during business hours. On arrival in Wawa I dropped my trailer at the Esso truck stop, bobtailed into town and picked up some clear vinyl and tuck tape at the local building supply. I fashioned a patch over the window opening and at this point contacted dispatch and filled them in on my problem. I knew I could get to Thunder Bay that day so all I needed was for dispatch to set me up at the Freightliner dealer the next morning to fix me up. That was the plan we put together. It worked. I rolled into Santorelli’s truck stop with 7 minutes to spare on my clock that night. My temporary window held up through the heavy snow and kept the cold at bay. By noon the following day I was leaving the winter wonderland of Thunder Bay with a new window in place.
This little story is repeated time and time again across the trucking industry in so many different forms. It speaks to creativity and ingenuity. These are qualities that you find within every successful trucker out here on the road. They are the stories that you only usually hear around the table in the truck stop as we share our experiences. This is the reality of where the rubber meets the road. Drivers have to roll with the punches and often formulate contingency plans on the fly, dealing with issues as they arise.
This isn’t something a driver learns through mandatory entry level training. Creativity and ingenuity are innate qualities good drivers possess and are developed through mentorship, coaching, experience, and empowerment. There remains a lot to unpack from this little story.
My last road trip of 2018 was supposed to be a simple one, a straight run between terminals from southwestern Ontario to Winnipeg and back. But sometimes even the simplest of plans goes off the rails for the most unlooked for of reasons, that’s the nature of the trucking business. When that happens it’s a reminder that theory always meets reality at the same point that the rubber meets the road in this business. This is the story of a broken window.
I was rolling along Ontario highway #17, northbound, about 40 km south of the town of Wawa on December 27. I was heading into a winter storm that had been forecast. That in itself was not a big deal. It was not the first heavy winter weather I had ever encountered and it won’t be the last. I was well prepared for it and in a sense actually looking forward to the driving challenges ahead of me. At this point I rolled down my driver’s side window to clear some snow that had started to accumulate on my mirror. The window would not roll back up. Great! I pulled over at the first available safe space on the roadside and proceeded to try and free up the window in order to close it after determining it wasn’t something as simple as a blown fuse. This is the point where the train went off the rails. I broke the window in my efforts to free it and close it. The safety glass disintegrated into many thousands of pieces. I wish I had a picture of my face when that happened. It would have illustrated stunned disbelief.
So for a few minutes I sat on the side of the road with no window in my driver’s side door in the sub-zero temperature with a winter storm building around me and stretching for several hundred kilometres in front of me with the only thought in my head being, now what?
I did what every driver has to do at this point, drive. I put on my toque and winter jacket and headed for Wawa ahead of me, formulating a plan in my head as I drove. The one godsend was that this happened on a business day during business hours. On arrival in Wawa I dropped my trailer at the Esso truck stop, bobtailed into town and picked up some clear vinyl and tuck tape at the local building supply. I fashioned a patch over the window opening and at this point contacted dispatch and filled them in on my problem. I knew I could get to Thunder Bay that day so all I needed was for dispatch to set me up at the Freightliner dealer the next morning to fix me up. That was the plan we put together. It worked. I rolled into Santorelli’s truck stop with 7 minutes to spare on my clock that night. My temporary window held up through the heavy snow and kept the cold at bay. By noon the following day I was leaving the winter wonderland of Thunder Bay with a new window in place.
This little story is repeated time and time again across the trucking industry in so many different forms. It speaks to creativity and ingenuity. These are qualities that you find within every successful trucker out here on the road. They are the stories that you only usually hear around the table in the truck stop as we share our experiences. This is the reality of where the rubber meets the road. Drivers have to roll with the punches and often formulate contingency plans on the fly, dealing with issues as they arise.
This isn’t something a driver learns through mandatory entry level training. Creativity and ingenuity are innate qualities good drivers possess and are developed through mentorship, coaching, experience, and empowerment. There remains a lot to unpack from this little story.
Looking Beyond Skills-Based Training
This post originally published in January 2019 issue of Truck News.
Are we hung up on skills based training in the trucking sector? I think we are, and that is the root problem when it comes to hiring and retaining drivers. You see it’s great to learn a new skill. It’s exciting, and because the learning curve is steep over the course of the first year we remain keen about our new profession. The thing is that once wr accrue that first few thousand hours of experience and what is new becomes rote like, our mind turns away from its focus on developing skills to the mundane routine of our daily grind. It is at this point that we lose the bulk of our new drivers.
The long haul truck driver faces a unique set of challenges in todays connected world. Drivers are asked to take on a role that must remain mentally focused on a single task for hours on end without deviation. At the same time the skills the industry places so much focus on developing are becoming increasingly redundant with the expansion of technology through ‘driver assist’ systems and automated power trains. In fact we actively market the concept of anyone being able to drive a truck because of advanced automated systems. This puts a new focus on the mental challenges the long haul driver faces. Much of the joy we derive from our work as drivers is at risk. The term “steering wheel holder” is taking on a whole new meaning in our industry.
The point I am striving to get across here is a subtle one that is difficult to understand if you have never actually done the job of long haul driving for any length of time.
It is incredibly important to hold on to your independence and remain empowered over how you use your time, apply your skills & experience, and interact with the equipment you operate. These core factors of job satisfaction are being undermined by the same technologies that are imposed on us under the auspices of making our lives as drivers easier.
I am not against the adoption of new systems, practices, or technologies that are intended to improve safety and performance. But there is an overarching feeling out here on the road that freedom and independence, the hallmark values that define what it is to be a long haul trucker, are on the chopping block and that will lead to this great profession becoming yet another McJob of the 21st century.
So why do I think a focus on skills based training is a big part of the problem? It’s because we have been developing a black & white rules based approach to safety through enforcement that is static in its nature but the responsibilities of a driver are dynamic and constantly in flux. We spend far too little time on the nuanced application of skills in a constantly changing work environment and how we can interact with new technologies and systems to solve the problems we face rather than an approach that sees us passively monitoring technology as it does the job for us.
We are not encouraging innovation in the cab. In fact we have already developed a mindset that has elevated the new automated truck as a piece of equipment that is beyond the understanding of the average driver. How is this attractive in any way as a career option? Have we inadvertently converted the responsibilities of a professional trucker to that of a steering wheel holder? Are we trying to attract people to a career that anyone can now do after receiving a 105 hours of skills training with very little to no attention being paid to the mental challenges a driver faces on a daily basis?
There is a deeply human side to truck driving that we are putting aside as we struggle with the rapid transition to new technologies. It’s that transition where our struggle resides, not in learning the physical skills of the job.
Are we hung up on skills based training in the trucking sector? I think we are, and that is the root problem when it comes to hiring and retaining drivers. You see it’s great to learn a new skill. It’s exciting, and because the learning curve is steep over the course of the first year we remain keen about our new profession. The thing is that once wr accrue that first few thousand hours of experience and what is new becomes rote like, our mind turns away from its focus on developing skills to the mundane routine of our daily grind. It is at this point that we lose the bulk of our new drivers.
The long haul truck driver faces a unique set of challenges in todays connected world. Drivers are asked to take on a role that must remain mentally focused on a single task for hours on end without deviation. At the same time the skills the industry places so much focus on developing are becoming increasingly redundant with the expansion of technology through ‘driver assist’ systems and automated power trains. In fact we actively market the concept of anyone being able to drive a truck because of advanced automated systems. This puts a new focus on the mental challenges the long haul driver faces. Much of the joy we derive from our work as drivers is at risk. The term “steering wheel holder” is taking on a whole new meaning in our industry.
The point I am striving to get across here is a subtle one that is difficult to understand if you have never actually done the job of long haul driving for any length of time.
It is incredibly important to hold on to your independence and remain empowered over how you use your time, apply your skills & experience, and interact with the equipment you operate. These core factors of job satisfaction are being undermined by the same technologies that are imposed on us under the auspices of making our lives as drivers easier.
I am not against the adoption of new systems, practices, or technologies that are intended to improve safety and performance. But there is an overarching feeling out here on the road that freedom and independence, the hallmark values that define what it is to be a long haul trucker, are on the chopping block and that will lead to this great profession becoming yet another McJob of the 21st century.
So why do I think a focus on skills based training is a big part of the problem? It’s because we have been developing a black & white rules based approach to safety through enforcement that is static in its nature but the responsibilities of a driver are dynamic and constantly in flux. We spend far too little time on the nuanced application of skills in a constantly changing work environment and how we can interact with new technologies and systems to solve the problems we face rather than an approach that sees us passively monitoring technology as it does the job for us.
We are not encouraging innovation in the cab. In fact we have already developed a mindset that has elevated the new automated truck as a piece of equipment that is beyond the understanding of the average driver. How is this attractive in any way as a career option? Have we inadvertently converted the responsibilities of a professional trucker to that of a steering wheel holder? Are we trying to attract people to a career that anyone can now do after receiving a 105 hours of skills training with very little to no attention being paid to the mental challenges a driver faces on a daily basis?
There is a deeply human side to truck driving that we are putting aside as we struggle with the rapid transition to new technologies. It’s that transition where our struggle resides, not in learning the physical skills of the job.
Communication the Biggest Barrier Drivers Face
This post originally published in December 2018 issue of Truck News.
I did something at the end of October I haven’t done for a very long time, I attended a trucking symposium. Sponsored by the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada (WTFC) it brought together drivers and staff from operations, safety, and the executive suite in the same room.
I came away from the day’s meeting with a lot of information of high value to me as a driver. I also came away from the meeting with questions. A few years ago I spent a considerable amount of time attending industry meetings and became somewhat disenchanted. It's not that the information I gleaned from these meetings wasn’t valuable or that the presenters weren’t professional and well-informed. The problem I saw was that the intention to create positive change on the front line wasn't trickling down to the drivers. WTFC is trying to change that narrative from the bottom up. In light of that this inaugural meeting was named Bridging the Barriers.
There were a couple of things that stood out for me at the meeting. The first was the presentation on trailer theft and truck hijacking. It was an interactive session and training that every driver should receive. It was great to have a 30-year police veteran share his experience as to how these hijackings come about and what you should do if you are a victim (driver) in order to come out of it safely.
The presentation on cannabis and drug & alcohol testing was also interesting. It amazes me that the government can mandate this testing and we rarely if ever question its efficacy. The trucking industry spends tens of millions of dollars every year on drug testing.
So when I put these things together in my head I'm left wondering about something that I have written about in this space many times before. Why do we not have a federally mandated standardized Apprenticeship Training Program for truck drivers in this country?
As important as it is to our personal safety, truck hijacking is not part of a standardized safety program but standardized drug testing is, with questionable results in my opinion in terms of improving safety outcomes. Why are we not questioning that investment?
It appears to me, after participating in a seminar titled Bridging the Barriers, that the greatest barrier we face is the communication barrier. Getting the information to the drivers on the front line is the greatest challenge we face. Until we overcome that obstacle how can we address any of the other major issues that we face?
It's not reasonable to expect long-haul drivers to attend trucking seminars on a regular basis. We simply don't have the time nor can we do it on our own dime. But that doesn't mean we should just throw in the towel.
As drivers we should be investing in organizations like WTFC. The price of membership is less than what the average driver spends on a dozen large coffees in the course of her work week. The return on that small investment is that you have drivers representing you to the rest of the industry in a positive way and bringing to light the issues we face on the front line every day.
That being said, we can't expect that throwing only money at a problem is going to solve it. We have to participate in the process in some way. This is the objective of WTFC. The goal of this organization is to build a network of informed drivers. This is the best way to amplify our voice as drivers in a positive way. We need to bring the driver experience to the forefront of our industry.
As professional drivers we need a unified lobby if we want to have a strong voice at the table. I would urge drivers to take a close look at WTFC as a channel for being that change that you want to see in our industry.
Trucking Industry Needs to Acknowledge role in Climate Change
This post first published in November 2019 issue of Truck News.
We don't talk a lot about climate change or climate science in our business which is at odds with the fact that the transportation industry is a massive consumer of fossil fuels. What we do talk a lot about is reducing our fuel costs and becoming increasingly more efficient and profitable.
We also talk a lot about how we can attract young people into the trucking industry and how difficult that is in this day in age. What we don't talk a lot about is how climate change is the existential issue of our times to the same young people we are trying to attract.
Why would a young person today want to be part of an industry that is seen to be contributing to climate change without taking responsibility for it?
As an industry Insider I know that this is not the case. There are many trucking companies adopting technologies to reduce emissions and fuel costs out of a sense of social responsibility as much as out of a need to be fiscally responsible.
We also know that young people want to be the change they want to see in the world and that ‘need to change' is becoming increasingly urgent because the effects of climate change are going to impact their lives directly.
It's time to stop thinking of attracting young people to our industry just to drive trucks. We need to be able to show that it's possible to make a positive change in the world from the inside of a truck cab.
At times we can be our own worst enemy. As we have adopted technology that is more fuel efficient we have also presented it as something that is superior in performance to that of an experienced driver.
It is not enough to say to us (drivers) come and sit in the midst of our fancy technology and see how wonderful it is, enjoy the ride. We need to be able to interact with technology, to make it more than what it is, to be able to enhance our lives and the lives of others, to feel that we are making the world a better place through what we do everyday.
All of that may sound idealistic, even utopian, but we all want to make something of ourselves and contribute to the world around us.
When it comes to the issues of climate change action AND improved fuel efficiency I believe the driver is the key. This is also where the solution to the driver shortage can be found.
For this to happen we need to first realize that driver training goes far beyond skills training and implementing rules and systems that govern individual actions.
Over the years I've learned that in order to enhance my performance I need to have the autonomy and be empowered with the responsibility to make decisions out here on the road. When treated with trust and respect most of us respond with commitment and loyalty. That has been my experience. I have been fortunate in that respect.
Somehow we need to pull all of these things together. We need to take a leading role in reducing carbon emissions and sing that from the rooftops. We need to open up our industry to new blood by letting people know that they can be the change they want to see in the future, that their personal contributions in the trucking industry can have significant and immediate impacts. We need to treat people well. We need national training programs that are universally available to drivers and carriers that support the full trucking experience.
That not asking for much is it? But it’s where we need to go. Settling for less at this point in time is not an option.
We don't talk a lot about climate change or climate science in our business which is at odds with the fact that the transportation industry is a massive consumer of fossil fuels. What we do talk a lot about is reducing our fuel costs and becoming increasingly more efficient and profitable.
We also talk a lot about how we can attract young people into the trucking industry and how difficult that is in this day in age. What we don't talk a lot about is how climate change is the existential issue of our times to the same young people we are trying to attract.
Why would a young person today want to be part of an industry that is seen to be contributing to climate change without taking responsibility for it?
As an industry Insider I know that this is not the case. There are many trucking companies adopting technologies to reduce emissions and fuel costs out of a sense of social responsibility as much as out of a need to be fiscally responsible.
We also know that young people want to be the change they want to see in the world and that ‘need to change' is becoming increasingly urgent because the effects of climate change are going to impact their lives directly.
It's time to stop thinking of attracting young people to our industry just to drive trucks. We need to be able to show that it's possible to make a positive change in the world from the inside of a truck cab.
At times we can be our own worst enemy. As we have adopted technology that is more fuel efficient we have also presented it as something that is superior in performance to that of an experienced driver.
It is not enough to say to us (drivers) come and sit in the midst of our fancy technology and see how wonderful it is, enjoy the ride. We need to be able to interact with technology, to make it more than what it is, to be able to enhance our lives and the lives of others, to feel that we are making the world a better place through what we do everyday.
All of that may sound idealistic, even utopian, but we all want to make something of ourselves and contribute to the world around us.
When it comes to the issues of climate change action AND improved fuel efficiency I believe the driver is the key. This is also where the solution to the driver shortage can be found.
For this to happen we need to first realize that driver training goes far beyond skills training and implementing rules and systems that govern individual actions.
Over the years I've learned that in order to enhance my performance I need to have the autonomy and be empowered with the responsibility to make decisions out here on the road. When treated with trust and respect most of us respond with commitment and loyalty. That has been my experience. I have been fortunate in that respect.
Somehow we need to pull all of these things together. We need to take a leading role in reducing carbon emissions and sing that from the rooftops. We need to open up our industry to new blood by letting people know that they can be the change they want to see in the future, that their personal contributions in the trucking industry can have significant and immediate impacts. We need to treat people well. We need national training programs that are universally available to drivers and carriers that support the full trucking experience.
That not asking for much is it? But it’s where we need to go. Settling for less at this point in time is not an option.
Kindness as a Driving Skill
This post was first published in the October 2018 edition of Truck News.
Kindness isn’t something we would normally discuss as a required ‘skill’ when it comes to driving. We discuss ‘road rage’ a great deal in our business and recognize that anger sitting firmly in the mind of a driver is not something that leads to skillful operation of a motor vehicle. So we are well aware that anger is a detriment to road safety and actively discuss its negative effects but we rarely, if ever, talk about kindness as a skill to be taught that will enhance road safety.
Maybe teaching kindness is too much to ask. Perhaps talking about it is enough to get us to consciously include it as part of our daily life. What would that look like out on the road?
The best example I can point too is the friction that exists today between drivers and cyclists. If you follow the news in southern Ontario you’re well aware of the number of collisions between vehicles and cyclists, the result being that a number of cyclists have been seriously injured or killed. This is totally unacceptable and completely avoidable. The simple and obvious solution is to build cycle tracks to accommodate the growing cycling community. By separating cyclists and cars/trucks/buses we eliminate the possibility of injury and death. Instead of doing this we paint stripes on the existing roadways to separate cars and bicycles then ask all road users to be courteous to one another and everything will work out just fine. It’s not working.
The big problem we face on all our roadways is a prevailing ‘me first’ attitude on the part of drivers. As operators of heavy equipment – and yes, if you are a car driver this means you too – we have a responsibility to cyclists and pedestrians. This responsibility exists because politicians and designers of our road infrastructure have decided that the best option for all of us is to share our roadways and the simple fact is that when a collision occurs between a vehicle and a cyclist or pedestrian the loser will always be the cyclist or pedestrian. In a world where kindness, compassion, and courtesy guide how we interact with our fellow man fault should not be a factor. As vehicle drivers we are asking other road users that operate without the protection of a metal box around them, to place their lives in our hands. So the safety bar is set higher for us as drivers. Our responsibility is to keep others safe. Period.
To be kind as a driver is to adopt defensive driving skills and to put them into play 100% of the time when behind the wheel. This requires a great deal of introspection and self-accountability on the part of every person that holds a driver’s license. It’s not an option. It is our moral obligation.
Obeying traffic laws and developing habits that leave ample space for other road users to make a mistake without killing themselves is a generous act in my opinion. Bringing patience to your driving experience is the first step in becoming a kind and courteous driver. Putting time on the back burner of your mind is a necessity. If you are always in haste as a driver a fatal mistake is always waiting in the wings. Impatience is a sure way to elevate the level of risk to those around you and to yourself. Putting aside all of your distractions, including thoughts of anything but driving, is another simple act of generosity and kindness.
I know that many people will read this and disagree with me on many points. This is exactly why we need to talk more about it. As long as we are asked to eliminate road deaths and road violence by simply following the rules we can’t ignore our emotions and how they play out on our roadways and in our neighbourhoods. Yes, kindness is a skill and something we need to teach.
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