CR England Girl

As a driver, trucking is more of a lifestyle than a job for many.  Finding ways to stay entertained is part of the mix that makes driving more enjoyable.  Today’s “gadgets” have changed how truckers live their lives on the roads.

Overdrive Trucking Radio says that 66% of the truck drivers on the road listen to four or more hours of radio a day?  Wow!  Satellite radio gives us more options today than our predecessors and there are now stations on satellite radio specific to our field. For many drivers out on the road, the radio keeps the music going and keeps drivers up to date with current events.

…And don’t forget the videos!

Flat panels TV’s are great for taking less space.  And watching a DVD in the evening to relax is a part of many of our lives. They even say it’s a stress reliever. I bet we are not far off from seeing truck driving jobs ads in the paper that highlight the size of the plasma screen.

With today’s technology, removing the dish out of satellite TV for trucks allows truckers to watch their favorite show in the privacy of there own cab.  And it only gets better.  Just like the Internet, dish-less satellite TV gives drivers weather forecasts.  Also, for teams and couples on the road, one driver can drive while the other relaxes watching their favorite shows.  Yes, it’s true.  People can watch live TV, even when the truck is moving.  Think about it.  The passenger is much more relaxed than if just sitting and watching the road.  Then when it’s the other driver’s turn, the new driver is fresher for a safer drive.

More common gadgets that are familiar to drivers our digital music toys as well as smart phones.  We listen to our favorite music without the storage space needed for physical CD’s.  Our favorite songs stored in an aluminum box smaller than our set of keys.  Amazing!  Facebook and Twitter give us a social outlet and what’s next?

Only imagination can come up with our next generation of truck cab entertainment.  It will be interesting to watch in the next few years.  What seems impossible now may be what we buy tomorrow.

A lot of drivers look already think about the equipment when deciding on truck driving jobs. Maybe in the future truck drivers will have to look at the in cab entertainment possibilities too. Till next time, CREnglandgirl-

The movie “Trucker” is out on DVD.

Its on the list of DVD’s that came out Tuesday 12/30/2009

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (Sony) An inventor creates a device that makes food from water; when it rains, his hometown is inundated with groceries. Engaging computer-animated version of the popular children’s book, with voices by Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris and Mr. T. Released in theaters in 3-D. (PG; brief mild language). ***

THE FINAL DESTINATION (Warner) When a group of teens escape an event that should have killed them, death begins to take them one by one. Fourth film in series; released in theaters in 3-D. (R; violence, gruesome incidents, language, sexuality) Not reviewed.

LORNA’S SILENCE (Sony) A woman rebels against her underworld employers, with not-so-great results. Ambiguous and ambivalent Belgian film by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne won the screenwriting award at the Cannes Film Festival. In French and Albanian with English subtitles. (R; language, sexuality, nudity). **

TRUCKER (Monterey) A truck-driving loner is confronted by her past and her failure to commit to relationships when her long-estranged teenage son is sent to stay with her when his father is hospitalized. In the title role, Michelle Monagan has drawn strong reviews and awards-season buzz. With Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt. (R; some sexuality, language, brief drug use, brief violence) Not reviewed.

This article originally came from a truck driving school blog

Here is the short and sweet abbreviated version to save you some time reading the entire article-

The quick and dirty truck driving school list:

1. Check out the facility.- Since we are talking ablaut your neighborhood truck driving school here, you should make your decision in person. Go and see what the school has to offer. Is the facility clean? Are the employers happy to help you?
2. Look at the training equipment.- Make sure the school doesn’t have a bunch of old rust buckets for training. After you get your license your going to want to work for someone so you better make sure you learn on current equipment because large professional trucking companies usually don’t have old trucks in their fleet.
3. Ask your neighbors. – By this we mean ask people in the community or at the local truck stop to see what people are saying. Ask about the training program specifics. Ask what they think about drivers that attend that school. Are they safe or are they dangerous truck drivers.
4. Check with work force service.- See I the truck driving school has tried to work with job service to get unemployed people training. Usually a quality school will have some sort of relationship with work force services or the division of labor. Even if they just have flyers or job postings it shows they are somewhat organized.

By following the items on the list above you can steer clear of the truck driving schools that could potentially rip you off.  Good Luck-

Even more “Trucker Movie Madness” it seems.  JournalStar.com has posted an article about the movie and the characters in the film.  Like we heard before, “Michelle Monaghan is turning up on Oscar lists, seen as having an outside shot at an Academy Award nomination for her performance as a very independent truck driver forced to reunite with her 11-year-old son in “Trucker.”"

Monaghan was interviewed and had this to say about the character she plays in the film. “”This is a girl you might not even like by the end of the movie,” Monaghan said. “For me, this is a real person I can identify with. She’s a real person, that was sort of my approach. As an actor you don’t ever want to judge your character. There’s a reason why they are who they are. That’s what I wanted to discover in her. I wasn’t so interested in her behavior but in digging a little deeper and finding out what makes her tick…”

Good character, good story. Great film and I have to say she does deserve a nomination for her performance in this film.

Here is the address of the original Journalstar.com article by L. KENT WOLGAMOTT: http://journalstar.com/entertainment/movies/article_d2a170c4-d95b-11de-85cd-001cc4c002e0.html

If you have seen the film, let us know what you thought about it?

Looking to start a new career? Visit premier truck driving school for more information.

Here are some tips from a truck driver on how to get better fuel economy-

These tips are designed to help you burn less fuel so you can keep more money in your pocket.

1. Start by Limiting Your Speed:
   Every 5 miles per hour you slow down will give you an extra ½ mile per gallon. Set your cruise around sixty instead of 65 and you’ll see a savings.
2. Stay on the “Paid Route”:
   Staying on the route your expected to use assures you that you get paid for all the miles you drive. Think twice before taking that detour for personal reasons and you’ll drive fewer non-paid miles.
3. Balanced RPM Management:
   Maintaining good smooth acceleration and smooth deceleration will keep you under 1800 RPM. The fewer miles you drive at higher RPM’s the better mileage you will get. Higher RPM’s burn fuel faster.
4. Idle reductions:
   Ignore that old wives tail that says starting and stopping the engine burns more fuel than idling and you will save some serious money. It is just an old wives tail. If your not going to be driving, shut the truck down.
5. Don’t Forget Regular Maintenance:
   A well-maintained tractor burns less fuel so keep up on your maintenance. Regular tire pressure checks and air filter checks will keep your equipment running efficiently. Poor tire pressure and air filters can create poor fuel economy quickly.

Found this article from Driver Women by Lee Tuveson and thought some people would get a kick out of the things on the list.

Here is her back ground first. She is a former corporate trainer and teacher and has been around the industry since 1995. She has come up her 2009 Top Ten Dumbest Questions From Truck Drivers. We listed just the good ones and then one of our own:

1. “Should I drive when I’m asleep?”
2. “When a driver’s asleep, shouldn’t they know to pull over?”
3. “How can you tell you about to fall asleep?”
4. “I hit a deer, can i keep it?”
5. “What does CDL stand for?”
6. “If a tire catches fire should I blow it out?”
7. “Golden girl, if you were a woman I’d ask you to be my co-driver”
8. “What is my tax exempt code, Truckers don’t pay taxes right?”

Here is probably my all time favorite line that I’ve heard from a trucking professional-

“Can you call them and tell them their phone isn’t working?”

I ran across an article that was posted on the NY Times and was discussed how many people are looking for work so I wanted to put a quick list of trucking companies hiring .

Companies:

• Swift Transportation
• C.R. England
• JB Hunt
• CRST International
• Prime Transportation

I poked around on Monster and CareerBuilder and the names above seemed to a lot of ads posted on the web. I am sure there are more trucking companies hiring out there, but I wanted to send you towards a few. If your applying just remeber what the old timers say, “Paid Miles Make the Man”

If you have some home time or just have some time to kill in between loads stop by the local theater and check out this newly released film called “Trucker”. The film is an independent film starring Michelle Monaghan. It may or may not be for you.

However it is getting a lot of media attention and since it has been a while since a film about trucking came out thought it was worth another mention.

Here is a YouTube Video of some scenes from the movie.  Let me know what you think-

A lot of people in the media are beginning to talk about Michelle Monaghans new movie called “Trucker.” Should be a geat movie, the story sounds great, and now people are begining to talk about Oscar possibilities. MTV’s Kurt Loader seems to agree. Here is an article on the MTV web site talking about just that.

Michelle Monaghan  movies are always a dear to my heart and I am sure this one about trucking is going to be as good as all the rest of her films.

A couple of weeks a go the ATA was looking to get people to write a letter to the US Minerals Management Service to ask for offshore drilling exceptions. The ATA was pushing the point that the trucking industry would benefit from the drilling. The letters needed to be in by the 21st of September in order to get some more drilling leases opened up.

Today transport topics released information about a letter that ATA chief economist, Bob Costello sent to the Department of the Interior asking them to approve offshore drilling leases. In his letter Costello wrote, ” all available domestic resources to safe and environmentally responsible development, would boost supply, increase the nation’s security, produce jobs, enhance the economy and bring in billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury.” Certainly unemployed drivers would like to see more truck driving jobs.