6 Reasons to Hug a Trucker

Forget all that noise about ‘if you bought it, a trucker brought it.’ that’s like saying we should respect accountants because they can add. There are very good reasons to love truckers that are only vaguely related to their jobs.

1. Truckers are techier than you. Remember how cool it was when you first got mobile internet? We had had it for years. Remember the coolness of GPS when it first came out? Yeah, we were the beta. Proximity sensors? We started testing them in the 80′s. Face it. We have the tech, now, that you’ll want in three years. There is a reason our rigs look like the Millenium Falcon–Han Solo was a trucker.

2. Truckers are suckers for a sob story. Maybe it’s because we’ve all been there. Or maybe our solitary lives makes us more susceptible. Regardless, when you’re down on your luck you can bet that a trucker will buy you a meal or point you at a job, or just sit and listen to you vent. We’re cool that way. We also invented ‘trolling’, although we call it ‘being a douche coward on the CB.’

3. Truckers are tough. Truckers are tough like steel cutting through the butter that gave you a black eye. If it’s -30F outside, we chuckle and muscle through it. I’ve been through hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, and even struck by lightning once. Meh. The upshot of this is, if it’s tough to get there, you can believe it’s a smart choice to catch a ride from a trucker. We eat your nightmares for breakfast and burp staples at 70mph with gospel music blaring.

4.Truckers are outlaws. The system makes us that way, just to survive. Whether it’s screaming through a 55mph zone at 70 to keep a plant from shutting down, or idling a truck in NYC in a back alley so we aren’t jailed for the crime of staying warm, we have learned how to bypass the stupid and focus on the important. But our outlawry is the kind that keeps you alive, not the kind that steals your paycheck. See #3 for why you should never steal from a trucker.

5. Truckers are patriots. Most of us come from military backgrounds, but that is just part of it. After 9/11, DHS didn’t ask cube-monkeys to save the world from terrorists. They came to the truckers and said, ‘be our eyes and ears, for free, for the good of your country.’ and we did. My favorite story is of someone who planted a bomb at the Pilot in Carlisle, PA. When the police got there, they found the bomber spread-eagle on the ground with two 300lb truckers standing on him. And smoking. And bitching about the price of diesel. Yeah, that pretty much says it all.

6. And finally, Truckers protect the weak. By weak I mean unskilled, thoughtless commuters who think they’re Mario Andretti. Think you’re l33t because you’ve been driving for five years? $5 will get you $10 on a bet that a trucker has destroyed $2000 worth of tires to keep your sorry ass alive that day when you gave yourself an extra 15 minutes of sleep. Truckers are hospitalized constantly for injuries sustained from keeping other people alive.

So hug a trucker. It will probably be the only respect he or she will get all day.

 

‘IRT: Deadliest Roads’: Lisa Kelly Talks Trucking and More

Today’s cuppa: English breakfast tea

HCTV is mighty fond of “Ice Road Truckers” and its spin-off, “IRT: Deadliest Roads,” currently airing Sundays on History. Even the blog mascot, Badger the battery-operated hamster, just can’t get enough.

Last season, “IRT: Deadliest Roads” sent some of the “IRT” truckers and some newcomers to pit their skills against harrowing highways in the Himalayas. HCTV got the lowdown on the adventure from Wasilla, Alaska, trucker and “IRT” veteran Lisa Kelly, including an update on the black-and-white puppy she adopted along the way.

This season, “IRT” has dispatched Kelly and some other truckers to South America to try out terrifying routes there, including Bolivia’s “Road of Death.”

Proving once again that you don’t need lots of testosterone to be tough, Kelly has already outlasted one partner. After returning from a long-haul drive over the weekend, she answered some questions by email — including an update the now-grown dog, which lives with a show producer in the Los Angeles area. (Questions in bold.)

The roads in the Himalayas were challenging, but the ones in South America seem even more difficult. How do you compare the two?

I feel that India was great practice for Bolivia and Peru. Culturally, India was harder, the roads themselves were far worse in South America.

Why do you think your first partner, Southern trucker Dave Redmon, decided to leave?

I think we all deal with life’s challenges differently,

How did that make you feel about continuing?

I have never depended on other people to make decisions for me. I also am very goal-oriented and a problem solver, so when things were bad with the truck I sought to make things better before continuing on.

What do you draw upon to keep going through the fear?

There are many things I want to accomplish in life and I don’t want my fears to stand in my way. Many things are scary in life but that can’t stop you from living it. Now I am drawn to the things that scare me. I feel that if you stop living you start dying.

What does it mean to you to have taken on these challenges?

Now that I’ve done two seasons of “IRT: Deadliest Roads,” I have started to notice patterns in the way I learn and the way I face fears. I’m a little disappointed that I’m not as strong as I thought I was, but I’m so thankful that I know my limits and how to push past them. Now I can almost step outside myself and watch the process that I must go through to overcome obstacles.

Does the Dalton Highway in your native Alaska seem easier after driving in these foreign countries?

The Dalton does seem a lot easier after “Deadliest Roads,” but in that, I have to be careful not to get careless, because the Dalton is still a dangerous road that gets you when you aren’t paying attention.

What would you say to encourage — or discourage — other women from entering the trucking profession?

I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams, because dreams do come true if you want them bad enough. I think every person should challenge themselves so that they can grow.

In the last episode we saw, you were coping with a new partner, Texan G.W. Boles. How did that relationship progress?

With any partner, you have to go through an adjustment period. I don’t want to give too much of the show away, but I have heard people say what great drivers they are and yet can’t drive, so I needed to see proof. Everyone has to earn each other’s trust especially when your life is in someone else’s hands. It’s very hard to just turn your life over to someone that you have never seen drive and is a complete stranger.  So I think it’s interesting to see how trust is built between two people, especially two complete opposites forced to trust each other.

Do you ever get to see the black-and-white puppy you adopted in the Himalayas that now lives in Southern California?

Every time I get to L.A., I make a point to go see Rampur Jackson. He still remembers me!!

(Kelly even wrote a book about him.)

What’s the strangest — or even the funniest — fan reaction you’ve gotten from appearing on “Ice Road Truckers” and “IRT:Deadliest Roads”?

I had one guy who wanted me to shave my autograph in his chest hair. Ha ha ha!. And I had a little kid come up to me and say, “I don’t like you!” You gotta respect the honesty of kids!!

We usually see you behind the wheel. What might we be surprised to know about you when you’re off the road?

I love trucking, and more and more the audience gets to see that I love so much more than just trucking. I have way too many hobbies to even keep up with. I’m not sure there is much left to be surprised about!

And here’s a look at Rampur Jackson, all grown up.

5 Ways to Say ‘I Love You’…With an App

Valentine’s Day is just is here, a nightmare waiting-to-happen for the social-media junkie more likely to be on Facebook or checking in at Foursquare than checking out at the Hallmark store. If this sounds like you, hapless Romeo, have no fear. The iPhone and Android are here to turn you from a virtual frog into a real-life prince, or princess. True love? There’s an app for that. So charge your phone, return the chocolates, file away that paper card and read on for the top five apps to show you care…

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Valentine Ideas – Perhaps this is your first true love? Unsure of your romantic footing? If you need help finding your way, the Valentine Ideas app is full of traditional as well as original ideas and romantic gifts for the occasion. And to send special, romantic SMS messages to your Valentine, try the I Love You SMS app.

Martha Stewart Makes Cookies – This app, available at iTunes for $0.99, goes down as a real treat. Sweeten up your sweetie with some yummy baked goods, with the help of the cookie monster er, master, herself, Martha Stewart. Updated with 26 new recipes, and featuring special Heart Sandwich cookies, there is something for everyone. You can also send virtual cookies to your special someone, warm, fresh-baked smell, however, not included.

Treemail – A paper card? So 20th century. Go straight to the source and declare your love for that special someone old-school style, by carving your names in a virtual tree from the comfort of your phone. The seven types of tree bark to choose from, make this app probably more diverse than your backyard, and has none of the winter snow, sharp objects or barking dogs to deal with! Available at iTunes for $.99.

iWrite Love Poems - Everyone can speak the language of love, but how many social networkers can say it in blank verse? Or in any form of metre or haiku? Poetry is romantic, and this app teaches you how with tips, pre-saved love poems and a generator to create poetry on-the-fly, with a little input to make it personal. If your partner demands unique romance, this is the perfect app, all for $0.99 at the iTunes store.

Victoria’s Secret – This app is for the guys, well, eventually for the ladies, but first, the guys. Its loaded with content, including a tool to let you discreetly buy lingerie, but also pictures and video where you can view special “instructional videos” featuring the Victoria’s Secret models, like “Valentine’s Do’s and Don’ts” with words of wisdom for women an men (“don’t ever wear granny panties”) and “A Valentine How-To” with tips on how to tell someone you love them while showing you how to make hand-made Valentine’s Day cards. And there’s a store locator too, for the guys bold enough to venture in on their own.

Not everyone may be feeling the love this Valentine’s Day, so here is our pick for the top alternative “I Love You Not” app:

Anti-Valentine’s Day Sounds – Valentine’s Day isn’t a real holiday. You’re sick and tired of listening to annoying lovey-dovey couples and there’s an app for that.

USDOT – Changing the Rules of the Road

The USDOT has been very busy within the past few months on rule changes covering several different issues. Specifically, the “hours-of-service” regulations have been revised, bans have been implemented on texting and hand-held cell phones while driving a commercial vehicle, new procedures are now in place for a driver to obtain a CDL from state driver licensing agencies, as well as proposed changes in drug testing procedures and new controlled substances that may be added to the current test list.

The following information was obtained from www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Hours-of-Service.

Effective February 27, 2012 “On Duty time” (defined in 395.2) does NOT include any time resting in a parked commercial motor vehicle. In a moving property-carrying commercial motor vehicle “On Duty time” does NOT include up to 2 hours in the passenger seat immediately before or after 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper-berth.

Application:  This removes the commonly perceived necessity for a driver to always log sleeper berth (line 2) to record the needed “Off Duty time” required by 395.1(g). For team operations the driver not driving may now log 2 hours in the passenger seat as “Off Duty” (line 1) before or after 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper-berth to get the required 10 consecutive hours off duty.

Penalties:  Driving (or allowing a driver to drive) 3 or more hours beyond the driving-time limit may be considered an egregious violation and subject to the maximum civil penalties ($11,000 per offense for companies and $2750 for each offense for drivers).

Hand Held Cell Phones.

Commercial drivers are now prohibited from using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a commercial truck or bus.

Penalties for violating this rule include a maximum fine of $2750 to the driver and $11,000 to companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held phones while driving. Using a hand-held cell phone will be considered a “serious” violation (383.51) by the by the USDOT, meaning that any two convictions (speeding of 15 + over the speed limit, tail gating, erratic lane changes, using a hand-held cell phone, et al) within a 3 year period will result in a driver’s CDL privileges being suspended for 60 days.

Medical Certification Requirements to Obtain a CDL.

Effective January 30, 2012 drivers operating in certain types of commerce are required to submit a current medical examiner’s certificate to their state driving license agencies to obtain a “certified” medical status as a part of their driving record. CDL holders required to have a “certified” medical status who fail to provide and keep up-to-date their medical certificate with their state driver licensing agency will become “non-certified” and may lose their CDL.

Drug Testing.

On January 27, 2012 the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) approved the Drug Testing Advisory Board’s recommendations to: (1) Include oral fluid as an alternated specimen in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs, and

(2) The inclusion of additional Schedule II prescription medications (e.g. oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone) in the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs.

DOT is required by law to follow HHS procedures for the drugs for which they test and the specimens they test.

Licensing and Insurance Data Update.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is taking action to address issues associated with technical upgrades to its licensing and insurance information system. The FMCSA encourages carriers that may have licensing and insurance data concerns to contact them at 866-637-0635.

Working Out in the Cab of A Semi Truck