12/15/2011  Con-way Freight's Unique Driver Training Schools Surpass 500 Graduates

Launched in March 2010 and now operating in 84 cities across the nation, Con-way Freight's in-house driving schools offer free tuition and pay students while they learn.

Last month, Con-way Freight graduated the 500th candidate from the program. The schools are conducted at the company's service centers and provide both classroom and behind-the-wheel training, enabling graduates to obtain their Commercial Driver's License and join the ranks of the company's 14,000 professional driver sales representatives.

One unique aspect of the 12-week program is that students work in paid part-time positions as dockworkers while attending class, enabling them to earn a living while learning their new profession.

"We are both making an investment -- the student in the time and energy they commit to the program, and the company in creating and administering the curriculum and training. We each have skin in the game," says Bob Petrancosta, Con-way Freight's vice president of safety, who started his career with the company as a driver 28 years ago.....

11/21/2011  A Better Way to Drug Test? Hair Testing Reveals Disturbing Facts About Driver Drug Use and DOT Requirements
By Tom Nunlist, Contributor & Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

In late 2005 and early 2006, two J.B. Hunt drivers were involved in accidents that claimed three lives. Both drivers had clean records, but both tested positive at the scene for cocaine. The Arkansas-based transportation and logistics company decided it was time for a change.

"We did what the Department of Transportation said we had to do, but they got through the system," said David Whiteside, senior director of compliance at J.B. Hunt. "We started looking at what we could do to keep this from happening again."

Whiteside had heard about the benefits of hair testing. It offered a longer look back into an applicant's past and made it more difficult for a drug user to cheat. Following the two fatal crashes, and a 2005 incident where drug use and trafficking were uncovered at a maintenance facility, J.B. Hunt became the first major carrier to adopt hair testing as a method for drug screening.....

11/16/2011  7 Pillars of Driver Retention
By Marc Mayfield, Contributor

You can tie down your loads but you can't tie down your drivers. However, with a little forethought, you might be able to keep the good ones feeling secure.

In a loose adaptation from the book "In The Driver's Seat: Interstate Trucking, a Journey," trucker/author Marc Mayfield offers these tips for keeping your operators satisfied:

1. Inform. As you roll out new policies and procedures, keep your drivers in the loop. Let them know that they're not out there on their own and that they're part of a team that includes managers, mechanics, secretaries and others.

2. Explain. Want to retain? Explain. Why the company's trucks are speed-governed. Why drivers can't drop loaded trailers at unsecured locations. How fuel routing benefits the bottom line. Why safety and compliance are more than words.

3. Share. Share corporate and personal news with your drivers. New trucks, new terminal locations, new accounts, and new employees are noteworthy. Maybe someone just had a baby. Maybe a son or daughter has received a scholarship or is serving in the armed forces.....

11/8/2011  Dentist Eyes Apnea Solution That's a Bit Easier to Swallow
By Peter Carter, Contributor

For truckers (or anyone else) diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the familiar contraption known as the Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device has become the
"gold standard" treatment.

It works by delivering a continuous stream of air to prevent possibly fatal but definitely fatiguing lapses in breathing In most cases, the CPAP machine is 100% effective. That is, says Dr. Les
Priemer, 100% effective 50% of the time, because so many people don't use it the way they're supposed to.

The problem is, the CPAP device is bulky, ugly, uncomfortable and requires electrical power and water.

"You couldn't pay me a thousand dollars to wear one of those things," Priemer said.

Priemer, a Toronto-based dentist, is offering an alternative: Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT).....

9/13/2011  Tomorrow's High Tech Truckers
Fourth in a series on the Coming Driver Shortage, by Tom Nunlist, Associate Editor

Marten Transport started a Facebook page for the same reasons most trucking companies do: driver recruitment, outreach and just to have a presence in the world of Web 2.0. The Mondovi, Wis.-based refrigerated truckload carrier didn't expect it to change company pay policies... twice.

"[Facebook] is playing a lot of roles. We built it to attract drivers, but it has turned into so much more," said Tim Norlin, director of recruiting at Marten. "It has taken open-door policy to a whole new level."

The first change happened in 2010, when the downed economy was idling many drivers on long layovers. Instead of the usual phone and face-to-face complaints, company drivers started airing their grievances on Facebook, or effectively in public. It became obvious it was an issue for many, many company drivers. In response, Marten raised layover pay from $25 per day to $100.

Then, two months ago, drivers began complaining on Facebook about detention pay, which was forwarded on to drivers only when (and if) the shipper paid. A chorus of angry voices got that to change, too. Marten now pays drivers for detention time regardless of shipper behavior.

No doubt about it: Technological development, both on and off the truck, is changing drivers and the job. Marten's case is only one example. Today's tech-savvy driver is both more monitored and more autonomous, more privileged than ever, but also more demanding. Fleets should be conscious of where their workforce is headed, especially when the winds of change are blowing from every direction. ....