Dan Rather made a pit stop at Willie's Place truckstop at Carl's Corner, Texas, Monday to talk to a panel of people in the trucking industry, and to shoot a show that aired Tuesday night on HDNet.

The segment is a follow-up to a previous HDNet story that Rather hosted, which focused on concerns related to truck driver training and schools.

According to Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the panel discussion touched on topics including driver training, hours of service, and the economic environment and its effect on truckers.

Panelists included Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the OOIDA; an OOIDA member; Derek Leathers, chief operating officer of Werner Enterprises; Tim Dean from Werner; and Michael Belzer, author of "Sweatshops on Wheels."

Monday's discussion, which lasted an hour and a half, jumped all over the place in terms of trucking issues, and included a wide spectrum of people from the industry.

"I just think it's interesting that he's focusing in depth about trucking and going in all of these different directions," Taylor said, of Rather's show.

Taylor said the producers at HDNet approached the OOIDA back in February to make initial contact and launch their research into trucking issues. During that initial contact, Taylor asked the producers if they knew that there is no training required to drive a truck. "It was news to them," she said. Whether this was the catalyst for the first show on driver training is unknown.

Taylor believes the trucking industry caught Rather's eye following all of the media attention that started back in April 2008, when diesel prices reached $5 a gallon. And with the economy now as bad as it is, Rather is interested in why it's so hard for truckers to make a living.

The resulting "Dan Rather Reports" segment, "Truck Talk," aired Tuesday, Nov. 10. You can buy it via download on iTunes.

You can view the first segment, "Queen of the Road," at http://blip.tv/file/2759448.