Saturday, April 04, 2009
Friday, April 03, 2009
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Good Morning, Shrub Magnolia says it's Spring! Telford, Pa. Skin says Magnolia is lying.
Good Morning, Shrub Magnolia says it's Spring! Telford, Pa. Skin says Magnolia is lying.
Originally uploaded by HeyDriver
So, enjoy the pick and remember that the true Spring is on it's way.
Walt.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Va Parking and a Driver's death.
Another driver passed away today in a wreck just south of a rest area that is scheduled to be shut down by the Commonwealth of Va.
As I passed by the wreck this morning I noticed that it wasn't too far south of the rest area around the 160 mile marker on I-81 S. The wreck itself was at the 156 mile marker between the exit and entrance ramps for that access point. Now, I would be very interested in hearing what the crash investigators have to say about how this happened. The wreck seems to have involved one rig running into the back of another. The driver of the 2nd rig died.
While I don't have training in crash scene investigation, I do have almost 20 years driving tractor/trailers on the Interstate system. I have seen many wrecks of this type and talked with drivers who were involved in these kind of incidents. I will hazard a guess and suggest that the first truck was parked on the shoulder of the exit ramp. The 2nd rig may have been traveling at highway speeds on the Interstate. Rig 1 pulls off the shoulder and into Rig 2's path. This is pure conjecture on my part and we should await the Investigator's report.
But, I'd like to point out that while traveling south on I-81 this morning I noticed that all of the truck stops and rest areas I could see were full. I mean full! Trucks were parked everywhere and every which way. How the State of Va could even suggest that there is adequate parking is beyond my imagination.
To the Government of the Commonwealth of Virgina:
Please, do not put your citizens and travelers through this fair land in jeopardy. Don't shut down the rest areas....build more. There is not enough parking.
--
If you've got it a truck brought it.
As I passed by the wreck this morning I noticed that it wasn't too far south of the rest area around the 160 mile marker on I-81 S. The wreck itself was at the 156 mile marker between the exit and entrance ramps for that access point. Now, I would be very interested in hearing what the crash investigators have to say about how this happened. The wreck seems to have involved one rig running into the back of another. The driver of the 2nd rig died.
While I don't have training in crash scene investigation, I do have almost 20 years driving tractor/trailers on the Interstate system. I have seen many wrecks of this type and talked with drivers who were involved in these kind of incidents. I will hazard a guess and suggest that the first truck was parked on the shoulder of the exit ramp. The 2nd rig may have been traveling at highway speeds on the Interstate. Rig 1 pulls off the shoulder and into Rig 2's path. This is pure conjecture on my part and we should await the Investigator's report.
But, I'd like to point out that while traveling south on I-81 this morning I noticed that all of the truck stops and rest areas I could see were full. I mean full! Trucks were parked everywhere and every which way. How the State of Va could even suggest that there is adequate parking is beyond my imagination.
To the Government of the Commonwealth of Virgina:
Please, do not put your citizens and travelers through this fair land in jeopardy. Don't shut down the rest areas....build more. There is not enough parking.
--
If you've got it a truck brought it.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Good morning. A lane and a half. Cnty Hwy 633 Walkerton VA.
Sometimes we drive the big roads. Sometimes it's a little road. And, sometimes it's only a 3/4 road. This is County Highway 633 in Walkerton, Va, USA.
I apologize for the shakes and blurs here. Took this with the cell phone and my hand was shaking just a little more then the truck was.
Two trucks passing each other can be a bit interesting. It can be done if both driver's hang the outer wheels off into the grass.
This is the type of road that is almost always better to travel at night. One can see the headlights of an oncoming vehicle in the trees. That gives a driver a heads up as to what's coming at him.
I'll try to be more descriptive in my post here on my blog.
Peace, Love and 4 on the floor.
I'm back quiet.
I apologize for the shakes and blurs here. Took this with the cell phone and my hand was shaking just a little more then the truck was.
Two trucks passing each other can be a bit interesting. It can be done if both driver's hang the outer wheels off into the grass.
This is the type of road that is almost always better to travel at night. One can see the headlights of an oncoming vehicle in the trees. That gives a driver a heads up as to what's coming at him.
I'll try to be more descriptive in my post here on my blog.
Peace, Love and 4 on the floor.
I'm back quiet.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, December 08, 2008
The current state of trucking. The 2008 Christmas Season.
Wow! We're almost to the end of the 2008 shipping season.
This has been the slowest I've ever seen it. Usually we're given orders not to plan vacation time after the end of September. Not this year.
Food shippers are usually running 24/7 this time of year. Atlas of Malvern, Pa did no shipping the end of last week. They were doing an inventory and not shipping out. That is almost never done this time of year. Most of these companies wait till middle of January to start inventory. Maybe Atlas Cold Storage is planning a sell off?
I'm seeing fewer trucks at the docks of major food warehouses. Even Walmart DC's were looking a bit empty just before Thanksgiving.
Just a final thought here....
Has there been a sudden decrease in the eating population of the country? Or, maybe we're seeing the end of JIT (Just In Time) delivery in the US?
My guess is JIT shipping is going to go away for awhile. More warehousing will be done. Longer shelf life items are going to start showing up. Makes you wonder about fresh foods.
Okay, I'm starting to post more I guess.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/heydriver
and http://brightkite.com/people/Heydriver
If I don't get back on here before Christmas,
Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours.
God speed drivers!
This has been the slowest I've ever seen it. Usually we're given orders not to plan vacation time after the end of September. Not this year.
Food shippers are usually running 24/7 this time of year. Atlas of Malvern, Pa did no shipping the end of last week. They were doing an inventory and not shipping out. That is almost never done this time of year. Most of these companies wait till middle of January to start inventory. Maybe Atlas Cold Storage is planning a sell off?
I'm seeing fewer trucks at the docks of major food warehouses. Even Walmart DC's were looking a bit empty just before Thanksgiving.
Just a final thought here....
Has there been a sudden decrease in the eating population of the country? Or, maybe we're seeing the end of JIT (Just In Time) delivery in the US?
My guess is JIT shipping is going to go away for awhile. More warehousing will be done. Longer shelf life items are going to start showing up. Makes you wonder about fresh foods.
Okay, I'm starting to post more I guess.
Follow me at http://twitter.com/heydriver
and http://brightkite.com/people/Heydriver
If I don't get back on here before Christmas,
Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours.
God speed drivers!
Monday, September 01, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
One year later...almost
Okay, it's been almost a year since I've last posted here.
Not good for me.
So I've decided to try something new. Starting today I'm going to try to post something here and post at least one picture to the web every day. That's not going to be so easy.
I've been thinking of doing an audio podcast. But, I'm a bit nervous about that.
I'll try this out first. If I make it work for 6 weeks then I'll attempt an audio podcast.
So, subjects I'm thinking about.
1. The wonton issuance of licenses to drivers. cdl and non-cdl types.
2. How finding the one spouse who can deal with over night trucking is more of a god send then a science.
That's two for now.
Okay, enough for now....
I'll post tomorrow or later today.
7's and 8's
Not good for me.
So I've decided to try something new. Starting today I'm going to try to post something here and post at least one picture to the web every day. That's not going to be so easy.
I've been thinking of doing an audio podcast. But, I'm a bit nervous about that.
I'll try this out first. If I make it work for 6 weeks then I'll attempt an audio podcast.
So, subjects I'm thinking about.
1. The wonton issuance of licenses to drivers. cdl and non-cdl types.
2. How finding the one spouse who can deal with over night trucking is more of a god send then a science.
That's two for now.
Okay, enough for now....
I'll post tomorrow or later today.
7's and 8's
Monday, August 27, 2007
Auntie Em, Auntie Em, Was it a twister?
SuperValu in Mechanicsville, Va experienced a four and a half hour complete shut down of recieving operations today. Between the hours of 4:30am and 9am edt, the Mechanicsville Va. warehouse ceased operating in its normal yet hectic mode.
When asked for the reason why operations were ceased I was told that the computer system in Minnesota failed for some reason or another. The event prevented the Virgina warehouse from doing any sort of receiving business.
I ask, is this a common way to run a business of this size? SuperValu owns and operates many large warehouses through out the USA. To have them tied so tightly together through networking so that if one fails it takes down another does not sound like such a great idea. Was it a twister? Maybe a lightning strike hit the wires in Minnesota and traveled all the way to Va? It could happen you know!!
Seems to me that maybe it would be prudent to have each warehouse autonomous with hourly uploads of information to the main frame at the head office. Heck, even upload every one minute as far as I can see. But, to have such a thin client that an event hundreds of miles away stops normal operations is not good thinking....no matter how much money you save. Walmart, Food Lion or even a local grocery chain can keep they're stores and warehouses up and running when any part of it's network goes down then SuperValu should be able to also.
Now, a few disclaimers!!
The info I got about the head office crashing came from a lowly dock worker. So, I did not take it at face value. I tried to access SuperValu's website and couldn't even get a 404 error. They were just not there. Nothing....loading page time outs up the ying yang. So, I'm gonna step out and assume (ya I know) that there was indeed a massive failure of the SuperValu network. I'm sure someone somewhere in Minnesota is pushing for a more autonomous setup for SuperValu's warehouses and I support him/her 100%. Come on SuperValu...get smart and put some funds into your IT system. Back ups and redundancy are the name of the game. Not spending the money on secure networking is really stupid.
Peace, love and put that hammer down.
HeyDriver
i'm outta here
When asked for the reason why operations were ceased I was told that the computer system in Minnesota failed for some reason or another. The event prevented the Virgina warehouse from doing any sort of receiving business.
I ask, is this a common way to run a business of this size? SuperValu owns and operates many large warehouses through out the USA. To have them tied so tightly together through networking so that if one fails it takes down another does not sound like such a great idea. Was it a twister? Maybe a lightning strike hit the wires in Minnesota and traveled all the way to Va? It could happen you know!!
Seems to me that maybe it would be prudent to have each warehouse autonomous with hourly uploads of information to the main frame at the head office. Heck, even upload every one minute as far as I can see. But, to have such a thin client that an event hundreds of miles away stops normal operations is not good thinking....no matter how much money you save. Walmart, Food Lion or even a local grocery chain can keep they're stores and warehouses up and running when any part of it's network goes down then SuperValu should be able to also.
Now, a few disclaimers!!
The info I got about the head office crashing came from a lowly dock worker. So, I did not take it at face value. I tried to access SuperValu's website and couldn't even get a 404 error. They were just not there. Nothing....loading page time outs up the ying yang. So, I'm gonna step out and assume (ya I know) that there was indeed a massive failure of the SuperValu network. I'm sure someone somewhere in Minnesota is pushing for a more autonomous setup for SuperValu's warehouses and I support him/her 100%. Come on SuperValu...get smart and put some funds into your IT system. Back ups and redundancy are the name of the game. Not spending the money on secure networking is really stupid.
Peace, love and put that hammer down.
HeyDriver
i'm outta here
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Thursday, March 08, 2007
US DOT starts Mexican drivers pilot program.
Just a short note on something that is becoming real in the Asphalt Nation.
Truck drivers from Mexico will be allowed to deliver loads beyond the 25 mile limit now in place along the US/Mexican border. This is going into effect within the next 30 to 60 days.
Mexican drivers are supposed to be held to the same standards as the US/Canadian drivers.
What concerns me is will they be paid the same rates as their northern brethren?
Is Mexico making sure that their drivers are compliant with US/Canadian standards.
Section 391.11(2) of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation (FMCSR) states that:
(Drivers must show that they) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.
This is the one crumb in the bed that bothers me. I've seen as many as four drivers climb out of a truck made to handle two drivers. Do all these people speak english? My experience with them as been friendly and informative. However, most times one driver is the spokesman and interpreter. That's a violiation of FMCSR 391.11(2).
If the big companies that hire these drivers don't have a problem with them not speaking English will DOT?
Truck drivers from Mexico will be allowed to deliver loads beyond the 25 mile limit now in place along the US/Mexican border. This is going into effect within the next 30 to 60 days.
Mexican drivers are supposed to be held to the same standards as the US/Canadian drivers.
What concerns me is will they be paid the same rates as their northern brethren?
Is Mexico making sure that their drivers are compliant with US/Canadian standards.
Section 391.11(2) of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation (FMCSR) states that:
(Drivers must show that they) Can read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.
This is the one crumb in the bed that bothers me. I've seen as many as four drivers climb out of a truck made to handle two drivers. Do all these people speak english? My experience with them as been friendly and informative. However, most times one driver is the spokesman and interpreter. That's a violiation of FMCSR 391.11(2).
If the big companies that hire these drivers don't have a problem with them not speaking English will DOT?
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