+1 800‐800‐0288

Author: Courtney Hemond

Home » Archives for Courtney Hemond » Page 2
Optimus Prime, Kenworth W100

Trucking Trivia: Transformers’ Optimus Prime was a Kenworth K100

The trucking industry has been well-represented in media. That said, one of the most popular representations of a semi-truck is often forgotten about. No – I’m not talking about the trucks from Maximum Overdrive or Smokey and the Bandit.

I’m talking about Optimus Prime from Transformers.

Despite the fact that a semi-truck is the cornerstone of the entire franchise, the trucks often get forgotten about when you’re looking at the overall landscape of the trucking industry in films and television. Still, Optimus Prime was a key part of one of the most successful movie franchises in American history.

Trucking Trivia: Did you know that Optimus Prime was a Kenworth K100?

Okay… if we’re getting really technical, Optimus Prime was represented by a few different trucks. We’ve seen more recent renditions of Optimus Prime as a custom Western Star truck and as a Peterbilt. But as many things go, nothing ever matches the original.

In this case, the original was based on a cabover Kenworth K100. This would eventually be changed into a Peterbilt 379. In fact, everything about the design of Optimus Prime “transformed,” so to speak.

The truck now features a blue and red flame design and is no longer a cabover. The longer nose on the truck makes it look more menacing at times.

Whiteline Express, truck drivers

The best perks of being a Whiteline Express driver

Whiteline Express is one of the larger trucking companies in the United States – another finish in Freightwaves’ Top 500 For-Hire Fleets proved that. On that list, Whiteline Express finished 286th with 312 tractors and over 1,200 trailers.

The company continues to grow and improve over time.

Today, I’m going to list some of the best perks of being a Whiteline Express truck driver.

1. Driver Bonuses

The turnover rate in the trucking industry is currently over 90%, meaning that over 90% of drivers leave companies after less than a single year. At Whiteline, we try to lower that number as much as physically possible by making our employees happy.

One of the ways we do that is by creating some of the best bonuses in the industry.

One of our bonuses that flies under the radar is our referral bonus. Perhaps it’s the name, which sounds too much like reefer, that deters drivers from taking advantage of this. That said, it’s too good of a bonus to ignore.

Anytime I talk to a driver, I tell them to refer drivers. If you tell somebody to drive for Whiteline and they list you in their application, you will earn $0.12 per mile for every mile they drive in their first three months. That’s an average of over $3,000 per referral and all you don’t have to do anything more than refer somebody.

If you’re considering a move to another company, try referring other drivers to Whiteline Express instead. 

2. Pet & Rider Policies

When it comes to whether or not a trucking company will allow pets or riders, your chances can come down to a toss-up. In fact, fewer than half of trucking companies in the United States allow pets in their vehicles. A notable company on that list is Heartland Express.

Whiteline Express does allow pets and riders to ensure that our drivers are happy. Check out our favorite Whiteline dog, Suave.

3. Our Mileage Assurance Program

One of the biggest complaints that you see from drivers across the industry is that companies will not give them enough miles. After all, most drivers are paid per mile. No miles, no money.

Because of this, we have a Mileage Assurance Program at Whiteline Express. Our drivers will be paid for 2,500 miles as long as they hit 1,700 in any given week. This assures that they’re able to generate the income that they were looking for when they began working here.

Want to apply? Click here.

Dunk, Semi-Truck

This guy dunked a basketball over a semi-truck

Anyone remember the guy who dunked a basketball over a semi-truck? We do.

If you don’t remember, it’s probably because it was done over a decade ago and the only remaining evidence of this can be found on a YouTube video titled “WTH!! 5’7 Mexican DUNKS OVER A SEMI-TRUCK!!! NO TRAMPOLINE!!”

The video can be seen below, with the dunk in question taking place at the 1:55 mark. It’s certainly… something.

As you can see in the video, he doesn’t really clear the semi-truck. We can cut him some slack here – I mean, it is physically impossible. Still, it’s a bit disappointing.

If you can’t see the video for some reason, it’s pretty simple. The man, who is only labeled as a “5’7 MEXICAN” can be seen performing some impressive dunks throughout the video, including instances where he jumps over people and cars. The man is clearly extremely athletic.

But the real show begins and ends toward the end of the video, when the dunker brings in a semi-truck to jump over. The disappointing part is that he just jumps on top of the hood of the semi truck and dunks the basketball. His “bounce” is still impressive, but the dunk was extremely anti-climactic.

If you want to watch somebody dunk a basketball over a semi-truck and completely clear it, you’re on the wrong planet. Unfortunately, that is physically impossible. It won’t happen.

trucking

5 trucking industry facts you probably didn’t know

The trucking industry is arguably the most important sector in the United States. Without it, supplies would be non-existent and food would be scarce in certain areas. That’s why it’s so important to support trucking, especially for the future.

But with an industry as large as trucking, there are certain surprises that come along.

Some of these surprises come on the road, while some are on paper. Here are 5 trucking industry facts that you probably didn’t know.

Over 97 percent of trucking fleets operate 20 or fewer trucks

While there is an endless number of trucking fleets in the United States, most of them are very small. For perspective, over 97% of these fleets have 20 or fewer trucks. Over 91% have six or fewer.

This means that most fleets are microscopic and the mega-fleets are not as common as you might think.

There are 7 million employees in the trucking industry

This number can be slightly misleading, as only around two million of these employees are truck drivers. That said, a whopping five million work in the trucking industry in some capacity.

In total, over 2% of the United States population works in the trucking industry. That number doesn’t sound overly impressive, but this means that one in every 50 people works for one of these companies.

Trucking companies cap your speed to save fuel – and it helps a lot

If you ever wondered why so many trucking companies cap their trucks’ top speed, it’s much more simple than you might think. They want to save gas.

In fact, by capping the speed of these trucks at 65 MPH instead of 75 MPH, companies save 27% on fuel usage. While this may seem insignificant, it can save up to $200 per tank of gas.

Commercial trucks use over 20,000 gallons of fuel per year on average

Ever wondered how much gas you go through in a year as a truck driver? That number likely sits above 20,000 gallons, which can equate to over $100,000 in gasoline.

In comparison, a normal four-wheeler will only go through an average of 500 gallons of gas. Cheaper gas, too.

Trucking is one of the highest-earning blue-collar professions in the US

The number for average salary of a truck driver varies greatly. If you ask a trucker, they’ll probably claim to be making six figures. If you ask someone who isn’t in the industry, they’ll give you a drastically low number. Generally speaking though, that number sits around $60,000 per year, which is on the higher end up blue-collar professions.

Truck Drivers

Around one-third of trucker drivers come from these 3 states

The trucking industry is, for lack of a better term, huge. It is estimated that there are 3.6 million truck drivers in the United States, according to the Census Bureau, which would make up over 1% of the country’s population.

That means that each state, on average, has around 72,000 truckers on average. But it’s not all even.

In fact, a very large percentage of truckers in the United States are spread among just three states, with major trucking hubs being in specific locations. Unfortunately, those locations aren’t overwhelmingly surprising.

Around one-third of truck drivers reside in either Texas, California, or Florida

The exact order goes like this:

  1. Texas
  2. California
  3. Florida

Coming in at number four is Pennsylvania, which is the fifth-most populated US state.

That said, these three states are also atop the list of most populated states in the US, so it’s no surprise that they lead the nation in truck drivers. But which state would you see the most truck drivers? In other words, which state has the highest density of truck drivers?

Three entirely different states have a higher density of truck drivers

As unsurprising as the last list was, this one might turn some heads. The highest density of truckers by state goes like this, according to Visual Capitalist:

  1. Arkansas
  2. Nebraska
  3. Wyoming
  4. Iowa
  5. North Dakota

So in simpler terms, the Midwest has a very high density of truckers in its lowest-populated states.

The state with the lowest density of truck drivers is New York, which is still among US states with the most truck drivers — this is likely because it is the country’s fourth-most-populated state. NY is closely followed in lowest density by Rhode Island, Connecticut, and, surprisingly, Massachusetts.

Whiteline Express’s primary states are relatively average, with Michigan, Ohio, and Texas all coming between a density of 1.1% to 1.3%.

Which state surprised you the most?

trucking, snowplow contest

Trucking: The best names from MN’s Name a Snowplow Contest

This year, Minnesota DOT held a “Name a Snowplow” contest and some of the names to come from it are… creative.

According to Minnesota Department of Transportation, over 60,000 people voted on their favorite name among the 60 options. They compiled some of the best and funniest names that were submitted and the winning eight will be on actual snowplows in the state of Minnesota. Here are those eight in order from first to eighth.

  • Yer a Blizzard, Harry
  • Blizzo
  • Clearopathtra (my personal favorite)
  • Better Call Salt
  • Han Snowlo
  • Blader Tot Hotdish
  • Scoop! There it is
  • Sleetwood Mac

More names were produced in this contest, for better or worse

The list does not stop at the winning eight, as Minnesota DOT released the full list of 60 names, their rankings, and how many votes each received. For example, the name that received the lowest number of votes was “As the Snow Flies.” Boring. Here are some other noteworthy names from the list.

  • Taylor Drift
  • Hippoplowtamus
  • Alice Scooper
  • Clark Blizzwald
  • I Came, I Thaw, I Conquered
  • Plower to the People
  • Blades of Flurry
  • Queen El-ice-abeth II

In reality, it’s just a contest to see who can come up with the worst snow-related puns with no lack of submissions. My personal favorites are “Clearopathtra,” “Better Call Salt,” Blades of Flurry,” and “Alice Scooper.”

Truck driver wrongful arrest

Trucker got $500,000 after being wrongfully arrested during delivery

A truck driver was recently awarded $500,000 after being wrongfully arrested for loitering during a delivery.

This story involving a California trucker is a perfect example of why all truckers should know their rights — it could pay off. I mean, it probably wont. But it could. Tommy Franks Jr. proved that after a February 2019 incident.

This truck driver’s false arrest got him $500,000

The San Bernardino Sun reports that Tommy Franks Jr., a truck driver, was dropping off a delivery at a WinCo Supermarket when he was arrested by police officers. The driver parked his truck, went inside to alert store employees of the delivery, and grabbed a snack. On his way out, he was hassled by police officers.

Even though Franks wasn’t perfectly cooperative with the officers, dodging questions as they hounded him, he answered what he was legally required to. When asked what he was doing, Franks replied and said “walking.” He would be accused of loitering to which he would retort “how can I be loitering if I’m walking?”

Was he being uncooperative? Slightly. Was he being smart with the officers? A little bit. But he didn’t do anything illegal.

You see, by law, it’s not illegal to refuse to identify yourself to police. So while Franks might have been annoying to these officers, they had no reason to arrest him or apply any force. The driver’s lawyer claimed that he was arrested as a result of his verbal protests and requests to speak with a supervisor.

Four years later, Franks has been given $500,000 for his wrongful arrest in 2019.

Trucking, Winter

7 clothing tips for truckers to stay warm in the winter

Generally speaking, those who work in the trucking industry can stay warm pretty easily. Almost all trucks on the road have a heating unit and can maintain a comfortable temperature while truckers are driving from point A to point B.

That said, truckers can’t always stay in their trucks. Depending on where you work and specific circumstances, all truck drivers will spend some time outside of their vehicle. In the winter months, this can be excruciating. But there are things you can do about it.

Here are 7 things you can do to ensure a warm winter as a truck driver

1. Know your fabrics. The type of fabric that you wear makes a big difference. If you wear cotton, you’ll lose insulation value as soon as it becomes wet — this makes it a better middle layer than inner or outer layer. Wool, silk, and most synthetics, on the other hand, retain their insulation even when wet. These should be used for outer layers.

2. Wear at least three layers of clothing. An inner layer of wool, silk, or synthetic to wick moisture away from the body, a middle layer of wool or synthetic to provide insulation even when wet, and an outer wind and rain protection layer that allows some ventilation to prevent overheating.

3. Wear a hat or hood. Up to 40% of body heat can be lost when the head is left exposed. Wearing a hat or a hood is one of the most important things you can to do stay warm.

4. Wear insulated boots or another suitable type of footwear. If necessary, wear thicker than normal socks on cold days.

5. Keep a change of dry clothing available in case work clothes become wet or unusable.

6. Avoid wearing tight clothing other than the wicking layer. Loose clothing will allow for ventilation of heat away from the body.

7. Be aware of the wetting effects of perspiration. You’d normally think that you’re trying trap heat and get your body as warm as possible. This can backfire at times. If your body isn’t properly wicked or vented, trapped sweat can actually cause you to become colder and is often a bigger issue than rain or snow.

Saints Row 3 Trucking

How did this video game get this trucking detail so wrong?

Semi-trucks are well-represented in the media. There are countless films, commercials, and advertisements that feature 18-wheelers as a key piece in their storyboard. Truckers and semi-trucks are a huge part of pop culture and gaming is no exception to this.

Many of these games are hyper-realistic, like American Truck Simulator or any game in the Forza series. Generally speaking, these games do a good job of recreating semi-trucks down to specific details in the engine.

Sometimes, however, the creators of these games do a bad job. No — scratch that — sometimes, they do a terrible job.

Saints Row: The Third put all of the semi-trucks backward into the docks

If you haven’t already, go look at the image above from r/Truckers on Reddit. If you’re a trucker, you’ll immediately spot the issue.

That’s right, the trucks are somehow forward-facing to the docks in this screenshot of Saints Row: The Third Remastered. It’s unclear just how anybody would rationalize the positioning of these trucks, as it would be pretty much physically impossible to get them into the docks without backing them in. A Reddit user jokingly mentioned that the trailers might be double-sided.

Here’s the positive — sometimes games like this do things incorrectly on purpose. As an example, Grand Theft Auto V has stats that show each car’s acceleration, speed, and handling. These stats are known to be completely made up. Why? The developers thought it would be funny.

Let’s hope that this is another example of a gaming developer trying to be funny. Otherwise, it’s one of the sillier-looking mistakes that I’ve ever seen in a video game.

And the worst part? This game was remastered, meaning that the developers updated all of the graphics in the game. This means that they had the chance to fix this error and once again, left the trucks facing the wrong way into their respective docks.

Trucking, Bribe

Trucking: Former FMCSA employee was caught accepting a bribe

The United States Department of Transportation can be notoriously stingy. As a trucker, if you do a single thing wrong, they can and will make your life extremely difficult. The department is known for being extremely strict with rules and regulations.

Sometimes, this doesn’t necessarily apply.

In this case, Patrick Gorena, a former border investigator for the FMCSA,

Patrick Gorena was a border investigator for the Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Spoiler — he’s not anymore. In fact, it’s looking like Gorena never will be again, as he was recently caught accepting a bribe from an undercover law enforcement officer.

Patrick Gorena, a former DOT employee, admitted that he failed to report violations

Patrick Gorena originally put himself on the radar by demanding $3,500 from a trucking company. In exchange, he would look past violations that could potentially cause fines or even loss of DOT license. He would eventually be targeted by law enforcement, who would catch him accepting a $2,000 bribe from an undercover officer. This is what would lead to his eventual demise.

Extortion of this degree doesn’t seem to be very common in the industry in the United States. When it does happen, it seems like the perpetrator is always caught.

In Gorena’s case, he was caught and has pled guilty to extortion under color of law as recently as this week. Is your career really worth $3,500?