The Trucking Network is a Canadian “English and Punjabi” bilingual publication, founded in 2012. Dedicated to the hard working professional drivers and their families across North America.
Don Taylor
Don Taylor has been a professional driver since March 1985. In 1994 he made the jump to driving tractor trailers, and has accumulated over 3.5 million miles, including over 4 years of driving turnpike doubles in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. He is currently hauling flat decks across North America.
Let’s face facts... The lifestyle of the long haul driver is far from the healthiest of lifestyles. Our jobs are sedentary, our stress levels can be quite high and our eating habits can be atrocious. Grabbing a coffee and a pastry in the morning, maybe a few more coffees during the day, something quick from the truck stop deli, or one of the fast food places most truck stops offer, high sugar soft drinks, or energy drinks to “pump you up” for the last few miles of the day, then probably another burger, or something similar from the truck stop before crawling under the blankets for not-so refreshing sleep.
It’s getting to “that time of the year” again, where we will soon be needing to carry and possible use tire chains. I know, I know... Nobody really enjoys winter driving, but it’s just something we have to deal with. East of British Columbia, they are not needed, and in most of Canada their use is not permitted, but if you run British Columbia, they are a definite must. In addition to British Columbia, the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and California all require you to carry a minimum amount of chains, or similar traction device.
When thinking about load securement, everyone immediately thinks about open deck trailers. Flat decks, step decks, floats, goose necks, etc., but improperly secured loads in and on any type of trailer can create a serious safety hazard. Checking load...
This month, I’ll go over some of the basic points of dangerous goods and oversized loads. This is in no way a complete or comprehensive article of everything you need to know regarding these 2 somewhat specialized areas of...
Loading refrigerated freight is far more driver demanding than loading a simple van trailer. When you’re dispatched to load refrigerated freight, ensure your dispatcher has given you the temperature required. Since most refrigerated freight is food products, ensure the...
When picking up preloaded refrigerated freight, it is imperative that you check, double check and even triple check that the temperature the reefer is set at matches what the paperwork says, and that the box (interior) temperature is within...
Maintaining a safe driving distance is first and foremost in being a safe driver. Not only does it allow you the space needed to stop if needed, it also gives you time and space to avoid any unexpected issues...
Proper pre-trip planning is essential to avoiding delays caused by weather, road construction and traffic congestion among other things. In this day and age, there are many tools at our disposal to plan the best route to avoid such...
