Features

Operating habits can make a lasting difference in fuel economy

Truck, engine and component manufacturers have introduced a long list of vehicle enhancements in the name of saving diesel. Everything from aerodynamic fairings to engine speeds and tires are being tweaked to reduce a truck’s thirst for...

Embracing the changing times

As a publisher, I take great interest whenever I hear of magazines or newspapers shutting their doors. Nine times out of 10, the owners/management will blame declining advertising revenues, increased printing and labour costs or that nasty...

Removing earwax blockages isn’t a do-it-yourself project

Earwax: While some might consider it disgusting, it’s an important part of your body’s defense system.

Let’s have a heart-to-heart

In February, we use Valentine hearts to show others we care. Why not think about caring for your own heart since heart disease is one of the main causes of death in North America?

Collision Course: Part 4

THE STORY SO FAR...Mark is driving along Steeles Avenue in Brampton with a clear road ahead of him. Suddenly a car pulls in front of him and slams on the brakes. Mark rear-ends the car and five people get out, all injured. Mark calls Bud for...

Survival tips for road-weary professional drivers

I can’t stand a cup of coffee when I’m using it to stay alert and will usually opt for a cup of tea to keep my stomach stable on my daily long drive. After 30 years, I position myself on a regimented routine to start my daily run.

TSQ: How would you feel if photo radar was brought back?

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Well, it looks like photo radar is back on the…radar, again. On Jan. 8, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair suggested during a media scrum that bringing back photo radar – an unmanned technology designed to...

Let’s talk tires

Frequently, when we talk about tire management programs, we focus on what the large fleets are doing. However, there are many owner/operators who are every bit as sophisticated about their tire programs as the major fleets are. They have to be....

Deconstructing a deal

ETOBICOKE, Ont. – On Oct. 23, 2012, Wheels Group announced it had acquired MSM Transportation in a major deal worth $18.6 million.The announcement came as a surprise, in part because Mike McCarron, managing partner and the public face of...

What lies beyond the low-hanging fruit?

The trucking industry is about to step into a bold new age for fuel- and weight-saving technologies.

The new rail reality

At CITT’s recent Reposition 2012 conference, I heard something during a C-Suite discussion on shipping by rail that caught my attention and should interest all motor carriers, whether they see railways as competitors or partners. Until...

Eassons introduces performance management system

BERWICK, N.S. – Who wants to write company policies and procedures, only to have them ignored? Who wants to do their job well, yet see low performers get the same pay? A tool called performance management solves these problems. Its...

Sixty-foot trailers: The Ontario experience so far

By now, most everyone in the trucking industry – not just in Ontario but certainly across Canada and perhaps in the US, too – knows that Walmart Canada recently announced it was seeking a permit from the Ontario Ministry of...

Walmart should be lauded, not criticized, for its supercube innovation

Sometimes writing this column is so easy, it becomes difficult. Huh? What do I mean by that? My challenge is to make my long-winded opinions fit in the allotted space, which is a struggle because the subject matter is so plentiful it’s...

Finding Christmas spirit through film

So here we are, Christmas 2012. Once again, I find myself spending my evenings surfing up and down the digital remote looking for a holiday movie that will help me find the spirit of Christmas.