Features

Beware the Wreckhouse winds

CAPE RAY, Nfld. - Electronic warning signs, installed at both ends of a notorious stretch of Newfoundland highway in the Wreckhouse region of the province, seem to have done little to prevent truck rollovers.

Government giving greenbacks for greenhouse gas reductions

QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Determined to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), Quebec is busy putting its money where its mouth is: $27 million dollars is up for grabs for Quebec-registered trucking companies that install approved equipment that reduces fuel...

Relics of trucking industry’s past may soon be homeless

PORT COQUITLAM, B.C. - If you've built it, there's a historical society that just might want to come - especially if you make them an offer they can't refuse.

It’s in the contract…or is it?

TORONTO, Ont. - The casualness with which employees are hired and fired in this business is enough to make a contract lawyer cringe. Even those carriers that do have employment agreements often have flaws in them that make them unenforceable,...

Working for a good carrier makes it easier to overcome life’s challenges

As the new year gets underway, we drivers are faced with a host of issues to cope with. The list gets longer with each passing year. Hours-of-service, CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability), electronic on-board recorders, speed limiters,...

Will Canada Pension Plan changes affect your retirement plans?

New Canada Pension Plan (CPP) rules took effect on Jan. 1, kicking off a series of graduated changes over the next five years that may make you think twice about drawing your government pension before you turn 65.

Taking it to the Maxx

TORONTO, Ont. - By chance, I landed a week-long city run with a leased International ProStar+ paired with a production model EPA2010-compliant MaxxForce 13 engine.

Driver shortage will be reflected in coming capacity crunch

The demographics of the trucking industry, combined with concerns over compensation of company drivers and owner/operators as well as lifestyle issues are creating the conditions for a severe shortage of professional truck drivers in North...

Recessions can’t stop all the good news

'While everyone in the trucking community is concentrating on keeping things afloat these days, here's a vote for taking time to acknowledge excellence.'

It’s the thought that counts

As a truck driver, you know how important it is for you to stay alert while driving, unloading and even filling out your paperwork at the end of the day. Yet, it can be a challenge to remain attentive mile after mile, day in and day out. How...

Jumper’s knee

At first glance, truck driving may not seem like a profession that would be prone to knee injuries. However, due to the physical demands of their job, many drivers develop painful and sometimes debilitating knee conditions.

Box on wheels, no more

TORONTO, Ont. - The trailer business, says Conny Weyers, president of Trailers Canada, hasn't been a whole lot of fun over the past few years.

Twinkle, twinkle little Star

DENVER, Col. - The demise of Sterling and GM's withdrawal from the medium-duty truck market created a gaping void in the Class 4/5 arena; a void that Navistar International hopes to fill with its new International TerraStar.

Benchmarking data can predict the threats to come

Few business leaders would pass up the chance to gaze into a crystal ball that identifies costly problems before they occur. They are the details which could mean the difference between a profit and loss; a competitive edge in the days of...

In Europe, children dream of driving the classic-styled conventional

Many years ago as a small boy, I used to push my toy trucks around the floor, dreaming of the day I would become a trucker myself. Model trucks were my only toys, I wasn't interested in anything else and there was one truck in particular that...