‘WOW’ what an industry……..it has literally changed my life! Who knew I would go from working for the government in Finance & Administration for over 15 years to driving a transport to ending up as a ‘Certified Director of Safety’, at Larway Transportation in Barrie, Ontario. What a journey it has been. I think one of the reasons why I love this industry so much is the continuous learning, I learn something new every day. It’s in my blood…. I can finally say; I have found my ‘Passion’, and I love it!
I remember going for my road test with MTO back in the 90’s, when women were slowly entering the industry but not truly recognized yet. The MTO officer took one look at me and said; “you don’t belong here”. I thought to myself; ‘what right do you have to judge me’….why, because I’m a woman and take pride in my appearance, you don’t think I belong here? Needless to say I failed my first attempt. That was my first experience with discrimination and it didn’t stop there. My school booked another appointment for me for the following week and I passed. Over the course of the next couple of years, I faced many more experiences where I was discriminated against, humiliated and disrespected, but I never let that stop me. I remained confident, enthusiastic, positive and proud!
After 5 years on the road as a long haul driver, I realized more than ever, how poorly truck drivers were treated, disrespected, under paid, and over worked. I thought to myself many, many times, there has to be a way that I can make a difference. Eventually, the opportunity presented itself and I started working in the office for trucking company in Southern Ontario. I started part-time in safety and accounts payable and within 3 weeks I was hired full-time.
I learned everything I could possibly learn about the industry, from safety to billing to payroll to dispatching to maintenance, from reefers to flat beds to rolltites to walking floor trailers, you name it, I took every opportunity I could to learn and in a matter of 6 years I was promoted to ‘Operations Manager’ and had doubled the fleet size of our fleet. One of the best experiences of my life!
The life of a truck driver is like no other and can be challenging, rewarding, and frustrating all at the same time. For over the past 15 years of my life, I have made a difference in my driver’s lives every day!! I RESPECT them, I don’t JUDGE them, I work with each driver to promote their strengths and I provide them with opportunities to learn and to grow. I believe that success happens where new ideas can flourish in an environment that is rich in diversity, a place where people from various backgrounds can work productively together.
Remember to always; treat your fellow human beings with respect and the dignity they deserve. Treat others how you would want to be treated.
Susan Murphy Bois October is Women’s History Month. The Women’s Trucking Federation Of Canada is celebrating this month by sharing stories of Women in the Transportation Industry. If you’d like to share your story please email shelleyu@wtfc.ca . Please include a picture. Thank you
I have dealt with the trucking industry most of my working life. I was a Customs Broker for 20 years dealing with truck drivers every day. In 1998 an opportunity came my way to join the team at Steed Standard Transport Ltd where I have been employed for the last 18 years. At first I did the billing and helped out in dispatch. As the company grew my roll has expanded to “Jill of all trades” where I am involved in various aspects of the trucking operation such as IFTA reporting, dealing with U.S. and Canadian Customs issues and quoting rates to Customers. Through the years I have found that the trucking industry is never boring and brings challenges every day. I have really enjoyed it as there is so much to know and learn.
Beverly Sutherland
October is Women’s History Month. The Women’s Trucking Federation Of Canada is celebrating this month by sharing stories of Women in the Transportation Industry. If you’d like to share your story please email shelleyu@wtfc.ca . Please include a picture. Thank you 🙂
None of us wake up in the morning thinking that we really hope someone comes to talk to us about our insurance needs today.
We think about what our day holds for us and what we have to achieve at work, is it our turn to bring the coffee, what sports the children have to get to tonight, what we will buy for dinner and many other things that form part of our everyday lives.
Insurance seems to be considered by many of us as the evil non-paying necessity. We have to have insurance if we want a loan. If we drive a car the law makes us have insurance. If we work for a particular company we have to have proof of personal insurance.
Too often when I hear conversations about insurance experiences so many people have stories ‘of how insurance never pays’
Actually insurance does pay. It pays to have insurance.
The important thing is to work with a trusted advisor who will have your best interests at heart. A trusted adviser will work on your behalf with the insurance company when the time comes to claim.
A trusted adviser will know which insurance best suits your needs because they will take the time to sit with you and taking the time to learn about you, your job, your family and your wishes for the future.
This is not the only way to arrange insurance for yourself but remember you are not booking a holiday, you are making a commitment to the ones you love to be able to take care of them in the event of a serious loss, whether it be a loss of income because of illness or injury or a loss of loved one.
It is important to take time to deal with your insurance needs and to review them regularly, we NEVER know what is around the next corner in our life…if only we all had a crystal ball.
One person who was very happy that he did not put off until tomorrow is a Professional Truck Driver from Northern Ontario. He arranged personal accident insurance for himself with a recommended broker a number of years ago. Every month he paid for his insurance and never made a claim but he continued to pay it because he knew that if something happened to him either at work or at home he would be left with no income and no way to support his family.
On Dec 21st 2015 4 days before Christmas, he was driving his truck as usual, there was nothing special about this day. He had his load to pick up and drop off as with every other day and like everyone else in his business. It would turn out to be an extremely different day, a life changing day;
His truck slid on the winter road and he veered into the deep snow filled ditch, unfortunately his truck didn’t stop there. It continued forward colliding with a large culvert propelling him and his truck into the air coming to land in the ditch on the other side. Obviously he was rushed to hospital. He had broken his back and sustained two hernias form the impact, it would be a long road to recovery that would include surgery and physiotherapy and a lot of patience, pain and hard work.
I am delighted to say that he is doing fabulously, he still has a long way to go and will most likely never be able to drive a truck again as sitting for any amount time is painful and his body could not withstand the jolting of the truck, but he is happy.
Why is he happy… because he has a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, the burden of providing for his family! He appreciates that the day he signed up for his insurance was one of the best decisions that he has ever made because every month since the accident he has received his benefit payment from the insurance company and will continue to do so while he is unable to work. Do you have insurance?
Answer these questions…
· Do you have enough life insurance, has your family grown, do you want to leave money for loved ones?
· Do you have too much insurance, have you paid off all of your debt and only want enough insurance to cover final expenses?
· Do you have income protection, how will you pay the bills and put food on the table if you can’t work due to illness or injury?
· When did you last speak to your trusted advisor?
Eastbound and Down Loaded up and Trucking,,,,, yep we were but we are not having nearly the fun The Bandit and Snowman had!
Freezing rain starts to fall and the highway is turning into a skating rink there is so much ice on the barbwire fences they look like rail fences and here we are out like Dumb and Dumber looking for a place to get the truck parked, finally near Cheyenne WY there’s a truck stop!
It’s a good thing the road into the truck stop is slanted a little downhill because the truck tires can hardly grip enough to pull the trailer anyway we get in and find a spot and this is going to be home till the ice is gone!
Since neither of us really knows anything about living on the road we are getting really stressed with the job the truck and each other, I don’t care how much two people care for each other truck cabs get really small after a week or so and the old General with its 27” Coffin bunk was not exactly spacious . We were still sitting there the next morning when a couple we’d met at Little America truck stop came in they had left just after us and were loaded light, they said they got stuck on the highway because the truck could not get traction and they too had no chains.
We head out again the roads are good and we are going to run team and get this trip done, lol.
Everything goes ok until we get almost to Omaha we hear a noise from under the hood we get off and check under the hood the fan is loose, this truck had a switch that could be used to shut off the fan so we did that and got into a truck stop where we called our Boss, he called a tow and also got us set up in a MOTEL ROOM!!! It was not 4 stars but it seemed like a palace after the truck, we were there for 3 days because we have a Canadian truck and all the nuts and bolts are metric and back then if you broke down in the U.S they would have to order parts in, usually by bus!
Finally we are rolling again heading for New Jersey, I had a bit of experience running in that area from my first border crossing job but I learned over the years that every trip to the Eastern Seaboard can be a whole new thing.
We find the customer and get unloaded and the boss tells us we have to wait while he finds us a load the truck stops in N.J were not first class back then no FJ’s or Petro’s, so we parked at The Sandman (it’s long gone) and waited, and waited, finally the next morning we have a load to pick up going to Buffalo, NY. We’ve been on the road almost 3 weeks
The load we picked up was a slip sheet load that required a special clamp on the fork lift to unload it another learning curve, the customer doesn’t have one so we are expected to hand bomb it off, we did . The good old days again, the saying education is expensive is so true.
We’re finally unloaded and call in, the Boss says he’s got a load of waste paper to pickup in Buffalo that’s going to Atlantic Packaging in Ajax at least we’re going to be home for Christmas.
I figured if I ever got back from this trip this was going to be it for me NO MORE LONG HAULING!
Ya right! The Boss calls the day after boxing day, he needed a load taken from Brampton to Houston TX and he said he had a reload right back out of Lake Charles , LA and he even had a truck with a bigger bunk a Western Star this trip has got to be better it’s all south bound. So we pack up and away we go. This was in my “Know nothing and trust everyone phase”.
Well we learned this dispatcher had been a Super Trucker (according to him) but his sense of direction and distance left much to be desired, I think he was the originator of the “but it’s only this far on the map”.
The load was going to Beaumont TX not Houston
This was Dec 1985 and there wasn’t all the truck stops that’s available now plus we had to call in from a payphone at least twice a day.
We got unloaded in Beaumont and went to the Spindle Top truck stop at Vidor to get reload info,,,, and we get put on the “Call back in an hour plan” its Dec 30/1986 and I’m beginning to think we’re stuck here till after New Years! The next day about noon we finally get the word that “Sorry no load until the day after New year’s day” It New Years eve and Gilley’s night club at Pasadena is having a big celebration. I decided the boss owes us something for this screw up we did our job when he couldn’t get anyone else so I told my Partner I’m going to call Gilley’s and see about tickets , it’s now mid afternoon and I didn’t think there would be any hope of getting tickets and I thought can I even afford them? I called, yes there were lots of tickets and they would hold a pair for us, the tickets were $10.00 each! Yes we could come in jeans, as the lady said “Honey, this is Texas everyone wears jeans” There was parking for tractor trailers too! We are going!! My partner is very unsure about running almost 90 miles one way out of route, I said “What’s he going to do? Fire us?” The truck was full of fuel and we could run 1500 miles on the over sized tanks so even if I was charged for the extra fuel we used it would be worth it! I was lead driver so my decisions would not affect him.
We get there about 6pm,park the rig, get supper at the Mexican buffet and go across the parking lot to the huge Quanset hut that is Gilley’s dance hall, it seats 4500 people and you have to check your guns at the door,,, yes there were lots of different kinds of hand guns, they were tagged just like a coat check.
I needn’t have worried about my mode of dress, there was even 2 older women there with rollers in their hair, (they took them out when the music started) and guess what band was playing Mickey Gilley imagine getting to see him for $10.00 ! It would have cost over $100 at home for New years eve.
It was amazing to see over 4000 Texans all going around the floor doing the Cotton Eyed Joe or the Texas 2step just as smooth as could be!
We even met a driver from Toronto. This was a once in a lifetime thing because a few years later the club burned down and is no more.
The next day we head back toward Lake Charles, LA to wait to pick up the load of rice.
We find a place to park and go into a restaurant to have breakfast, all of a sudden there is a big shot gun Blast someone is upset because a truck is parked in front of the restaurant on the street and this guy who doesn’t want the transport truck parked there went out and shot the front tire off the tractor, he came back into the restaurant and one of the waitresses took the shotgun away from him and called the police, the truck is sitting out there with the front tire blown off the driver is from Barrie and he was in having breakfast waiting to pick up at the same place we are loading. Thankfully the shooter didn’t shoot the rad or the truck would have been shut down for days waiting to get parts.
The police came and got the shooter, the driver calls a tire repair to get his truck wheel changed and we are all on our way to load.
Apparently the rice plant we loaded at was where Sammy Kershaw worked before his music career took off.
Because we did not have much OTR experience we were stuck with companies like this who ran a few rental trucks that were in disrepair and did not have a base of freight customers and basically just went day to day hunting low paying loads or buying extra loads that other companies or load brokers were trying to get rid of.
Even buying fuel was a challenge because the boss would only send us fuel money by com cheque and often there was no one on at night if anything happened we were on our own.
Sometimes I look back and I think we were just like Dumb and Dumber out here, we have almost 2 months OTR experience now but we still don’t really have any real idea of how to live on the road.
Back then it was here’s the keys and the load has to be where ever by a certain day!
Things were going pretty well on the way back,,,,, until my partner had his wallet stolen at one of the truck stop payphones, he had laid it down on the shelf while he talked and someone scooped it, all I.D is gone except for his border card he kept on the truck visor!
Anyway we get back home and he spends a couple of days getting Temporary copies of D.L and I.D and we get another load going from Brampton to Dallas and Houston. This is going to be a good trip its Friday afternoon and we have delivery Monday morning in Dallas and then 147 miles to Houston get unloaded by noon reload in Orange TX and right back to Brampton,,,,,, but isn’t there something about “The best laid plans’’? Well that little saying was about to come back to haunt us.
Friday evening we pull up to the U.S booth at Detroit MI and the officer has us park and come inside, he’s questioning my partners temporary I.D and D.L and this officer is on a power trip, he won’t let us go back to Canada he won’t let me go with the load we just have to sit on the bench till he decides what to do with us!
And we sat there ALL NIGHT LONG till his supervisor came in at 8 a.m Saturday morning!
The Super asked our guy why we are there and gets the rundown about temp I.D and then he asked about me he was told I was good to go but hadn’t released me for some unknown reason.
So I could go but my buddy had to go home! I decided to do the run because this is still only about the 3rd trip for this company and after the 3 week disaster with the first one I’m still trying to get things right.
Now I’ve been awake basically since Friday morning and I’m still at Detroit!
I get my release and I’m gone! I am so tired and angry but hey I’ve got a pretty fast truck and I can do this (besides I need to get a pay cheque ) I stop at the Tiki truck stop and get my big thermos filled and with a couple naps I reach Little Rock AR at about 3am Monday morning and I need fuel. I call in no one is answering the phone, I ask for wakeup call (knock on the door) for 7a.m. The fuel jockey came and woke me up at 7 (remember when they used to pump your fuel?) I go in to call my dispatch and the lady at the fuel desk says “No offense Hon but I’ve seen dead people who look better then you do right now, you need rest”
I told her I had to get unloaded in Dallas before they closed and it’s over 300 miles!
I made it and got unloaded but now I can’t make Houston but I will go and park at the gate and unload in the morning. Now that I have some extra time I can stop for a shower and a good meal and still get to customer and have a real rest before unloading in the morning,,,, besides running solo and sleeping single is kinda nice!
We drivers had to find our own directions back then, we called on pay phones and talked to our customers and wrote the directions down.
I got to Houston about 7pm and had a long sleep right until the dock foreman knocked on my door about 7 a.m.
He thought I might have a problem getting on the dock because it was set up for cabovers and I was driving a long nosed Western Star! Thank God the trailer was only 48’ .
Anyway it took me 45 min to get on the dock because I only had a few feet to maneuver and I was backing in between 2 trailers, I bumped the dock plate and run in to see if I’m square, the guy is standing there looking at the back of my trailer, he say’s “You know that’s just about perfect,,,, now if the doors were open!” I had been pulling trailers with roll up doors and had a brain lapse, lol. But I repositioned and got unloaded, picked up my reload in Orange TX , put the Star in the wind and I was back at my Brampton yard Thursday just after lunch!
If I had known what I was doing I would have been worried, but our log books were sort of an afterthought back then so everything was good.
Things are starting to go downhill with me and this company and I’m finding out I’m not cut out for the team thing I’m thinking about moving on and trying to get on with a better company.
I decide to stay till spring so I don’t leave my partner hanging during his first winter because he has even less experience then I do so we struggle forward trying to learn as much as we can about OTR hauling.
The company never offered any training what we learned was from other drivers who sometimes didn’t know the real story either so it was just hoping for the best day by day.
We didn’t even know about axel weights although I had driven local for a few years I had never had to worry about that and it was never mentioned.
We were pulled in at a scale somewhere in U.S mid west and the scale master said the load was overweight on an axel we had no idea what to do!
The scale master couldn’t believe that we didn’t understand about “shifting axels “ or had never been told about weight distribution, the alternative was to pay the fine and go on,,,,, or he could ask this other driver who happened to be listening to our predicament if he would go and show us how to shift the trailer bogies so that’s what we did
This stranger took the time to explain how to unpin and slide the wheels and how much weight each hole would move I learned more from him then from all my time OTR so far!
This is why as long as I long hauled whenever I saw a driver shifting bogies I always offered to help.
But I need to move on so I get a road test with a company hauling containers to Red Hook and Port Elizabeth NJ.
The thought “out of the frying pan into the fire” was running through my mind for some reason.
Effective ways of coping with stress is important. The Trucking life is challenging but many drivers and spouses are very happy.
How do they do it?
Well, it’s got a lot to do with their attitude and outlook on life and the fact that they are compatible to a certain extent with the trucking lifestyle. Don’t worry however, if you find that you are not compatible or no longer compatible for the lifestyle and you need ways to cope.
Anyone can learn ways to more effectively handle stress. Here are some ways to de stress that works and doesn’t require drugs. Perfect for truckers or people who need to function unmedicated.
In a trucker’s life. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to get relief for stress
Exercise more By now you know that exercise is a universal remedy to help with all types of health problems. It is also good for de stressing. Exercise is meant to eliminate stress. Stress prepares the body to act. Fight or flight is your bodies state as a result of being highly stressed. To do either is burning energy (exercise) of course you and I both know we don’t actually respond this way because we don’t live in the jungle where most of our natural responses and instincts are necessary for survival. Stress causes the release of Cortisol which negatively affects the immune system (and can also instigate depression). These toxins float around terrorizing your body until they dissipate. Exercise reduces the presence of the by products of stress and so it helps you manage and normalize. Now go for a 20 minute power walk.
Deep Breathing is Relief for Stress You can be anywhere and relax, calm your mind by concentrating on slow and deep breathing. Or you can pretend you are a Yoga master or something………sitting in an upright posture perfect position but with shoulders relaxed and with your eyes closed. You will breathe in deeply through your nose holding it for a 5 count or so and then breathe out through your mouth. Breathe from your belly. While doing this for a minute or 2, you will focus on your breathing and NOT the issues that have stressed you out. I always say make positive meaningful statements to yourself while you are doing this if focusing on your breathing doesn’t keep you from thinking about the stress inducer. Deep breathing introduces more oxygen into your system which helps your body to be more effective. It too helps removes toxins from your body.
Take power naps to relieve stress – Yep, studies show that a 15 – 30 minute or 1 hr sleep sessions, the time frame for benefits depends on the person, in the middle of the day or in the middle of the night, had serious health benefits. Reducing stress is only one of them. Now we both know that you won’t always be able to do this but is you can, there you go.
Laugh at your problems to reduce stress– Laughter is a great way to cope with stress. It releases endorphins and boosts your immune system while also reducing those toxins in your body. Have your favorite comedian’s CD on hand with a finger on the play button.
Choose to let your worries sit on the back burner for the time you will pop your CD in and live in the moment for that period of time as if no problem exists.
We are NOT talking about developing a permanent state of denial, lol.
Do Something To Help Someone Else – Shift your focus. Help someone else with challenges that they are facing. Sometimes people just need a good conversation or maybe an outside voice to chime in on a situation. When you take the focus off yourself and instead on trying to help someone else with their problems, it will make you feel better long enough to put your issue in proper perspective. Often we see what we are facing as larger than it really is. If we properly assess the situation and instead of worrying move on to figuring out what the next step is in order to keep moving forward, we will experience less stress.
Take a Break – Get away for a week or a weekend. Just you and Father Time and perhaps a camera or video recorder. No log books allowed! If you can’t get away, a perfect way of coping with stress is simply making a conscious effort to slow down and pay attention to the small things around you.I mean, pay attention to details. In particular the beauty of things in nature. We take a lot for granted in this fast paced society and miss out on the true beauty and magnificence all around us every day.
Watch the birds glide, the ducks swim or just sit back in the shade of a beautiful autumn leaved tree and pick a cloud to track across the sky.
Other ways to de stress
These all help with coping with stress. But you will need to do them long term and they should be a way of life. Don’t want to hear, “I can’t do that as a trucker”. It’s a lie.
