Coronavirus. It’s something few Americans gave much of a thought about while ringing in 2020 on New Year’s Eve. Just three short months later, it’s all Americans can think about. As nurses and doctors many the front lines in this fight and American citizens practice social distancing, wash our hands, and hunker down to ride out this storm, it’s truckers who are among the unsung heroes delivering critical medical supplies and essential goods to hospitals and grocery stores across the country.

As the world tilts and shifts for everyone across the country, citizens have flocked to grocery stores to stock up on essentials. Items everyone takes for granted, such as hand soap, sanitizer, toilet paper, and even food are suddenly in short supply on retail shelves. It has been up to America’s truck drivers to step up to the plate to deliver the home run for the American people.

Now, the American Trucking Associations, ATA, which is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry, is calling on Americans to salute the men and women who are working long hours, pulling extra shifts, and travelling extra miles across the country.

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Companies in the U.S. are pushing for, or required to mandate, staff members to stay home while coronavirus cases continue climbing. Unfortunately, along with healthcare providers, service workers and other individuals with at-risk jobs, a common job title in the U.S. where employees can’t work from their home is fleet drivers.

As public health officials and medical professionals work diligently to slow down the spread of this virus, truck drivers have to work 24/7 to deliver food, critical medical supplies and other essentials to grocery stores and hospitals nationwide. In fact, around 1.8 million individuals in the U.S. are truck drivers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And, the job calls for truck drivers to travel all over the country, and come in contact with shipped goods from overseas, which can not only impact them, but everyone they come into contact with. So, what can truck drivers do to stay protected from the coronavirus?

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In an unprecedented response to the national emergency declaration made by President Trump, the U.S. Department of Transportation is relaxing the hours-of-service regulations for drivers transporting emergency supplies to relieve pressure on hospitals and retailers.

The hours-of-service rules have been in place for 82 years. During that time, they have never been suspended on the federal level, though there have been instances, in response to hurricanes and other natural disasters, for instance, when states have temporarily suspended those regulations. Read the rest of this entry »

Operating a fleet isn’t cheap. With the quest for drivers becoming even more competitive, it is growing costlier still. There are things you can do, though, that will help you save money while operating your fleet and even growing it. These are some of the top things you’ll want to do to keep your costs down while meeting the needs of your customers and keeping quality drivers on staff.

End Idling

It’s a huge expense for your fleet in wasted fuel, does nothing good for the planet, causes unnecessary engine ware, and substantially eats into your profits. According to the Department of Energy, idling costs fleets up to $20 per day, per truck when diesel runs $2.50 per gallon (when was the last time you’ve seen that price for diesel?). The more trucks you have in your fleet, the more idling can cost you. Consider investing in battery-powered or electrically wired APUs (auxiliary power units) for long-haul drivers to maintain climate control and some electrical devices.

Route for Fuel Efficiency

Fuel efficient routing can cut hours and miles off your trips for long haul truckers. Routing more efficiently for in-town drivers can help you schedule fewer drivers to cover the same routes. It can save you a tremendous amount of money and fuel if your drivers follow their prescribed routes. Which means you must also have a method in place, like GPS tracking to help plan those efficient routes and to ensure your drivers are sticking to them.

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Bad driving habits drive up fleet costs in big ways. When this happens, your entire organization pays. These are some of the bad driver habits that can rob your entire organization of profits and growth.

Wastes Fuel, Driving Costs Higher

One of the big cost factors is that bad driver habits waste fuel. These habits can cost your fleet an enormous amount of money each year and include the following types of behaviors by drivers:

• Speeding
• Excessive idling
• Aggressive accelerations
• Distracted driving
• Hard braking

Finding a way to discourage these types of behaviors among drivers and adopting policies that explicitly discourage them is the fastest way toward improving your bottom line year after year.

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