’Tis the season

An effort in Washington state expected to draw consideration during the 2008 regular legislative session could lead to truckers and other drivers reaching into their wallets more often while traveling in the state.Key legislators at the statehouse say charging a fee to highway users isn’t too far down the road. They want to advance legislation to the governor that would create a framework for

What happens in your Vega …

Because we are a car-oriented culture, the line between home and car continues to blur.We’re already seeing cars wired up for Web surfing and plumbed for portable toilets; our mobile sound systems are often better than what we have at home; and, with vans and SUV models whose rear seats fold down, it’s not inconceivable that some Los Angelinos may soon be power napping while stuck in cross-state

A double standard?

By now, you may have heard about the journalists in Quebec, Canada, who witnessed provincial Transportation Minister Julie Boulet’s limo driver breaking various speed laws following their departure from a press conference concerning speed.If Boulet is going to target speeders – you gotta love the irony – the transportation minister needs to be held to a high standard.She has apologized and has “

Read this before heading out into the holiday fray

For many consumers, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the day to start shopping for the loved ones on their Christmas lists. And, of course, just about everyone has to make a trip or two down the toy aisle.Toys are big selling items in truck stops. For truckers far from home, who can resist buying a toy while you are waiting to pay for fuel?However, you might want to do some research to make sure

Hot fuel report right on the money

This is a tip of the hat to television reporter Bob Segall and WTHR-TV Channel 13 in Indianapolis.Segall recently presented a report on how the temperature of fuel affects the amount of fuel consumers receive at the pump. If you’ve been playing along at home, you know the issue as “hot fuel” and that consumer groups have filed lawsuits against oil companies and retailers to get it corrected.Hot

Don’t tase me bro

Most everyone’s seen the video of a University of Florida student being tasered during an address by John Kerry. It’s synonymous with the phrase, “don’t tase me bro,” which Andrew Meyer yelled before screaming in agony as electric current flowed through his body.One clip of the scene is available on YouTube.Tasers, stun-guns and the like have attracted much media attention in recent years.

Gauged your molecules today?

I’ve been reading a fascinating book called “The World Without Us,” in which author Alan Weisman addresses the question: What would happen to the world if all us humans suddenly vanished?Answering that question requires considerable examination of what the world is like today. In a chapter that makes truck emissions seems like baby’s breath, Weisman explores the changes that about 50 years of

Forrest Lucas, self-made man

If you’re a motorsports fan – drag racing, dirt track, off-road, boat racing, tractor pulling – you’ve noticed the Lucas Oil logos plastered everywhere.If you surf the speed and sport channels, you might think they are the Lucas Oil Channels.If you’re an NFL fan, you’ll soon be hearing about Lucas Oil Stadium, the new home of the Indianapolis Colts, now under construction.The Lucas in Lucas Oil

Lesson learned

Don’t let skepticism get in the way of finding the truth.I admit I was a little skeptical – and I think others in the newsroom were as well – when I pitched a story in our morning meeting based on a phone call I received from a member who wanted to get a special “message out” to fellow drivers about helping a boy with cancer who wanted to set a Guinness World Record for receiving the most

Coming home to roost

As part of my job here at Land Line, I check different government Web sites to find stories tied to trucking. Occasionally the straight-laced headlines on news released here or here are comical, whether they’re meant to be or not.When I searched this morning and found this story, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.Five workers at the Richard Bolling Federal Building in downtown Kansas City were

Veterans Day

My dad was in the Navy. During World War II, he was in the South Pacific arena. In my life, I have a million stories about Wake Island and, of course, the Battle of Midway.Mom’s brothers were all in the service and her folks put their foot down about her going in, so she moved to Washington, DC, and worked in the Pentagon, processing papers for the Air Force. Her parents owned a truck stop

Who’s watching the watchers?

A news story last week in the San Francisco Chronicle highlights an interesting question of ethics and a potential conflict of interest.The University of California is considering signing a $500 million research contract paid for by BP, one of several big oil companies that continue to force you to make decisions like “should I take my kids to see grandma and grandpa this week or take them to the

Semper Fi!

As a contributor to Land Line, I also have a regular day job as an editor and writer at a publishing company. For the past 18 months or so, a large part of my duties there have involved editing Semper Fi, a bimonthly magazine for the 70,000 members of the Marine Corps League. You can find here.I’m betting that some of you are Marines (there being no such thing as a former Marine), and you’ll be

Beatles connection to trucking

OK. This is too good. I have to blog about this.Paul McCartney was recently photographed smooching with a lovely woman by the name of Nancy Shevell in New York.Before we go running off into the land of catchy Beatle headlines and song lyrics, we’ll tell you that Ms. Shevell’s family owns the Shevell Group, a company that includes LTL carriers and logistics firms such as New England Motor Freight,

It’s a good thing they can’t talk

Anybody with kids knows the panic of your child ratting you out at the worst possible moment.I learned this lesson years ago when I took my niece, Meg, with me to pick up fair results at the county fairground. She was 3 years old at the time and quite the talker.I was driving around the access road – which was restricted to press and fair workers – and some toothless carnie started yelling at me

Going mean and green

The green wave continues to pound mainstream America.NBC’s The Today Show opened with anchors at both poles and the equator this morning to kick off that network’s “Green Week.” Sportscaster Bob Costas, of all people, mentioned the network’s effort to focus attention on global warming during the Sunday Night Football broadcast that was done partially in the dark to save electricity powering the

Scripts ‘R’ Us

With TV and film writers on strike, the networks are looking desperately for new reality shows to fill the potential void – reality being less expensive than fiction out there in LaLaLand.A couple years ago, my friend and ace gearjammer Rufus Sideswipe envisioned a trucking reality show outlined in the March-April issue of Land Line Magazine. He’d just like to let the networks know the concept is

Carey's at it again

I just caught the second edition of Drew Carey’s Reason TV online videos, and I’m apparently not the only one watching. The video took some time to download, with Carey’s Reason TV series drumming up considerable interest (here’s a link to a recent Associated Press article that appeared in the Washington Post).This installment centers on the Reason Foundation’s goal of legalizing medical

The tour comes at you fast

A few posts back, I mentioned the “Life Comes at You Fast” campaign sponsored by Nationwide Insurance. It seems that, when they’re not sitting around calculating the odds of bowling balls dropping out of windows onto sloped lawns, heading downhill until they bowl over an old lady on a walker, whose mobility aid flies through the air and hits a guy in a convertible so that he spins out into a

Hijacked

Unfortunately, truckers are far more familiar with law enforcement inspection blitzes, all in the name of improving highway safety, than four-wheelers.Aside from the Friday and Saturday night DWI checkpoints, you really don’t run into concerted efforts to rein in poor driving of passenger vehicles.There was supposed to be just that in the last week of October – a concerted effort nationally to