Warning: doughnuts, alcohol don’t mix

OK, so I must admit, I have this fascination with doughnuts. Besides my love for eating them, my co-workers also send me news stories involving the sugary treats.So, for nearly a year now, I have been watching with interest the case of the man who led police on a high-speed chase in a stolen Krispy Kreme doughnut truck.Warren G. Whitelighting – yes, that’s his last name – was sentenced this week

CYA and know your PSA

I’m watching my behind these days, because something may be sneaking up on me in a blind spot.That something could be a problem with my prostate, a walnut-sized gland in my abdomen just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It helps control urination and helps in sexual activity.You guys know that gnarly test the doc does with his finger when you have your physical, the one he apologizes

Hey, there’s a human in here

Have you noticed how often someone comes up with a “brilliant” idea to solve the problems in the trucking industry and forgets that people, human beings, actually drive those trucks?We’ve been down this road with hours of service regs and idling restrictions, and now the California Air Resources Board is moving toward mandating fuel-efficient retrofits.The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers

In my humble opinion

If you haven’t registered to vote by now, you just may be too late, even if you know someone from ACORN, the community activist group that’s been in the news because of alleged voter registration fraud. You may still be spouting hot air about the candidates and the issues, but when it comes to making a difference, you’ve blown it for the next four years. Remember: The trucking industry is

Our truck is better than yours

For quite a while now, there’s been a bit of a tit for tat going on between two OEMs in the trucking industry – Daimler Trucks and Navistar International.The two companies have waged an advertising-public relations war about which company has the most aerodynamic truck in the industry – the Freightliner Cascadia or the International ProStar.I would be lying if I didn’t say that it’s been a bit

Pulp fiction

This is a short post but a point I really wanted to make.Reading news headlines here Friday, Oct. 10, oil prices have dipped below $80 a barrel, settling lower than we’ve seen oil at since September 2007.It’s hard not to remember June and July, when Goldman Sachs analysts and others were quoted saying oil would likely hit $200, and that $500 per barrel wasn’t out of the question.I won’t pretend

Programmable speed limiters for cars

Let’s face it, if there was technology out there to help encourage teens to be safer drivers, truckers would likely be among those in favor of it.Ford Motor Co. has introduced new technology called MyKey that includes a speed limiter setting for the engine of certain models. MyKey can be programmed to limit the top road speed of the Focus model to a maximum of 80 mph.They say it will curb road

Sorting reality from pie-in-the-sky

Last week, HQ was buzzing like a beehive. From Oct. 1-4 the OOIDA Board of Directors convened, and it was nonstop meetings. I’ve always been a fly on the wall at these affairs, covering the whole enchilada for Land Line Magazine.Last year, I was elected to serve as an alternate to our employee board member, so now I’m at the table. It’s a different perspective. I’ve been here for 21 years and I

There really is ‘power in one’

Just how important are you? Odds are that a loved one would say you are mighty important. No argument here. There’s also no argument that your importance carries a great deal of significance for politicians and advocates/opponents of ballot initiatives./p>While the statement on voting might seem to be a pie-in-the-sky notion, there have been countless occasions when it has proven to be true. A

Let them eat doughnuts

New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri says that increasing the toll rates on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway in 2009 will cost the average highway user less than half the price of a strawberry doughnut.Speaking at a public hearing on proposed toll increases for two of the nation’s busiest toll roads, Kolluri compared the increase to a doughnut he recently bought