Odds in favor of Mexican drug cartels

One of the biggest buzzwords in business today is “efficiency.” Everybody wants to get things done faster with less work.The U.S. Border and Customs Patrol program on the Mexican border is no exception. A recent Associated Press article called into question the program’s effectiveness on security.Years ago, the agency launched its C-TPAT program – Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. The

It’s called an off switch

If more people knew where the off switch was on their cell phones and other personal devices, perhaps we wouldn’t be having this discussion about distracted driving.That might be a bit of an exaggeration. Even without cell phones, driver distraction would still make for a worthy topic. Nonetheless, the phones and other communications devices are near and dear to us, and they are here to stay.Let’

New York shortchanged by elected officials

By now you may have heard about a recent report that showed roads and bridges in New York state are getting only one-third of the money they should be receiving.That’s right. And while it’s no revelation that states raid one fund to help plug leaks elsewhere, it doesn’t make it any easier for the public – in this case, residents of the Empire State – to stomach such ghastly figures.According to a

A refreshing change: TV tackles real trucking issues

All too often, it’s the fiery crash that grabs up media headlines and leaves audiences with an irrational fear or dislike for heavy trucks that share their roadways.While crashes and fatalities do occur and are tragic, the viewer rarely gets to hear stories about other trucking issues or from the men and women behind the wheel.Every so often, someone gets it right. Recently, that someone was Dan

In lieu of flowers

Trucker Larry Works, a longtime OOIDA member with a larger-than-life personality, died earlier this week.Larry’s widow, Chris Works, told me that truckers and friends were welcome to make a donation to the American Lung Association in lieu of flowers.I got to know Larry two years ago, when he called Land Line to talk about his 2006 arrest at a Joplin, MO truck stop.As Land Line detailed in this

Sniper stalked truckers in 1953

In 1953, a roving sniper was on the loose terrorizing communities, shooting people to death at random. All the shots allegedly were fired from the same weapon. Detectives frantically pursued the killer, questioned suspects, analyzed clues, and followed countless leads.The story dominated the national media, which called the shootings “an unprecedented wave of fear.” The story sounds a lot like

Pass me a grape Nehi …

Truck writers are a nutty bunch. I got an e-mail today from Rufus Sideswipe, the gearjammin’ imaginary pal of Land Line columnist Bill Hudgins. This e-mail was a copy of a note sent to another Land Line columnist, Dave Sweetman.Rufus, it seems, read Sweetman’s column in the October Land Line and liked it a lot. If you haven’t read it, it’s called “Blue Highways,” and I agree it’s one of Sweetman’

SCR comes to cars in ‘Oz’

With all the hammering the diesel engine industry – which in the U.S. means trucking – has taken over emissions, it’s nice to see that attention is turning toward four-wheeled emitters. At least, it is in Australia (aka Oztralia or Oz), where Mazda is testing a car that uses SCR to reduce greenhouse gases in exhaust.Selective catalyst reduction – SCR – is emerging as a popular choice for diesel