Healthy Trucking Kiosks Offer Innovative Advertising Opportunities
Quote of the Day
Today we give you not one but several quotes, all from the legendary British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was known as a great political leader and statesmen, but his wonderful command of the English language allowed him to craft some glorious insults, such as these gems from an era when wit (rather than 4-letter words) ruled:
* “He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”
* “A modest little person, with much to be modest about.”
* George Bernard Shaw to Churchill: “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend … if you have one.” Churchill in response: “Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second … if there is one.”
* An exchange between Churchill & Lady Nancy Astor after a tense dinner party: She said, “Winston, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea.” Churchill’s response: “Nancy, if you were my wife, I’d drink it.”
The Drivers’ Health Correlation Problem
By Barry Pawelek Sr.
More than 75 percent of trucking companies have had one or more of their drivers involved in an accident, but today I’m not talking about accidents involving company equipment. Today, I’m talking about accidents involving the driver’s body.
In one of our surveys for 2007, Walk A Mile America followed three drivers who have had accidents. Two were overweight by 150 pounds or more; the third driver was of normal weight according to government health and wellness standards.
One of the overweight drivers came out of his truck, slipped on wet pavement and went down on his shoulder. $150,000 dollars later, the doctor’s report said that if the driver wasn’t so fat, this would have been a normal shoulder fracture. Instead, the company paid for a compound, muscle-ripping, disabling lifetime shoulder injury. See the correlation?
On the Road to Quit Smoking
Some 50 percent of over-the-road truckers smoke cigarettes, compared to about 21 percent of the general population, according to one report. Smoking causes more deaths than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined, says the American Cancer Society. Because it adds more than $75 billion to annual spending on health care, companies have an incentive to get workers to kick the habit.
Many employers have begun paying for programs to help workers quit smoking. In fact, one-third of companies with 200 or more workers offer smoking cessation as part of their benefits package. Employers offering such programs spend about $900 to give a participant free nicotine patches and phone sessions with counselors. The investment more than pays for itself, since the typical smoker generates $16,000 or more in medical bills over a lifetime.
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Drug and Alcohol Test Clearinghouse
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves has urged Congress to authorize and fund a centralized clearinghouse for positive drug and alcohol testing results of commercial motor vehicle drivers to ensure that motor carrier employers are aware of previous positive test results during the hiring process.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Graves said such a clearinghouse will improve the industry’s ability to keep alcohol and drug abusers off the road and improve safety on the nation's roadways.
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My Point: Take Advantage of Economic Downturn
Marvin Shefsky
- Publisher
The trucking industry, especially those responsible for recruiting and retaining drivers, is witnessing something we haven’t seen in 15 or 20 years: diminished demand for drivers. The nation’s “sagging” economy – which is either “slowing down,” “experiencing a downturn, “on the verge of recession” or “in recession” depending on the view of your favorite economist– has apparently done what the collective trucking industry could not do: solve the dreaded driver shortage crisis (at least on a temporary basis).
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Drivers Sound Off
Would you want your kids to follow in your footsteps and become truck drivers?
Number of Women Drivers on the Rise
During World War II, thousands of American women worked as truckers when men were called on to fight. Once the soldiers returned home, the number of women drivers fell sharply. Today, however, women are making a comeback.
WIT Encourages Women to Join Trucking Industry
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Ellen Voie |
The nation’s number of women truck drivers has risen steadily over the last 25 years, from 84,000 in 1983 to 182,000 in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As another article in this issue of Inside Trucking Online points out, the increase in female drivers is partly a result of the driver shortage, but even more than that, it is recognition on the part of carriers that women make good drivers.
To learn more about Over the Road and Pro Trucker and how to put our team to work on your driver recruitment advertising needs, call our advertising sales team at 800-878-0311 or go to: www.otrprotrucker.com.
