The ability to drive a truck is only a part of a successful trucker’s knowledge and skill set. Having an accurate knowledge regarding the laws that help regulate the trucking industry also benefit those working within it. These laws encompass safety, security and taxes, with oversight coming from organizations such as the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Internal Revenue Service.

Aviation and Transportation Security Act
With an increased importance placed on transportation security, ATSA served as groundwork for the Transportation Security Administration. TSA operates within DOT and and has oversight for programs specific to the trucking industry, such as First Observer Training and the Hazmat Motor Carrier Security Action Item Training Program. These training programs help truck drivers maintain awareness for suspicious activity, with SAIT specifically for truckers transporting hazardous materials.

The necessity of legislation like ATSA and of programs stemming from it has been affirmed by security analysts and transportation safety experts. A major disruption in the trucking industry as a result of breached security could lead to an upheaval in the U.S. economy and culture.

Regulation 395.3
DOT established Regulation 395.3, which became effective on January 1, 2004. This ruling imposes three basic limits on truck drivers: after driving 11 hours, a driver must get 10 hours of rest; after 14 hours of being on duty, which may or may not include 11 hours of driving, a driver must get 10 hours of rest; and a driver may not work more than 60 hours within seven consecutive days, nor 70 hours within eight consecutive days.

Regarding the 14-hour “on duty” maximum, the 14-hour work period may reset itself after receiving two hours of rest in the truck’s sleeper. As for the seven- or eight-day work period, this period may reset itself after 34 hours off duty.

Section 274(n)(3)
The IRS reports that trucking associations have long lobbied for a provision allowing a 100 percent deduction of meal costs from their yearly tax liability. While still lacking this provision, truckers have seen an increase in allowed meal deductions since December 2000. According to Section 274(n)(3) in the U.S. Tax Code, truckers were allowed meal deductions of 80 percent for tax years 2008 and 2009.

This ruling aids truckers facing hourly limitations from DOT Regulation 395.3, which prevents them from earning as much money as in the past, thus having less money for meals while on the road.

More than a month after a Dodge Charger slammed into and killed an Amarillo truck driver standing by his rig on Lakeside Drive, deputies booked a 28-year-old man into the Potter County Detention Center on a state jail felony in the incident, records show.

Willie Edward Adams was arrested and booked into the facility Friday on a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the Sept. 13 death of Rudolfo Telles, 67, of Amarillo. Adams posted $5,000 bond the same day and was released.

Records indicating why officials charged Adams with criminally negligent homicide were unavailable Monday.

If convicted of the charge, Adams faces 180 days to two years in prison.

About 8:25 a.m. Sept. 13, Adams lost control of the Dodge Charger he was driving at 100 S. Lakeside Drive and struck Telles and Jimmy Soliz, 50, police said. Telles died at the scene.

Soliz was transported to a hospital with a leg injury after the incident. His condition is unavailable.

Telles, who had four daughters and was raising a grandson with his wife, and Soliz were standing outside Telles’ Mack truck, waiting to turn their rigs onto Southeast First Avenue and unload at Attebury Grain, family members said at the time. Adams’ Charger struck a left front tire on Telles’ Mack truck, then struck Telles, police said following the accident.

Telles had been working for Amarillo-based Soliz Trucking for about a year, said Jessie Soliz Jr., whose father owns the company.

Jessie Soliz Jr. said Soliz Trucking hauls grain to and from Amarillo and its surrounding cities and regularly uses Attebury’s elevator station on Lakeside.

Tracking United Parcel Service deliveries to your home is relatively easy and does not require much time. UPS, according to its website, prides itself in being the “world’s largest package delivery company and a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services.” The UPS website is a one-stop site where packages may easily be tracked.

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Go to www.ups.com and select your location. Once you select your location, click on the blue arrow button to enter the site.
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Click on the “Tracking” tab at the top of the screen. Once you click on the tab, the drop-down menu will show several options. Choose the “Track shipments” tab.
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Enter the tracking number in the box provided and click the blue “Track” button that has an arrow on it pointing to the right.
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There are also other ways to track a shipment to your home if you do not have the tracking number. The UPS website allows you to track the shipment to your home by using the email address that was provided at the time the delivery was processed. You may also have tracking information sent to your email address or to your cellular phone device.

Travel during the Civil War was very slow. Railroads weren’t regulated, so frequent transfers were needed in some areas. Generally, trains and ships provided the fastest transportation but, in some locations, traveling via these methods was impossible if the enemy had control of the ports, depots or railroads. Even traveling by horse was dangerous in some areas.

Type
There were three main types of transportation during the Civil War. The main method of travel was by cutters on the waterways. This is how both sides transported the vast majority of goods. The second method of travel was by train. There were three types of train used during the Civil War. Supply trains transported goods. Passenger trains were used by civilians and military troops. Medical trains were used to transport the sick or injured. The third method of travel was by horse, sometimes with a buggy or carriage. Horses were used by civilians and the military. Buggies and carriages were used mostly by civilians.

Misconceptions
Many people believe that railroads provided the main transportation during the Civil War. This is untrue. Waterways, such as the Mississippi River, were the main way to travel. Railroads were generally used to move from one large city to another or to go to smaller cities along the railroad. Waterways, however, have numerous channels and outlets that could be used to get to locations not accessible by railroad. Ships, such as cutters, enabled both sides to transport supplies to troops easier than railroads did.

Significance
Control of the waterways and railroads played a big part in the Civil War. One of the main objectives of military maneuvers was to gain control of the railroads and ports because railroads and ships were the only ways to haul large amounts of goods over a long distance. Controlling the railroads and ports was an effective way to stop supplies from reaching enemy territory while allowing supplies into home territory.

Identification
All of the railroads during the Civil War were made of iron. Most of the railroads in the Northern states used rails that were 4 feet 8 ½ inches apart. In the Southern states, however, the railroads varied. Because of this, the Union military was able to transport more goods and soldiers using fewer transfers than the Confederate military. While both sides relied heavily upon ships to transport goods, Union ships were clearly superior as they were made of new materials. Confederate ships were made, and fixed, with melted, used metal from the homes of Confederate sympathizers.

Risk Factors
One of the major risk factors to any mode of travel during the Civil War was coming into contact with enemy troops. Locomotives and passenger trains, for example, could be intercepted by troops fighting for the other side. If this happened, any valuable goods, including food rations, would be confiscated by the troops. Just as dangerous was traveling by horse and buggy over any long distance. Horses were desperately needed by both sides, so these were often confiscated, leaving the traveler stranded, and many times injured if they tried to stop the confiscation.

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