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Newbies

Diet Plan for Drivers

While a nice crock pot filled with vegetables, potatoes and chunks of turkey would be a fantastic healthy meal, truck drivers do not get this luxury. They must cope without ovens, blenders, freezers, and many amenities other people use without much thought. In addition, truck drivers are relegated to whatever food happens to await them at a certain mile marker, making food choices very limited. As such, they must be very smart about food preparation on the road in order to stay healthy.

Make smart choices at pit stops
During late hours, fast food chains may be the only option. Chains that offer the most variety of healthy foods are Subway and Quiznos. At sandwich chains, opt for turkey and lean cuts of meat over salami and meatballs. Given the choice between beef or chicken, opt for grilled chicken. Taco Bell’s fresco menu has many popular items like tacos and burritos for fewer calories and fat.

For sides and condiments, skip the mayo and use mustard or ketchup instead. Avoid French fries and ask for sides of fruit or vegetables if available.”How to Buy And Sell Just About Everything” recommends getting junior meals instead of the largest meal, and choosing unsweetened beverages like iced tea, water, or half-lemonade half-water.
Healthy choices at gas stations are sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, bananas, and power bars. Skip the soda and get water.
Making a quick detour to a grocery store is the best possible option. Grocery stores provide fruit, vegetables, salads, soup, juice and sandwiches. Stores also provide healthier alternatives to common snack foods, like dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, as well as baked potato chips instead of regular potato chips.

Pack healthy portable snacks
To curtail cravings on the road, trail mix is a great snack. The book “Perricone Weight Loss Diet” mentions that nuts keep you satiated, but also offer healthy fats and minerals like selenium and magnesium. Raisins provide a sugar boost, which can spike energy levels without causing a sugar crash. Steer clear of trail mix with crystallized fruit; such fruit is loaded with refined sugars. In the book “Lick the Sugar Habit,” author Nancy Appleton explains that refined sugars (table sugar) can contribute to diabetes, constipation and can suppress the immune system. For this reason, abstain from eating too many candy bars or sugar-candy like
Skittles and taffy.Many truckers eat out of sheer boredom. If this is you, pack carrot sticks, celery, and cucumber. These foods are low in calories, but take a long time to chew. Otherwise, chew on gum.

If possible, invest in a refrigerator and microwave
Few trucks provide refrigerators. Getting a dorm room sized refrigerator will enable you to keep produce at a cool temperature, which will make the food last longer (and likely tastier, as few enjoy the taste of a warm apple subjected to humidity).

A microwave allows truckers to make soup quickly and easily, especially since many soups no longer require a can opener. Choose broth-based soups, as they have fewer calories and fat than cream-based soups. If possible, pay a little extra for soup that isn’t instant noodles. Instant noodles are laden with preservatives, MSG, high in fat and calories, and provide little nutrition. Look for soups high in fiber and veggies, like minestrone or black bean soup.

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Newbies Trucker News

Freight Coordinator Job Description

Freight coordinators are administrative professionals who work for shipping, transportation and logistics companies. Though their duties are mostly clerical in nature, some freight coordinators also handle billing functions for warehouses and manage customer orders and pickups. Freight coordinators must juggle a variety of tasks and have a strong attention to detail to perform their jobs effectively.

Function
Freight coordinators are responsible for routing incoming and outgoing communication regarding freight shipments and transportation needs for their companies. These positions usually support freight executives by answering and transferring phone calls and recording and relaying phone messages. Coordinators also process shipping and receiving reports by entering data into spreadsheets and electronic databases. Other freight coordinator duties include stocking office equipment and supplies, filing freight and transportation documentation, distributing and sending out office shipments and acting as a front office receptionist.

Education
Freight coordinators should have a high school diploma and basic office training. Professionals can receive training at a vocational school or community college that offers office administration courses in computer technology, bookkeeping, transcription and project management. Online classes are also available for administrative and secretarial professionals.

Skills
Since freight coordinators occupy primarily administrative roles, employers prefer candidates with strong communication and project management skills. Experience with computer software such as Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook and Access is a plus. Freight coordinators should also possess analytical, time management and customer service skills. Some employers require that freight coordinators have knowledge of accounting standards and principles, as well as previous work experience in the freight industry.

Salary
Freight coordinators earn an average salary of $38,000 according to a May 2010 report published by Indeed.com. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) “Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition,” shipping, receiving and traffic clerks earned a median salary of $27,660 as of May 2008.

Potential
The BLS projects that clerk positions in shipping, receiving and traffic companies will decrease 7 percent from 2008 to 2018. Some of the factors contributing to this decline include the introduction of computer software and document scanning technology, as well as large-scale automation in warehouses that use robotics and machines to collect, process and direct shipments. Although shipping and receiving clerks will experience negative job growth, administrative and secretary positions are expected to increase 11 percent during the same period. Administrative professionals with strong communication and computer experience will have the best job opportunities until 2018.

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Newbies Trucker News

How to Find Know if My MC Number Is Being Used?

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in the United States, any commercial truck used for interstate transit and over the gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 or more pounds is required to have a Motor Carrier Authority (MC) number. This number is issued by the FMCSA and generally takes a driver around ten business days to become active and be issued a MC number. By contacting the FMCSA, you can check to see if anyone else is using your MC number.

1

Gather up your documents including your PIN number. The FMCSA mailed you a PIN number that you will need to check your MC number online.
2

Visit the FMCSA website. Click on “Registration and Licensing” on the top menu. Select “Operating Authority Search” from the drop-down menu.
3

Select “Carrier Search” from the drop-down menu at the top of the page. Add your MC number, legal name and state that you operate out of. Click “Search.”
4

Review the results. Enter your PIN number if necessary. Make sure that your name, address and telephone number is correct. If someone else is using your MC number, some information may be incorrect. You can also see if any other names are tied to your MC number.
5

Call 1-866-637-0635 if you do not have access to the Internet or if the information you found suggests someone else is using your MC number.

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Lifestyle Newbies Trucker News

Department of Transportation Jobs

The Department of Transportation, however, is still hiring in many areas. They have a wide variety of jobs available in most states. They provide a great benefits package and a competitive starting wage. Department of Transportation jobs are typically not at risk of layoff because they are at the core of transportation safety and security.

Types
There are eight basic types of jobs with the Department of Transportation:
1) transportation specialists, who keep track of the operations, facilities and practices of transportation carriers;
2) air traffic controllers, who work out of airports nationwide;
3) engineers, who are needed in almost all parts of the department;
4) rail inspectors, whose jobs are physically challenging but essential;
5) aviation safety inspectors, who inspect all aircraft;
6) motor carrier safety specialists, who inspect large trucks;
7) information technology specialists, who utilize all the latest in technology

Process
To start the process of getting a job with the Department of Transportation, check list of available jobs on the department website. Read the job announcement carefully to make sure you are fully qualified for the position. Then complete the online application provided through the website. You’ll need an electronic copy of your resume and cover letter when filling out the application.

Benefits
The benefits of working for the Department of Transportation include health insurance (including dental and vision), life insurance, disability insurance, retirement, sick leave, holidays, paid vacation, family leave, telecommuting options, transit subsidies, fitness centers, wellness programs, recognition programs, child care facilities, child care and elder care assistance, tuition assistance programs and employee assistance counseling.

Special Circumstances
If you have a disability, submit your resume to the DOT Operating Administration Human Resources office. The Department of Transportation is an equal opportunity employer. You will need to show that your disability will not prevent you from performing the tasks of the position you are applying for.

Considerations
Most jobs with the Department of Transportation require a college degree, special training or specific past work experience. Be sure to read the job requirements and qualifications carefully before applying. Some of the positions require you to be able to travel, and others are location specific.

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Carriers Newbies

Salary and Benefits of a Letter Carrier

There were 324,990 letter carriers in the U.S. in 2009, according to a May 2010 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These federal government employees sort and organize mail for their individual routes. They then deliver the mail using the most efficient routes. Some letter carriers work rural areas in trucks, while many in urban areas deliver mail mostly on foot. These workers must be at least 18 years old and in excellent physical shape. They usually get paid by the hour.

Median and Average Wages

  • The median wage for all letter carriers in the U.S. was $25.90 an hour, or $53,860 per year, according to the May 2010 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average wage was slightly less, at $24.16 per hour or $50,250 per year. The middle half of letter carriers, between the 25th and 75th percentile, earned hourly rates between $22.17 and $26.26, or annual wages that ranged between $46,110 and $54,610.

Average Wages by State

  • Letter carriers earned their highest wages in the District of Columbia at $25.35 per hour, or $52,720 per year. They also earned above-average rates in California, at $25.09 per hour or $52,190 per year, and in Massachusetts, at $24.94 an hour $51,870 per year. These government workers earned closer to average wages in Michigan, at $24.06 per hour or $50,040 per year. Those in Missouri earned slightly less, at $23.52 per hour or $48,930 per year.

Average Wages by Non-Metropolitan Area

  • Letter carriers’ salaries can also vary regionally in more rural areas. For example, those in the Southwestern area of Wyoming earned the highest annual wages of rural carriers, at $25.26 per hour or $52,550 annually, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. The second highest rural hourly rates were in North Central Colorado, at $24.77 or $51,520 per year. Those in North Central Massachusetts earned wages closer to the national average, at $24.13 per hour or $50,190 per year. Postal carriers earned somewhat lower wages in the Eastern region of North Dakota, at $21.14 per hour or $43,970 annually.

Benefits

  • Letter carriers enjoy certain benefits from the United States Postal Service. Most full-time workers receive hospital and life insurance, retirement plans, and paid holidays and vacations. They usually earn time-and-a-half when working overtime, according to July 2011 data from the National Association of Letter Carriers. They also earn premium pay on holidays. Moreover, these mail workers receive 13 days of leave during their first three years of employment, according to the Postal Employee Network. Leave or sick days increase to 20 days after three years, and to 26 days after 15 years. Letter carriers also get tax-free flexible spending accounts for covering out-of-pocket health of day care services.

Job Outlook

  • Jobs for letter carriers are expected to decline 1 percent between 2008 and 2018, according to December 2009 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Automated machines have shortened the time these workers spend sorting mail, which will have a negative impact on jobs. Most job opportunities will be as a result of an increasing population.
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Newbies Trucker News

Calories Burned Driving

Driving in America has become a national pastime. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey found that Americans spend more time driving to work (about 100 hours a year) than they do on vacation (about 80 hours), and 2 out of 10 people polled in an AP-AOL autos poll said they have a name for their car. The good news for those trying to lose weight is that driving also burns calories.


What Is a Calorie?

Health.gov explains that a calorie is a scientific way to measure energy. People burn calories when expending energy, and calories are used to power every function of the body, from respiration to digestion. It takes 3,500 calories over and above what the body uses to gain a pound. Conversely, the body must burn an additional 3,500 over and above what is taken in to lose a pound.

Rate of Caloric Burn

Calories are burned at different rates depending on the weight of the individual. The heavier the individual, the more calories are burned during different activities. A 120-lb. person burns fewer calories than a person weighing 200 lbs. because it requires more energy to move 200 lbs. a given distance than it does to move 120 lbs.

Calories Burned Driving a Car

Driving requires energy. Moving the wheel, using your feet to operate the pedals and turning your head all require calories to power the body. According to CalorieLab.com, on average, a person weighing 150 lbs. will burn about 68 calories an hour driving. A person who weighs 120 lbs. will burn about only 55 calories an hour driving, while a person weighing 220 lbs. will burn about 100.

Variables

Calories burned per hour goes up with certain types of cars and certain types of driving. A 150-lb. person driving a bus, heavy truck or tractor burns about 136 calories an hour, and that same person driving a race car burns about 340 calories an hour. Driving a truck, including loading and unloading, will burn about 374 calories an hour, about the same amount in a Whopper Jr. from Burger King.

Weight Loss and Driving

Unfortunately, truck driving does not lend itself to weight loss. While the number of calories required to drive a truck is higher than those required to drive a car, a study by the Centers for Disease Control shows that 73 percent of truck drivers are overweight and more than 50 percent are obese. This could be because driving long distances can be boring and eating breaks up the monotony. For instance, a Pew Research poll showed that 41 percent of car drivers had eaten a meal while driving in the last year.

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Lifestyle Newbies

How to Use Transportation Expenses as a Tax Deduction

Small business owners who file Schedule C may deduct all business-related transportation expenses. Employees and independent contractors may use their job-related travel as a tax deduction by filing Form 2106. Other types of transportation expenses may be deductible on the forms for which their underlying purposes are deductible.

1
Keep a small notebook or calendar booklet in your glove compartment to enter all deductible automobile travel, including distance traveled, starting and ending odometer readings.

2
Include the purpose of trip and expenses paid for gasoline, oil and maintenance.

3
Check the Instructions for Schedule A to determine the destructibility of your transportation expenses for purposes such as making charitable donations, attending job-related educational programs and going to the doctor or the hospital. Use these related transportation expenses as a tax deduction by including the expenses, according to the applicable instructions, when you take the deduction for the underlying purposes.

Use Schedule C to Deduct Business Transportation Expenses

1

Fill out the information section on your car in Part IV of Schedule C and total your business car and truck expenses on line 9 of Part II.
2

Record other business travel expenses, including train, air, taxi, parking, public transportation and leased or rented vehicles as part of your total for line 24a. This total may include other costs such as lodging.
3

Complete the rest of Schedule C and file it with your Form 1040 to deduct your business transportation expenses.
Use Form 2106 to Deduct Employee Transportation Expenses
1

Complete Parts A through D of Form 2106 to calculate your vehicle expense. You may disregard Parts C and D if you opt to use the standard mileage rate instead of calculating actual expenses.
2

Enter your vehicle expense from line 22 or line 29 at line 1 of Form 2106.
3

Provide the total of all other non-overnight employee transportation costs including parking, tolls, mass transit and train travel on line 2 of Form 2106.
4

Finish filling out Form 2106 and file it with Schedule A and Form 1040 to take your deduction for employee transportation costs.

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Newbies

How to spot flood-damaged trucks

Used truck experts say flood-damaged passenger vehicles are much more common on the market than flood-damaged trucks, but truck customers still should use caution.

Although shoppers should consider if the truck is for sale in an area that’s sustained flood damage, the truck could easily have been taken to another region to sell. Wherever you’re shopping, choosing a reputable used truck dealer is a good first step, say market experts.

One obvious thing to check is if the truck has a salvage title, says Dan Jeske, vice president of purchasing and wholesale for Kansas City-based Arrow Truck Sales. Still, truck owners do not always turn in a flood-damage claim to insurance, he added, in which case it would not have a salvage title. Also, not every state requires vehicle titles to indicate flood damage, says Brittany Senary, a spokeswoman for Progressive Casualty Insurance Co.

“At Progressive, we have very strict guidelines on flood vehicles,” Senary says. “If water reaches the dash, or engine, the vehicle is considered a total loss and we would not repair that vehicle.”

Some existing consumer services attempt to trace records of vehicles damaged in floods and accidents, or those reported as stolen, but focus primarily on passenger vehicles. “A new service being introduced at the Great American Trucking Show will concentrate on commercial trucks,” says James Vogel, general manager of RigDig. RigDig will be the only service for used vehicle customers that’s for over-the-road trucks only. More information will be available at RigDig.com during GATS, which opens Aug. 25.

As for on-site inspections, buyers should look for a waterline on the truck, much like what you would see in a house with flooded drywall. That might be “caked mud high on the vehicle where water may have been pooled for some time and a mildew smell from the interior,” says Frank Scafidi, a former OTR owner-operator who’s now public affairs director for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

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Newbies

Right Lane Trucking Safety Zone

Welcome to Right Lane LLC

In today’s environment, safety is simply good business. And no company offers trucking safety programs and services with the quality, depth, and proven performance.

Running a trucking business in today’s world is neither for the faint of heart nor the unprepared. Fundamental to that preparation is securing the professional resources you need to operate legally, effectively and economically.

The three principals of Right Lane Consulting draw on more than 80 years of combined experience in trucking, law enforcement, and the legal field. Such concentrated expertise and experience across key areas of safety training and compliance is difficult to come by from one resource.

It provides trucking agency owners and executives with the support they need to do their own jobs, without the massive time requirements of mastering these knowledge areas, the added weight of concern, and the added costs of liability and non-compliance.

Enhancing the safety of trucks and their drivers is the key to maintaining a cost-effective, customer-satisfying trucking operation. Failure to maintain high quality safety standards can do far more than damage your bottom line—it can also be catastrophic to the reputation and very survival of your company.

The professionals at Right Lane Consulting can help keep your operation fully compliant with all federal and state regulations. Remember, ignorance of the law and regulatory requirements is not an excuse for noncompliance. Your best defense against a host of potential problems is the kind of thorough operations review, education and preparation provided by Right Lane Consulting.

Right Lane Consulting LLC
1400 N. Dutton Ave.
Suite 21
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Tel. 707-573-1111
Fax 707-566-0290
[email protected]

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Newbies

How to Save the Earth by Using Public Transportation?

Using public transportation can save you money, relieve traffic congestion and give you a chance to decompress on your commute. Even more importantly, however, public transportation allows you to lighten your environmental footprint by reducing harmful emissions and the need for growing urban sprawl. So help save the planet by dumping your car keys for a bus, subway or light-rail pass.

Commit to using public transportation at least 1 to 2 days a week. According to the American Public Transportation Association, if Americans used mass transit for just 10 percent of their weekly transportation needs, the U.S. would reduce its foreign oil dependency by nearly 40 percent and lower carbon monoxide emissions by around 25 percent.

Visit the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website for a list of public transportation resources in your area, along with contact information for each. Familiarize yourself with mass transit types and routes that will work for your commuting needs.

Support fare-free public transit. Write to your elected officials and the public transit system in your area to vocalize the need for a reduction or removal of fares. Public transportation systems could save a lot of money without hiring employees to run ticket windows and paying for the expensive maintenance of ticketing machines. According to Alternet.org, New York City spends about $200 million a year to collect transit fares. Check out Alternet’s full article to read more about the benefits of free fares.

Lobby the representative in your area if your city needs to be more proactive about public transportation. Encourage officials to allocate money to fund the installation and maintenance of light rail and rapid transit bus systems and expand current systems to outlying areas. To find your representative and his contact information, visit Project Vote Smart.

Take the light rail or subway instead of the bus. If your area offers rail or underground service, you’ll reduce your environmental footprint even more than by using the bus. To compare the impact of various transit forms on the Earth.

Ride your bike to subway or rail stations rather than driving. Most stations have bike racks where you can secure your wheels for the day, while some mass transit systems even allow you to take your bike with you when you board.