VIRGINIA REST AREA SOLUTIONS

TEN SOLUTIONS FOR THE VIRGINIA REST AREA PROBLEM
BY DAMIAN OF a_smart_union on twitter
(FUTURIST ANDE VALUES DRIVEN CRITICAL REASONING PROMOTER
PROVIDING INFORMATION ON PROFITABLE, VALUES DRIVEN,  EMPATHETIC CAPITALIST SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS, MY SPECIALTY. WHERE OTHERS SEE SHORTAGES, FINANCIAL CRISES, PROBLEMS ETC. I SEE ALMOST INFINITE POSSIBILITIES AND SOLUTIONS. WHERE OTHERS CAN ONLY SEE SINGLE SELF INTEREST SOLUTIONS FOR THE BENEFIT OF A FEW, I SEE I SEE ABUNDANT  SOLUTIONS FOR THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE).

PREFACE:

RECENTLY BECAUSE OF THE BUDGET CRISES, THE VIRGINIA DOT STARTED CLOSING DOWN REST AREAS THAT TRUCK DRIVERS DEPENDED ON TO GET CRITICAL SLEEP TIME AND FOR THEIR GENERAL WELL BEING AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY. IN ADDITION, VIRGINIA HAD HARSH RESTRICTIVE TIME LIMITS AT THE REST AREAS THAT VIOLATED FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER LAWS,  A STATE POLICY WAS IN EFFECT, ALLOWING DRIVERS ONLY 2 HOURS OF SLEEPTIME, WHEN THE FEDERAL LAW REQUIRED 10 HOURS.

WELL CLOSING DOWN THE REST AREAS WAS THE LAST STRAW, MANY TRUCKERS GOT UPSET,BUT A FEW ACTIVIST TRUCKERS (SEE THEM LISTED AT THE END), GOT INVOLVED AND ACTUALLY STARTED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT WHEN MANY SAID IT COULDN’T BE DONE AND THE VIRGINIA DOT WILL NEVER BE TRUCKER FRIENDLY.

IT STARTED WITH A VIRGINIA BOYCOTT, WHICH SLOWLY GOT PRESS ATTRENTION. THEN @SilverSurfer_TX DID LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH AND FILED TO HAVE THE FEDERAL INFRASTTRUCTURE FUNDING FOR THE  STATE OF VIRGINIA CUT OFF DUE THE ILLEGAL STATE DOT POLICIES.

THEN OTHER ACTIVIST DRIVERS @ASKTHETRUCKER AND @DANIELAUDET STARTED HOSTING GUEST ON THEIR RADIO SHOWS INVOLVED WITH THE VIRGINIA REST AREA CLOSURES, INCLUDING A STATE OFFIC IAL AND A RELATIVE OF A DRIVER WHO DIED FROM LACK OF SECURE REST AREAS THRUOUGHOUT THE NORTHEAST.

@TRUCKERDESIREE WORKING WITH AMONG OTHERS,  @TruckDriverNews (  http://TruckDriversNews.com ) WAS ALSO INTRUMENTAL IN FINDING AND POPULARIZING JASON’S LAW , ( HR 2156,  S971 http://jhlrivenburg.com ) WHICH WILL ALSO HELP SOLVE THE REST AREA SHORTAGE FOR LARGE VEHICLES.

SLOWING THINGS ARE STARTING TO CHANGE IN VIRGINIA’S ATTITUDE. THE HAVE SIGNALED VIRGINIA WILL CHANGE THE 2 HR REST LIMIT TO 10. THE HAVE ALSO REVERSED THEIR STANCE ON APPLYING FOR A CHANGE IN  THE FEDERAL LAW TO ALLOW PRIVITIZING THE REST AREAS TO FUND KEEPING THEM OPEN.

AND SO WE MOVE TO STAGE TWO. NOW THAT WE KNOW FUNDS ARE  AVAILABLE, AND EVEN MORE IN THE FUTURE, IF JASON’S LAW IS PASSED (PLEASE SUPPORT BY CALLING YOUR LEGISLATOR) TO SUPPORT), WE NOW HAVE TO JUDICIOUSLY APPLY THE FUNDS FOR PROFITABLE TAX NUETRAL REST AREA SOLUTIONS.

I INVITE VIRGINIANS TO CONTACT BY TWITTER OR EMAIL, ME OR ANY OF THE  ACTIVIST DRIVERS LISTED HERE  AT THE END FOR IDEAS, AND WE CAN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CREATING AND DEVELOPING PROPOSALS TO BOTH SOLVE THE REST ARE SHORTAGE, AND STIMULATE THE VIRGINIA ECONOMY, PROVIDING JOBS AND EXPANDING TAX REVENUES.

HERE ARE 10 PROFITABLE REST AREA SOLUTIONS OR OR IDEAS

(SINCE I AM A FUTURIST, THE FIRST ONE IS FUTURIST BASED, BUT ACTUALLY POSSIBLE)

1)  THE HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY.
RECENT CAMPAIGNER FOR GOVERNOR TERRY MC AULIFFE,  HAD PROPOSED A SERIES OF WINDMILLS OUT OVER THE OCEAN’S CONTINENTAL SHELF. I ACTUALLY THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO APPPY A LITTLE FUTURISM TO IT. WHY NOT ADD TIDAL EXPERIMENTS TO THIS AS WELL TO PRODUCE ENERGY FROM WAVE ACTIONS?

AND IF YOU COULD CONNECT THE WINDTURBINES TOGETHER ECONOMICALLY SOMEHOW, WHY NOT ADD SOLAR PANELS IF APPLICAL FOR THE AMOUNT SUNLIGHT  AVAILABLE IN THIS AREA? AND THIS WOULD PRODUCE A LOT OF WHAT I CALL HEALTHY ENERGY, (ENERG IY THAT PRODUCES NO HEALTH DESTROYING POLUTANTS SO THAT YOU GET A LONG TEM SYNERGISTIC SAVINGS IN HEALTHCARE COSTS BY SWITCHING OVER TO THIS TYPE OF ENERGY USE).

INDEED IF THIS ENERGY SYTEM OF THREE HEALTHY ENERGIES, WIND, SOLAR, TIDAL EXPERIMENTAL; WERE FINANCIALLY VIABLE, IT COULD CONCEIVABLEY GET A LOT OF PRIVATE BOND FINACING, LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS, HEDGEFUNDS, STOCK INVESTORS, ETC. IN ADDITION TO THE FEDERAL TAX CREDITS ALREADY AVAILABLE FOR SOLAR AND WIND.

IT SEEMS FEASABLE FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT TOO. THE ENERGY IS BEING PRODUCE NEAR ITS USAGE POINT, INSTEAD OF BEING TRANSPORTED OVER A FUTURE SMART GRID FROM OUT WEST, WHERE OTHER WIND FARMS ARE PLANNED. IN ESSENCE A LOCALLY GROWN AND HARVESTED CLEAN HEALTHY ENERGY SYSTEM

BUT TO MAKE THE PROJECT FEASIBLE AND GET IT OFF THE GROUND, WILL REQUIRE GOVERNMENT TO PLAY A ROLE.

FOR EXA, TO MAKE IT AS COST NUETRAL AS POSSIBLE I PROPOSE SYNERGIZING IT WITH ANOTHER FUTURIST PROJECT OFTEN TOUTED BY FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MIKE HUCKLEBEE AND THAT IS A I-95 BYPASS CORRIDOR. THIS WOULD MAKE HIGHWAY FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE PROJECT AND BUILDING SYNERGIES COULD ALSO BE ACHIEVE AS THE WINDMILLS COULD ALSO BE HIGHWAY SUPPORT PYLONS FOR THE BYPASS HIGHWAY. AND IF YOU WANTED TO INCLUDE A BULLET TRAIN UNDERNEATH THE HIGHWAY, THEN THOSE FUNDS TOO COULD INTEGRATE INTO THE PROJECT.

AND IN THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC CARS OR HYDROGEN CARS, THIS FUTURISTIC HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY WOULD HAVE ELECTRIC PLUG INS AT REST AREAS THAT WERE ALSO TOURIST STOPS FOR FISHING, BOATING, TOURING THE WIND TURBINES ETC.

AND THESE TURBINES COULD PRODUCE NOT ONLY ELECTRICTY FOR CARS, PUT ALSO HYDROGEN, ANOTHER FUEL OF THE FUTURE, BY SEPARATING WATER INTO HYDROGEN, WITH A BYPRODUCT OF  OXYGEN. SO THE HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY COULD NOT ONLY PRODUCE LOCAL ENERGY, BUT ALL THE FUEL FOR THE VEHICLES USING THE BYPASS HIGHWAY. THIS MIGHT HELP GET FUNDING AND INVESTMENT FROM OIL COMPANIES FOR THE PROJECT SO THAT THEY COUD BE PART OF THE FUTURE HELATHY ENERGY SYSTEMS.

THE MORE FUNCTIONS YOU BUILD INTO THIS HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY, THE MORE FUNDING POSIBILITIES THAT BECOME AVAILABLE, E.G. FROM UTILITY COMPANIES THAT CAN FINACE IT WITH STOCK AND BOND INVESTORS, FROM OIL COMPANIES THAT CAN DO THE SAME, FROM HEDGE FUND INVESTORS,  FROM REAEARCH FUNDS FROM THE GOVERNMENT ON TIDAL ENERGY EXPERIMENTS, FROM HIGHWAY FUNDS, FROM BULLET TRAIN FUNDS, FROM WINDMILL SOLAR TAXBREAK AND CREDIT FUNDS, ETC.

AND I ALSO PROPOSE IT AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, A WONDER OF THE WORLD, AS WELL AS AN I-95 CORRIDOR BYPASS FROM BOSTON TO RICHMOND & VIRGINIA BEACH.

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT IF SUCCESSFUL DUPLICATE THE PROJECT WORLDWIDE, INCORPORATING IMPROVEMENTS ON EACH SUCCESSIVE HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY.

AS AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY, I WOULD BUILD IT IN SMALL EXPERIMENTAL STAGES. SAY FROM VIRGINIA BEACH TO ATLANTIC CITY.  THIS WOULD GENERATE INTEREST AND SUPPORT POLITICALLY FORM HOTEL CASINOS THERE.

TO GATHER POLITCAL BI-PARTISAN SUPPORT, YOU HAVE MIKE HUCKLEBEE (REPUB) AND TERRY MC AULIFF (DEM) AS SUPPORTERS FOR THEIR PROPOSAL BEING PART OF THE SYSTEM. AND EVEN PRESIDENT BARRACK OBAMA IF YOU INCLUDE A BULLET TRAIN IN THE STRUCTURE.

YOU WOULD GET SYNERGIES FROM FEDERAL PRIVATE FUNDING SOURCES & GOVERNMENT FUNDING SOURCES; CROSS PARTISAN POLITICAL IDEAS; CONSTRUCTIION SYNERGIES,;ENERGY PRODUCTION TAXES & TOLLS & RETAIL SERVICES CREATING SUSTAINABILITY SYNERGIES; AS WELL AS SPURS TO PROMOTE LOCAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS & AT THE SAME TIME THE HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY IS A TOURIST ATTRACTION IN AND OF ITSELF.

A SYSTEM THAT SHOULD BE JUDGED ON NOT TOTAL COST,  BUT ON COST PER MILE. AND HOW MUCH IS PRIVATELY FUNDED OR FUNDED WITH ALREADY AVAILABLE GOVERNMNET FUNDING PER MILE, AND ANY TAX REVENUE IT MIGHT ACTUALLY PRODUCE, E.G. TAX REVENUES’S FROM THE ELECTRICITY AND HYDROGEN FUEL GENERATED. AND DON’T FORGET THE I-95 CORRIDOR IS ALREADY A HEAVILY TOLLED ROAD SO A TOLL ON THE ENERGY HIGHWAY MAY NOT BE PERCEIVED AS BAD.

RENTAL HYDROGEN CARS COULD ALSO BE AVAILBLE AS A TOURIST AND PUBLICITY ATTRACTION. AND OTHER TOURIST ATTRACTIONS COULD BE PROMOTED AS WELL. AND THE BULLET TRAIN I IMAGINE WOULD HELP PAY FOR SOME OF THE TOLLING COST FROM TICKET REVENUES, WHICH MIGHT BE COMPETITIVE WITH DRIVING TO THESE TOURIST AREAS.

SO THIS IS ONE WAY TO SOLVE THE VIRGINIA REAT AREA PROBLEM, BUILD A HEALTHY ENERGY HIGHWAY AND BULLET TRAIN I-95 BY PASS. THIS WILL TAKE A LOT OF THE THROUGH TRAFFIC OFF OF I-95. REDUCING THE NUMBER OF TRUCKS AND LARGE VEHICLES LOOLKING FOR PARKING SPACES IN  VIRGINIA.

#2  BULLPEN STAGING AREAS FOR LARGE VEHICLES
AS PROPOSED BY THE RIVENBURGS AND FRED SCHAFFNER

SIMILAR TO THE WEST VIRGINIA TOLL PLAZA REST AREAS.
THESE BULLPENS CAN BE STRATEGICALLY LOCATED THROUGHOUT KEY INTERSTATE JUCNTIONS AS FRED SCHAFFNER IS PROPOSING, OR AT MAJOR CITIES AS TIMOTHY HARDENDORF (ORIGINATOR OF JASON’S LAW FOR THE RIVENBURG FAMILY) IS PROPOSING, OR EVEN DOWN TO THE INDUSTRIAL PARK LEVEL  BY PROMOTING IT WITH TAX BREAKS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL PARK OWNERS AND LAND DEVELOPERS.

THIS BULLPEN TAXBREAKS CAN EVEN APPLY TO INDIVIDUAL CORPORATIONS WHO PROVIDE OVERNITE PARKING ON SITE AT THEIR SHIPPING/RECEIVING FACILITIES. RIGHT NOW A COMMON PRACTICE AT SHIPPERS RECEIVERS IS NOT TO ALLOW DRIVERS OVERNITE PARKING AT THEIR FACILITIES, EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM. TAXBREAKS SHOULD BE CONTIGENT ON COMPANIES ALLOWING OVERNITE PARKING.

AND I SUGGEST, WHERE FEASIBLE, PROVIDE COMMERCIAL SEVICES FOR THE LARGE VEHICLES PARKED THERE, E.G. ALLOW DROPPED TRAILERS FOR A SMALL FEE, FOOD, FUEL, AND PROVIDE GOOD LIGHTING AND TRUCKER DESIREE HAS PROPOSED THE NEED OF  SOME FORM OF SECURITY. ETC.

MAJOR CITIES LIKE RICHMOND, PITTRSBURGH PA,  AND SOME AREAS IN DALLAS TX TYPICALLY HAVE STAGING AREA PROBLEMS. AND I WOULD SUGGEST PEOPLE IN THE LOCAL RICHMOND AREA COULD APPLY TO THE GOVERNOR FOR THESE TYPES OF FUNDS, STARTING AT THEIR LOCAL COUNCILPERSON’S LEVEL AND WORKING WITH THEIR VIRGINIA STATE OFFICIALS TO DO ECONOMIC AND JOB ANALYSIS BEFORE DOING THE FINAL GRANT PROPOSAL TO THE GOVERNOR, OR IN THE FUTURE UNDER JASON’S LAW GRANTS.

#3 TAX BREAKS AND EXPEDITED PERMITS FOR BUSINESES THAT WANT TO ADD LARGE VEHICLE PARKING, OR INCORPORATE IT INTO NEW CONSTRUCTION

THERE ARE COMPANIES LIKE CABELA’S THAT INCORPORATE LARGE VEHICLE PARKING AT THEIR OUTDOOR STORES. ENCOURAGE MORE OF  THIS WITH TAXBREAKS FOR THIS TYPE OF NEW CONSTRUCTION AT OTHER TYPES OF STORES LIKE SUPERMARKETS, FASTFOOD STORES LIKE MCDONALD’S, WALMARTS, SHOPPING MALLS, CONVENTION CENTERS, AIRPORTS, MARINA’S, BEACHES AND BEACH AREAS, BUS TERMINALS, RV STOPS, CAMPGROUNDS, TOURIST ATRACTIONS, COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, CASINO’S, STRIP MALLS, ANTIQUE & USED ITEM SALES AREAS, LARGE FLEETMARKET CENTERS ETC.  THE TAX BREAKS SHOULD BE CONTIGENT ON KEEPING THE PARKING FACILITIES OPEN 24/7 AND NOT JUST FOR EVENTS.  CURRENTLY A LOT OF THESE PARKING FACILITIES ARE EMPTY MOST OF THE TIME. THIS WILL HELP INTEGRATE LARGE VEHICLES INTO SOCIETY.

THE RETIREMENT CROWD IS ONLY GETTING BIGGER, AND BUYING EVER MORE LARGER AND LARGER TOURIST TRAVELING VEHICLES.  THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASING TOURIST BUSES,. AND I WOULD POINT OUT AMERICAN TOURIST SITES ARE ONE OF THE FEW INDUSTRIES THAT HAS NOT BEEN OUTSOURCED YET.

IN ADDITION TO THIS GIVE TAX BREAKS TO BUSINESSES ALREADY BUILT BUT ARE WILLING TO ADD LARGE VEHICLE PARKING TO THEIR FACILITIES.

AND “EXPEDITE THE PERMITING PROCESS“, AS FRED SCHAFFNER HAS SAID AND HE HAS MORE INFO ON HOW VIRGINIA SLOWS DOWN THE PERMITTING PROCESS FOR FIRMS TRYING TO ADD LARGE VEHICLE PARKING.

AND IF THE FACILITY ALLOWS OVERNITE PARKING, 34 HR BREAK PARKING, AND SOME LIMITED FREE 48 HR DROPPED TRAILERS( OR FOR A SMALL FEE), INCREASE THE TAX BREAK.

THIS SHOULD BENEFIT ALL AREAS OF VIRGINIA, IN RURAL AREAS NEAR TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IT CAN HELP INCREASE TOURISM. IN CONGESTED AREAS, IT WILL GIVE RV’S, TOUR BUSES ETC MORE PLACES TO PARK AND HELP INTEGRATE LARGE VEHICLES INTO SOCIETY BETTER.

AGAIN BUSINESSES THROUGH THEIR LOCAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES, CAN HELP PETITIONSFOR THESE TYPE OF FUNDS OR TO GET THE NECESSARY LAWS PASSED, BY WORKING WITH THEIR LOCAL COUNCIL REPRESENTITIVE AND STATE LEGISLATORS. ECONOMIC STUDY HELP FROM LOCAL STATE LEGISLATORS SHOULD HELP TO SHOW POSITIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH ASPECTS OF THIS TYPE OF LAW AND PARKING PLAN.

#4 PAYGO IDEAS OR OFFSETS TO HELP PAY FOR TAXBREAKS

AS A NOD TO CONSERVVATIVES (I AM AN INDEPENDENT), WHO INITIATED PAYGO, AND WHO CLAIM THEY WANT EVERYTHING PAID FOR AND FUNDED SO AS NOT TO INCREASE BORROWING COSTS AND TAXES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS, I ALSO PROPOSE TWO PAYGO IDEAS TO EVENTUALLY HELP OFFSET OR FUND ANY COSTS FOR THESE IDEAS.

A) AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL: LINE ITEM VETO

B) AT THE VIRGINIA LEVEL: PUT THE VIRGINIA BUDGET ON LINE AS IOWA AND PRESIDENT OBAMA PLAN TO DO TO LET CITIZENS HELP CONTROL THE BUDGET AND FIND WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE, SAVINGS, AND SUGGEST MORE EFFFICIENT IDEAS.

#5 PRIVITIZATION OF REAT AREAS TO RELIEVE VIRGINIA TAXPAYERS OF MAINTENANCE COSTS

A) CONNECTICUT HAS NON, TOLL ROAD, PRIVITIZED REST AREAS & THEY SEEM TO WORK JUST FINE. BENCHMARK THEIR COST STRUCTURE, SEE IF IT COVERS THEIR YEARLY MAINTENANCE COSTS.

ALSO ON ALMOST ALL TOLLROADS WITH THESE PRIVITIZESD REST AREAS, I ALMOST NEVER HAVE ANY PROBLEMS FINDING PARKING SPACES. I SITE, WEST VIRGINIA AND OHIO AS TWO STATES WHOSE TOLL ROADS ALMOST NEVER PRESENT ME WITH A PARKING PROBLEM SITUATION. ALTHOUGH THEY MAY NEED TO START TO INCREASE SPACES AVAILABLE SOON IN SOME SPOTS.

PRIVITIZATION WILL REQUIRE CHANGE IN  CURRENT FEDERAL LAW, BUT VIRGINIA CAN IMMEDIATELY APPLY FOR AN EXEMPTION TO FEDERAL LAW NOW. FRED SHAFFNER HAS DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH ON THIS TRANSPORTATION BILL THAT STOPPED PRIVITIZATION ETC.

B) FOR IMMEDIATE PRIVATIZATION EFFORTS,  ALLOW MICRO KIOSK FOR LOCAL ATTRACTION VENDERS AND OTHER RETAIL SERVICES LIKE FOOD ETC. , IN THE CURRENT VIRGINIA REST AREAS. VIRGINIA REST AREAS I NOTICE HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM FOR THESE MINI KIOSK BUILDINGS. SEE THE ONES IN WEST VIRGINIA TO BENCHMARK. I SUGGEST THOUGH THAT YOU HAVE COMPETITION BETWEEN THESE MINI KIOSK TO KEEP PRICES INLINE. ALSO HAVE THEM AVAILABLE FOR UNIQUE LOCAL PRODUCTS LIKE NEW MARKET POTTERY & BATTLEFIELD TOURS ETC.

EVENTUALLY MAYBE EVEN CHANGE THE REST AREA ON I-81 TO A MICRO-SPUR TO THE NEW MARKET VIRGINIA AREA TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, WHERE  LARGE VEHICLE PARKING MAY STIMULATE MORE DEVELOPMENT. E.G. HORSE TRAILS, CAMPING  ETC.  THIS WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD PLACE TO EXPERIMENT WITH HYBRID RV-LARGEVEHICLE PARKING NEARBY OR AS PART OF THE MICRO-SPUR REST AREA FOR TRAVELERS, COMPLETE WITH TAX BREAKS FOR RV DEVELOPER OWNER WHO ATTEMPTS THIS.

#6  RAMPS AND TURNOUTS STUDIES FOR SAFE PARKING SPOTS

FRED SCHAFFNER IS FOR WHAT IS KNOWN AS TURNOUTS, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE ON THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE. WHICH CAN BE DONE CHEAPLY AND INEXPENSIVELY. I ALSO PROPOSE SAFETY STUDIES FOR THAT AND CERTAIN SPECIAL RAMP PARKING SPACES PAST THE OFF RAMP INTERSECTION JUST PAST THE STOP SIGN BUT FAR AWAY FROM THE MERGE AREA TO THE INTERSTATE.

FOR AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY, STARTR WITH SMALL NUMBERS OF TEST TURNOUTS AND RAMP PARKING TO SEE IF THEY MEET SAFETY GOALS FOR SAFE PARKING.

IN  BOTH CASES I ALSO PROPOSE LEGAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVERS WHO MAY ILLEGALLY RAM INTO A LEGALLY PARKED VEHICLE IN ONE OF THESE TYPE PARKING SPOTS. AND ANY OTHER LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT MAY BE NECESSARY.

#7 MICRO SPURS SMALL-NATURAL BRIDGE, MED-BRISTOL, LARGE WASHINGTON DC.

THE MICRO SPUR INTO A PRIVITIZED REST AREA. IT WORKS WELL WHERE THERE IS A LOCAL ATTRACTION NEAR THE INTERSTATES. LOCAL ROAD SPOKES COMING OUT OF THE REST AREA CAN LEAD TO OR FEED TO LOCAL ATRACTIONS. THE BULLPEN WOULD ACCOMODATE ALL LARGE VEHICLES AND IF BIG ENOUGH EVEN DROPPED TRAILERS AT A SMALL FEE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. AGAIN WHERE FEASIBLE, THESE BULLPENS WOULD INCLUDE REATAIL SERVICES TO COVER TAXPAYER COST OF MAINTAINING THE AREA.

SMALL CITIES FOR THIS INCLUDE:

NEW MARKET VIRGINIA POTTERY
NATURAL BRIDGE VIRGINIA
LURAY CAVERNS VIRGINIA

MEDIUM VIRGINIA CITIES INCLUDE:
BRISTOL, VA.
HARRISON VA.

LARGE POPULATION CITY AREAS INCLUDE:
RICHMOND
WASHINGTON DC
VIRGINIA BEACH AREA

THE TYPE OF MICRO-SPUR BULLPEN WOULD VARY ACCORDING TO GEORGRAPHY, POPULATION, ECONOMY, TOURIST POTENTION, CURRENT AVAIILABILITY OF LARGE VEHICLE PARKING ETC.

8# PROVIDE TAXBREAKS TO EXPERIMENT WITH RV TRUCK PARKING HYBRIDS.

RV PARKS MAY BE THE CLOSEST LARGE VEHICLE PARKING FACILITY NEAR SOME OUT OF THE WAY TOURIST AREAS AND THIS IS ONE WAY ENCOURAGE MORE TOURSISM, BUSES ETC  TO GO TO THESE OUT OF THE WAY SITES, LIKE VIRGINIA’S MANY CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD SITES. WAR MEMORIALS, AND OTHER HISTORICAL SITES.

9# TAILOR REST AREA IDEAS TO DIFFERENT VIRGINIA AREA CHARACTERISTICS. CONSIDER WHICH IDEA IS BEST SUITED FOR WHICH AREA.

A) LOOK FOR RURAL DEVELOP IDEAS EG BEDFORD VA RV/TRUCK HYBRIDS.  OFTEN RV CAMPS ARE NOT REALLY SET UP FOR OTHER LARGE VEHICLE PARKING. I SUGGET A TAX BREAK FOR OTHER TYPES OF PARKING, EG TRUCKS AND LETTING TRUCKS DROP A  TRAILER FOR A  FEE.

B) LOOK FOR CONGESTION RELIEF IDEAS
E.G. ROANOKE/TROUTDALE/WYTHEVILLE
TAX BREAKS FOR ADDING PARKING TO MC’DONOLDS,  SUPOERMARKETS,MALL, CONVENTION CENTERS ETC.

ETC.

HOW ABOUT THESE TOURIST AREAS ? HOW WOULD YOU CUSTOMIZE REST AREA OR LARGE VEHICLE PARKING TO ACCOMMODATE THESE AREAS:

NEW MRKET VIRGINIA; POTERY AND BATRTLEFIELD
LURAY VA ;LURAY CAVES
NATURAL BRIDGE VA; SAFARI PARK
BUCHANAN VA; RIVER TRIPS
MINT SPRING VA; CLASSIC CARS MUSEUM
FRONT ROYAL VA ;SKYLINE CAVERNS
EDINBURG VA ; SHENANDOAH VINEYARDS
BEDFORD VA; WAR MEMORIAL
NORFOLK VA; NAVAL MUSEUM
MARTINSVILLE VA; RACETRACK
BRISTOL VA; NASCAR RACING
ROANOKE VA; CPONVENTION CENTER
FORT CHISWELL VA; ANIMAL PARK

10# LOOK FOR SYNERGY IDEAS OR HOW ONE POSIBLE SOLUTION ALSO SOLVES AN AOTHER

A) E.G. THE OBAMA HIGH SPEED RAIL TERMINALS SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE A SPECIAL TYPE OF BULLPEN FOR LARGE VEHICLES IN A SECURE AREA. ESPECIALLY IF THEY PUT ONE NEAR WASHINGTON D.C. AND LIKE AIRPORTS IT SHOULD INCLUDE BOTH LONG TERM AND SHORT TERM PARKING. ALSO DESIGNED SO IT CAN BE OUTWARDLY EXPANDABLE.  LIKE A REVERSE MALL PARKINGG ON THE INSIDE, THEN LATER IF NEEDED EXPANDALE RINGS OF PARKING AND SERVICES FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. AGAIN IT SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED WITH RETAIL SERVICES FOR CONVENIENCE AND TO OFFSET TAXPAYER MAINTENANCE COSTS.

B) MICRO SPURS TO TOURIST ATTRACTIONS HELP STOPPPING MOTORIST BOTH REST AND FIND NEW ATTRACTIONS. E.G. BRISTOL, VA AREA HAS THE BRISTOL NASCAR RACEWAY.

THIS CONCLUDES THE SECTION ON 10 EMPHATETIC , VALUES DRIVEN, CAPITALISTIC SOLUTIONS OR THE VIRGINIA REST AREA  SHORTAGE, AND FUNDING CRISES.

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTARY:

* NOTE THE LAST TWO, #9 AND 10# ARE PROCESS IDEAS OR HOW TO USE, IMPLEMENT AND DEVELOP THE ABOVE IDEAS AS A WHOLE PROCESS WITH VARIOUS GOALS PER REGION AND PER AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

IN MY FUTURISM PAPER, ON SOLVING THE WORLD FINACIAL CRISES,  I WILL CALL THESE CROSS FUNCTIONS. THIS #9 AND # 10 ARE PROCESS CROSS FUNCTIONS THAT THE SOLUTIONS SOULD TRY TO MEET.  VARIOUS PROCESS AND IMPLENTATION STRATEFGIES IS JUST ONE CROSS FUNCTION.

OTHERS COULD BE POLITICAL, CULTURAL POPULARITY, BENEFITS ALL OF SOCIETY, PSYCHOLOGICAL/ SOCIOLOGICAL/ CULTURAL BLOCKS TO OVERCOME, POSSIBLE LEGISLATIVE POSITIONING AND COMPROMISE POSITIONS, ETC.

#4 PAYCO, COULD ALSO BE CONSIDERED A CROSS FUNCTION FOR HELPING WITH  BUDGET  BALANCING, GATHERING BI-PARTISAN SUPORT ETC

I BELIEVE THEREARE MANY POSSIBLE PROFITABLE, SYNERGISTIC, EMPHTHETIC, VALUES DRIVEN, CAPITALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO THE VIRGINIA REST AREA PROBLEM THAT WOULD BE ECONOMICALLY SUSTAINABLE, RETURN THE TAXPAYERS’ INVESTMENT, AND BENEFIT ALL OF SOCIETY WHILE HELPING TO CREATE GROWTH AND JOBS IN VIRGINIA.

ITS JUST A MATTER OF FITTING SOLUTIONS TO VARIOUS CROSS FUNCTIONS, LIKE TOURISM

JUST REMEMBER THESE IDEAS ARE LIKE BOTH SEEDS AND EVENTUALLY WHEN FULLY DEVELOPED, A SMOGASBOARD BUFFET.

LETS TAKE A SEED. A SEED LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE FINAL PRODUCT IT BECOMES. THE SAME IS WITH REST AREAS IDEAS. THEY MAY CONTINUE AND EVOLVE POSITIVELY INTO A BETTER AND BETTER IDEA. FOR EXAMPLE, I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MENTION PROMOTING AMNIMAL SERVICES AT PRIVITIZED REST AREAS,  SUCH AS WALKING YOUR PET, BOARDING SERVICES, TRAVELING ANIMAL CARE ETC. (A TOPIC THAT @TruckerDesiree IS PASSIONATE ABOUT)

AND EVEN THOUGH THE SEED MAY LOOK NOTHING LIKE THE FINAL PRODUCT, SO TOO THE FINAL PRODUCT MAY NEVER HAVE EXISTED OR COME TO FRUITION, IF THE SEED HAD NOT BEEN PLANTED. AND SOMETIMES, ONE GOOOD IDEA, LIKE THE FRUIT OF A SEED, OFTEN PRODUCES MANY MORE GOOD SEEDS, OR IDEAS.

ALSO LOOK AT VIRGINIA REST AREA IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS AS A  BUFFET OR SMORGASBOARD, NOT EVERYONES REGIONAL TASTE WILL BE THE SAME BUT THE MORE ITEMS ON THE BUFFET THE BETTER THE BUFFET IS CONSIDERED TO BE AND THE MORE PEOPLE IN GENERAL IT WILL SERVE. SO DO NOT SEE THE VIRGINIA REST AREAS’ SOLUTIONS AS A ONE ITEM BUFFET, WHERE ONE FOOD ITEM IS SUPPOSED TO APPEAL TO ALL VIRGINIA GEOGEOGRAPHIC AREAS; AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND PROBLEM SITUATIONS.

BY DAMIAN OF @a_smart_union ON TWITTER
FUTURIST ANDE VALUES DRIVEN CRITICAL REASONING PROMOTER

PROVIDING INFORMATION ON PROFITABLE, VALUES DRIVEN,  EMPATHETIC CAPITALIST SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS, MY SPECIALTY. WHERE OTHERS SEE SHORTAGES, FINANCIAL CRISES, PROBLEMS ETC. I SEE ALMOST INFINITE POSSIBILITIES AND SOLUTIONS.

NOW HERE IS A LIST OF THE DRIVERS WHO WORKED SO HARD TO HELP START GET THE PARKINGG AND SLEEPING SITUATION SOLVED FOR THE BETTER, FOR ALL CONCERNED INCLUDING DRIVERS, THE PUBLIC AND VIRGINIANS.

ACTIVIST TRUCK DRIVERS, THE BEST OF THE BEST OF DRIVERS WORKING ON ISSUES OF CONCERN TO ALL DRIVERS, INCLUDING THE VIRGINIA BOYCOTT AND REST AREA SOLUTIONS.

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS AND INFORMATION REQUESTS:

1)  ACTIVIST DRIVERS FRED & JB SCHAFFNER
ALSO DO PLAINSTALKRADIO.COM ON FRIDAYS 6-8.
ON TWITTER AS @SilverSurfer_TX
BLOG:  http://TheAmericanDriver.com
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

2)  ACTIVIST DRIVER ALLEN SMITH & WIFE DONNA
BLOGS  http://askthetrucker.com  AND http://truthintrucking.com
PH: 352-209-2210 AND 347-826-9170
ON TWITTER AS @askthetrucker , & @truckerapp
THEY ALSO DO A BLOGTALKRADIO.COM SHOW WEEKLY ON THIS AND MANY OTHER TRUCKING RELATED ISSUES. PLUS THEY HAVE AN IPHONE TRUCKERS RESOUCE APPLICATION CALLED “TRUCKER“ THEY HAVE LOTS OF INFORMATION ON THE BOYCOTT AND ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS.

3) ACTIVIST DRIVER DANIEL AUDET
BLOG http://TruckStarRadio.com
ON TWITTER AS @DanielAudet
HE DOES A RADIO SHOW SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK LIVE ABOUT MANY TRUCKER RELATED ISSUES. CONTACT HIM BY PHONE OR JUST CALL IN TO HIS RADIO SHOW ON USUALLY AROUND 8PM EST.

4)  ACTIVIST DRIVER AND REPORTER JASON
PH: SKYPE CLICK ON: TruckDriversNews
BLOG REPORTER AT http://TruckDriverNews.com
ON TWITTER AS: @TruckDriverNews
JASON ALSO HAS LOTS OF BOYCOTT INFORMATION INCLUDING WHY DRIVERS ARE SUPPORTING “JASON’S” LAW TO BRING EVEN MORE FEDERAL FOUNDS INTO EXISTENCE FOR REST AREA SOLUTIONS FOR DRIVERS

5)  ACTIVIST DRIVER TRUCKER DESIREE
ON TWITTER AS @TruckerDesiree

http://TruckerDesiree.com

HAS HUNDREDS OF TRUCKER CONTACTS AND EXTREMELY POPULAR WITH TRUCKERS AND VERY KNOWLEGEABLE ON THE BOYCOTT AND JASON’S LAW.

6) ACTIVIST DRIVER DAMIAN a_smart_union
AVAILABLE FOR LAST MINUTE INTERVIEWS

BLOG: http:// smart union.wordpress.com
ON TWITTER AS MICRO-BLOGGER: @a_smart_union
CREATIVE RE-INVENTIONIST & FUTURIST, i USE FAIR & ETHICAL CRITICAL REASONING TO PROPOSE VALUES-DRIVEN CAPITALIST SOLUTIONS TO SOCIETY’S PROBLEMS FOR THE EQUAL AND BALANCED BENEFIT OF ALL THREE CLASSES: THE POOR, MIDDLE CLASS AND RICH.

Meet Rambo!

Rambo

Damian would like everyone to meet his canine companion Rambo. Rambo has some things to say, he may even get his own twitter account soon so you can all follow his thoughts.

VISION STATEMENT

  Values section of mission statement

This post will finish up the last section of a series I have done on “how unions can improve their companies mission statements”.

I have myself have done this by rewriting our companies mission statement at swift to include some employee financial goals, (not just recognition) , in our mission statement.

this last section is what swift calls the “vision statemment”. my inserts will be bracket as follows: <my insert additions>.

THIS IS So you can see how lopsided these mission statements are against employees when it comes to sharing in tHe profits EMPLOYEES are expected to help create.

This is the first step for a capitalist union: get employee financial goals in the companies mission statement along with profit goals.

Both can be met. BUT if employees financial goals are not in the plan why would companies bother to worry about them. COMPANIES MAY even work against employee wages.

Here’s my revision OF Swift’s “guiding princi[ples and mission statement as amended by a_smart_union of capitalist employees and owners

 

 

Vision

Section four of missison statement

From swift transportation

 

Swift’s vision is an efficient nimble world class service organization that is focused on the customer <and employee financial wealth as well as profit goals>, we are aligned and working together at all levels to achieve our common goals. Our team enjoys our work and coworkers and this enthusiasm resonates both internally and externally.

We are on the leading edge of service <and employee pay> always innovating to add value to our customers, <profits, and employee income and benefits>.

OUR ORGANIZATION HAS INFORMATION AND RESOURCES THAT CAN BE EASILY ADAPTED TO ANALYZE AND MONITOR WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT <TO OUR CUSTOMERS, OWNERS, SHAREHOLDERS, DEBTHOLDERS, DIVIDEND STOCK OWNERS, AND EMPLOYEE FINANCIAL NEEDS AND WANTS> IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT.

OUR FINANCIAL <CORPORATE> HEALTH <AND EMPLOYEE FINANCIAL HEALTH> IS STRONG, GENERATIONG EXCESS CASH FLOWS <AS WELL AS EXTRA EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.

AND GROWING <CORPORATE> PROFITABILITY <ALONG WITH GROWING EPLOYEE PAY>, WILL YEAR AFTER YEAR PROMOTE A CULTURE THAT IS COST, EMPLOYEE PAY, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS.

WE TRAIN , BUILD AND DEVELOP OUR EMPLOYEESTHROUGH PERPETUAL LEARNING <AND EARNING> OPPORTUNITIES TO EHHANCE EMPLOYEE SKILL SETS WHICH ENHANCE THE EMPLOYEE FINANCIAL REWARDS FOR GENERATING OUR PROFIT GOALS.

THIS IS HOW WE <FINANCIALLY RECOGNIZE ALL> OUR TALENTED PEOPLE <FOR GENERATING CREATING AND ACHIEVING OUR PROFIT GOALS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SECURING THEIR FUTURE WITH CONSTANTLY IMPROVING AND INCREASING FINANCIAL REWARDS.

<OUR GOAL IS EMPLOYEE PAY AND CORPORATE PROFITS UNEQUALED IN ANY OTHER COMPANY IN OUR INDUSTRY.>

 

 

 

MONETISING ACTIVIST TRUCKER’S BLOGS

Why Monetizing Activist Truckers” Blogs is so Important for the Driver’s Future

I knew it was just a matter of time before communications and computer technology improved enough to allow this. Finally I am starting to see this happening with the internet blogs, netbooks (I recently saw one advertised at radio shack for $50.00), and social media like twitter. Together this convergence of events have started to create what I call “Activist Truckers, who are dedicated to fixing and improving the trucking industry for the drivers.

Creating profitable, capitalistic, companies and businesses dedicated toward fixing the systemic problems and poor industry practices in the trucking industry, as well as get the truth out about what is really happening to drivers in our industry is critical toward improving the trucking industry for drivers.

Currently I see Activist Truckers are few and sparse in between. Right now they seem to focus mostly on the worse type crisis problems of the present rather than creating solutions for the future for the ideal drivers trucking world, one that does not include low wages, 70 hr work weeks, and 30% unpaid worktime, fatigued driving, exploitive hostile training programs, etc etc.

The biggest challenge I see for the Activist Truckers is increasing their numbers quickly, and making what they do something that is socially popular and desirable to do.

One of the best ways to do that is, I feel, is monetizing Activist Trucker blogs with tasteful, relevant ads, (based on reader feedback), that fulfill a readers purchase desires conveniently and efficiently after reading related articles. Something absolutely necessary in my opinion.

In fact I think Activist Truckers should create a monetizing team to swoop in and help make suggestions, help set up the ads, etc etc and take a percentage of the sales as a fee for the first few years or so. Why this emphasis on monetizing? The short answer is capitalism, tax what you do not want, reward what you want. the more profitable we make activism, the more good people who will be able to afford to be an activist.

On my site, I intend to blog on everything an Activist Trucker needs to be effective in bringing about positive, profitable, change in the trucking industry. Changes that will be perceived as good and pleasing to our country as a whole.

I will then have relevant ads on how to acquire and purchase the goods and services to get up to speed quickly without every potential Activist Trucker having to constantly and repeatedly having to figure it out all over again by themselves and possibly never reaching an effective level of efficiency. The goals of my ads will be to make this process of developing new Activist Truckers, as efficient, effective and as reasonably low cost as possible.

In short, a one stop shop for wannable Activist Truckers.

I also feel it will be important to get feedback on my ads. Which ones the customer likes, the ones they find inconvenient or not up to some requirement, code of internet advertising, etc etc. I want to make sure readers find the ads as aesthetic and pleasing as possible.

This feedback is important for the improvement of the ads, to keep them relevant, tasteful, invaluable, and highly desired, instead of inconvenient, or an obstruction of ones time. Ultimately this will hopefully lead to positive word of mouth promotion and referral for your blog from these types of ads relating to becoming an Activist Trucker..

I believe, these ads are important for the fastest capitalist growth and multiplication of Activist Truckers. Unfortunately there are an endless number of problems to fix in the trucking business, and therefore, the need for Activist Truckers and the potential issues they could work on solving and improving is also limitless.

Right now we may have dozens of Activist Truckers, and I would prefer that we had thousands of the caliber of Trucker Desiree, or Allen and Donna Smith of http://askthetrucker.com . I will take a hundred of these Activist type of truckers over 1 million apathetic truckers any day. Unfortunately, we have too much of the later.

And I theorize monetizing Activist Trucker blogs is the fastest way to correct that. There should be a direct correlation to ROE, (return on effort), and the number of people willing to become activist. And the more return you can make on your blog or internet services, the less time the driver has to spend worry about pushing his driving to the max. This also makes for a better more satisfying lifestyle and quality of life.

Now on my blog I try to come up with new ideas for all Trucker Activist, as well as support people where support is needed. I also try to take on areas not receiving much attention or support (e.g. re-inventing unions) . And to appeal to as many different segments of society as possible.

I do not try to recreate others efforts; but, compliment and support them. In fact I would even give referrals to readers for other Activist Truckers in their area of expertise since I think it is much more efficient, effective, productive and satisfying to all.

There really is no end of issues that need attention, suggestions, debate and solutions proposals. (With debates I emphasize using good technique and debate process with the focus on finding fair, equitable solutions for all perspectives, opinions and persuasions).

And the more profitable it becomes to find good solutions for the benefit of all society, the more positive ideas we will be able to forward on to legislators, for new laws and implementation. In short I call this an aesthetic capitalism.

Now many of the people that Activists Truckers are up against are not doing their work for free. And any legislative lobbying they engage in usually benefits them handsomely financially.

These opponents we are sometimes in disagreement with, also have a tremendous advantage in capital; networking through trade associations, poitical contacts and other forums; connections developed over decades; manipulating the media and public opinion; using and analyzing statistics; using and developing critical reasoning to achieve their goals; using good debate technique; closed door and open door access to officials where they can make well documented and supported logical arguments for their legislative agenda; developing socially popular public relations arguments for their various agendas’ ; developing implementation strategies and tactics for their goals; a willingness to spend decades to achieve their goals; a fantastic ability to plan ahead for the future as a group and set future goals to their liking; and large amounts of money to spend and use as influence for their ideas, wants and desires, not always for the betterment of all of society. etc etc.

Compare this to  many Truckers who often have to put in a 14 hour day, on on top of tight finances, and who often tend not to work in groups or teams, and often use poor argumentation, and bicker among themselves.

Because of this I predict the future success of Activist Truckers in creating positive change in large quantities for the average driver, will depend on these:

1) Working in groups or as teams

2) Monetizing blogs (with feedback), to use capitalism to increase numbers of Activist Truckers , whistleblowers, and change agents in the trucking industry as rapidly as possible.

3) Learning critical reasoning skills, ethical debate, social and public relations skills

4) Learning good debate technique base on logical points of reasoning, not emotionalism without good reasoning; (emotionalism with good reason and logic is passion); learning how to negotiate; how to talk to legislators, media, give interviews, do interviews, etc.

5) Maintain and project a respectable set of values and principles, to guide their efforts, vision, and goals; and to build public support and trust.

6) Understand processes and how the parts relate to whole in short, medium, and long term time periods.

7) Develop the ability to work toward creating a future that includes the driver’s interest as well as that of the rest of society. (currently drivers are totally left out).

Learn how to persuade not just those who agree with you; but, more importantly, also those inclined not to agree with you. Can you find solutions that everyone is content with? Then are you able to negotiate again to get legislation passed, then monitor and constantly improve the implementation of the legislation?

9) Learn how to propose many profitable solutions for all those involved in an issue, not just your self interest. Learning to generate multiple solution ideas will help to find those critical few ideas that are beneficial to all parties. And it makes it easier to get legislation passed.

10) learn the difference between tactics and strategy. And more importantly learn how to use tactics and strategy, guided by ethical, respectable, values and principles.

In conclusion, my thesis is this: using capitalism has the ability and potential to recreate and multiply these initial few Activist Truckers efforts a thousand fold. Just look at other successful capitalistic areas like biotech, technology, the internet and web, etc. how much of these would we have, if all involved were working exclusively on a humanitarian non-profit basis?

I say we need both idealism and capitalism successfully combined. and it all starts with Activist Truckers monetizing their blogs, with feedback, and more importantly, teaching and helping other a Activist Truckers to do the same recreation process.

My name is Damian and I thank you for taking the time to read this article.

MY COMMENT TO TRUCKER DESIREE

 

 

Comment on Desiree’s Article “WHY I DO THIS”

about

DESIREE’S STRORY OF HER HOSTILE TRAINING ENVIRONMENT

PUBLISHED  APRIL 28TH,  2009

At

http://askthetrucker.com

http://truthintrucking.com

 

 

Trucker Desiree is truly is a special person and we are lucky to have her in the trucking industry.

And let me tell you why. If people do not speak up, problems will just get swept under the rug and never corrected. This, in my opinion seldom works. Look at the Roman Catholic Church, who had a problem with certain priest molesting children. Even when complaints were made, they covered it up and re-assigned the priests elsewhere. Maybe they figured the priest would repent, who knows. But it did not work in this situation. Only when the force of the law was applied was it eventually corrected. And only thanks to those who were willing to step forward and tell their story. If they had not done so, does anyone doubt that a certain bad priest would not still be abusing children? This has nothing to do with not liking the church but, flawed individuals within their holy organization, and the process the church followed.

As for the nay sayers I will not respond to them since I feel that is what they want. To disrupt every ones agenda, interfere with there projects they do not agree with, etc etc. These irrational critics I theorize, are possibly following some slavish teacot philosophy or whatever to rationalize their behavior or thoughts, and vent their frustrations over negative experiences they themselves had to overcome and did nothing to correct it except insist they next batch of newcomers experience the same poor treatment. A sort off truckers ritual of hazing. The newcomers running the gauntlet of poor industry practices. If they make it, then they get to ridicule the next batch of students running through the system. This seems to give some old timers a emotional catharsis. Thus the culture of blame the driver is re-enforced.

Drivers who suffer abuses and did nothing to correct the problem become jaded and disenfranchised. Problems cannot get fixed if people at all levels are not held accountable, told about the problem or worse yet just keep preaching some idealistic unrealistic vision of what a great experience it all is.

 

And I have some sympathy for some middle managers who are stuck in the middle of all of this. They have no real authority to fix any of the problems middle management may encounter. Their job is to implement upper management and the owners directives on achieving profit goals, expense goals etc. and I am aware drivers can be crass and rude. And drivers almost always make the mistake of thinking that a driver manger has authority to fix any problems he may want fixed, since that is the only person in management the driver may feel comfortable talking to.

It is important to note here that neither Desiree or I are not talking about the usual run of the mill problems drivers encounter. Rather more like problems my ex student told me about when his dispatcher told him to constantly run illegal overweight loads. Or cases where dispatchers were calling up drivers in the middle of the night during their break and telling them to run an illegal loads as I favor to the planner, and I’ll back you up with a good load on the next run.

One company I encountered 15 years ago even had dispatchers pay their drivers $25 bonus for running the scales and even helped their drivers do the mapping around the scales! This was all done in the name of serving the customer’s needs. And any solutions should focus on still serving these customer needs profitably for the trucking company, but with cooperation from everybody, including customers. Sometimes in my opinion, upper management and owners just make sure that drivers are the only ones who can get blamed, and or take the full responsibility, get the points on their CDL and pays the cost or fines, while management takes no responsibility.

 

I am well aware that middle managers can be just like drivers, good decent people just trying to cope with the system as the rest of us. Often they are caught in the middle between upper managements’ performance demands and the drivers who they must get to meet those goals. To the good managers, I have nothing against them. It truly takes brains to make it all work. I have seen their corporate email boxes and they are stuffed full of memos and reference document, directives, goals to meet, etc etc. It literally seems to me more items than one can even read, let alone execute well.

These people cannot fix serious problems by themselves. For that you need the help of the owners and upper management and feedback from the field on what is working and what is not. Everyone should work together across job classifications to fix serious problems while maintaining profits, and preserving as good a working environment as possible.

Like Desiree, I encountered mostly indifferent management as I worked as an over the road trainer for Swift Transportation several years ago. And I can confirm as a trainer, that like Desiree said, some of my students with felonies like to brag about their shameful shortcomings with the law, weather it was murder trials, selling drugs, embezzlement, helping Al Queda if the bribe money was right (I actually reported this student to the FBI), etc. It is no wonder like Desiree I have encountered angry, hostile, frustrated people making all kinds of threats.

Desiree said above, some students don’t belong behind the wheel of a tractor, well I had a student with some type of narcolepsy, and he wasn’t even qualified to drive a car, let alone a truck. It took me two weeks to get him off the truck as I wouldn’t let him drive because his body would freeze into a light coma every so often behind the wheel and I had to shake him slightly to get him out of his comma.

Desiree said students just think erroneously, if they just work hard they will be ok. Again I had a student, who after training worked 14 hrs a day running short runs, grossing only $75.00/day. Plus the company often gave him illegal overweight loads. He quit when he got a long haul out of state run that was illegally overweight. He told me management treated him like a dog.

Desiree states the driver shortage is false, and I concur. I am a stock investor, and I read annual reports of reports of companies. In one of Swifts reports, they proudly state when asked by a stock analyst of the driver shortage: we have no driver shortage we can fill all our needs. We keep 15% trainers on staff at all times.

She states students are not prepared for the long hours, and I also can confirm that. I tried to convince my own cousin to come out with me on the truck BEFORE he went through a community college truck training program; but, he didn’t. Then I tried training him before he saw what it was really like, he lasted only two weeks, and then he said “ This wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. This is too much.”

 

So sadly I can confirm many of the things Desiree has stated because I also have them observed first hand myself. For example trainers who never allow their students to back and then they falsified their backing charts. And poor management orientation, conveniently skipping any information that might upset the students before they get on the training trucks.

And I found management was not receptive to ideas for improvement. Even relatively minor suggestions were often met with a tone of annoyance. For example often I had students reluctant to want to do backing. I sought out one student coordinator, Dari, an exception to this, I am not interested in your problems management. She would happily work with me on encouraging the students to do backing practice.

Often students wanted to please management, and were highly impressionable by their thoughts .

So the simple act of Dari encouraging them in this area actually worked very well and was a tremendous help. But unfortunately she got bad treatment from management when she also tried to make suggestions for improvement and left the company very frustrated also claiming she was being treated like a dog, by a Memphis training department head . (Later this same department head said we could spend three days doing orientation but we aren’t.) Darie even thought the office were she worked was bugged and we would talk outside her office at places that we believed could not likely be bugged. The point being here that management was not receptive to ideas or improving the program.

 

Without working on improving problem areas, they just magnify and pile up. The best systems adapt to solve problems, not ignore them. This is how evolution works. I say if evolution did not work this way, correcting problems, their would be no life on earth, it would all be extinct from inability to adapt to and solve problems.

 

Trucking corporations, unfortunately think they have better, more perfect ideas that need no further refinement. With the help of corporate controlled media, like the trucking shows on Sirius radio, they easily and craftily guide truck show groupies toward their way of thinking on issues like hiring felons, which is a cheap source of labor for their trucking sponsors. That is why I boycott Sirius radio and ask you to do the same. They do not come up with solutions, they just rationalize poor industry practices.

If Mark Willis ( D J on Sirius trucking show) or the Chairman of Sirius radio, Joe Clayton had to work 24/7 with hostile convicted felons. Such as the ones who would threatened to beat me up, slit my throat, etc; then I think they would work together on programs to find and suggest better solutions.

You see the main person in charge at large Corporations is the Chariman of the board in this case Joseph Clayton, who previously was not a good due diligence director at Global Crossings which imploded from accounting scandals.

So it is not hard to believe his irresponsible setup at Sirius radio, allows a 100% corporate sponsored and influenced show like Mark Willis show to call itself a trucker’s type show.

His apologist, economic, rationalizations allow for corporate social media to continue to create a veil of excuses and happy talk of how they are trying to help drivers. And this provides cover for hostile training programs, like the one Desiree encountered to flourish and even to be justified and never corrected.

I have no doubt mark Willis subscribes to a tcot type mentality and that drives his relentless corporate sponsorship of his programs, without any counter arguments from the other groups or political perspectives, such as you would get from a 24/7 union channel. Such a channel I feel would create great debates and derive better solutions than great quotes from Mark Willis like “Well these felons did really pay their debt to society didn’t they?”

Better more truthful programming can be found here at http://askthetrucker.com & truthintrucking.com. All the other Sirius programming can be replaced 10 fold on the iphone. So until Sirius radio has a 24/7 union channel, I suggest a total boycott of all Sirius channels, and their stock siri and the stock of liberty media, (LCAPA), their new controlling sugar daddy, and any of their network shows.

I also suggest Allen Smith of http://askthetrucker.com recreate alternatives to all the Sirius channels on his website through internet radio links to make Sirius radio totally irrelevant to truckers needs. Otherwise we will never get real solutions and good legislation passed.

Besides filing grievences and complaints to various authorities, it seems to me legislation is ultimately the solution to solve the problems like Desiree and I encountered. For new legislation, here are a few ideas:

1) Require trucking academies to make full disclosures, (similar to cigarette label warnings), to students on things like the trucking death rate is age 62, the trucking turnover rate is 120%, the owner operator failure rate is 90%, types of health diseases truckers get and at what percentage rates, the typical workweek for a trucker is often 14 hr days, 70 hrs a week. ; your otr training may also be 70 hr weeks. List all the types of unpaid work: fueling, drop and hook, taking the truck for repairs, etc etc

2) At the very least, felony record disclosures to trainers and team students with extra pay for working with them. This will draw volunteers for these type of people, who are more work. This type of solution is called capitalism.

3) Create legal liability for shippers who ship overweight loads so they can be sued in civil court. Also pass on part of any overweight fines to shippers. Once this happens you will see a whole lot more shippers install scales onsite, or give you maps to he nearest scale, rework the loads with no hassle etc

This is how we must start to think as truckers, how do we solve the problem? What good solutions can we come up with? What type of legislation is needed to fix the problem? Can a profitable solution be found? etc,. etc.

So make no mistake, the only other people to be held accountable for these hostile truck training environments are the owners of these truck training schools, and trucking firms. Some of whom are going to solve the problem by importing Mexican drivers under NAFTA.

My name nis Damian, co-founder of this blog, and I thank you for taking the time to read this article.

 

 

 

Desiree’s Story of Her Hostile Training Environment

• 12:04:26 am on April 20, 2009 | # | 1
  Tags: Trucking, government, Women, Schools, Students

  

  In the drivers seat

  I have been writing my Student Trucker Story on “Ask the Trucker” since October 2008.

   

   

   

  Although by October I was in a much different situation because I had moved from the “Team Division” into a Dedicated Solo Fleet beyond the ridiculously unsafe situations my company placed me in during my training.

   

  In this new division I saw very quickly how things should be done. The entire manner of my new fleet was more effective because the communication and professionalism was much better. I was also driving solo finally, not required to drive & live with someone from unknown origins.

   

  Like most people, I would have preferred to never look back. Not get involved, chalk it up to experience.

   

  I saw that by keeping in touch with a few new female students who had been recruited into my company it helped them during their six months of required team driving. I saw that the team phase was still difficult because of the poor recruiting methods employed but by the simple act of directing them privately to other people for guidance these women were able to make it.

   

  One sure fire weapon was to have them steer clear of the woman in charge of the team program who continually had full knowledge and could have prevented us from encountering certain dangerous situations but took no actions to prevent it.

   

  My Student Trucker Story, for both Men & Women is not unique with respect to the volume of inappropriate recruitment that leaves the students who have a true desire to learn lost in the system.

   

  I wanted to be a safe truck driver and learn to do this job the right way. If I could have located an old veteran trucker who would teach me the correct way to do this job, that would have been who I wanted to learn from. Unfortunately, student truckers are an industry in themselves.

   

  In the name of “Creating Jobs” the Government Funds the Trucking Industry to get people working but this has been capitalized upon and created a false driver shortage.

   

  Some Student Truckers have no business behind the wheel of a big rig. This starts at the recruitment level where loans are made.

   

  In the mortgage industry it could be called “Predatory Lending”.

   

  In the Trucking Industry, there are often people who are unsuitable to be truck drivers but can qualify for financing, government programs or have cash money so they are misled about what the true nature and sacrifice this job entails.

   

  This causes frustration for the Student Trucker who has been lied to and now owes a loan. The trainer who is risking his life by training someone who has questionable skills, the safety department, the company, and the dispatchers and so because they are assuming the students truckers will arrive with some basic driving skills and common sense.

   

  As the economy tumbled and the string of corporate scandals followed I knew that many people would lose their homes and their jobs and I knew the CDL Mills would go into high gear selling the dream that you can make 50, 60, 70, 80K in the first year as a trucker. The TRUTH is that I made $35,000 and that is including bonuses and taking on 18 days of time home. There was lots of downtime but it is NOT home time.

   

  I had heard of the false driver shortage from Allen Smith’s book “Truth about Trucking“ and learned it was a method created by the trucking industry for a cheap labor force. I was willing to work cheap to learn to do this job but some of the recruitment techniques would capitalize unfairly on the wave of displaced workers that would begin to filter into the unemployment offices looking for work. I felt I needed to act by writing my story.

   

  I also became aware of a new marketing strategy to recruit women into trucking careers and felt they should be fully informed before they are expected make decisions that would affect their longterm goals as a CDL driver.

  The saddest revelation I uncovered in this experience has been that many women in authority positions will also sell you down the river for recruitment dollars.

   

  I personally think teaming is a useful training tool if a little more effort was put into it to doing it the right way. The question for us to ask the trucking industry is success really the desirable result for students or not?

   

  Some people have read my story and tried to say I deserve to be mistreated because I am new to the industry of trucking. I have met many women and men who came to this industry with little knowledge of it.

  They thought if they worked hard and did not complain they would be successful and have longevity.

   

  I felt it was unfair to trick people who were already suffering from losing their jobs & homes by luring them into the trucking industry totally unprepared for what sacrifices they will truly have to make in order to survive their first year.

   

  I made a conscious effort to not project my personality or life experiences because I wanted potential students to find out who they would be in these situations. That way they could plan ahead if their true intention was to succeed.

  I wanted them to realize that it is quite difficult to find anyone in these companies who cares for their success; so it will be up to them.

   

  That is because the sheer volume of recruitment makes individuals get easily lost in the shuffle.

  The people I know who were able to be successful in their first year could afford to live on less than minimum wage in order to learn this job and be away from home for months at a time.

  The ones who panicked and often didn’t make it were those who had mortgages, marital troubles, small children or custody issues that were difficult to manage from the road.

   

  A limited few critics have sought to attack me further by taking a few words I write here and there and fashioning their own twisted story to drive traffic to their own websites riding on my coat tails.

   

  It is important to read all of the comments these few people have written to criticize me and my story because it paints a very real picture of exactly the sort of behavior & conduct that I write about in my story. It validates what I am trying to express in their words and not mine.

   

  Much of the difficulty surviving as a student trucker is due to people who like to ridicule others and do not want to help you with the simplest question.

  If you say to these sorts of people, “Can you tell how to do this properly?” they will laugh in your face, call you names, make fun of you for not already knowing and/or deliberately tell you the wrong way so they can make fun of you more and go write about it or tell all their friends.

   

  Those were the only kinds of people I met for the first 3 months as a student trucker. This is a serious job where conduct on the highways affects everyone who drives or rides in a mototr vehicle. It is unacceptable behavior that should be left at the playground.

   

  Later, with much effort, I met good people in trucking and I got really motivated to find more.

   

  I met a trainer who helped me park better because my female trainer did not care. I spoke to a man who helped me by phone to not lose my temper with Lily when she clearly had no desire to bear the responsibility of becoming a truck driver; she simply wanted to meet guys. Another student trucker who is as young as my son who I helped in CDL School but later helped me when I went solo with questions I had to mange my time.

   

  Later when I was in distress and wrote an email to Allen Smith, a 30 year veteran of the trucking industry, it was he and his wife Donna that gave me a chance to help other. Their little book “Truth about Trucking” helped me understand some of the communication failure was an industry method to generate turnover, it was not because there was something defective about me.

   

  I understand corporate America very well and how we drive out experience for cheap labor but I must confess I was taken aback that this was occurring on the highways where we all drive together.

   

  I had a window of opportunity to act by writing when the student loan system dried up. This put the skids on the “hand over fist” CDL recruiting but now that the stimulus package has been approved and education funds are again available we will see the demand for student truckers despite the fact that freight is slow and many trucks with experienced drivers are sitting.

   

  Sadly, some organizations who profess how their mission is to help are not really helping; they are only formulating new recruiting demographics and strategies.

   

  The process of CDL Truck recruitment is presented in a number of ways, local newspapers, unemployment offices and appeals to you on the back of almost every trailer that jobs are available now with little experience. Isn’t that odd?

   

  Recruitment Offices like I went to in Florida are run by schools.

  Some schools genuinely care about the student and their future success, but many do not.

   

  Commissions to recruit have made CDL School’s hire salesmen rather than instructors in many cases. These schools in turn steer students into certain companies where more commissions are available.

  Some companies send recruiting representative’s to the schools to encourage students to come to their company.

  Why if they just got 100 students the week before, and the week before that? and thats at just one company!

   

  Students are told they will get home every 2 weeks, they have no idea they will drive 11 hours a day, they don’t understand that they will do a great deal of unpaid work. They are totally unprepared to drive a full schedule from day one. They become aggravated and sometimes become violent.

  It is definitely a pressure cooker from poor information.

   

  I knew I would love this job because I don’t have a family waiting for me at home. I like to be alone.

  I met a married couple who were retired police officers who drive as a team and they too said they love it and don’t mind sitting 3 days with no-load because they have their pensions. They rent a car and go enjoy the local sights.

   

  It’s the lifestyle that many of these people are unprepared for when they are sold a dream when they are already in dire straits. That is wrong, that is why I took every spare minute of my free time to write my story.

   

  I have not had anyone say I discouraged them from becoming a truck driver but I have had both men and women thank me for helping them make a better plan to be successful as they begin their training.

   

  I have also had many women who have left the industry write and call me and thank me for being honest about what is going on with the student trucker industry because they were made to feel they were “the only ones”, somehow personally responsible for the behavior of some of the violent situations they were placed in by their companies.

   

  I wrote my story for other potential student truckers who have no knowledge of trucking like me so they could make better decisions and be successful.

   

  My endeavor has raised a number of other questions about this industry and it has connected me to many different projects that I now write about.

  I’m no expert, I’m just a girl who wanted to learn to drive a truck.

  I write about what I see and what hear from my travels.

   

   

  ---

   

   

   

VELCRO + IPHONE + NETBOOK + PROCESS = EFFICIENCY

TECH IDEA: HOW I COLLECTED NOTES AND WROTE THE SWIFT’S VALUE SECTION OF THEIR MISSION STATEMENT.

FIRST I TWEET STREAMED THE VISION REWRITES ONTO TWITTER AND TAGGED THE TWEETS WITH “SUSM”. FOUR TOTALLY UNRELATED LETTERS SEEMS TO WORK PRETTY GOOD.

THESE WERE MY ADDITION IDEAS FOR THE ARTICLE. THE TWEETS WERE SPREAD OUT ALL OVER THE PLACE. BUT WHEN I WAS READY TO DO THE BLOG PIECE, I JUST DID A TWITTER SEARCH ON”SUSM” AND THERE WERE ALL MY REVISED TWEETS ON THAT SUBJECT ALL PULLED TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE ON TWITTER.

NOW FOR TRANSCRIPTION ONTO THE COMPUTER SCREEN, I MADE IT EASY AS WELL. I PUT VELCRO ON THE BACK OF THE IPHONE I USE. THEN I PUT SOME VELCRO ON THE EDGE OF THE COMPUTER SCREEN ABOUT ½ INCH WIDE BY 5 INCHES LONG.

NEXT I STUCK THE IPHONE RIGHT UP ALONG SIDE THE COMPUTER SCREEN.

THEN I PULLED UP MY TWITTER ACCOUNT ON MY IPHONE, DID MY “SUSM” SEARCH AND I HAD MY VISSION NOTES RIGHT NEXT TO THE COMPUTER SCREEN.

I PLAN TO DEVELOP THIS TECHNIQUE SOME MORE AS I SUGGEST A MISSION STATEMENT WITH VISON, GOALS ETC FOR DRIVERS. SORT OF A GENERAL CODE OF CONDUCT.

IT IS SOMETHING I THINK ALL DRIVERS SORELY NEED. SO I’LL INVITE OTHERS TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS. THE ONES I WANT TO SAVE I WILL RETWEET WITH THE TAG “DMSU” SO NEXT TIME I’LL BE ABLE TO PULL UP MY NOTES, PLUS ALL THE COMMENTS I MAY RECEIVE FROM OTHERS, AND BEGIN COMPOSING THE START OF A DRIVER’S MISSION AND VALUES STATEMENT.

AND ALL THE SPREAD OUT COMMENTS I RECEIVED ON TWITTER WILL BE SUMMED UP RIGHT THERE ON MY IPHONE RIGHT NEXT TO THE COMPUTER SCREEN.

I ALSO USED THIS TECHNIQUE FOR SENDING SPREAD OUT NOTES TO MY WEBMASTER: @RENTEDMULE ON TWITTER (HIS BLOG  HTTP://PAINTEDMULE.COM ) FOR EASY SUMMATION OF IDEAS UNDER A SPECIFIC CATEGORY.

WE DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE IT DOES TWO THINGS AT ONCE, PROVIDE CONTENT OF VALUE FOR OUR TWITTER ACCOUNTS, PLUS STORES THE INFORMATION GATHERED OVER TIME IN ONE PLACE ON TWITTER FOR VARIOUS LATTER USES.

LOOKS LIKE VELCRO, IPHONE, NETBOOK, & PROCESS, IS DEFINITELY A_SMART_UNION.

MY NAME IS DAMIAN AND I THANKYOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS BLOG. SEE ME ALSO AT TWITTER: A_SMART_UNION.

 

 

 

AIR AND DATACARD TECH EFFICIENCY

 

Tech Efficiency With a Wireless and Data Card

In this column I will explain how I use tech more efficiently through the use of a small data memory card in my Sierra wireless USB plug-in card. I cannot imagine how I ever lived without it.

The ATT Sierra Wireless USB is about the size of large thick pack of gum. This is a communication device that allows you to wirelessly hook up to the internet for a fee.

It comes with a clip on strap and I keep it on my wallet chain and inside my front pocket, otherwise I could never find it.

But with the addition of the data card, this already super useful device has become so much more. Lets start with a place to store all your blog articles that you are working on for easy transfer between computers.

Now I personally have three computers I work with, four if you count my iphone. Having this many is at least 40% more efficient according to a recent Kawasaki citation I read. ( I would estimate for me it is at least twice that if not more).

Now while one computer is down or tied up on my scanner etc, I can just take my files and go work on the other computer, and all my program files are right there to continue working with.

Combining the data card and the wireless card is a very synergistic solution efficiency wise and only takes up one USB port instead of two. Something to definitely check into if you ever decide to buy a wireless aircard. It is definitely a_smart_union.

The war against tech inefficiency goes on.

Damian

Twitter: a_smart_union

Blog: http://smartunion.wordpress.com

HOW MY FAITH SUSTAINED ME DURING MY MEDICAL CRISES

How My Faith Sustained Me during My Medical Crisis I remember the second day in the hospital when the neurologist walked into my room. I pointed my finger at him and said, “I am healthier than you. The only thing wrong with me is I am paralyzed and I am going to walk again.” I knew that was the first day Jesus put my Faith into action by speaking those words before men and God. I was transferred to Sewickley Hospital for rehabilitation for thirty days and that is were God took over. Some person asked, “Did you ever ask God why this happened to you?” Instantly I replied, “No, I asked God when I will walk again?” That was the second time I realized how important the words you spoke, put your Faith into action. Everyday therapy was two times a day and I watched the other patients who had knee and hip surgeries complaining about pain and they did not want to do their exercises. I heard a small still voice inside me say, ”I am going to take what happened to you and turn it around for good. You shall be a witness. I want you to encourage and inspire these patients and show them what a child of God can do. You will show that my children are over comers. Every exercise you do you will say In Jesus name I can do this and you will do extra.” So from that day forward for thirty days I witnessed for the Lord doing what he asked me to do. This now was the third time I would speak words before men, “In Jesus name I can do this” and I knew it was putting my Faith into action. It was so amazing and awesome the patients would watch me paralyzed struggling with braces on my legs being pulled along parallel bars saying In Jesus name I can do this. After a week had gone by the other patients would do all their exercises with no complaining, yet I could see them always watching me. As each patient was going home, they would request to come to my room. They would hug, kiss, and thank me for encouraging and inspiring them. I would just tell them remember your Faith can overcome everything. What you speak out of your mouth is your confession before men and God. I told them Faith means Forever Am I Trusting Him. You can choose to bless or curse with your words. Do not curse yourself learn to bless yourself and others. Give what you can even if it is encouragement. The Doctors and nurses cried when I left. They knew I would be going home with major terrible deficits. They also knew that I was leaving with Faith. Forever Am I Trusting Him is what I live by everyday to overcome being paralyzed. Faith allows me to be the Lord’s witness. I was chosen to show his Glory. I am his child.

Trucker’s Iphone Best Buy

IN FCT THE BEST PLACE FOR A TRUCKER TO BUY AN IPHONE IS —BEST BUY— THE NATIONWIDE,CONSUMER ELECTRONICS RETAIL STORE. THE REASON WHY, IS THEIR WARRANTY IS FAR SUPERIOR  TO ATT’S AS FAR AS OVER THE ROAD DRIVERS ARE CONCERNED.

THIS IS BECAUSE  THE BEST BUYS WARRANTY INCLUDES SAME DAY REPLACEMENT OF ANY PHONE THAT STOPS WORKING. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, THEY PROVIDE THIS REPLACEMENT SERVICE AT ALL THEIR STORES NATIONWIDE.

AND BECAUSE BEST BUY IS NATIONWIDE, THE OTR DRIVER WILL PASS ONE IN NDUE TIME DURING CROSS COUNTRY RUNS.BEST BUY ALSO GETS TRACTOR TRAILER DELIVERIES, SO THEIR PARKING LOTS CAN HANDLE A QUICK STOP BY A DRIVER THAT NEEDS TO REPLACE HIS PHONE FAST. EVEN BETTER, THE PHONE YOU GET REPLACED IS NOT A RECONDITIONED LEMON BUT A BRAND NEW PHONE! 

NOW, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAIL YOUR PHONE IN FOR REPAIRS FROM THE ROAD, PICK IT UP AT THE HOUSE TWO WEEKS LATER, ONLY TO FIND OUT ON THE ROAD AGAIN IT STOPPED WORKIN AGAIN AND REPEAT THE WHOLE PROCESS.

IN TODAYS BUSINESS WORLD, A TRUCKER CAN NOT GET THEIR WORK DONE WITHOUT A PHONE. AND IF YOU HAVE AN IPHONE WITH MANY INVALUABLE BUTTON FEATURES LIKE THE “TRUCKER” APPLICATION ON IT FROM ALLEN’S HTTP://ASKTHETRUCKER.COM  , YOU WILL WONDER HOW YOU EVER GET ALONG WITHOUT IT.

BUT ALLEN’S APLICATION IS JUST ONE BUTTON APPLICATION YOU CAN PUT NON THE IPHONE, THEIR IS ROOM FOR AN INCREDIBLE 143 MORE SUCH BUTTONS ALL CAPABLE OF UNBELIEVABLE SERVICES LIKE ALLEN’S “TRUCKER” APLLICATION.

NOW WE ALL KNOW BEST BUY IS NOT A COMMUNIST OR SOCIALIST OUTFIT, SO THEY WILL CHARGE  YOU FOR THIS SERVICE. NOW GOING FOR $15.00 PER MONTH PAYABLE TO BEST BUY. BUT THE NATIONWIDE , FAST, ONE  STOP REPLACEMENT SERVICE MAKES IT COMPLETELY WORTH IT FOR OTR TRUCK DRIVERS.

SO BE SURE TO CHECK OUT BEST BUY WHEN CONSIDRING A PURCHASE OF THE IPHONE.