Whether you are a seasoned truck driver or new to the career, you are probably aware of the many expenses that go along with this profession, including tolls. Toll roads are currently in 34 US states and can pose major costs to freight carriers. As a truck driver, it is important to understand how different tolling systems across the US operate so you can avoid costly mistakes when transporting freight.
Different Methods of Determining Toll Charges
There are three main methods of determining how much you will be charged for tolls.
Toll by Axle Count
Toll by axle count is the most common way of figuring out toll charges, with 5-axle, single trailer trucks being the most common configuration. Other stipulations such as single versus double tires, number of trailers, and axles-per-trailer will help determine the toll charges.
Toll by Size
The dimensions of the truck is another common method used in determining toll charges. These dimensions include width, height, and length of the truck.
Toll by Weight
Some tolling stations charge truck tolls by weight, which might be surprising to some. You may not realize it, but when you pull up to the pay booth you are driving onto a scale that is weighing the truck and applying the appropriate fee.
How Do Truck Drivers Pay for Tolls?
Truck drivers pay for tolls two ways: cash or all-electronic tolling.
Cash
Although paying with cash is still an option, there are an increasing number of toll stations that no longer accept cash. If you pass through a toll booth that is being managed by an attendant, you will be able to use cash. However, this can slow you down some.
All-Electronic Tolling (AET)
AET is a cashless service that enables toll collection through transponders or license plate readers. It also gets rid of the need to stop to pay a toll. More and more toll stations are installing transponder readers and video cameras to capture the license plates of vehicles that do not have transponders. Drivers will then receive a bill by mail to the address registered to the plate. Two examples of common AET transponders are EZ Pass and NationalPass. The EZ Pass is a battery-operated machine that is mounted on the windshield and can be used in 17 states. It is activated by prepaying and allows drivers to pass through a toll booth without stopping. The NationalPass does cost more than the EZ Pass, but it provides access to all toll roads in the US without having to transport more than one transponder. As a truck driver your driving will involve much use of the interstate, therefore, you will want to invest in an option that covers all the locations you visit often.
How to Save Money on Tolls
Besides using a transponder, another way to save money and decrease the difficulties related to tolling is to use the Tollsmart Toll Calculator for trucks. This tool allows you to easily calculate toll costs for a route and find a different route with fewer tolls. As a result, you could save a large amount of money in some areas. The app also informs you of which transponders and method of payments are accepted at each toll station on your route.
Toll roads and toll stations can be a frustrating part of anyone’s journey, especially for truck drivers who are expected to keep to a schedule and arrive at their destination by a certain time. Knowing ahead of time what to expect at toll stations, how your toll will be determined, and the options for payment will help ease any anxiety or problems that could potentially happen. If you have questions regarding toll stations, contact Direct Freight at (888) 894-4198. Any one of our staff members would be happy to answer your questions!
Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, May 30, 2024:
ATA extends Spear’s contract through 2029
ATA President & CEO Chris Spear at the 2023 ATA Management Conference & Exhibition in Austin, Texas.
The American Trucking Associations announced Wednesday that its Board of Directors last week voted unanimously to extend the contract of ATA President and CEO Chris Spear through 2029.
The extension adds on to the five-year contract Spear signed in 2021 and was announced at the conclusion of ATA’s Mid-Year Management Session in San Antonio.
“Thanks to the strong leadership of Chris Spear, the stature and effectiveness of ATA is at its highest point,” said ATA Chairman Andrew Boyle, co-president of Boyle Transportation. “Regardless of the political landscape, Chris secures advocacy wins on behalf of our members. He’s a strategic thinker and acts with a great sense of urgency. He and the talented team he’s assembled ensure that the trucking industry has the backing we need to deliver for our economy and the American people. We are thrilled that Chris will continue to lead ATA to even greater success in the years ahead.”
Since 2016, Spear has served as the ATA’s ninth president and CEO. During his tenure, Spear has advanced major policy priorities for ATA, the group said, including federal infrastructure investment, lawsuit abuse reform, interstate commerce protections, and the defeat of truck-only tolling schemes.
“I’m grateful for the confidence and support of the ATA board, and I’m excited to tackle the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead,” Spear said. “Trucking is the heartbeat of this nation, and it is my honor to serve this incredible industry. I look forward to putting more wins on the board for ATA and our valued members.”
After more than two years with diesel prices mostly at or above $4 a gallon, even above $5 for several months, the nation’s average diesel prices are now back to where they were before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Energy Information Administration in its weekly report this week reported that the U.S.’ national average for a gallon of on-highway diesel is $3.76, the lowest since the week ending Jan. 17, 2022, when prices averaged $3.73 a gallon.
Since the last time prices were at this level, diesel spiked in late February 2022 and spent much of the rest of the year averaging over $5 a gallon. Then, in 2023, diesel remained above $4 a gallon for much of the year. This year, prices have been hovering around $4 a gallon and now are on the sixth consecutive week of declines.
During the most recent week, prices fell in all but one region — the Central Atlantic, where prices jumped by nine-tenths of a cent.
The largest decreases during the week were seen in California, where prices fell by 6.4 cents, and the Midwest, which saw a 5.2-cent decrease.
With its decrease, California’s average dropped below $5 a gallon to $4.99. The next highest average price is in New England at $4.15 a gallon.
The cheapest fuel can be found in the Gulf Coast region at $3.48 a gallon, followed by the Midwest at $3.63 a gallon.
Prices in other regions, according to EIA:
Central Atlantic — $4.12
Lower Atlantic — $3.77
Rocky Mountain — $3.71
West Coast less California — $3.98
FMCSA corrects pre-CDL waiver request from Covenant, Landair
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in a Federal Register notice publishing Thursday that it is correcting a notice published May 23 regarding a petition from Covenant Logistics that contained two errors.
In the petition, Covenant Transport and Landair Transport, jointly doing business as Covenant Logistics, asked for a waiver to allow pre-CDL drivers to operate without a CDL holder in the passenger seat.
The original notice stated that the Covenant hires approximately 1,200 new drivers each year through driver training schools, adding that the company estimates that approximately 2,000 drivers annually would operate under the requested waiver.
FMCSA’s notice publishing Thursday corrects those numbers to reflect that the company hires approximately 2,400 new drivers each year through driver training schools and that the company estimates 4,000 drivers annually would operate under the requested exemption.
“Is this a test?” That’s a question that you hear often in school. There’s always someone wondering whether the assignment at hand counts for a grade. There’s no ambiguity about that when it comes to the driving test. You may be a bit nervous knowing that you need to do well on this test. The good news is there are plenty of strategies that can help you gain the confidence to take the test and pass it with flying colors.
Quizzing Your Knowledge
The driving test for truck drivers is like a rite of passage to be inducted into the long list of licensed drivers who take part in making the world a better place. The driving test can be a challenge but preparing for it and ensuring you know your stuff can go far in helping you curb the anxiety you may feel. The best things you can do to prepare are to attend a CDL training class (which is required by most driving positions), research study materials online, and talk to your instructor or other licensed drivers about their experience taking the driving test.
Taking the Test
The driving test is not designed to be difficult, but rather to assess your knowledge to ensure that you will be a safe driver on the road. Through your experience in the CDL training class, your prior experience driving with a CPL, and studying the rules and regulations you must follow on and off the road, the test will be a breeze. The most important tip for studying for the test is to take practice tests. Understanding the format and content of the test will greatly help with combatting stress. There are many free practice tests available online!
In addition to being familiar with the content of the test, being in tune with yourself and making sure you are feeling well enough to take the test, both physically and mentally, will allow your test taking experience to be as painless as possible. If you are feeling particularly anxious about the test, study and take practice tests until you are doing well enough to pass each time. Once you reach this level of knowledge, you should feel comfortable taking the test!
Pass With Flying Colors
Passing the driving test with flying colors is a task that you can surely handle with enough preparation and practice. Being sure to familiarize yourself with the content and format of the test will help to decrease your stress and put your best foot forward! Remember as you are preparing to take the test, to get enough sleep the day before and eat a good breakfast to ensure your brain is ready and that you are as comfortable as possible for your experience. Trucking is a great career, and we are glad you’ve decided to join in on the world’s greatest industry. Good luck on your test!
Hamilton’s Aberdeen Ave. has been voted the worst road in Ontario, as part of the CAA’s Worst Road for 2024 competition.
Voters put it forward due to potholes, poor maintenance and traffic congestion. It’s the first time Aberdeen Ave. has topped the list, which it made for the first time in 2021.
Hamilton’s Aberdeen Ave. earned the dubious distinction of being Ontario’s worst road. (Photo: CAA)
The CAA says its program is intended to get bad roads the attention they need for repairs.
“We know that the campaign works; time and time again, we see roads and infrastructure projects being moved up and budgets prioritized after the road has appeared on the list,” says Teresa Di Felice, assistant vice-president of government and community relations, CAA South Central Ontario. “For the last 21 years, the campaign has given Ontarians a voice to help them nominate the roads they believe are in need of urgent repair.”
More than 2,000 Ontario roads received votes, from 145 municipalities. Most respondents cited potholes as the primary reason for their vote, followed by poor maintenance, congestion and poor cycling infrastructure.
The truck driver shortage is the Loch Ness Monster of the logistics world. Some swear it exists. Others think it’s a myth. The rest are just trying to make a buck off the spectacle.
On one side is the American Trucking Association (ATA), which represents big trucking companies and claim there’s a shortage of 79,893 drivers in the U.S. Conversely, we have the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), who says not only do we have all the drivers we need, we might have too many.
My plan to solve this so-called driver shortage? It’s as simple as it is fantastical. Let’s start with Dwight D. Eisenhower, who warned us about the military-industrial complex. You remember Ike, right? The president told us to beware of the monster under the bed, only for us to respond, “What bed?”
Here’s the deal
America has always been a military-industrial complex. It’s in our DNA. We churn out war machines and warriors like McDonald’s churns out Big Macs, and anyone who says “Make America Great Again” needs a history lesson and a reality check. Even on our worst day we’re still the best house in a bad neighborhood.
The machine needs to be fed. And what does it need? People. Healthy, educated, patriotic people. One key ingredient for this human smoothie? 18-year-olds.
Back in my day, when we turned 18 it was straight into the meat grinder of Vietnam. June 1966: Career Day in the gymnasium, where defense contractors, community colleges, private enterprises and military recruiters outnumbered the kids. The Marines sweet talked us into becoming Marine recruits with promises of camaraderie and delayed entry buddy programs. My buddies and I signed up faster than you can say, “Semper Fi.”
That formative experience gave me a lightbulb moment: why not solve the truck driver shortage and the immigration conundrum in one fell swoop?
Brace yourselves for my ingenious plan
Let’s set up permanent career day centers at strategic locations. Think of them as the DMV, but with less soul-crushing bureaucracy. Eighteen-year-olds and immigrants seeking asylum walk in and they don’t leave until they’re a cog in the great American machine. Dr. W. Edwards Deming said, “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do and then do your best.” So we’ll train them to do precisely what the machine needs: Warfighters. And what do Warfighters need? Supplies.
As Sun Tzu said in the Art of War, “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” Ike Eisenhower built the National Defense Highway System, so, logically, truck drivers should be considered part of our National Defense system. Think about it: as part of our national security system, truck drivers could perform double duty, even triple duty. Why not extra pay for a truck driver who is also trained as a medic for war or civilian service? Extra bucks when you own profound knowledge. How about basic car rescue skills after an accident? Truck drivers should have PhDs in various side-of-the-highway skills and be paid accordingly.
And for those who don’t want to be part of the military-industrial-trucking complex, we’ll have alternatives. Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, World Central Kitchen – we’ll create a new agency if needed. Can you cook? You’re feeding the world’s hungry with José Andrés and the World Central Kitchen. Don’t like that? Fine, we’ll find something for you to do. The machine needs all sorts of cogs.
As Deming also said, “Learning is not compulsory… neither is survival.” So let’s ensure these recruits learn something useful that keeps them – and the rest of us – rolling along. In the end, we’ll have no truck driver shortage and everyone will have a place in America’s grand, chaotic and perpetually dysfunctional mosaic.
So there you have it, folks. A plan so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel. And remember, as Dr. Deming wisely noted, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” Let’s fix the system one truck driver at a time. As Sun Tzu might have said if he had to navigate the I-95 during rush hour, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” Let’s seize it, one 18-wheeler at a time.
Bob Rutherford is a 50-year veteran of the trucking industry. Thirty of those years were as a member of the TMC where he earned both the Silver Spark Plug and Recognized Associate awards for his contributions to the industry. He is also an Ambassador for the EnergyandMobility.org Conference.
As a truck driver you are well aware of the long hours, in the seated position, while watching the road pass by. Here are some helpful tips to keep your body limber, even while on the road.
Take Advantage of What’s Around
The easiest form of exercise is walking. Depending on weather and location, walking can be the most convenient option for physical activity. Checking out the local parks or walking around the parking lot of a truck stop can be an easy way to keep yourself moving.
A simple, daily 15-30 minute walk can greatly improve your overall health. Walking is great for your heart, increases your metabolic rate, helps tone your muscles, and can help protect your joints, especially in your knees and hips.
If the weather is unfavorable, you may consider purchasing a gym membership. Nowadays, several gyms have 24 hour access and with locations across the county. The 24 hour access is not only for exercise equipment, but most gyms have amenities such as showers and massage chairs to help relax your muscles. These amenities are excellent for a body that is often in a seated position.
Stretching
Driving long distances means longer sitting times, which can lead to pain in your neck and back. Stretching your body before, during, and after a long drive can help decrease your chances of having any injury to your neck or back.
Stretching can greatly improve your physical performance because it helps your joints move through their full range of motion, increasing your overall flexibility. Starting the day out with stretching will help enable your muscles to work effectively and decrease muscle stiffness. The more flexible your muscles and joints are the less risk of injury there is, which means a smoother drive for you!
Consider keeping simple exercise equipment in your truck, such as a yoga mat or weights, so you can stretch and exercise your muscles while on the road.
Keep Healthy Snacks On Hand
Keeping active and exercising as a truck driver is very important, but we all know that exercise and diet go hand in hand. It can seem hard to eat right while on the road, especially if you have limited time to stop and eat. This is why keeping healthy, easy to grab snacks readily available can be a great benefit to help you maintain your overall health! Some examples of healthy on-the-go snacks would be:
Trail Mix
Jerky
Popcorn
Dried Fruit
Choosing nutritious and filling snacks may help avoid any hunger attacks while on the road and can play a large role in your overall health.
Truck driving can be hard on your body, but the journey to better health is all about developing good habits. Try implementing some of these recommendations to your daily routine and help guide your body back to good health!
Dump truck drivers in British Columbia will be required to have an in-cab warning device to alert them to a raised bed starting this weekend.
On Saturday, June 1, 2024, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will require all dump trucks with a box that can be raised over 4.15 meters to be equipped with a system to warn the truck driver that the dump box is in the raised position.
Dump truck drivers caught operating without the in-cab warning system after June 1 are subject to a $598 fine.
The in-cab warning device requirement applies to any commercial dump truck operating in B.C., including those entering the province from other areas.
“Commercial vehicle infrastructure crashes cause damage, block the movement of people and goods, and create safety risks for everyone on the road. The overwhelming majority of truck drivers are responsible, but the trucking industry has called for tougher action on the small number of irresponsible operators that have caused these crashes,” B.C. officials said.
The in-cab warning devices are just the last step that the B.C. government has taken in response to an uptick in costly commercial vehicle bridge strikes. Officials implemented new overheight vehicle regulations and increased fines in late 2023. In April 2024, a commercial vehicle speed limiter mandate went into effect to try to curb infrastructure strikes.
Transport Canada has announced plans to build a new $29-million commercial vehicle laboratory at its Motor Vehicle Test Centre.
The facility, available for Transport Canada and private sector testing, will be 4,400 square meters (43,000 sq.-ft.), in addition to the 11,300 square meters (122,000 sq.-ft.) of existing lab space.
“These investments at the Motor Vehicle Test Centre will transform it into a state-of-the-art facility, among the most advanced in the world,” said federal Transport Minister, Pablo Rodriguez. “The Motor Vehicle Test Centre is a key part of the local automotive industry and will continue to drive innovation and safety for Canadians on our roads.”
Construction is set to finish by the fall of 2025.
A test track at the Transport Canada Motor Vehicle Test Centre. (Photo: PMG)
Statistics show that most truck drivers leave their jobs because they feel underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated. When the amount of work exceeds the number of employees, more responsibility is expected from the remaining team members. With these added pressures, it can cause the drivers to start looking for other opportunities with new employers.
Driver retention is a top issue facing the commercial trucking industry. Here are a few suggestions for how your company can increase job satisfaction and ultimately employee retention
Set Realistic Job Expectations
Commit to Providing Employer Support
Offer Competitive Pay
Support Driver Health
Encourage Input and Feedback
From the beginning, a driver should understand what is expected of them for the job. The training and support that is provided can help employees clearly understand the expectations and help guide them to effectively complete their tasks. Detailed training will help new employees understand the basics of the job, understand the workplace culture, and ensure that they have the necessary tools and knowledge to do the work. Clear training opportunities make for a better driver and allow for a driver to improve their skills!
Let’s talk about money. Compensation is one of the top reasons why an employee will seek out other opportunities. It is important to evaluate and adjust salaries, and if your company can, offer things such as bonuses, additional healthcare benefits and retirement plans. By offering health benefits, stress-management programs, retirement planning or offering gym membership, employees feel better supported when their employer prioritizes their overall well-being. Being competitive in the industry will help entice new applicants and keep your employees for the long run.
An open door policy is beneficial for any industry. Employees should feel like they can come to their employers with ideas, questions, and concerns at any time. As an employer, providing timely, constructive and positive communication will create an atmosphere of connection and job satisfaction. Good workplace communication can help employees understand how to reach their professional goals and help them visualize their future with the company.
These are just a few suggestions for how your company can increase job satisfaction and employee retention. Be sure to re-evaluate your efforts regularly by staying current on market standards for salary and benefits and the best practices for developing strong manager-employee relations. High performing truck drivers are an incredibly valuable asset to any business.
It is inevitable that there will be some employees that will leave your company sooner than you may like, but by applying some of these suggestions you can at least hope that they will leave knowing that they were valued and supported.
Peterbilt in April introduced its new Digital Vision System-Mirrors (DVS-M) for models 579 and 567, an electric camera and monitor system that supplements standard side mirrors for better visibility, safety and up to a 1.5% fuel economy improvement.
The rear-view side mirror has been a safety standard since the 1960s – about 50 years after Ray Harroun first strapped one to the cowl of his Marmon Wasp before running (and winning) the 1911 Indy 500. Until recently, there’s not been a lot of innovation in the business of looking backward.
Checking the mirror is a pretty analog process: you whip your head in either direction, give the glass a peak and do your thing. Maybe you need to rock or lean in the seat a little. But those days are long behind us now.
Peterbilt’s platform uses a single High Dynamic Range (HDR) camera integrated into the driver side mirror head and two HDR cameras integrated into the passenger side mirror head, each featuring hydrophobic lenses to repel water, ice and dust which ensures visibility during harsh conditions.Peterbilt’s platform uses a single High Dynamic Range (HDR) camera integrated into the driver side mirror head and two HDR cameras integrated into the passenger side mirror head, each featuring hydrophobic lenses to repel water, ice and dust, which ensures visibility during poor conditions.
The DVS-M helps improve driver safety by reducing blind spots, providing clear visibility during inclement weather and by reducing the distraction of headlight glare at night. It also has an automatic camera defrost when temperatures reach below 43°F. Defrost wasn’t a feature that came in too handy for my super-sexy Model 579 EPIQ over 100 or so miles around Denton and McKinney, Texas, where temps hardly dipped below 80°F.
I think it’s important to note here that the new Digital Vision System-Mirrors isn’t a mirrorless platform, nor is it a mirror replacement. Stoneridge, a pioneer in commercial truck camera systems, has an exemption for its aftermarket suite that allows it to remove mirrors at the time of install, but that exemption doesn’t cover truck manufacturers who are federally required to affix traditional mirrors. As such, Pete’s DVS-M are integrated into a pair of hyper-aerodynamic mirrors, which is where the fuel economy improvement comes from. Peterbilt’s DVS-M system is built on Stoneridge’s platform, but it’s tailored for the truck, including a driver interface that is fairly simple and straightforward.
The inclusion of standard mirrors provides a layer of redundancy in the unlikely event of a system failure, but the cameras also provide a wider field of view than the glass mirrors, expanding just how much the driver can see around them.
“You can’t have too much visibility,” noted Jacob White, product marketing director for Peterbilt, adding that glass mirrors also help ease drivers into the use of the new technology. “I think some people want a transition, and having the flat glass there does that.”
The monitor gives drivers a wider field of view than a standard mirror and is easier to see in low-light conditions.Much of the portion of U.S. Highway 380 I traveled was three lanes. When I was in the far right lane and wanted to move into the middle lane, I could see in the monitor all the way into the far left lane before making the lane change, possibly avoiding an incident where a left lane rider decides to merge into the middle about the same time I do. Distance markers also make that decision easier, showing the end of the trailer and two customizable distance intervals behind it, allowing the driver to know with certainty how far a car is trailing the rig, or how close they are to bumping a dock.
Cameras, controlled by the joystick interface to the driver’s left on the door panel, are viewed on two large high-definition interior monitors. The driver side monitor is 12.3-inches, and the passenger side monitor is 15-inches. Both are strategically placed on the A-pillars to avoid disruption in windshield visibility and to allow continued use of standard glass. They’re each easy to see without being in the way or in your face.
The monitors can be viewed in three layouts: traditional, panoramic or expanded on the passenger side, and also feature vision enhancements, including automatic trailer tracking and panning, infrared night vision and clear inclement weather vision.
It came a torrential deluge overnight and into the morning I arrived into Denton, but that gave way to chamber of commerce weather over most of our drive. We did get a few teaspoons of light sprinkling rain briefly, but it wasn’t even enough to activate the wipers, much less challenge the camera system.
I did, however, use the trailer tracking feature, and I love it. We parked the truck for a meal stop at Paccar-owned component manufacturer and assembler Dynacraft in McKinney – a parking lot not set up for an 80,000 pound rig more than 70 feet long. It wasn’t easy to get the truck in our out, but the panning camera let me watch the trailer tandems to avoid curbs (narrowly), trees (even more narrowly) and shrubbery. It’s a handy feature in any turn scenario, but it really shines when every inch matters.
During the day I usually found myself checking first the glass mirrors (old habits die hard) and confirming what I saw with the monitor since it was picking up a broader range than the mirrors. At night, I noticed these roles reverse. The infrared-enhanced image quality coming from the camera system compared to looking into a dark mirror is like night and day. I almost exclusively used the monitors after the sun went down because visibility was so much better.
The monitors feature an auto adjusting brightness to avoid driver interaction while on the road, so there wasn’t anything for me to do as the sun went down and the moon came out. Screen brightness at night is perfect: well lit enough that the driver can easily see alongside and behind the rig, but not so bright that it’s problematic looking forward. From the placement of the cameras and monitors to the auto-adjusting features, the entire platform is very much out of the way. It’s very neatly packaged and tucked in just the right spots.
When I drove Stoneridge’s system in 2020 I noted that I found backing difficult, but I’ve gotten better (marginally) in four years. Positioning the rig to get out of the Dynacraft parking lot and returning it to Pete HQ required some time in reverse. Each time I was able to get the trailer to go where I needed it to be but it was, at times, not pretty. There is a finesse that comes with using this technology to back up that’s difficult to polish in 5 hours going forward and just 5 minutes in reverse. My guess is over the course of a couple days, a professional driver would master it. In the meantime, the regular glass mirrors are still there, so there’s really no downside here.
There is no arguing that Peterbilt’s Digital Vision System-Mirrors can be an important part of a suite of safety technologies. The system simply provides more and better visibility and reduces blindspots, and it makes a strong case not only for on-highway fleets. Think about how many people are moving and darting around construction sites (DVS-M is also available for Model 567). The system makes people and other pieces of equipment more visible, giving them fewer places to unintentionally hide.
Pete’s DVS-M is a safety play likely geared toward carriers who already embrace features like automatic emergency braking and lane centering, among a host of others, but it’s an important safety element because it’s not reactionary. It’s doesn’t correct or mitigate mistakes. DVS-M gives the driver the opportunity to make more informed and safer decisions, possibly preventing cases where automatic emergency braking and lane centering would ever need to engage and preventing the mistake from ever happening.
