Mar 23, 2017 • Community

President Trump Discusses The Trucking Industry

President Trump met with executives from the trucking industry as well as representatives from the American Trucking Association on Thursday at the White House, including ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

Topics of the discussion included the new health care bill which repeals the Affordable Care Act as well as infrastructure and other important topics facing the trucking industry.

“Trucking is the backbone of the nation’s economy. We employ 1 in 16 people in the U.S. Driving a truck is the top job in 29 states. Trucking moves 70% of the nation’s freight and 56% of GDP. To grow our economy, we need to take care of the people that move America forward,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.

ATA Supports President Trump’s Healthcare Plan

The Affordable Care Act was established by the Obama Administration seven years ago to the day. A vote by the House on a new health care bill was expected today but has since been delayed.

“The Affordable Care Act is just plain unaffordable,” Spear said. “Replacing this law will help trucking employees, their families and our customers by lowering insurance costs, decrease mandates, liabilities and administrative burdens, and provide access to quality care and patient choice.”

Provisions that will remain:

Dependent coverage up to the age of 26
Pre-existing conditions are protected
No lifetime limits
Keeps cap on maximum out-of pocket expenses

New provisions:

Eliminates employer mandates
Subsidies include refundable tax credits
Medicaid would be overhauled and more responsibiities would be left to states

Trump ❤ Trucks

If he promised not to tweet anything crazy today, we told him he could wear his "I ❤Trucks" button. pic.twitter.com/zTdCxOpatK
— Trump Social Intern (@TrumPenceSocial) March 23, 2017

Top 10 Counties For Cargo Theft [p]Cargo theft is a growing concern for the trucking industry with driver safety at the forefront. Here's a closer look at the worst areas.[/p] [h2]Top 10 Counties for Cargo Theft in America[/h2] [p]Being a truck driver is the most dangerous job in America and the threat of cargo theft from potentially armed thieves looking to steal truck cargo escalates the risks for truck drivers.[/p] [p]According to CargoNet, there were 836 occurrences of cargo theft resulting in an estimated $172.9 million in losses during 2016. [a href="https://app.appsflyer.com/com.sixdays.truckerpath?pid=Social Facebook"]Los Angeles County had 329 thefts reported from July 2013 – July 2016, the most of any other county in America.[/a] The worst state for cargo thefts was California, with 228 thefts, an increase of 36 percent from 2015. The most common day of the week for cargo thefts was Friday with 164 incidents. There was a 5.1 percent decrease in total cargo thefts in 2016 compared to 2015.[/p] [ol-2] [li]Los Angeles County, CA[/li] [li]Dallas County, TX[/li] [li]San Bernardino County, CA[/li] [li]Chicago Cook County, IL[/li] [li]Miami-Dade County, FL[/li] [li]Houston Harris County, TX[/li] [li]Tarrant County, TX[/li] [li]Edison Middlesex County, IL[/li] [li]Bolingbrook Will County, IL[/li] [li]Riverside County, CA[/li] [/ol-2] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2017/02/cargoNet.jpg" alt=""] [h2]Most Common Cargo Theft Locations[/h2] [ol] [li]Warehouse/Distribution Center – 329[/li] [li]Other – 295[/li] [li]Parking Lot – 170[/li] [li]Secured Yard – 166[/li] [li]Unsecured Yard – 120[/li] [/ol] [h2] Avoid Cargo Theft - Find Truck Parking with Trucker Path [/h2] [p] With over 8,000 locations to find parking in our app, you can find safe truck parking at the truck stop, rest area even Wal-mart of your choice. We even have a list of the <a href="https://truckerpath.com/blog/best-truck-stops/">best truck stops in America!</a> [p]Best of all you can see how many truck parking spots a truck stop has and see if there are any available in real-time. Download our free app today in order to save yourself time and provide you with the peace of mind you deserve.[/p] [button-green href="https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cargotheft2015"]Learn More About Trucker Path![/button-green] [video id="NSSOwFRJaQw"] [quote]“Cargo theft continues to be a pervasive issue,” said Anthony Canale, general manager of CargoNet. “Our 2015 year-end report indicated 881 incidents of cargo theft took place across North America. That increased from 844 cargo thefts reported in 2014 and accounted for more than $175 million in goods. While thieves continue to get more tech-savvy with their approaches, there are measures that can be put in place to stop them, ranging from proactive deterrence tactics to extensive recovery assistance.”[/quote] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2017/02/CARGO-THEFT-FB.jpg" alt=""]

Feb 03, 2017 • Carriers

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Approves Plan [p]President Donald Trump and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are focused on building what they refer to as a "21st-century infrastructure for America." Will issues addressing the [a href="https://app.appsflyer.com/com.sixdays.truckerpath?pid=Social Facebook"]trucking industry[/a] be considered?[/p] [h2]President Trump's Infrastructure Plan[/h2] [p]During his campaign, President Trump promised a $1 trillion plan to improve infrastructure. He has also outlined a project called the "Priority List: Emergency National Security Projects." President Trump's infrastructure plan is focused on rebuilding American roads, highways and railways while creating approximately 24,000 jobs over a 10-year span. In relation to truck drivers, [b]highways and bridges are proposed to be granted approximately $21.5 billion in funding for improvements and make up nearly 21 percent of jobs created within the plan.[/b][/p] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2017/01/TrumpInfrastructureProjects-Mobile-2.jpg" alt=""] [p][i]Breakdown of President Trump’s proposed $140 billion infrastructure improvement plan.[/i][/p] [h2]Senate Democrats $1 Trillion Infrastructure Plan[/h2] [p]Last week, Senate Democrats introduced a $1 trillion [a href="http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/3/a/3a637d02-3dcd-4c21-8477-c9911f7fb94c/DD33CA340E4E7E4ED69C704ED09092EC.a-blueprint-to-rebuild-america-s-infrastructure.pdf"]infrastructure plan[/a] that included $10 billion for [b]TIGER Grants[/b] to invest in limiting transportation congestion and create projects with a focus on freight bottlenecks and shorter commutes.[/p] [h2]TIGER Grant Impact on Truck Parking[/h2] [p]In 2015, the USDOT issued $25 million in TIGER Grant funding for the Regional Truck Parking Information and Management Systems. The grant was issued for eight states including, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.[/p] [p]However, the USDOT was only able to fund [b]five percent[/b] of the amount requested by the states to complete proposals in the TIGER Grant program.[/p] [p]Currently, it is unclear what proposed infrastructure plan and the details associated with said plan will be passed.[/p] [h2]Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Oversight Plan[/h2] [p][i]Bill Shuster (R-PA),Chairman of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.[/i][/p] [p]The committee has launched a [a href="http://transport.house.gov/building21/"]#buidling21[/a] campaign on social media focused on bringing awareness to its plan to rebuilt America – highlighting an infrastructure made for the 21st century. “Thanks to the hard work of our members, our committee has built a record of success over the last four years moving large, complex pieces of legislation to improve our transportation networks and our infrastructure,” said Shuster (R-PA). “This Congress, we have more work to do, and a golden opportunity to build a 21st-century infrastructure for America.”[/p] [video id="v3zZbhRLT3M"] [p]The Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, headed by Lloyd Smucker (R-PA),will focus its responsibilities on three specific implementations:[/p] [p][b]1. FAST Act Implementation[/b][/p] [p]The Fixing America's Surface Surface Transportation Act signed on December 4, 2015, authorizes $305 billion for infrastructure reform for highways, public transportation and safety improvements through the fiscal year 2020.[/p] [p][b]2. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act Implementation[/b][/p] [p]The subcommittee will also continue oversight of [b]MAP-21[/b] which includes the principles of:[/p] [ul] [li]Raising the bar to enter the industry and operate on American roads[/li] [li]Holding motor carrier and drivers to the highest safety standards[/li] [li]Removing the highest risk drivers, vehicles and carriers from American roads[/li] [/ul] [p][b]3. Monitor Highway Trust Fund (HTF) Revenue[/b][/p] [p]The federal highway and transportation programs are financed through taxes placed on fuel and products such as heavy-duty truck tires. The revenue gathered from these taxes fund the HTF and meet the needs of future transportation investments.[/p] [button-white href="http://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2017-01-31-115th_authorization_and_oversight_plan.pdf"]Oversight Plan[/button-white]

Jan 31, 2017

5 Meal Prep Tips [p]It isn’t difficult to meal prep if you have a full kitchen and the time to do so. If you have to go without either of those, it can be about as enjoyable as tattooing yourself with a pairing knife and red-onion ink. We don't advise you to try that either. Instead, try these meal prep tips [a href="https://app.appsflyer.com/com.sixdays.truckerpath?pid=Social Facebook"]for any truck driver[/a].[/p] [p]There are practical ways that you can save time and work with less, allowing you to meal prep and prevent your truck cab from looking like a scene from the [i]Texas Chainsaw Massacre.[/i][/p] [h2]1. Batching[/h2] [p]Batching is a principle that will save you time in more than just meal prep. It is the idea of grouping time-consuming tasks together to minimize set up time and unnecessary repetition. For example, when cooking you should find a time to spend about an hour cutting up vegetables, fruit, and meats into the required sizes for cooking so that your meal preparation doesn’t have to include the time necessary for the setup and clean up from that process every time.[/p] [p]It is much easier to throw a few already prepped ingredients into a Crock-Pot and keep driving until they are finished cooking instead of having to prepare your ingredients and cook them all at once. Batching will also greatly simplify your food storage and cut down on wasted space, something that is a premium in your truck.[/p] [giphy]<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/c1QkCUFZzr2ZW" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe>[/giphy] [h2]2. Crock-Pot Recipes[/h2] [p]When you are on the road for long hours and have to make up time, the Crock-Pot is your friend, a friend that you should rely on often. A Crock Pot or slow cooker is an excellent tool for producing high-quality meals with very minimal time and effort. You can simultaneously cook meat for breakfast, lunch, supper, as well as potatoes, onions, carrots, sweet potatoes, leeks, mushrooms, bell peppers, and garlic, to be used different meals throughout the day.[/p] [p]Being on the road shouldn't restrict your ability to prepare meals. Sure it's not as easy as having a full-service kitchen, yet it's possible to eat delicious and healthy meals out of your truck. You can make chili, chicken with roasted red potatoes and carrots or even a pork tenderloin roast. Your mouth watering yet?[/p] [p]What are you waiting for? It's not like you're stuck in a dock for your truck to be unloaded. Well, maybe some of you truck drivers actually are. In that case, now is the time to start your meal prep.[/p] [p][a href="https://thehungryhauler.com/"]Try some of these easy recipes now![/a][/p] [h2]3. Reuse and Modify Ingredients[/h2] [p]Reusing and modifying ingredients can instantly make your life easier! The basic idea is to cook one kind of meat, like chicken or lean beef that will work well with a variety of other sides to make different meals. In one day you might have a roast beef sandwich, a fresh spinach salad with onions, mushrooms, cheese and chopped roast beef for protein, and a proper roast beef dinner. You can manipulate flavors with different sauces to further distinguish meals from each other. Using the Crock-Pot will allow you to cook the beef and vegetables with a savory sauce in just a few hours while you are driving.[/p] [h2]4. Raw Foods[/h2] [p]Eat foods that require no prep! It's the simplest way to eat while on the road. As a trucker, you won't always have time to meal prep while delivering loads on a strict dock schedule. Stay full longer with raw foods like:[/p] [ul] [li]Nuts[/li] [li]Bananas[/li] [li]Apples[/li] [li]Carrots[/li] [li]Grapes[/li] [li]Yogurt[/li] [li]Granola Bars[/li] [/ul] [p]High-protein snacks like nuts, low-sodium beef jerky and yogurt can keep you full longer and taste great. They will help you even out low blood sugar levels between meals and keep you from either overeating at meal times or impulsively stopping for a Big Mac. Sure that greasy burger can be so tempting but it can also cause you and your truck a lot of headaches.[/p] <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https:%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTruckerPath%2Fposts%2F933437856802497:0&width=500" width="500" height="489" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> [p]Remember you don’t need or want, to eat 5 or more large meals per day. The idea is to eat a reasonable amount of food, more often and in smaller amounts per meal to avoid making a train-wreck of your digestive system.[/p] [h2]5. Drink Less Pop and Juice[/h2] [p]Pop or soda, whatever you prefer to call it, sugary drinks like Coke and Sprite are equally refreshing as they are hazardous to you. They are full of sugar and sugar substitutes that aren’t doing you any favors except spiking your sugar levels and leading to obesity. Having one every now and then isn't horrible but it shouldn't be a regular occurrence. By regular we mean more than once a week.[/p] [p]Opt for only 100 percent juices and drink coffee or tea, hot or cold, but preferably without sugar. This will save your health and your wallet big time! You can easily make coffee or tea last most of your day by purchasing a good thermos to keep your drink hot or cold. You can also try flavor herbal teas and steep them with water and lemon juice for a healthy alternative to drinks full of sugar.[/p] [giphy]<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/DThaUIr0f1mkE" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe>[/giphy] [p]Life as a trucker can be an amazing adventure and a rewarding career. But for too many truck drivers it can be a life-ending career, with many dying fifteen to twenty years before the national expectancy. Many of the health problems that take the life of truckers before their time can be reduced dramatically by taking control of food intake and making healthier choices. Here's to another Wellness Wednesday![/p] [br][p][i]Contributor: John Heslop[/i][/p]

Jan 25, 2017