Bruce Outridge

Lane management, fact or fiction?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Bruce

It is amazing to me how we forget the basic rules of the road after driving for a while. There used to be respect and consideration for others on the roadways, but today that has changed drastically. The biggest thing I have seen is that attitudes have overtaken courtesy. We are all in a hurry to get where we are going but we need to get back to courtesy on the roadways.

Much of that starts with training. Most people getting their licenses these days are taking some type of training course, whether it is for a basic license or a commercial license. So my question is what are they being taught? Are they being thought to tailgate people on the highway, are they being taught to drive in the left lane even if no other cars are present? From what I have seen this seems to be the main stay of how people drive these days. Recently on returning from a business trip in Windsor Ontario I was amazed at how many people are driving blindly down the road without any regard as to who is travelling around them. They don’t move over when driving in the left lane after passing someone, they don’t look in their mirrors, they tailgate or use their vehicles to bully others, and many are still using cell phones and technology while driving down the road. Have we gotten to the point where laws, respect, and common sense are over ruled by our own need to hurry to where we need to be? Hey you don’t have to believe what I say, just take a look around you. Even on social media the other day it showed a truck passing a stopped school bus on the right shoulder of the road while it stopped to pick up kids, what was that driver thinking?

So what is the solution? Heck if I knew that I would be the Minister of Transportation, but here is what we should be doing. We need to start with the individual, we need to begin with ourselves. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time as the joke states. We need to change our driving habits one person at a time. Start with yourself, do you use your cell phone while driving? If so make a pact with yourself to not use your phone while driving. Are you one of those people that are always rushing and running late? Work on leaving earlier so that you have more time to follow the rules of the road. Are you one of those people that stay in the left lane and never move out of the way for other vehicles, then it is time to learn proper lane management and do your best to stay off to the right when not passing others. Some will argue that you can’t conduct proper lane management on the QEW in Toronto and I would give the benefit of the doubt for that area, but I see the same thing happening out on the open road. If you forget to move back over then that means you are not paying attention to your driving. If you’re an instructor lets start teaching our students the proper way to operate on the roadways. Let’s start teaching the basics of road courtesy and let’s get our roadways back to where they used to be before life became so hurried.

About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant and author of the books Driven to a Drive and Running by the Mile. More information can be found on his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

Five Questions You Should be Asking Carrier Representatives

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Bruce

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As we roll into trade show season, the carriers will be out in full strength looking for potential candidates for their fleets. They’ll look real slick, have those glossy brochures available for you to take home, and will try to entice you with new

Bruce Outridge

equipment and promises of getting home regularly. Most of them are honest and will do their best to meet the wants and needs of the candidates joining their teams, but is that the information you really need to know? Many new drivers and potential drivers don’t know what to ask when talking with carriers and often are disappointed when the environment at the company isn’t what they expected.

Where does the company run and how long am I expected to be away?
This is the first question to be asking a recruiter. Why, you ask? If they run to California on a regular basis and you want to be home every night you won’t be happy there for long. Match the carrier to your lifestyle, not the other way around.

Do you pay hub miles or PC miles?
Ask the carrier how you are being paid for mileage. Hub miles mean you are paid for every mile you run where as PC miles means they are using a program that estimates the miles. Many are paying via PC miles and there is nothing wrong with that, but you need to make sure it is fair. Ask them to show you a normal run to a city like Chicago and show you the mileage. If they pay 500 miles to Chicago, but your delivery is on the far side and you run 550 you may find you are not making as much money as you could. Also ask about other items like pick ups, deliveries, and border crossings to see how they pay for those items.

What is the maintenance program like at your company?
This is extremely important for owner operators to ask, but ask about their maintenance and repair operation. You don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t care about preventative maintenance or the cleanliness of their equipment.

What are the company culture and incentive programs like?
Make sure you ask about the company culture, is it safety oriented, do they appreciate their employees, do they have a safety program or benefit program? These aren’t necessities but carriers that appreciate their drivers and staff are where you want to work. You certainly want to know that you are appreciated for working hard.

What are the options for growth at the company?
You may only be looking for experience at this point but if you happen to sign on with a good carrier there is no reason to think you have to leave them if you are happy there. I always look for a company to call home hoping for a twenty year career. Ask if there are places to grow in the company should it be a good fit. How will you know you are moving up in your career, do they honour you with better runs, better equipment, better pay? Are there options to moving into the office in safety, recruiting or more? Look at your long term goals along with the short term and you may find you hit a home run when signing on with a carrier.

Carriers are looking for people that want to work, but it is important that you also interview the carrier to make sure that you are going to work for a company that cares about you. There are many good ones and many that are not so good. You may feel you have to take the first carrier that comes along, but often that is not the best way to make an important decision such as where to go to work. Be proactive in your search, you’ll be glad you did. Good luck with the search!

About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant with over 30 years experience and author of the books Driven to Drive and Running by the Mile. For more information please visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

How Good is Your Company?

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Bruce

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You’ve probably ready them in the trade magazines, you know the ones, the ones that report on how good a company is to work for. I’ve read them many times and know of many of the companies that they talk about. Business is hard and hats off to any company that gets a mentioned in those reports, you must be doing something right and it is a long hard battle to reach the top. Many times though the reporting structure is based on a variety of positions and people in the company and information received in ballots and so on. So you can take all of those factors into account before weighing the truth or you can work from your own criteria. Often you will find that the fleets mentioned have different types of operations and are really not competing against anyone but themselves. Now I am not judging the facts or asking for recounts or any such things. I just bring this up to ask you one simple question and the only answer that matters is yours. What do you think of your company as far as a place of employment?

Why did I ask you this? I asked you this to get your thought process going about your career. The only person that can answer that is you and you should be the only person that matters from your career standpoint. So how do you like where you work? First remember this is not a perfect world, and how people rate where they are will be different for everyone. For me a good company to drive for is a place where they give you steady miles with little wait time, good quality customers that understand the importance of a quality carrier, clean well maintained equipment, operational staff that has been in the driver’s seat and understands the frustrations and importance of the position. Finally you want a carrier that cares about their employees and their families. If there was a death in your family and you had to get home from a location 1000 miles away, how would they do that, would they expect you to return home on your own in due time, or would they put you on the first plane back home and take care of the truck later? If you can answer positively to these questions then you probably work for a good carrier and should be happy they treat you well. Every driver should do their own driver evaluation every couple of years to make sure the carrier you work for is meeting the career goals you have set for yourself. This will help keep yourself working towards your own goals and not be swallowed up by day to day operations of a normal truck driver.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for the transportation industry.For more information visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca

Increasing Your Driver Net Worth

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Bruce

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Frank was new to transportation and the company. Fresh out of school he was eager to learn the ropes and have a successful career. He asked many questions almost to the point of annoyance, but what many didn’t know he was watching to see the successful drivers and learn how they operated. Frank had a reason for this, his work performance had been spotty, he had a habit of always trying to fit in and usually ended up taking in the wrong information. Like the time he was told to take some time off the job to go fishing and have a colleague clock in, everyone was doing it he was told until they all got caught. As the new guy Frank got fired and this seemed to be a trend in his work history. This time would be different however, and he found a few people that showed him the right way to operate was to watch and listen. As he was getting used to the new job he noticed a beautiful truck come through the gates of the yard. As the truck pulled up to the pumps for fuel Frank went over to admire the truck and introduce himself. The two drivers started up a conversation and Frank asked how he got such a beautiful ride. “The company,” replied the driver. “The company bought you a truck like that?” Frank said. “Every two or three years they bring in a few new ones,” said the driver. Frank was beaming, he would love to drive one of these beautiful rigs. “What have you got to do to get one of those?” Frank asked. “Do you have to run long, stay out for days on end or anything like that?” The driver laughed and replied, “That’s what everyone thinks, but the trick is increasing your worth to the company. Make yourself important to have around by operating like a true professional.”

Most drivers don’t think about how they work at a company. They come and go and figure the company will always need drivers not matter what they do. The truth is that a company may need those drivers, but the best thing is for them to want those drivers. That happens by making yourself so important that losing you would hurt their operation. Two things make drivers important to the company, what they know, and how they operate. A driver with experience and knowledge are extremely important to the seamless operation of a trucking company. They improve fleet performance and profit margins. The first item of importance is how a driver operates. A driver that is a safe driver, has good communication skills, a clean and neat appearance help set standards for the company, increase their professionalism to clients, and bring the operation to a place of quality. Those types of drivers are often rewarded by new equipment and incentives therefore increasing their satisfaction level while increasing their net worth to the company. The second item is knowledge, a driver that knows how to operate efficiently, can make good decisions on the road increasing a company’s operation and can move a company into new markets. These drivers are often rewarded with better runs and steady freight. If you want to remain in the top percentage of quality drivers at your company increasing your net worth is one way to do that. The worst that can happen by trying is having a successful transportation career.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant for the transportation industry with more than 30 years experience. For more information visit www.outridgeenterprises.ca

The Professional Driver Brand

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Bruce

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You’re probably wondering why I am talking about brand in an article for truck drivers. When most people think of brand they think of company logos or storefronts, products and services, but very few think of themselves as a brand. It’s like sales, if you ask people if they sell or like sales most will tell you they can’t sell or don’t like to sell. The fact is we all sell ourselves every day. You may be trying to get a new job and your selling yourself, you may be meeting with a client and be selling yourself, or you may be doing your job to the best of your ability and selling yourself to your company. The fact is we all sell ourselves continuously and need to be aware of the things we do and how they affect our careers. In my workshops and communications with business owners I stress the fact that their name is their brand and that logos, products, and other business items are secondary. So what does this have to do with truck drivers?

When I hold workshops for professional drivers I get two types of people in the workshop. One set is very eager to have a successful career and are new to the industry, the other have been around a while and figure their career has already been set. In the workshop my main message is that what you do throughout your career follows you where ever you go. The reason for that is that is your brand. Your name is your brand and if you think of yourself as a little business you will protect that name for all it’s worth. Your name is what people know you by and gives them the first impression as to the type of person you are. We all know how small the transportation industry is and names and facts get around. Some companies won’t care but most decent companies won’t jeopardize their record by hiring people that will tarnish their image or safety record. Your name, brand, and image are all connected which makes you either a liability or an asset, the choice is yours. The same as teenagers we don’t think the things we do earlier in life will affect us later on but we all know or find out later how untrue that is. Things have a way of following us along in our lives from one place to another even if we have forgotten about them. So how do you keep your brand in top shape?

Operate in a professional manner on the job, not matter what the job. As I tell many people in my workshops for newer drivers even if you want to change positions down the road you need keep your career in check early on. Although I know people in this situation, if you want to be the safety person for a company later in your career, having a list of accidents as a driver isn’t going to give you much credibility in that department, if you’re still working in the industry at that point. if you want to be a dispatcher having lousy time management skills won’t take you very far. Everything follows you in your career so keeping your brand clean is the best thing you can do. If your brand has been tarnished up to now then you can still make it right, correct the things that have been going wrong, learn skills and techniques that you may need to take you to the next level. Increasing your brand awareness is the best way to secure your career for the future.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant with over 30 years experience from driver to owner operator to consultant and is a columnist for many industry blogs and magazines. For more information visit www.outridgeenterprises.ca