Going back to school!

As a part of my 10 year plan. I have decided to take the final step in my driving career and get my A class licence(Tractor Trailer). So back to school I go. Well I am just taking the budget class and having my employer train me on his equipment. Guess I will be staying with him for another few years for the "free" training. But what the heck it also means that I will have at least one year of tractor driving behind me when I start looking for my next job.

Missing a part of me.

Seems that in today's world our cell phones are becoming more than just an attachment on our bodies. They are really becoming a part of you. At least that's how I feel right now. My cell phone was stolen recently... its not been found, and though I disconnected that phone from my account. I am still missing it. Well actually the information on it. Who ever has the phone has so much of my life on it. They have access to my friends, family, customers, and their important information. I am lucky that I didn't keep credit card, bank account info, SIN #and the like; but still.

Worse still I have a bad memory. Always have and sadly will. My Cell kept my organized and focused on what is going to happen and what already has happened.

So for now, I have to go back to a paper calender.... arg!

Things not to stop for when driving?

After last weeks "Save The Geese" accident along the WB Queen's Way in Mississauga which sent a horrible chain reaction which destroyed 4 transport trucks and their cargo, sent 4 people to the hospital and all the other damage. I have complied a list of things which cars and trucks should never stop or even move out of the way for:

Geese or any other animal which is smaller than your car/truck.( this includes cats, dogs, raccoon, birds of any size). They are surprisingly aware of their environmental and will move. If not, then you are putting people's lives @ risk. People are more important.

Things that you SHOULD avoid hitting:
People
other Cars, Bikes and Motorcycles
Road signage
Deer
Moose

booster seats

So that new Ontario law tells us that for a person to go from a booster to a normal seat in a car the person must meet the following;

80lb and 4 feet 11 inches.

Now my daughter has a goal in mind.

My questions is. Does this rule apply to only children or adults as well? I would think that there would be advantages for anybody who is not almost 5 feet tall to be a booster seat. There are some adults who could make great use of a booster as they are too short for the cars which are built for the typical Anglo driver here in Canada and the USA for that matter. How many times have you been driving and seen a headless driver? Also doesn't an air bag work best if the person is over 100lb? Its why children are not allowed in the front seat of a car until they reach that weight.

So I think that the rule should apply to any person and not just a child.

Every 5 yrs

So what if you were required by the province to take a written and/or physical driving test to renew your driver's Licence? Lets not talk about $ for the test just yet. Lets talk about the possible good & bad which such a requirement would mean for us.

Highway Traffic Act changes from time to time. New signage is installed and updated. New vechicals and classes of vechicals change and are retired. We have a changing and aging population who have not had their ability to drive tested since they were licensed. Most people agree that there are a growing number of bad drivers out there. Where is the quality control of drivers? Did you know that you can get your G class test in some 17 different languages?

What about insurance rates? Would they go down, if more driver's were not allowed to be behind the wheel because they failed the test? Would the rates of those who did fail increase because they failed? Would the test help to remove uneducated drivers from the roads, to help ease congestion and help promote transit?

Currently those who hold a A, B, C, D, E, F class of licence are required to pass a written test every 5 years; as well we have to pass medical testing and have other requirements  just to hold our jobs? Yes we do. We are professionals and really don't mind keeping up to date with all the changes.

I and other professional drivers just want to help reduce congestion by remove dangerous drivers who we believe would not be able to pass a written and physical driving test. Thus they would be forced to retrain and improve their skills to get back on the road. This would make our roads safer, and easier with all the reduced traffic. Less traffic would see a HUGE savings by reducing fuel cost, grant us more parking spaces when shoping, and make the highway system more productive and less expansive.

What do you think?

I hate faulty equipment!

During a recent delivery my tailgate broke down.

Well actually the fluid which allows the tailgate to go up and down started to squirt of of the pump and onto the customer's driveway.  The problem is that I didn't have a spill kit, but we used the owner's bags of kitty litter to help clean up the mess. I was lucky because the tailgate did work enough times for me to unload the 5 skids of his magazine before it almost lost all fluid and I would have had to drive back to Scarborough from Guelph with the tailgate down!

The pictures is what's left of the mess my tailgate made on the guy's driveway. At least the guy doesn't blame me.

People I wish I could talk to.

I have many questions for My Great, Great Grandfather for example. He and Ambrose Small must have had some falling out before Ambrose disappeared. Not sure if that's what broke up the family,  but whatever happened, I was never told by my grandfather since he never told his son's what happened. All I know is that my grandfather was raised by his Dad's cousins. And it was because of that Aunt that my Dad grew up going to the same school as my wife some 30 years later.

Strange how our histories are so intertwined.

People are just asking for it.

I saw this minivan from a distance and once able to be beside it @ a red light I saw what they were hauling.
They had strapped a 47 inch LCD tv to their roof rack! They were even using the strapping which you bundle wood together with, but they had tied it down with only 1 piece of the stuff. One quick movement from the driver and the TV would have been on the road. Plus it had just finished raining and the box was soaked and starting to come apart in the heat as it dried. The Box clearly shows that the contents need to be upright and not on its side.

But the best part was that inside the van were 4 people and a huge tv stand.

Lefthanders?

I am not sure if this is a problem only found in the Toronto Area or if its wide spread.

Let me explain:

There are two lanes or more on a stretch of road. Say the road is 4 kilometers between a stop sign or set of lights. All the cars will be in the left hand lane when I approach them. The funny part is the 1st car in the line will not be doing to the speed limit. So I have to pass them on the right side which is easy by doing the speed limit. The best part is that when you get to the next light, none of them is turning left.

This is most common when there are no driveways or other street entering onto that stretch of road.

Since when did the left lane become the passing lane.

When gas jumps should you freak out?

The quick answer is NO. Yes this past week the price went up 6 cents over night and then another 2 cents the following day. Why did so many people freak out? 98% of life is how you react to when happens. I was happy that I had bought gas on the weekend and so didn't need to pay any fuel till the Friday night and at the same price as I paid on the Sunday when I bough a full tank of it.

I guess that if you had to pay that $139.6 a liter you would be mad that you hadn't fueled up sooner. But there lays the problem. I personally fill up my car to the top each time I get gas. I don't like going to the gas station every other day. I do drive about 600 kilometers a week. My car can reach about 550 kilometers per tank and a tank holds about 40 liters of fuel. So its not amazing on fuel, but much better than my larger station wagon.

But the better question is why are their unregulated speculators allowed to play with the price of gas? Why are gas companies being allowed to play a part in that speculation? Why are gas prices even traded on the stock market? We don't buy milk, water, wine, beer or even Apple juice like that. Why are we buying gas based on the price in the stock market?

My trucking company doesn't pay the going daily rate for diesel fuel. They pay a rate based upon the amount they consume as decided on. So then the price for fuel stays the same for the length of the contract. Lets say a year. So for 365 days the price stays the same. Then after the year is up, they find a new rate for the fuel. Why can't the private consumer do the same? Why can we sign a contract with a station say Esso to buy their gas for the year based on how much fuel we consume in a year for a static rate?

I would love to have a diesel powered car and then take advantage of their rate! Mmmm not a lot of options: Smart, VW, or some truck.

Better yet! Remove the unregulated speculators from playing with the price of fuel. Remove the guessing of where prices will be and allow the people buying the gas to decided what they are willing to pay. If station "x" is selling at $140.0 and station "y" wants to sell @ $100.00 then station "y" will get my business.

Windy enough for ya?

During the end of April 2011. It was just a tad bit windy. So much so that the Burlington Skyway was closed to truck and car traffic during the day. They even closed the US/Canada border at the Peace Bridge to all truck traffic.

So one my fellow truckers were driving up to the closed border to drop a trailer @ our yard and then go back to the customer for another trailer. About 5 min before he got to the yard, a HUGE gust of wind pushed him and his trailer over on their side and they slid into the ditch!

Yes, the driver is OK. But the truck and the trailer are toasted.

Does your insurance cover "Act of God"?

May the Fourth Be with you?

Yes every May 4 is Star Wars day for its fans. We are only looking to celebrate and fun with Star Wars, no Star Trek etc. Yes,  I did remember the day and had some fun with it. But I stopped short of watching one of the movies since well, I just don't have to kind of time during a work day.

No Family day for me.

Here in Ontario, Canada we now can celebrate "Family Day". Its like a normal holiday, but the push is for families to spend time doing things together than don't require a Mall, Movies, or activities which force others to work.

Nice idea. I saw lots of people being together outside since all the Malls etc were closed. But there is glitch.

My employer is  a Federally regulated one. So we get to work today if there is work. Driving a federal truck means no Family Day for me. But if like last year our customers were provincial, it means that there would be no work and no pay.
This year, our larger customer is Canada Post. They are a federal company and so are working. Nice eh. They get Remembrance Day off though.

So I got to enjoy very light traffic during my working day, and it made things faster when most of the 4wheelers and other truckers are at home with nothing to do.

So. I like family day if I get to work it.