The largest factor is an aging driver workforce. As they retire, younger men aren't replacing them. I left full time trucking 3 years ago for part time local work. I'm seriously considering hanging up the keys for good. Canadian drivers with a DUI have no problem entering the USA.
My initial response to the above was BS, but before I shot my big mouth off I checked the numbers, and you are correct. Males do have more DUIs then women, and by quite a margin - roughly 75% to 25%. . BTW, I also checked on the percentage of woman actively driving a vehicle requiring a CDL; a bit over 6%.
Men have more DUI's than women because most of the time when couples are out the male does the driving . I've know this fact for almost 10 years now . I don't know about other states but the PA state police is only worried about DUI's , Speeding and spouse battering . They make the most money out of the first 2 . Or if you have an accident and the state police are involved they will mail you a ticket 3 days after the accident for a silly thing like "following too closely " something they have no idea you did because they were not there .
I really don't know how you guys do it I see a lot of crazy crap out there now real hairy driving. It takes me 1/2 hr to get to work and I now take mostly the back rd and get on highway when I get close to town, drive 2 miles and get back off and take the city street, not much traffic there.
I've had too many close calls to list, but these two come to mind. Had an SUV and a big rig pass me while going over the Donner Pass during a snow storm. SUV fishtailed 50 yards in front of me and ended up sideways on left shoulder. The rig moved partway into my lane to avoid slamming into it. I'd already anticipated both events, and was half on the paved shoulder. Other driver apologized over the CB for that. Another time had a van full of people pass me on snow covered I-94 near Tomah, Wisconsin, then go sideways onto right shoulder. I managed to move left enough to miss them by a couple feet. You should have seen the enlarged eyeballs from the passengers. Van driver got straightened out and stayed behind me until I exited the road. My BVD's remained clean both times. There's many, many more..........
This is why I don’t miss being on the big road anymore. Been local for over 4 years. I see enough stupid just in the parking lot of our warehouse to make me want to retire.
Silly question and I don't want to open a new thread. I received a email from FedEx wanting me to do a survey.. It's been almost 3 years since I got a package from them and never sent a package out with them. Could it be related to the UPS possible strike? or a spam/fraud attempt?
Thanks Fox D, I didn't open it. I also only got maby 2 packages from them total if I remember.. Just want to ad that I didn't even link on the unsubscribe option.. I have tried on other emails and to unsubscribe and they want you to ad your email address. Makes no sense because they send these sights to your email??
Hey Tom, I asked an over-the-road big rig driver if he was particularly concerned about the drivers of any particular make of car. He named two brands. I'll tell after you (or any other rig drivers) answer.
Can't remember any specific brands as I usually didn't allow other driver's stupidity to bother me for more than a couple minutes. I'd lump large 4X4 pick up trucks in one group though. Out of state or province tourists would form the second.
Agreed. Aggressive driving (assume young males). This has become a thing, no doubt. Noticing more and more clueless "immigrants" that I am clueless on as to how the blazes they got a driver's license. Usually have a 15 to 20 year old car with at least one light out. Oh, and dope smoking while driving. Was just smelling the stink coming home, now it's on the way to work as well. This thread has swerved around as much as the traffic we complain about. I don't know where to start or finish with the need for unions in this country, but here is my life long observation. Corporations are always in the drivers seat, and it's always their bad decisions that lead to failures and bankruptcy because of poor long term vision and planning. The workers, whether union or not, are along for the ride. You have to pull banking / insurance / realty / legal firms & government out of the equation. Those entities are in a league of their own, and often partially determine the direction of all other business. That leads me to conversation about industry. While one could write many factual volumes on how deindustialization has impacted the "rust belt", I am going to share my personal story. When I was growing up in the 60's and 70's in Pittsburgh, unions where very strong and business seemed to flourish everywhere you looked. The slogan "win-win" comes to mind. New Interstates needed beams of steel to cross a given span and a new Caddy needed 4,500 lbs of steel just to start looking like a car. Then you had all the supporting businesses for that steel industry: ships, tugs, barges, mines, locomotives, railcars, track, electic powerplants, tool and die making. Cars and bridges weren't just the only end users of steel. Remember metal trash cans? Your toys even? Everything was seemingly metal and nearly everything was stamped Made In The U.S.A. By the late 70's the cracks began to form. Then the wheels came off. From 1980 to 1986, layoffs and mill closures reached a fever pitch all up and down the rivers of the area. Blast furnaces that belched for a hundred years straight went cold. The impact was devastating. Tens of thousands of men were let go. Unemployment skyrocketed. In Allegheny County it was over 18% the year I graduated from high school in 1982. That didn't take into account all those that gave up or started a "remodeling" business. I dated three girls during this period. All 3 had father's in steel and all three were laid off. These weren't piss ant paying jobs. These jobs were head of households. Mom's generally didn't work. They were rock solid middle class. Some said the unions were to blame. Too greedy. Perhaps. But I began driving a truck locally for $7.50 an hour. Many of my stops took me to the mills, especially Wheeling-Pittsbugh sites. It became clear to me that these facilities had lacked reinvestment for not years, but decades upon decades. But, we're the greedy Unions to blame for the lack of reinvestment? I don't think so. Andrew Carnegie, as robber baron as he himself was, knew all about reinvestment. When J.P. Morgan put together U.S.S. (United States Steel) he too realized new and better facilities were the future of his company. Somewhere along the line profit taking, divesting, complacency, and short term goals had crept into the business. What else played a part? Both companies and unions blamed foreign competition and the practice of "dumping". That is still being pointed at many years later. Pollution controls, for better or worse, played a major role. The difference between the Ohio River 1973 to 2023 is visually quite remarkable, I must confess. Demand. The Interstate system was finished. Car makers off shored a lot. Aluminum and plastics have replaced a lot of consumer goods, right? The industry implosion destroyed all the supporting businesses, like Mesta Machine in Homestead or Dravo barge on Neville Island for example. They, in turn, needed far less steel. I think resources were another factor. Coal mines in the area started to dry up. The Great Lakes mills survived longer in places like Cleveland and Detroit because the iron ore was closer and mills like those in Gary were newer. No matter the reason, the mills were gone and so were the jobs. With those jobs went single paychecks that were heads of households. Many Mom's went out and joined the workforce. Retirees having to reenter the workforce as benefits disappeared only added to the misery as the realty of supply and demand took hold. Families paid the price. Area wages plummeted. The ripple effect and erosion still continues to this day. Pittsburgh has done okay in an effort to stay a float. Still, it seems like your either working in the medical field, some hot shot office job, or your mopping the floors of that office or medical lab. The middle, as it was, is still missing. There aren't the right out of high school - middle class - raise a family jobs of the past. A driver for UPS is an exception to this rule. Unfortunately, as the competition races to the bottom in that business, those jobs will eventually be in jeopardy. Can you blame the union for wanting the wages high? No, nor can you blame the company for wanting to survive and create profit. What is going to catch up to the both of them are outside forces, just like the steel industry has endured.
When I started working for the Canadian arm of Purolator Courier in 1978 as a courier driver, they were the only game in town as neither Fedex or UPS had obtained Canadian operating authority. Our business model at the time was primarily small package air freight in direct competition with Canada Post. We also handled small land shipments under 100 lbs within each province in competition with local freight companies. Business was very good with typically 10% or better volume and profit increase every year. Unfortunately, the US parent company, Purolator Courier Corporation was sucking up every cent of profit to sustain itself. I became a Supervisor in 1980. It was during that decade both Fedex and UPS began operating here. We knew Fedex Courier went all in with computer package tracking, which we didn't have. Fedex could tell you where your package was, and when it would be delivered. Purolator couldn't match that. We soon began having our drivers manually manifest each delivery they'd load, which took extra time. It helped, but we still could only tell customers their package(s) would arrive withing a 4-5 hour window. There was no money for re-investing in much needed technology, and our competitors took advantage of that. I was one of the many people who wanted to see investment in computer technology in order to keep up them. Purolator Courier Corp USA installed a new President and CEO in the mid 1980's whose previous track record was full of failures. He decided to buy numerous airplanes while incurring massive debt to compete with Fedex who already had their own air fleet. Purolator used to charter airplanes on both sides of the border. This worked well, as long as those planes were available, not out of service, or delayed elsewhere. Then the great recession hit in 1987-88. Business faltered and loans defaulted. Purolator Corporation sold off their filter division, Stant Radiator, and one or two others whose names I forget. Purolator Courier Ltd in Canada was sold to an investment corporation in 1987 through an LBO. Shortly afterwards, that company issued a stock IPO and insisted Purolator senior management buy certain amounts. The stock dropped over 50% in value within a couple months. Its value did begin to increase as the new owners saw potential and made the needed investments to move forward. It was also around this period when the Teamsters began a major organizing effort, which eventually succeeded. On January 25, 1991, Purolator told me not to report for work the following Monday. They did me a favor as I was tired of working 10-12 hour days on salary with no overtime. As of today, they're 91% owned by Canada Post and are doing very well. I still know people working there, and several others who've retired. A good example of a business which could have failed, but didn't through good management and adaptation.
