Reasonable Accommodation in Ontario

If you are an Indo-Canadian and mostly speaking Punjabi, you may not be reading this blog but, if you are an English speaking Canadian, this may have some interest to you. A new trucking association now exist in Ontario, the ITA (Indian Trucking Association) and this association has already made many demands to Transport Minister Jim Bradley.

With out being bigot in any ways or xenophobic, only a concerned citizen that is aware of some laws and would like to see them applied or modified, but to read that Minister Bradley has accepted to a demand of the ITA to appoint Punjabi speaking officers at major truck inspections points rose a question to me. The FMCSA law rules that a driver should be able to hold a conversation with an officer for safety reasons. Why is it here in Canada we can’t have a similar law that would require that a driver could at least talk one of the two official language of the country?

Even in air traffic ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), a UN organisation headquartered in Montreal, stated that English is the air traffic language of communication for the same safety reasons and this worldwide.

OBAC will be asked to put pressure on the federal Minister of Transport to determine a disposition, to speak at least one of both official languages, in the Canadian Transport laws to ensure safety to all road users.

I looked in my crystal ball

Last week I made a prediction while one of my interventions on Livraison XTRM, a prediction I want to record here for future reference.

What is that prediction?

During a trip to Pennsylvania and seen a price of $3,699 a gallon of that precious liquid we need to do our work or to move ahead with our small business, I predicted on air that we would see a price of $4.00 a gallon before the end of the summer. Not only in some states but on the National average calculated by the EIA (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_gnd_dcus_nus_w.htm).

One more factor in our changing industry. How can we react to these price increases and what kind of impact it may have on our everyday life? To readjust the fuel surcharge is a viable solution but in the current state of competition, some won’t hesitate to take a load at lost only to relocate equipment.

How can we make understand that backhauls are a thing of the past and that all loads are to be moved from point A to point B. Do you know your costs of operations to avoid taking a full load at lost?

The most commonly used way to calculate a FSC is based on a price of $1.25 a gallon. This price is deducted from the current average price and then divided by 6. Why 6? This is an average mpg for heavy trucks.

Ex Current price $3.55
Reference price $1.25
Difference $2.30
Surcharge of $0.38

You can calculate with a different base price however, this is the mostly used price. Also if you take a load from a broker, assure yourself that you are given the full fuel surcharge that the broker gets. After all, you are the one paying the fuel bill.

Nice effort Mrs Minister!

This morning the Minister of Transport Julie Boulet announced a plan to upgrade the road network of Quebec for the 2008-2009 budgets. A well made plan of 2,7G$ that should change the face of the patchwork our network is currently in. Looking at some numbers in the press release made the few hairs, I have left on my thick skull, rise up.

The envelope of 842M$ that is allowed to fight the aging of the infrastructures is an increase of 88% of last year amount for the same framework. It is a step in the right direction but, if that envelope kept an inflation increase in the previous plans, we shouldn’t be surprised of the poor state of the bridges and viaducts.

Another part is allocated for the roadway surfacing and totalises 736M$ to put up significantly the network. The development of new roads counts for 774M$ and is mostly turned towards Autoroute 50 and provincial roads 175 and 185.

In order to maintain the actual network, 71% of the budget is being allowed to this field, associated with 1G$ for safety and correction of dangerous areas such as, curves, unpaved shoulders, ruts in the pavements, etc.

As a bonus, the projected 1850 construction sites will maintain and create 36,000 jobs for the workforce. This may not include the workers of the orange barrels companies or the sign makers.

The only thing that worries me in the entire plan. Is this budget related to the vote in the National Assembly of the provincial budget? Both opposition parties are only awaiting a chance to turn over the actual government and all this nice effort could be gone.

Professional Driver or Professional Truck Driver?

We all heard the expression “Freight Relocation Engineer” and had a big smile to have such a title that seem like a lot of school years are behind it. A true Professional Truck Driver is not only a Professional Driver. A coach operator is also a Professional Driver and must use a lot of skill and smoothness in driving.

To be a Professional Truck Driver you must demonstrate a good general attitude. How many times did it happen towards the end of the week that a load is dispatched to you and it will bring you away from home and you may arrive a day later? The true professional won’t let it show to the customers and other road users. The driver will stay courteous, respectful of the laws, safety because if Murphy’s Law kicks in, if something has to happen, it will happen.

The roads are going to be bad, the weather non favourable, the things to slow down are all present and many are going to fall in the temptation to follow to closely, go over the hours of service or cut off as many stops as possible. Others will be noticed by a lack of patience, sarcasms towards the receivers of shippers, mostly if a spot in the docks is not available and if one is, the freight is not ready to be loaded.

I could write pages on the reasons and the causes that make these events, the psychological way to deal with them but, I am not a psychologist or a social worker. Many, I am one, are going to act in an impulsive way and could start singing the famous Johnny Paycheck song “Take this job and shove it”. Easier for a paid company driver to do so then the owner-operator with all the financial impacts to act too quickly.

We all have a story that involves a “4wheeler” that did something really dumb but, we forget easily the hundreds that are showing courtesy, making a sign with their lights when the path is clear to come back. Did you ever think that is also a two way street? What kind of thought they have on the truck driver?

It is by all your actions on the road, on the docks and with the general crowd that you will let your professionalism shine trough even if you are not noticed for it but you will be greatly appreciated in any circumstances.