Truckers protest in DC – The Truck Boss Show

The Truck Boss show team talks with Mark Hammond about truck insurance, Jesse James Dupree on his new Rock and Roll hit, ‘It Didn’t Fall From The Sky’, and The Disrespected Trucker about freight rates and their mission to protest in DC.

Courtesy: Truck Boss Show

Isela:

Hola, hola, welcome back to the Truck Boss Show. Yes, your friend Isela here with you today, and our boy Carlin is on standby. We’re here keeping you posted on what’s going on, and of course keeping you updated on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Isela:

Now, today’s topics are a rock and roll artist and his new song, 800,000 PPE to drivers, fueling drivers, insurance 411, trucker driver hero, the Midwest joining forces, and protesting in DC.

Isela:

Now, we know this has been a hard time for our professional drivers pulling their own weight. That has inspired our very good friend Jesse James Dupree and Dixie Inc Band to write a new song. Now, Jesse James Dupree, who’d been a driver himself before, knows the struggle. And now, here at the Truck Boss Show, we have the honor to give you a sneak peek of his new song, a tribute to all you drivers out there. Check out It Didn’t Fall From The Sky.

Isela:

You’ve got a new song out?

Jesse James Dupree:

I grew up loving up traditional country music. My dad used to play the Waylon Jennings, and Johnny Cash, and just all the greats, so I grew up loving that kind of music, as well as rock. I’ve been stretching out over the last year, with a side band called Jess James Dupree and Dixie Inc. right now, with everything that’s going on with the supply chain need to stay strong, and the truck drivers pulling their weight, and more than their weight, making it happen literally, we have stopped for a minute. We wrote a song called It Didn’t Fall From The Sky.

Jesse James Dupree:

It’s something I’m very proud of, and recorded it. We’re just now releasing it, and you guys are going to be one of the first to get your hands on it, and play it for everybody.

Isela:

Well Jesse, we look forward to your song. Thank you so much for being here on the Truck Boss Show. We cannot wait to see you guys again.

Jesse James Dupree:

Proud to be part of the family. Check out Jesse James Dupree and Dixie Inc, and the song is called It Didn’t Fall From The Sky.

Isela:

All right, Jesse.

Jesse James Dupree:

Truck Boss, pow!

Isela:

Thanks so much, Jesse. Talk to you later.

Isela:

Now, you already know that Jesse James Dupree and the Truck Boss Show, we’re homies, so he hooked us up with that exclusive. That song will be released in the first week of May. It’s a great song, and a big shout out to Jesse James Dupree and the Dixie Inc Band.

Isela:

Now, we go to Carlin, with some great news for professional drivers.

Carlin:

Thanks, Isela. We know it’s very difficult to find personal protection equipment right now, but FEMA, Homeland Security, and the Department of Transportation are giving drivers some gear to help protect their health while keeping the country going. The organizations will be handing out 800,000 masks to drivers at six different rest stop locations across the whole country.

Carlin:

Those stops include Georgia, I-75 Southbound at mile marker 179, just North of Macon. Illinois, I-80 I-294 Eastbound, at mile marker one in Chicago. Nebraska, I-80 Westbound, at mile marker 431 near Omaha. Texas, I-35 Northbound, at mile marker 362A, South of Hillsborough. California, I-5, Northbound in Los Angeles. New York, I-87 Northbound, at mile marker 33, just North of New York City. Then, several more stops are expected to be added in the future.

Carlin:

Now, the move comes after several organizations, including OOIDA, wrote to the White House asking for help getting drivers important PPE. Now, over to our girl Isela, for the 401 on our favorite topic, food.

Isela:

Thanks, Carlin.

Isela:

As our professional drivers continue to put their lives on the line to deliver the supplies needed to keep America running during a time of unprecedented crisis, Firehouse Subs, Long John Silvers, McDonald’s, Nathan’s Famous, Ruby Tuesday, Shoney’s, and Sonic are offering additional parking and drive through accommodations, while Long John Silvers and Ruby Tuesday are offering discounted meals for truck drivers.

Isela:

Now, according to the International Franchise Association, which is partnering with American Trucking Association and OOIDA to help drivers to distribute the word of the program to truck drivers. IFA heard of the need in the trucking community, and they started reaching out to members, and already have companies across the line to accommodate drivers. IFA Vice President Josh Merlin stated, “This is a time where all of us have a common cause, and the more we come together, the better off we’ll be. Truck drivers play a central role in supplying many of these restaurants themselves.”

Isela:

CDLLife has also launched Fueling Our Heroes campaign. Make sure you check out the articles listed below. Now, we go to Carlin for some insurance 411.

Carlin:

Right now, it’s hard to think of anything other than this pandemic, but it’s important to make sure you’re still addressing those important things you need while on the road, including insurance. I sat down with Mark Holland, a commercial insurance advisor, who’s one of the most knowledgeable, and most certified in the whole country. Check out our part one of our two part interview.

Carlin:

As an owner-operator, as a trucking company in general, what do they need to really look for? Obviously, they could go to any insurance company and be like, “I’m a trucker, I need trucking insurance, give it to me.” But, why do they need to look for someone who’s specialized?

Mark Holland:

Well, because the basic motor carrier policy written by an organization called the Insurance Services Office of America, the basic policy is the same language. However, each individual insurance companies, they will put endorsements and amendments onto those policies, to either broaden coverage or restrict coverage. So, you need to work with somebody that has the ability to really explain to you what those amendments and endorsements say. And then, once you get into the cargo space, whenever you’re hauling property for others, there is not standard language in that industry, so you have to look very carefully at how it defines what cargo’s covered, when the coverage applies and when it doesn’t.

Mark Holland:

I’ll give you three words, which seem similar but they’re quite different. That’s care, custody and control, or care, custody, or control. So, depending on what that policy says, if it says care, custody, and control, then you have to meet all three of those conditions in order to trigger coverage. As opposed to care, custody, or control, now, you only have to meet one.

Carlin:

What are the top five things a driver, an owner-operator, a company that’s forming, what are those top five things that they really need to know in terms of insurance?

Mark Holland:

One, they need to look at how their assets are held, because these nuclear verdicts, which I think we’re going to talk about in a minute, are just completely off the chart. No trucker can afford to go buy $20, or $30, or $40 million worth of insurance, so they need to get themselves in a position to whatever entity they’re doing the hauling in doesn’t have any asset. So, what’s generally recommended is to set all your equipment up into a legally structured leasing company, lease it back to the operating entity, keep no assets in the operating entity. Then, if a nuclear verdict is ever handed down against you, you don’t lose all your stuff.

Mark Holland:

Typically, in the court system what happens is if there’s $1 million, or $2 million limit, when that person signs an affidavit saying there’s no other assets, then that plaintiff’s attorney will normally settle for the insurance limits.

Carlin:

Obviously, you have a phone number, website, things like that. Let us know about all that, so they can find you.

Mark Holland:

The website is www.Universalinsurance.com. They can get us there, obviously are our phone numbers are there.

Carlin:

As I mentioned, this is just part one. Tune in next week for part two, and Mark will be back answering some of your insurance questions. So, be sure to send us any questions you may have, and we’ll ask the experts.

Carlin:

Now Isela, drivers are now are being held as heroes for keeping our company running, but one driver went above and beyond, saving someone’s life.

Isela:

Yes, yes Carlin. Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois issued a formal memo in the Congressional record to honor a truck driver for his heroic actions earlier this month, on April 7th.

Isela:

Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a shooting on Eastbound Interstate 70, near mile marker 175. The initial investigation indicated the driver of a passenger car had fired shots from a moving vehicle, striking and disabling another vehicle, also traveling Eastbound, causing that vehicle to come to a stop. Troopers later learned that after the victim’s vehicle came to a stop, two tractor trailer drivers parked their trucks around the van to shield it from the gunfire. They also learned that Caleb Lydick, of Springerton, Illinois, was one of the courageous drivers who placed himself, in his truck, in harm’s way to protect the victim.

Isela:

Caleb’s actions that day were courageous and selfless. Congressman Shimkus stated, “I am grateful for the men and women like Caleb, who rise to the occasion in the moment of danger.” To read more on this hero, see the full article in the comment thread below.

Isela:

Carlin, talk to us about the Midwest states joining forces.

Carlin:

If you’re an over the road driver, odds are you’ve driven through the Midwest. Many of the states house major East to West thoroughfares, including interstates I-70 and I-80. Right now, the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials, or MAASTO, are teaming up to help keep freight and the supply chains moving, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19.

Carlin:

Members of the organization include Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Now, some of the steps they’re taking are removing weight limits for those hauling crucial supplies, relaxing requirements for license and registration renewals, issuing guidance to contractors so they can keep workers safe, keeping interstate highway rest areas open, and even allowing some food trucks to serve at those rest stops.

Carlin:

Now, this isn’t the first time MAASTO has joined together to help drivers. In 2019, they launched Trucks Park Here, a truck parking information management system that helps drivers to find places to park on interstate highways.

Carlin:

Now, to a topic on everyone’s mind, record low freight rates. And tomorrow, a group of 500 drivers are headed to DC to protest. Our Regulations Correspondent, Brad Kuhn, sat down with the organizer of the Disrespected Trucker to learn more about the measures they’re taking.

Brad Kuhn:

We reported a couple of weeks ago when spot rates were at record highs that a downturn was coming. That time has arrived, and I don’t need to tell you that things are rough out there. I’ve seen spot rates at 66 cents a mile, less than half of what it takes to run a truck. That’s not counting detention or lumper fees.

Brad Kuhn:

While everyone from the President to late night talk show hosts likes to describe truckers as heroes, those heroes aren’t feeling it at the loading docks, where they’re forced to wait for hours without access to food, or bathrooms, and even have to pay for other people to unload their trucks, even though they’re not getting paid for non driving time.

Brad Kuhn:

Working conditions for truckers have been deteriorating since deregulation in 1980. Power shifted away from union drivers towards shippers, who use that leverage to drive down rates, and shift costs to drivers. Drivers agree that they share some of the blame for agreeing to take loads at less than cost, but cashflow is king and they’d rather take something than nothing. Even so, things have gotten to a breaking point. There have been stories of drivers that have taken their lives recently because they couldn’t make ends meet.

Brad Kuhn:

No one seems to have any answers, but some drivers are ready to send out an SOS. Tomorrow, May 1st, some of those drivers are going to be gathering in the nation’s Capital and in major cities around the country, rallying at an event they call MayDay, after the international distress signal. I talked with two of the events’ organizers, Shawn and Crystal McIntosh, the trucker couple behind the Disrespected Trucker Facebook page.

Shawn McIntosh:

We’re calling this MayDay. MayDay, MayDay, MayDay. This is a call to arms for all the truckers, we’ve got a problem out here.

Brad Kuhn:

Tell me what it’s been like on the road, during the shutdown?

Shawn McIntosh:

Well, a man can’t get a hot meal, a good hot meal. You can get you a hamburger, if you walk up through the drive through. The restrooms, a lot of places, the restrooms are closed.

Crystal McIntosh:

Food is one thing, but a restroom is really pretty important.

Shawn McIntosh:

They tell you to go out there and use the Porta-potty.

Brad Kuhn:

And that’s not just at restaurants?

Shawn McIntosh:

Shippers and receivers, that’s another big issue. We pull into a shipper and receiver, a lot of times they don’t want us to be in our truck when they’re loading it. Then, we need to have access to a break room, like their employees, where we can go sit down, get a soda pop out of the machine, whatever, and wait. Not sit on a bench in a cage, there’s guys that are sitting in a cage on a bench, on a wooden bench, to wait for their load to be loaded. 15, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, two hours, three hours, they don’t let you back into your truck.

Shawn McIntosh:

Now, some of the shippers and receivers are fantastic. I can’t say all of them are, a lot of guys are having a lot of problems, spending a lot of times at the dock. This is supposed to be imperative goods going to stores, but these drivers are sitting six, eight hours to get unloaded. It doesn’t sound like it’s pretty imperative to me.

Shawn McIntosh:

In the last two weeks in our trucking industry, I myself know of two men that have taken their lives in a truck, because they couldn’t make their payments, they couldn’t get a decent load. Six or seven-

Crystal McIntosh:

We have a couple of trucks, it’s our own company. You can’t run a company in the negative, you have to at least pay your expenses. Trucking is expensive.

Shawn McIntosh:

I figure that one life out here lost, on the road in an accident is too damn many. One life lost out here in a truck, because the man can’t pay his bills, and he takes his own life, that’s way too many. That’s way too many. We shouldn’t be in a position like this, that our brothers and sisters are killing their selves on the road.

Brad Kuhn:

What is it that you want to happen in DC, while you’re there?

Shawn McIntosh:

It might sound a little unrealistic. The first thing on our agenda is a meeting with Elaine Chao, we need to discuss this. We need to get our safety concerns tooken care of, and I’m not talking about six months, or a year down the line, we need to address this now. Not just the PPE, but all the concerns for the safety of the trucking industry. We’ve got to address it now, we can’t wait no more.

Shawn McIntosh:

Second off, we’re asking for a Senate investigation into price gouging. Third, the American truck driver, the backbone of America, the man said it his self, would request an audience with the President of the United States. He’s the only person in this country that can fix our problem immediately, with the stroke of a pen. That’s our agenda, that’s our goal.

Shawn McIntosh:

What we’re looking for, what the American trucker’s looking for is a seat at the table. We want to be part of making the decisions that the FMCSA makes for us. None of them folks got a CEO, none of them probably ever been in a truck, they don’t know what’s going on out here, they don’t know what we go through. We need a seat at the table, we need an American truck driver to step up, and be a seat at the table, and be our voice for the government.

Brad Kuhn:

All right folks, well thank you for everything you’re doing for the truckers, and for the industry. Drive safe, I hope it’s a great event, and we’ll check in with you live on Friday, as well, and see how it’s going.

Brad Kuhn:

For the Truck Boss Show, this is Brad Kuhn. I’ll see you down the road.

Isela:

Great job, Brad. While you already know, here at the Truck Boss Show, we are busy trying to keep you updated of what’s going on in the industry, and of course the impact that COVID-19 is causing.

Carlin:

That’s right. And, be sure to look out tomorrow, because Brad is actually going to be going live with the Disrespected Trucker, while they’re in Washington, of course during that protest, so you definitely want to catch that.

Carlin:

Last week, we noticed that you guys loved our episode with Peterbilt Steeve, so we’ve got a surprise for you. This week, for one of the extras, we’re going to be bringing you the highlight of that truck that we actually got to see there, at the Rush Truck Center in Tulsa. Of course, Peterbilt Steeve is going to be going over all the details, all the cool things about that truck, so you don’t want to miss that. Be sure to like, share, subscribe, that way you’ll get all the notifications when we put up a new video, you don’t want to miss this stuff.

Isela:

Hey, but Peterbilt Steve is awesome, love that guy. Just had to say that.

Isela:

While you already know that every Friday, the Truck Boss Show is always hooking you up, and we got it here, these shirts are very popular and we know a lot of you love them.

Carlin:

Super comfy.

Isela:

Here we go.

Carlin:

There we go.

Isela:

There you go. We’ll also be throwing in a tire gauge. So, stay tuned for this Friday for the giveaway, because we’re going to be hooking you up like we do every Friday.

Isela:

Sorry, this is a big t-shirt here.

Carlin:

We’ve got to make sure you guys see it, that’s right.

Isela:

Can you see it right here, and then right here? You know what I mean.

Carlin:

Of course, you don’t want to miss these giveaways and all this other content, we really appreciate you guys showing us the love that you have been. Continue to support us so we can continue to do this, like, share, comment, subscribe, invite, that way we can keep bringing you this awesome content. At the end of the day, we do this for you guys.

Carlin:

Isela, why do we do this?

Isela:

Cause you’re the boss.

The Trucker News Staff

The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.