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As we gather the paperwork from the previous day(s), we, as an office staff, continually have to organize the “mess.”  Even though, we have put an example DIRECTLY in front of where you turn in your paperwork, not everyone is turning their paperwork in properly. For example, just this morning there were 2 DVIR papers in the incorrect box. You will not be able to get your truck fixed unless the shop is notified. Please turn those into the DVIR box, NOT the paperwork box. Secondly, our paperwork is called a “DAILY” time sheet, not a “Weekly/Monthly” time sheet. Please make sure to organize your BOLs and paperwork on days of delivery, and only 1 sheet per day. Then, follow the example picture on the wall to turn in your paperwork.

Please and Thank you!

Approximately 49% of accidents involving fatalities happen at night, and with the shorter days of winter, good visibility on dark roads and freeways is especially important. At night, your vision is limited—depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision are diminished—presenting a different set of challenges than driving during the day. The following list offers tips for truck driver safety during the hazards of nighttime driving.

• Check your headlights. It doesn’t seem like much, but cleaning the dirt and film off your headlights can help improve your visibility. Also make sure your headlights are optimally aligned. When you’re doing your best to see and be seen, every little bit helps.
• Keep your eyes moving. Scan the road ahead for hazards like stalled vehicles and small animals or deer. Because your vision isn’t as good as it is during the day, it’s particularly important to be on the early lookout for anything that might require you to brake or change lanes.
• Increase your following distance. Increasing your distance by three to five seconds can make it easier to spot potential hazards and give you additional time to respond.
• Prevent fatigue. You’re at an increased risk for drowsiness when driving in the dark, especially for long hours, so it’s important to stay alert and aware of your surroundings. Listening to talk radio or music can keep you engaged, but still allow you to concentrate on the road ahead. Also keep your vehicle well-ventilated and take occasional refreshment breaks.

The newsletter for March 2019 is going to be coming out next week and I am in need of an article. I would like ANY employee besides the usual, to submit an article in the upcoming newsletter. This article can be work related, or it can be for fun. ANY input, comments or stories from ANY EMPLOYEE would be great. Please bring an article to Heather in the office no later than February 27 2019.

Did someone say something was free?

We have FREE FV Martin Trucking Co T-shirts in the office to give away. The reason for this is they have an advertisement on the back for us needing employees.

The good thing is if someone asks you about the job. Tell them to come see us, fill out an app and put your name as reference. If we hire them and they stay 180 days, you will get $1,000.

That’s right, we are giving you a free T-shirt to wear advertising for us so you can make $1,000. Can it get any better then that.

In an era of record high fuel prices, better gas mileage is a goal most of us share. And if fuel management directly affects your bottom line, you know the importance of minimizing your fuel consumption. Everything from driving style to your equipment and preventative maintenance can impact your fuel efficiency. The following tips will help you determine where you can make improvements to conserve fuel and save money.

• Watch your speed. Every 1 mph increase over 55 mph lowers your truck fuel economy by 0.1 mpg.
• Avoid excessive idling. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, idling can use a quarter to a half a gallon of fuel per hour, depending on the size of the engine and your AC use.
• Keep tires properly inflated and check your tire pressure regularly. Under-inflated tires can result in shorter tread, shorter tire life and lower fuel mileage. Ask your Kenworth dealer about a tire pressure monitoring system like the Bendix SmarTire™, Link® Cat’s Eye®, Meritor® TIS or Hendrickson TIREMAAX®.
• Use cruise control and avoid unnecessary acceleration. It takes more fuel to get a truck moving than it does to keep it moving. Cruise control helps you maintain a constant speed and avoid additional fuel burn from sudden acceleration.
• Change your oil and filters regularly. Clean air filters can improve your fuel economy and a well-maintained engine will last longer. Lubricated truck components that move more easily can lower fuel consumption.
• Get routine service checks. Preventative truck maintenance can have a significant effect on your truck fuel economy. Your Kenworth service technician can inspect the systems and components that affect fuel usage.
• Practice Zen driving. Driving aggressively—speeding, rapid acceleration and sudden braking—wastes gas. In heavy traffic, driving slower is more efficient than stopping and starting. You can improve your truck’s fuel economy up to 30% by driving more efficiently.

Earlier this week, we posted on PTO requirements to apply to paychecks. This blog is to revise the previous, but also better explain the PTO/truck parked paid time. PTO is for personal time off, typically used for sick days or personal time off.  These specific days will automatically be pulled from your accrued PTO time and paid to you. Truck parked/lack of work is slightly different. We give you as an employee the option to be paid for your time off on days where you are not working due to lack of work by the company if you have time accrued to take from. We can not take from it unless you request, and we will not assume you want to use it every time you are not working due to lack of work. If you do use the hours from truck being parked, it does take from time saved up for a vacation. There is a potential of no hours available for a vacation if you take all of your time from truck parked. We try our hardest to keep you running so that there are very minimal days with truck parked/lack of work.

Whether you’re a semi-truck driver or you manage a fleet of trucks, you can save a lot of money by minimizing your fuel costs. Gasoline and diesel costs tend to add up in an industry that requires a lot of pickups, deliveries, and travel time.

Since semi-trucks are so heavy, they aren’t the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. On average, semi-trucks get only 6.5 miles per gallon. Their efficiency ranges wildly between 3 mpg going up hills to more than 23 mpg going downhill. But even if it were possible to plan entire routes with only downhill roads, that’s not the most efficient method of improving fuel efficiency.

Instead, let’s focus on how drivers can help mitigate fuel costs. Follow these simple tips to save fuel and money at the same time.

Don’t Overfill Your Tank

When the tank is filled to capacity, it can expand and overflow when the fuel is heated. The sun can heat gain the tank, or fuel can be heated by the engine and cause overflow when it returns to the tank. Overflow is wasteful and dangerous to other drivers on the road. The extra fuel can also add to extra weight, which slows down the vehicle.

Be Moderate with Braking

When your truck comes to a complete stop, it requires more fuel to get back up to speed. Although all vehicles should come to a complete stop at stop signs and stoplights and follow all other traffic laws, drivers can use braking techniques to minimize unnecessary complete stops.

Regulate Your Speed

When you maintain a constant speed, you maintain a steady fuel usage. When you accelerate, you burn more fuel. If you accelerate more quickly, you burn more fuel. That’s why it’s important to maintain a speed at the speed limit. For trucks, the speed limit is usually no higher than 65 mph.

Regularly Inflate Your Tires

When your tires are correctly inflated, you improve your fuel efficiency. For every 1 psi drop in pressure that your tires have, your under-inflated tires can lower your gas mileage by .3%. When your tires are inflated, they have a longer lifespan and are safer for the road.

Stay in a Higher Gear

Instead of starting and stopping, try speeding up and slowing down incrementally. You’ll have to make fewer gear changes to raise and reduce your speed, and higher gears save fuel.

Avoid Idling Your Truck

Many drivers leave their trucks idling while they run a quick errand. Or they keep the truck idling to maintain the temperature during a cold or hot day. They may even want to avoid restarting the vehicle. However, you should never let your semi-truck idle for longer than five minutes. One hour of idling will burn a gallon of gas. Turn your truck off if you need to leave it for a while it’s probably the easiest way to save fuel.

Use Your Momentum

When you drive a heavy truck, you build a lot of momentum. Even when you drive at a consistent speed, you build momentum that can carry you through a stoplight if you don’t break in time. On hills, though, you can use your momentum to your advantage. Collect momentum before going up a hill so you can use the energy to make it to the top of the hill. Once you reach the apex of a hill, you can use your gathered momentum to ride the downhill slope without using your gas pedal. When you approach a stop or exit, start slowing down long before you reach the actual stop. Use your brakes minimally, as they waste your momentum and lower your fuel efficiency.

Watch Slippery Roads

It’s harder for tires to grip roads when they’re slippery from ice, rain, or oil. Even gravel surfaces make accelerating more difficult. Large semis need to accelerate slowly from a stop to avoid accidents and save fuel.

Fix Your Deflectors

If your truck has roof-mounted air deflectors, you can adjust them to guide air over the highest part of your trailer. If you have an uneven load height, this should be at the front of the trailer.

Keep Your Load Height Low

If your load is unevenly distributed, it can affect how much effort your truck needs to make to get moving. Try to keep your load as low and even as possible to improve the fuel economy.

Have a Good Driver Attitude

The most important aspect of maximizing your fuel economy is having a good attitude. When you or your drivers always keep fuel efficiency in mind, you’ll be more likely to use these simple techniques to improve your fuel consumption. Even the best plans to improve fuel efficiency are useless if the drivers don’t want to implement them.

Get Started Today

Your fuel usage doesn’t have to represent a static cost. Even as the price of gasoline and diesel fluctuate, you can improve your semi-truck’s fuel efficiency and start saving money today.

Just a reminder, if you are wanting to use PTO and have it go towards a paycheck, a PTO request form will need to be filled out with your dispatcher. Payroll will not assume you want to take it, you have to request it. Thank you!