Tag: travel with care

Winter’s Coming- Driving Tips to Help You Travel with Care

Bob Holtzman

If you need a reprieve from hot summer temperatures, relief is on the way. Winter is definitely coming and temperatures are dropping around the country. Plummeting temperatures present some unique challenges in the truck. Here’s our guide for safe winter driving. Do you have any tips to add to the list?

How Does Weather Impact Safety on the Road?

Each year more than 1.2 million crashes are caused by bad weather, approximately 22% of all accidents. Weather related accidents include those that occur in adverse weather (rain, sleet, snow, fog, etc.) or on slick pavement (icy, snowy, wet). On average 6,000 people are killed each year and 445,000 injured by weather related crashes. Yes, bad weather can occur any time of the year, but it is much more likely during the winter.

Watch Out for Water

Rain and wet pavement are some of the biggest dangers for winter driving. Icy pavement and snow certainly cause crashes, but wet pavement is responsible for the majority. The Federal Highway Administration has found that wet pavement plays a role in 73% of weather related crashes, 80% of weather related injuries, and 77% of weather related fatalities. When it is wet, be extra cautious as this is one of the most dangerous times to be on the road.

Give Yourself Extra Time

Winter driving isn’t going to be as productive as summer driving, especially during bad weather. Plan your routes accordingly and give yourself extra time when estimating arrival times for dropping and loading. It is estimated that 23% of non-recurrent delays are due to snow, ice, and fog. Overall, 12% of total truck delay is due to weather and trucking companies lose about 32 billion hours each year due to weather related delays. During peak travel periods in Washington D.C. travel times increase approximately 24% in the presence of precipitation. Plan accordingly when winter weather is expected.

Prepare for Weather

Winter weather can leave you stranded on the side of the highway when roads get shut down or conditions are too dangerous to continue. You can’t always count on making it to the next truck stop. Stock your truck with the supplies you’ll need for a day or two of delay, just in case. Make sure you have appropriate winter clothing, including coats, hats, and gloves, ready. Keep extra food, water, and blankets in your truck. Fill up your fuel more often (try to keep at least half a tank at all times) and keep extra wiper fluid on hand. Tire chains and a windshield scraper are winter must-haves.

Watch for Ice

If you’ve ever experienced black ice, you know how scary it can be. Slick ice that comes out of nowhere, black ice is very difficult to spot. When the temperatures drop near freezing, be aware that black ice is possible and be very cautious if the road looks wet, as it may actually be ice. Bridges are especially prone to black ice. Be careful!

Don’t Be Afraid to Shut Down

We know you have deadlines to make and places to go, but getting to a drop on time isn’t worth sacrificing your safety. If you do run into weather conditions where driving is unsafe, stop and give the storm time to pass. Good communication with all parties involved will help to alleviate problems caused by winter delays. Keep everyone informed about where you are and what’s happening. Your safety this winter is a priority.

A little extra caution in the winter can help you stay safe on the road as temperatures drop. Travel with care this winter and beyond.

Lonely No More: How to Foster Healthy Relationships on the Road

Bob Holtzman

Are you away from home more than you are there? Many long haul drivers spend weeks on the road and then come home for only a couple of days before doing it all again. This can take a toll on your relationships, especially those with your immediate family. Lose the lonely with these helpful tips for building and maintaining healthy relationships as a trucker. This post wraps up our healthy drivers series; are you seeing positive change in your lifestyle?

Make a Plan

Which relationships are most important to you? Make a list of the relationships that you want to focus on while you’re away, listing them in order of priority. Come up with a plan for maintaining contact and interacting with each of these important people. When you have a plan in place, it is easier to make the relationship actually happen. Define your priorities and then stick to them. One of the worst things you can do for a relationship is nothing. Pick up the phone. Send that text. Write an email. Do it now, not tomorrow.

Use Technology

You may be gone a lot, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be present, especially during those important moments. Technology can connect you to your family, allowing you to see that dance recital, to celebrate that promotion, and to read those bedtime stories to your children at night. Get a smartphone or other connected device and use it to connect with those that you don’t see as often when you’re on the road. Skype, HangOuts, and Facetime are three easy options for video chatting. Family and friends can also send you videos over social media and email when you’re not available real-time.

Share the Journey

As a trucker you see more of the country in a week than most people do in a lifetime. Share your journey and help people to experience the magic and beauty that is trucking. Although there may be a lot of boring on any given day (tarping, long waits at the marshalling yard, and missed crane appointments to name a few), there’s also plenty of excitement waiting to share (beautiful sunsets, that authentic Memphis BBQ, and the supersize tank you’re hauling). Update friends and family of your adventures and share a whole new world with them: yours. Social media makes it easy to keep everyone up to date.

With your immediate family, keep the lines of communication open. You might be far away, but you can still share in the day to day by talking about your lives. Find out what is going on at home and share about your adventures in the truck. It might not seem exciting to you, but to those that love you, the everyday can be fascinating. Share your journey and delight in the adventures of those you love.

Make it Home When it Matters

Getting home for a specific date can be difficult, but make it a priority, especially for those most important events. Your spouse may say that they are happy to spend their anniversary alone, but odds are, they really do want you there. Look ahead at the calendar and choose the key events to schedule your home time around. Let your family know that you’re willing to make their lives your priority by coming home when you need to.

Getting a long haul driver home can be difficult, but it is much easier on your dispatcher when they have plenty of notice. Ask for specific days off as far in advance as possible. You’ll be more likely to make it home if your dispatcher has plenty of time to route you that way. You know the date of your anniversary a year in advance; don’t ask to rush home a few days before.

Long hours on the road can take their toll on your relationships, but with a little extra TLC, you can keep those relationships at their best. Traveling with care means taking care of yourself, your family, and your friends, not just your freight. We’ll handle your insurance so you can focus on your relationships.

 

 

A New Addition to the Western Truck Insurance Services Family

Bob Holtzman

Western Truck Insurance Services and Sentinel Financial are pleased to welcome TNT Insurance Services to their family. This addition will help us bring superior insurance value to our customers from coast to coast. We merged back on May 1 of this year and have been busy, busy, busy getting everything integrated.

These changes are very exciting for us and as our customers, exciting for you too. Let’s take a quick look at the specialized care and services we can now bring you at Western Truck Insurance Services.

·         More Experience– If you need experience to help you navigate through the rocky terrain of trucking, we’ve got it in spades. Together Western Truck Insurance and TNT Insurance have over 300 years of experience. We have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to help you.

·         New East Coast Offices– TNT Insurance is based out of Tampa, FL. We now have an east coast office ready to serve you. We are now here to help 12 hours a day so there’s always a convenient time to get the insurance or service you need.

·         Expertise for Towing Operations– TNT specializes in tow truck and truck insurance. This brings us enhanced expertise for clients with towing operations. TNT’s strong relationships with many tow insurance companies helps us to expand our reach and bring you more insurance offerings.

·         Personalized Service You Can Depend On– Do you need help with your FMCSA, registration, or filings? This new partnership doesn’t change any of the personalized services you’ve come to love from Western Truck Insurance Services. If anything the addition of new helpful staff will help us to serve you better.

·         No Fleet Too Large or Too Small– From an owner operator to a fleet with hundreds of trucks, we are ready to help and serve you. Western Truck Insurance is licensed in 19 states. We know that no two trucking operations are the same and can accommodate anyone from local drivers to nationwide truck drivers.

Let’s give a warm welcome to our new friends and partners from TNT Insurance. We look forward to the future and continuing to bring you the high quality insurance you’ve come to expect. Let us worry about your insurance so you can focus on the road.