April 2007 Edition
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The TCA and TMTA are now accepting academic scholarship applications for 2007-2008
Do you have a son or daughter in college? The Truckload Carrier's Association (TCA) and the Texas Motor Transportation Association (TMTA) are accepting applications for their scholarship programs for the 2007-2008 academic school year.
The TCA scholarship application deadline is May 25, 2007.
You can find more information on the scholarship requirements or fill out an application on the TCA's web site: www.truckload.org.
TMTA scholarship applications must be received by Monday, June 11, 2007.
For a list of requirements or to fill out an application, please visit the TMTA's web site at www.tmta.com or see Chaun Burch, Dart Contractor Services Manager, at the Dallas Operating Center.
Al Beck takes 3rd in TCA contest
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Dave Oren (right), Dart's President,
congratulates Al Beck |
Steve Gundale, Editor
Awards are nothing new to Al Beck, an independent contractor with Dart Transit Company. None have been sweeter than the one he received March 13 at the Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The TCA awarded him third place in its 2006 Independent Contractor of the Year contest.
His prize includes nearly $6,000 in cash, bonds, and merchandise certificates from suppliers to the trucking industry. Contest judges evaluated contestants on their safety records, work history, and service to the trucking industry and their communities.
Mr. Beck has accumulated nearly two million accident and ticket-free miles during his 21 years with Dart, the only carrier to which he has ever contracted. In 2003, Beck was a Dart Contractor of the Month, and in 2006, the Minnesota Trucking Association honored him as a Driver of the Month.
He also had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Army, retiring after 30 years at the rank of E-9. During his Army years, he traveled the globe on missions that included training and logistic planning. During that time he was able to complete two college degrees and he received many awards including seven Bronze Stars.
"During my life time I've had many career opportunities, but I've chosen to be a professional truck driver," Beck wrote in the TCA contest application. "There's nothing else I'd rather do, no matter how much it paid. This profession gives me the opportunity and the freedom to do good things for others."
Those good things include service to his community. For several years he has provided transportation for riders in the MS Bike Tour, which raises money for multiple sclerosis research. Last year he delivered a load of water and other supplies to Pass Christian, Mississippi, a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
"During his 21 years with Dart, we have always been able to count on him when we have a project that needs diplomacy, attention to detail and preparation," said Dart President David Oren in support of Beck's application.
"Dart is privileged to have many contractors of Al Beck's ability and stature, and over the years, they have done very well in the TCA contest," Dave said. Previous Grand Prize winners from Dart include Carroll Benn in 2003, Carol Ann Schlussler in 2002, Harvey Zander in 2000 and 1990, Jimmy Davidson in 1998, and Herb Rauschnot in 1997. Art Reid placed 3rd in 2005 and 2nd in 2002; Dennis Siler placed 2nd in 2004, and Pat Rauschnot placed 2nd in 2001.
Beck's prizes are donated by leading suppliers to the trucking industry.
- $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond - Overdrive magazine
- $1,000 Frequent Fueler Card – Flying J
- $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond – Great Dane Trailers
- $1,000 gift card – Pilot Corporation
- $500 reward card – Love's Travel Stops
- $375 gift certificate – TravelCenters of America
- $250 cash – ArvinMeritor
- $250 cash – Mack Trucks
- $200 cash – Specialty Risk
Lessons learned
Dart contractor Abdul Muhammad shares a thing or two about business . . . and life
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| Abdul Muhammad |
Kristin Ries, Staff Writer
Whether it's in business or in life, people are constantly learning lessons. The following are some of the lessons Abdul Muhammad has learned that he would like to share with you.
Let your fleet manager know who you are
Abdul believes that communication is key to running a successful business. "The rapport between both the drivers and fleet managers have to be established via a two-way street," Abdul explains. "Each one of them has to reach out to each other. And not reach out to each other once a situation occurs, but from the very onset."
He recommends, "Call your dispatcher and let them know, ‘Hey, this is who I am, this is what I am capable of doing, and this is what I'm willing to do.' That way there's a foundation of how you like to run. This gives that fleet manager the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I have so and so who works with me and he's willing to go into New York City. He doesn't mind taking long loads, he doesn't mind taking short loads, and he doesn't turn down freight.' You will stick out in that person's mind and they will do great things for you."
"Some guys I see, newcomers in this business, have the same complaint, ‘I'm not making any money, and I'm not getting any miles,'" he says. "And I ask them all the same questions. ‘Have you had the opportunity to talk to your dispatcher to let them know who you are and what you're doing?' It's a thing you do when you have good communication."
Plan ahead
Abdul believes planning ahead improves his business. He uses the example of how he planned his trip to Eagan.
"I had taken off the day before yesterday," he explains. "So coming up here I knew that I needed to make some miles because I might want to take off again starting Monday and have an entire week off. So I called my fleet manager and said, ‘I don't want to take all these days off and not have any miles.'"
So Rick McCartney, his fleet manager, put together a plan that got Abdul to Eagan and then back home for his time off. "It worked out fine," Abdul says. "You have to plan ahead and be willing to make sacrifices."
Abdul labels himself as an early-riser and prefers to start working at five o'clock in the morning, so he can be done by early evening.
"It's planning. You have to ask yourself, ‘what do I want to do? How many miles do I want to run? And how many miles can I legally run during the course of a week?' And then it's just a matter of asking yourself, ‘how do I go about doing this?'"
Live as if you were in the "lean" times
"During the kind times," Abdul says, "continue to live as if you were in the lean times."
What he means is that, when business is good, spend money as you would when business is slow. Then save the extra money for times when you need it.
"Traditionally, January and February are the slowest months of the year," Abdul says. "That's when you have to push the hardest for your business. That way, the freight cycle doesn't have a profound effect on you."
"You have to be willing to do a few things differently than what you customarily do. You may not like a 250-300 mile run, but you don't know what's on the mind of your fleet manager when he offers it. He might have a 2,000 mile run behind that for you."
You have authority in this business
"This is your own business," Abdul says. "And you have to handle it as such. You have to be your CEO. You have to be the director of each and every part of it. Because it's your business, you determine your financial destiny."
Know your equipment
"It's just like being a doctor," Abdul explains. "If you don't know whether your stethoscope is working, you don't want to go listening to hearts with it. You're not going to hear anything."
He says the same goes for your truck. Knowing your fuel economy is important in deciding how much fuel to buy and when to buy it.
Ask questions
"Do you know why an elephant is afraid of a mouse?" Abdul asks. "If you see a mouse and an elephant standing next to one another, you say, ‘he's huge and the mouse is so small.'
"That's what you see. The elephant doesn't see the mouse standing next to him, and that mouse is portrayed in the mind of the elephant triple his size – triple the size of the elephant. This is what happens when an individual comes from a company driver situation to a business owner situation."
There are several things in life that Abdul says are traumatic. "Moving is traumatic. If you have to move, you're uprooting yourself and everything is in disarray. The purchase of a home is truly traumatic. Marriage is a traumatic situation. I'm not talking about marriage once you get in it, but I'm talking about approaching marriage. And finally, doing something where you have to depend solely upon yourself. That's one of the most traumatic situations to come about."
Abdul encourages new contractors to find someone who's experienced and successful and ask questions. "Don't be afraid to talk to someone who's been around the block," he says.
When Abdul became an owner operator, he asked questions. "I could recall one night I made a wrong turn in Texas. I was trying to go over to Texarkana and I should have made a left but I made a right, and I found myself 200 miles later. So most of my questions were, ‘what is the shorter route?' And, ‘tell me where I'm going.'"
Don't bite off more than you can chew
"Say what you mean and mean what you say," Abdul says. "If you can't do something say, ‘I'll give it my Boy Scout effort, but I can't promise you.' It's about sincerity."
"And don't try to bite off more than you can chew," he says. "I tell my children and grandchildren all the time, you can eat a cow, you just can't eat him all at once."
Say "I love you" every day
Abdul has eight daughters, two sons, 23 grandchildren, and a few great-grandchildren. Just two days before Abdul married Malikah, his wife, her father died.
"Before he passed away, he asked me, ‘would you please marry my daughter?' And I felt so . . . I felt honored," Abdul smiles. "You know, when a grown man can make another grown man come to tears, it's something."
So as a parent now himself, Abdul looks at it as something to learn from. "You take the example of that," Abdul says, "and you have to continually tell your children, ‘if you think that mom or dad have said or did something that makes you think that you can go past saying I love you every day, you're wrong.' You can't do it."
Contractors of the Month
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| Ron Weathers |
Ron Weathers - Dallas Operating Center
Cathy Aydelott, Staff Writer
Ron Weathers is a "Real Father, Real Man."
In November 2006, his kids nominated him for that honor on the "Tom Joyner Morning Radio Show" and he won!
But it's hard to tell who is prouder of whom in this family. All Ron talks about are his kids and how proud he is of them.
Ron has been in the trucking industry for thirteen years. Before that he was a communications/electronic engineer for 20 years, but he said it just wasn't challenging enough. He went to a job fair and saw Karl Malone who talked about having a truck and that made him decide to give it a try.
Ron has contracted with Dart for two years and leases a truck through Highway Sales Inc, a truck and finance vendor.
Ron believes his secrets to success are understanding the business and having a good support system at home. He's been married 26 years and both his son and daughter are in college.
Ron enjoys fishing and raises large mouth bass in his three-acre lake. He is also health-conscious and tells others to eat healthy every chance they get.
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| Monika Jacobsen |
Monika Jacobsen - Eagan Operating Center
Kristin Ries, Staff Writer
Monika Jacobsen was born and raised in Germany and moved to the United States 31 years ago.
She worked in an office until she thought, "I'm going to go for it," and became a truck driver.
"I didn't even own a pair of jeans," Monika said. "But I couldn't go back to an office."
Monika has contracted with Dart since 2005 and has a National contract. "I love it," she said. "I love the freedom. I get to go to different places. And my fleet manager, Nick Gisslen, knows me and knows my ways. Whenever things get rough, he is there for me."
In 2002, Monika's truck blew over in the wind, and she broke her back. Doctors found her disabled and told her she would probably never drive a truck again.
"I decided I wasn't going to have it," she said. "I went through low self-esteem and depression, but between Nick and the grace of God, I got back in a truck and to where I am today."
"I just love what I do," Monika said."
Behind the wheel with Randy Peterson
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| Randy Peterson |
April Mann, Dallas City Supervisor
When Dart contractor Randy Peterson was 13 years old his brother-in-law taught him how to drive a 1959 G Model Mack truck in an empty parking lot.
When he was 18, Randy got his chauffeur's license and started his driving career by working for two people – his dad and a friend of his family. He ran locally for both of them, depending on who had work.
After that, Randy drove for a couple of other trucking companies and then bought his own truck in 1985 – a brand new Freightliner.
One year later, he and his family moved to Denton, Texas, and Randy decided to become a dispatcher.
He sold his truck, and gave up life on the road for life in the office. A few years later, he took a position in the Safety Department at Dart's Dallas Operating Center.
In 1999, Randy went back to driving. He began as a company driver for a fleet owner, but after a couple of months, he bought a 1995 Freightliner and contracted with Dart.
He drove the Freightliner, but researched tractors to figure out what kind he wanted.
"It's all about the fuel mileage," Randy says. He considers what gears a truck needs to be in to get optimal fuel mileage, what kind of tires it has (super singles or doubles), the brake system (he prefers the high mileage for city use due to stop and go traffic), engine size, and how it will stand up for resale or trade-in value.
With that in mind, Randy purchased a new Freightliner through Highway Sales in 2000. He is still driving it today and expects to drive it until 2010.
"I want to see how the new 2007 engines respond to actual use before I buy one," he says. Both Randy's sister and his brother-in-law recently purchased 2007 Peterbilts with 2006 engines.
Randy has seen the price of trucks and the cost of diesel fuel increase over time. But to keep up with the rising costs, Randy found ways to improve his fuel economy.
1) He reduced his cruising speed. Randy averages between 65-67 miles per hour on the highway – using less fuel and saving his tires and engine from extra wear.
"In my experience, the drivers out there who blow past me on the freeway don't get to the customer much faster than I do and are usually more frustrated from having to accelerate and decelerate to avoid traffic," he says.
His advice for contractors wanting to reduce their cruising speed is to do it in increments. "Knock it down a couple of miles per hour per week until you get down to 65," he suggests. "If you try to do it all at once, you will get frustrated and speed back up."
2) He eliminated idling. In 2004, Randy purchased an auxiliary power unit for his tractor. He expected to see a return on the $6,200 he paid for it within two years, but he applied for a grant from the State of Texas in 2005 and was reimbursed for the entire cost, including installation.
3) He takes advantage of Dart's fuel adjustment. Randy says it's getting harder and harder to be a successful owner operator, but "Dart is a very supportive carrier. As long as you drive with common sense, you will make money with Dart's fuel adjustment."
Looking back at all the changes he's seen, Randy says, "The new guys out there have no idea what it used to be like. We didn't have showers or big truck stops. We had little fuel islands. And most trucks didn't have air conditioning."
He also saw the integration of cell phones and satellites in trucks, and now understands the need for electronic onboard recorders (EOBR). "The electronic onboard recorders won't stop me from driving," he says. In his opinion, the installation of EOBR's is a response to drivers not being willing to turn down a load when they cannot legally operate, and not being completely honest with their dispatchers.
One negative change Randy has seen in the industry is the public's opinion of the truck driver. "When I started in the business we were looked up to," Randy says. "Not anymore. That is a pretty big disappointment to me."
But through all the changes, good and bad, Randy still has a positive outlook on his life and career. "As long as my health holds up, I will be driving," he says. "I still enjoy driving and watching the scenery."
Are you a Dart contractor? Do you have a business tip or advice on how to improve fuel economy? Share it with your fellow Dart contractors. E-mail your tip or advice to Kristin at
