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Ethanol is Affecting Crude Sales

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Back in March!  According to checkbiotech.org, Ethanol is actually affecting crude sales.  In an article called, “Ethanol set to bite into crude sales” by Tamsin Carlisl, he writes about the fact that there is

“an eight-fold increase in US ethanol consumption since 2000.”

This affects the monopoly of oil and their prices will probably not go up, due to this up and coming new market of energy.  This is a first in a long time and is exciting to watch.

There are some that worry about the world food supply diminishing, due to usage of corn, soybean, and sugar cane for fuel.  And there are others that are excited about a supplementary resource to curve our appetite for oil.  Either way, it can’t be denied that bio-fuels are here to stay.

Here in the United States, the Midwest sells more biodiesel than anywhere else in the country because of the large quantity of soybean farms in the area.  In fact, Minnesota has a law that states all diesel must be blended with biodiesel to be sold in the state.

What this means to trucking, is huge!  Even Willie Nelson is getting involved.  He has a biodiesel he calls BioWillie.  And BioWillie is only one brand of biofuel.  According to the article “Willie Nelson brings biofuel to the red states”, there are hundreds of biodiesel companies out there.   Bio Willie is sold at 22 truck stops and is created out of soybean.

It will be interesting to watch this next couple of years, don’t you think?

http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/news/ethanol_set_bite_crude_sales

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3500954.ece

http://www.truckdriversnews.com/willie-nelson-brings-biofuel-to-the-red-states/

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Posted in Bio Diesel, Truck Driving Schools, Trucking | No Comments »

Sleep Apnea Risk and Truck Drivers

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Last fall, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced it would like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to start a program helping to identify truck drivers that may by at risk for obstructive sleep apnea.

Some steps requested include the following:

  • If truck drivers diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea cannot prove by documentation that they have been treated of such, FMCSA could deny medical certification.
  • FMCSA would hand out information and guidelines to help the truck drivers, trucking companies, and their medical doctors recognize high-risk candidates.
  • I was surprised at the statistics that truck drivers have a 50% statistic of sleep apnea in those who have average body mass index of 40.0 or more; 35.0 and over considered obese.

In fact, a study commissioned by the FMSCA found that 17.6 percent of truckers studied suffered from mild sleep apnea while 5.8 percent had moderate sleep apnea and 4.7 percent had severe conditions.

In reading the letter, it shows there is only one accident mentioned, due to sleep apnea.  The driver ran into a highway patrol officer, killing him instantly.  Though this is a very sad story, one must ask them self if it is enough documentation to hold back a truck driver’s medical certification because he may be at risk.

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Posted in CDL jobs, Truck Driving Schools, Truck School, Trucking | No Comments »

B5 Bio-diesel Fuel Spreading

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

It looks like Iowa is now on the B5 Bio Diesel bandwagon.  Last year, legislation was created for what they call the “Iowa Biodiesel Fuel Quality Standard (SF464)”.  And on February 4th of this year, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee voted in the advancement of the bill so that it can move into the full committee.  If it is passed by the House that would mean that the state of Iowa’s fuel will be 5% biodiesel.

This is amazing technology coming to use for making a huge step in becoming more independent from foreign oil.  There are some people and groups with concerns about using biodiesel.  The Iowans For Consumer Fuel Choice is concerned that the mandate will create monopoly.  Dawn Carlson, their spokesperson stated,

“Mandating renewable fuel will create upside-down economics, eliminate the checks and balances of fair competition and increase fuel costs for Iowans.”

Balancing the Pros and Cons of such a mandate is something the Iowa House will have to review.  It would be wonderful if they can make everyone happy.  But, this isn’t usually the case.  The article stated that Truck Drivers and Fuel Retailer are also against the mandate, but does not state why.  Probably for the price of fuel going by having the mixture of bio and fuel together.

Who is next?  What other states will try to mandate B5Bio Diesel?  I for one will keep an eye on this story.

http://mobile.wallacesfarmer.com/index.aspx?ascxid=cmsNewsStory&rmid=0&rascxid=&args=&rargs=9&dt=634010149784981250&lid=a8yebu2d9qxnz7lo&adms=634010149783575000X741151ffa9&cmsSid=35268&cmsScid=9

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Posted in Bio Diesel, Industry News, Truck Driving Schools, Trucking | No Comments »

Truck Driving School? How To Pick A Winner

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Truck Driving Schools with CR EnglandAre you at a loss when you look for a good truck driving school?  If you are like me when I went through this process, you are not sure what questions to ask and what schools are better than others.  After the grueling process, I learned a lot of information and want to share it with others so they don’t have to go through the pain I did.

So, here a few questions I learned to ask that sent me that got me into a good school:

  1. Ask around – Remember, don’t ask drivers with a bad attitude.  Ask drivers with a positive outlook instead.  Otherwise, you usually will only get negative feedback and won’t get a real reading of the truck driving school.
  2. Create a list of questions – When you go online or call these schools to get information, ask or find the same questions for each school.  This way you will get a sense of the better schools when comparing notes.  Important questions to ask include:
    1. i.      Age of equipment, if the trucks are older, maybe the school isn’t up to date on the curriculum either.
    2. ii.      How many weeks training?
    3. iii.      Is the school licensed?
    4. iv.      Payment schedule on loan if received.
    5. v.      Cost of schooling.
    6. vi.      Is there a job for me when I graduate, and if not, do companies come in and recruit?
    7. vii.      Ask why this school is better than other schools.
  3. Age of the School – Credibility comes from experience.  The older the school, chances are the curriculum is improved on experience.
  4. What is your gut feeling of the school? – Follow your instincts.  When you have gathered all the information for all of these schools what does your gut tell you?

A lot of students choose C.R. England trucking school because the equipment is new, and because the compnay is stable. They’ve been around for years and best yet. If you or a friend is looking for a good truck driving school, add CR England to your list and check out our website.

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Get Retrained Not Re-Layed Off at Truck Driving School

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Curious About Truck Driving School?WTOV9.com ran an article that talked about local steelworkers form Yorkville that had been laid off. The article noted that some people were looking to make truck driving their new career. This bit here is aimed at anyone who is laid off and considering CDL careers.

In this economy it’s a great idea! Trucking companies are always looking for truck drivers. Some companies may only be able to hire drivers with experience and others may tie training and hiring into one process. Bottom line is there are jobs to be had in the industry even while things are slow. Even better news is that as things recover, usually the trucking industry is ahead of the back.

When you choose to train with trucking companies that train you, you won’t have to go looking for a job when the training is over. On the other hand, when you chose to get your training from a training only business or trade school you may not find that jobs are easy to get.

Remember those trucking companies that only hire drivers with 1 year of experience, you won’t be eligible to work for them. Almost all major carriers due to liability issues will want you to get retrained before they give you the keys to 100k worth of equipment. That means the number of possible employers will be slim or you will have to pay to get retrained. All this added headache because the training only business or trade schools are really just selling you the training.

One caveat to this is a training school that has an agreement with an employer. They do exist, but may be few and far between. They are certainly OK. If your not getting training with a major carrier make sure you ask about the job prospects before you pay.

We hope this brief write up can help you see the differences between CDL training types. And finally here is a word of advice on this issue. If you don’t go to one of our Premier Truck Driving Schools that’s fine, our program may not fit your situation. Just make sure you get training from a place that already has a job lined up for you otherwise you will driving away from CDL Careers instead of getting closer to one!

The full WTOV9.com article can be found at: http://www.wtov9.com/news/21972901/detail.html

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Posted in Truck Driving Schools, Trucking Companies | 1 Comment »

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