TruckNewsTalk

Do you really know what you're pumping into your fuel tank?

The sign says diesel, but that doesn't mean the fuel coming out of every pump is the same. Refiners must meet certain standards, including cetane rating and sulfur content. But other characteristics that can have a real impact on a truck's operation — including cloud point, cold filter plugging point and suspended water — can vary considerably. Howes Products recently tested diesel fuel samples collected at locations across the U.S. and Canada and found some significant differences. In this episode, Howes chemist Jed Talbot explains what those variations mean, how they can affect fuel-system performance and reliability, and why the diesel you buy in one place may behave very differently from the fuel you buy somewhere else. Full disclosure: Howes Products is a sponsor of this podcast. This episode is not a paid promotion for Howes Products; the discussion focuses on the company's fuel-testing results and what they may mean for truck operators.

Highway traffic volumes across much of Northern Ontario have remained relatively flat or even declined over the past decade or so, but those stats mask an important change. Heavy truck traffic has increased both in absolute numbers and as a proportion of vehicles on the road.

The volume of trucks making their way across Highways 11 and 17 are bound to increase further as Canada seeks to expand domestic trade and as mining and critical minerals extraction operations get underway in earnest up in the so-called Ring of Fire region.

We need a more reliable highway network in the north, one that's resilient to weather and collision-induced road closures and one that's safer for all road users but that's monumental task. It's 1600 kilometers from North Bay to the Manitoba border through rock cuts and forests, swamps and muskeg.

This week's guest, Mark Wilson, believes the so-called 2 plus 1 highway configuration is a more expedient alternative to full four-lane twinning while promising the same safety benefits but at a considerably lower cost. Mark is a retired Canadian registered safety professional with a 30-year career in occupational safety as a trainer and program developer. He's currently serving as a counselor for the city of Temiskaming Shores, formerly New Liskeard, Ontario.

Mark recently traveled to Sweden to study that country's pioneering work in 2 plus 1 highways and to Ireland as well, where they're in widespread use already. Listen to Jim Park's conversation with Mark Wilson.

Thanks to Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel fuel lubricator and injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 detergent.

OWNER OPERATORS – BEWARE THE TAXMAN

This is interesting, and confusing. Trucking industry people happy to learn earlier this year that the Canada Revenue Agency would finally crack down on personal service businesses known as, Driver Inc. However, we learned in July that CRA was also targeting incorporated owner-operators – you know…the people who actually own their trucks and pay for fuel, maintenance, and other legitimate expenses. Why are they doing this? It goes directly against previously published guidance from CRA. Scott Taylor along with James Menzies of TruckNews.com, broke the story of CRA's misplaced and aggressive action against owner operators. CRA is disallowing all the owner-operators' legitimate expenses, leaving some of Taylor's

This week Jim Park talked to Scott Taylor Scott Taylor the vice-president of Transport Financial Services Group. Thank to our sponsor, Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent

You can read more details in the pages of Truck News Magazine

CRA's own guidance appears at odds with trucking PSB audits, critics say

CRA confirms focused trucking PSB crackdown amid concerns over owner-operator reviews

CRA crackdown threatens future of incorporated owner-operators

Everyone in the trucking industry, and many members of the regular driving public have voiced their concern and anger at the growing number of poorly trained truck drivers on our road and streets. Everyone talks...but not much action. This man has a plan, but it will take time and effort, and everyone needs to be on board. His name is Don MacDonald. Listen to his plan for a professional certification. Jim Park and Stan Campbell ask Don the questions.

Thanks to Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent.

Imagine! You're hauling 100,000 pounds in a Super B-Train, yet you're getting almost 10 mpg in fuel mileage. Impossible? Sounds like a social media fake ad? This is the real deal.

This TNT episode should be of interest to every driver, owner operator, and eventually, fleet owners. Just listen to this story with Jim Park as he travels to Saskatchewan and talks to trucking company co-owner, John Bickner, with his brother Scott, plus his drivers. John is the intrepid developer and modifier of a Volvo truck that gets this incredible fuel mileage. By the way, he's not an engineer or technician. Listen.

Thanks to Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent.

A 615-Hour Truck Driver Course for only $99!

Amazing! Could this be a national standard? Well, there is one sticky problem. It's in French. Well, mostly. More on that later.

Jim Park and I have questions. Are we not paying enough attention to Canada's second most populous province, and the second largest trucking industry province…and are they paying attention to the rest of us? We ask this at a time while there is a movement to nationalize and upgrade our training standards and create an integrity pact for carriers across the country. But does that include Quebec?

And what is this about 615-hour truck driver training course for only $99?

This week we get caught up on what is going on in Quebec when Jim Park and I talk to Benoit Therrien. Benoit is the owner and host of Canada's largest trucking show and podcast, Truck Stop Quebec, and the English version, Truck Stop Canada.

Thanks to our friends at Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent

CARRIER INTEGRITY

Integrity…now there's a word that seems to have lost it's value over the past several years, especially in politics, as we have all witnessed. Integrity is described as the firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility. How does it apply to the trucking industry?

The recent US Supreme Court ruling on broker liability creates a challenge for carriers: how do we distinguish between the scofflaw carriers and the good ones? Rather than wait for various governments to tighten up their carrier rating methodology, George Kresulia developed the Carrier Integrity Pact. George is our guest on this episode of Truck News Talk.

The title this weeks sound like the title of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Nope. It's real life...and death in Northern Ontario.

Let this sink in. The Highway Traffic fatality rate across the province of Ontario in 2021 was 3.94 per 100,000 people, yet the fatality rate in northern Ontario that same year was more than 99.25 per 100,000 people. That's a 135% increase! So far, the Ontario government seems to be okay with that. Jim Park talks to Ontario MPP John Vanthof who represents that Ontario region. Listen as Mr. Vanthof explains to problems…and the proposed solutions. Are you listening, Premier Ford?

Truck Drving Champions

You've heard and seen the bad news. Since covid, it has not been a good couple of years for the image of the safe, well trained truck driver. Fiery accidents and roll-overs and loss of life, almost always blamed on poorly trained drivers with sketchy licenses.

The truth is that majority of truck drivers are well-trained, safety-conscious and highly skilled. Sadly, the good news never makes the front pages.

On Saturday June 13th, you will see just how amazingly skilled truck drivers can be at a driving competition in Kitchener, Ontario. The best drivers in the country will meet to compete at the Central Ontario Regional Truck Driving Championship at the Kitchener Auditorium Complex. Think you're great driver? You can back a b-train up on the first try or stop on a bullseye? Drivers, you are invited to come out and show your skills. Register at www.cortdc.com

Listen as Jim Park and Stan Campbell talk to a few competing drivers, and the people working hard to make this happen.

Dumbing Down Driver Training

Have you ever heard the metaphor about the "crabs in a bucket"? It's based on the observation that if a single crab tries to climb out of a bucket, the group will pull him down, preventing him from escaping. It embodies the mindset: "If I can't have it, neither can you."

We have a crabby example in this TNT podcast where we learn about one province being compelled to dumb-down truck driver training seemingly to satisfy the other nine provinces. Jim Park and Stan Campbell talked to Kelly Henderson, the Executive Director at Trucking Human Resources Sector Council. She tells us about the positive driver training in Nova Scotia, but what Kelly told us about MELT shocked us. You have to hear this.

Thanks to our friends at Howes Products, makers of Diesel Defender, a diesel Fuel Lubricator & Injector cleaner with advanced IDX4 Detergent.