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Free Food and Parking Offered to Truckers Due to COVID-19 Challenges

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In the midst of the nationwide battle against COVID-19, our truck drivers are busier than ever ensuring we get our necessary medical and household supplies, food, and much more. Because of this, truck stops, along with state and federal associations, are doing what they can to help these truckers along the way.

Many restaurants have limited service to just drive-through and carry-out meals at the same time grocery stores are struggling to keep shelves stocked. Because of this, truckers have expressed their concerns regarding the challenges of finding accessible food while on the road.

In response, various travel center chains along particularly busy freight corridors are offering truck drivers free meals and parking while they make these important deliveries.

For example, The Nebraska Trucking Association has partnered with chains like Sapp Bros., Shoemaker’s Travel Center, and Bosselman Enterprises to implement a voucher program to provide free lunches for truckers working along Interstate 80–an expansive freight route between San Francisco and Teaneck, New Jersey.

“That is a long stretch of important corridor,” said association president, Kent Grisham, of Nebraska’s interstate. “Tens of thousands of trucks are traveling our state every day. We take that responsibility very seriously. We need to take care of the drivers. They’re part of the truck driving community. If [you’re] a driver, here’s your free lunch.”

Grisham explained that truckers are often working along the more than 450 miles of I-80 that spread across Nebraska, and that many Nebraska Trucking Association members, who had previously agreed to sponsor the association’s spring conference, decided to donate their money instead to the free lunch program when COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the event.

Sapp Bros. also decided to provide free parking at each of its 17 locations between Utah and Pennsylvania–also along I-80.

“All truck parking is free for now,” said the company on its website. “We remain open at all locations to serve you. Thank you, drivers!”

The company said its restaurants would stay open for however long governments allow. It will also boost all sanitizing methods around food contact surfaces, soda fountains, and other areas of interaction. Employees must also wear gloves whenever handling food and money. The company has discontinued the use of refillable cups and mugs and is bleaching showers after every single use.

Additionally, The Iowa Truck Association has provided 2,000 free boxed lunches for truckers at two weigh-in stations on I-80–the Jasper County Scale and the Dallas County Scale–over a two-day period. The association used a drive-through setup in order to comply with CDC guidelines.

“We want to show our appreciation to the professional men and women that are playing a critically important role as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds,” said Iowa Motor Truck Association president and CEO, Brenda Neville. “We believe that providing a boxed lunched seemed to be the best way to achieve that goal, since getting food on the road has become a bit more difficult in the current situation.”

The association also ordered these lunches from restaurants that had to shut down operations due to the virus. Neville explained that she wants to continue working with other state transportation officials in finding other ways to serve more areas around Iowa.

“We’re very appreciative of folks that are stepping up and helping, especially right now in these challenging times,” Neville said. “Our main objective was to do something for the drivers that we thought would be impactful. It was something that we felt was a really appropriate way to show our appreciation.”

The Quail Creek Fire Department in Little Rock, Arkansas has also been offering free hot meals to truckers off of Interstate 530. In Jackson, Tennessee, locals offered sandwiches and chips to drivers on Interstate 40. A group of volunteers (and barbecue aficionados) in the Texas panhandle served brisket, ribs, pulled pork, beans, potato salad, and homemade roles to truckers in the area.

On top of these acts of gratitude, the federal government has also allowed states to operate food trucks in rest areas in order to help feed truckers.

On April 3rd, the Federal Highway Administration announced it would suspend enforcement measures in its Federal-aid Highway Program to allow states to decide whether or not they would permit commercial food trucks to sell food in designated, federally funded rest areas.

“America’s commercial truck drivers are working day and night during this pandemic to ensure critical relief supplies are being delivered to our communities,” said Nicole Nason, FHWA Administrator. “I am grateful to our state transportation partners for bringing this idea to the Department, and for their leadership in thinking outside the box. It is critical to make sure truck drivers continue to have access to food services while they’re on the job serving our nation during thee challenging times.”

The Arkansas Department of Transportation has already announced it would give temporary permits for certified food truck operators to serve truckers at two rest stops–the eastbound and westbound exits at Social Hill rest area on I-30, and the eastbound and westbound exits and Big Piney rest area on I-40.

ATA Praises Trucking Industry Efforts During Pandemic, Prepares for Challenges Ahead

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The trucking industry has been making waves throughout the crisis of the pandemic–with truckers working over time, delivery services modifying procedures, and agencies changing rules to allow for more efficient deliveries of necessary medical supplies, food, and household goods.

Chris Spear, President of the American Trucking Associations, said he is proud of the help that the industry is giving to Americans during this time, but also said that there are many more obstacles ahead for both the business and the government as a whole.

“This certainly brings again what our industry does for the entire American economy to help us get through it,” said Spear. “If you want those shelves restocked, if you want the medical supplies and the test kits brought to the front line, you’ll need our industry, and I think people now have a laser focus on that and that is very appreciated.”

Spear expressed his gratitude for the 3.5 million truck drivers who are working far from their homes and families, and bringing those supplies to the people sheltering in their homes and doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“This is unprecedented,” said Spear of the industry’s experience. “This is clearly our time to shine.”

Still, although the current challenges have forced the industry to step up to a whole new level, there are more difficulties ahead.

“I think it takes some foresight to really anticipate where this is headed, and if it does change, it’s going to change rather quickly,” said Spear. “I think we are in a phase now where we are seeing an uptick for a number of industry segments, such as truckload [and] refrigerated. But you also see less consumption of fuel. We’re not seeing flatbed or agriculture benefit from this as much as we’d like. We’re seeing a lot of sectors that are not seeing that growth. It’s not across the board, and I think it’s very responsible for us to be looking two, three quarters ahead at what this may be looking like.”

A major factor in the success of these operations, Spear said, is the ability to work together with government agencies.

“I’ve had several calls with (Department of Homeland Security) officials, White House officials,” he said. “Our state executives have been very helpful [with] dealing with governors and mayors that also have a role, and make decisions that can be adverse to our industry if they are not done correctly.”

Because the $2.2 trillion congressional stimulus package includes $377 billion in small business loans, Spear said he believes this will be helpful to many smaller trucking companies, especially in terms of payroll.

“I’m very appreciative of the decision-makers, including Capitol Hill, with the legislation they just passed, recognizing that our industry is welcomed,” he explained. “Making certain we can do our jobs successfully through this pandemic is very important.”

Last month, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made a major decision to relax guidelines around hours-of-service regulations for trucks transporting essential supplies during the pandemic.

“How long the HOS and other exemptions go on–we’ll have to wait and see,” said Spear. “I don’t think it’s indefinite. Certainly, I believe the federal government is going to give us the relief we need to continue to do our [jobs] and serve the economy while this crisis unfolds.”

Those HOS changes are a bit controversial–as relaxing guidelines means truckers can potentially work longer hours on less rest, allowing for more fatigued truck drivers to be on the roads and creating more dangerous driving environments for themselves and for other drivers.

Regardless, the trucking industry is as busy as ever. According to DAT Solutions, spot rates roses by 12.6% throughout the month of March during a rapid increase in demand to keep stores and hospitals regularly restocked. 

The trucking industry will continue to work hard to keep up with demands, Spear said. “This is what we do every day. Our drivers–our industry–are really stepping up to do what [they do] best, and that’s to help us get through this as quickly as possible.”

Truckers with Learner’s Permits Receive COVID-19 Waivers from FMCSA

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Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, standards have been relaxed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in regards to commercial learner’s permit holders and how they obtain a commercial driver’s license.

The waiver, which will last until June 30th, will allow truckers with learner permits to operate during the coronavirus emergency without needing a commercially-licensed driver in the front seat of the cab–as long as that licensed driver is present in the truck.

With the waiver, the permit-holding driver must also have proof showing that he or she has passed the CDL driving skills test.

The three-month waiver aims to prevent a shortage of commercial truck drivers “from becoming a transportation emergency, and to continue the ability of intrastate and interstate CDL and CLP holders to transport goods in response to the COVID-19 emergency,” said the FMCSA in the waiver, released on March 28th.

“FMCSA has determined that it is in the public interest to issue a waiver, until June 30, 2020, limited in scope in circumstances, that is likely to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the waiver,” the agency explained.

Not only will the waiver not require a learner’s permit holder to have a licensed commercial driver in the front seat whenever the permit holder is driving on public roads or highways, but the state will not need to administer a driving skills test to any out-of-state commercial license applicant who has taken driver training in that state.

Still, permit-holding drivers must always have on hand their non-commercial driver’s license, their learner’s permit, and a medical certificate. Additionally, to make the commercial driver’s licensing process quicker, states can administer driving tests to any applicant, regardless of the state in which they received their training.

“A state driver licensing agency that elects to administer a CDL driving skills test to a non-domiciled CMV applicant under this waiver must transmit the test results electronically directly from the testing state to the licensing state in an efficient and secure manner,” said the waiver.

Still, some states with increased employee absences and office closures have DMVs that are unable to process and issue commercial driver’s licenses at this time.

“Given the national emergency, there is a public need for immediate transportation of essential supplies, equipment, and persons, which requires adequate and sustained supply of drivers eligible to operate a CMV,” said the FMCSA. “This waiver provides needed relief from specified FMCSRs for states and CLP holders.”

According to Don Lefeve, Commercial Vehicle Training Association President, the waiver is not an overall solution to any commercial driver shortage.

“[While the waiver is] a great first step,” he explained, “it doesn’t solve the problem of somebody who needs to get that commercial learner’s permit from the 22 states whose state driver licensing agencies are closed due to the virus.”

Lefeve also explained that CDL holders would still need to be in a sleeper berth, but not necessarily the jump seat, while a permit-holder is operating a truck. As of now, Lefeve believes those drivers-in-training won’t be able to easily move on to driving on their own.

“Typically, new drivers will be paired with a driver trainer for three to eight weeks. depending on the company and individual’s skill progression,” in a “finishing school,” a company providing additional training for drivers who have recently received their CDL, he said.

Lefeve continued: “I think the problem is that if the states’ DMVs remain closed, once that driver could move on to being a solo driver, they could only do so if they have an actual CDL, which, as of now, is near impossible in 22 states because of the DMVs being closed.”

The 22 states that have closed their DMVS also have driver training schools with much more limited operations. “So, it’s critical that governors understand that they need to keep the state driver license agencies open,” Lefeve said.

According to the FMCSA, the waiver does not apply to CMV operators with these endorsements: T (double/triple trailers), P (passenger), N (tank vehicle), H (hazardous materials), X (combination of tank vehicle and hazardous materials), and S (school bus).

“To put all this in perspective, each year–the statistics vary–anywhere from 200,000 to 480,000 CDL are issued,” said Lefeve. “To use conservative numbers, say, 25,000 a month aren’t going to be licensed to do anything in the response or recovery effort.”

Paccar Issues Two Truck Recalls Due to Underhood Fires, Blown Fuses

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Paccar Inc. is issuing a recall of hundreds of thousands of trucks regarding potential fuses blowing out, leading to dashboards failing to illuminate

The recall notice, posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covers 455,458 trucks that were manufactured between January 2007 and March 2018.

According to Paccar, if a blown fuse did take place, the dashboard illumination would fail and prevent anti-lock braking or the control of electronic stability. The fuse could also cause the possibility of a crash to increase if a driver happens to be unaware of the potential problem.

“This recall is an outgrowth of an investigation performed in connection with 18V-368,” said Paccar in its notice. “Further testing showed a larger population of vehicles was affected, and proposed remedies were not effective. A new testing matrix and bench test were developed in September 2018.”

Electronic stability control lights and anti-lock braking systems could fail to illuminate without battery power to the ABS controller. Therefore, those warning lights are not in alignment with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Ways to identify an affected chassis and develop methods of making repairs began as early as the end of 2018. Now, the recall includes trucks with NAMUX software in place which also have the 25% voltage threshold setting in the indicator lamp for the ABS/ESC malfunction.

Additionally, PACCAR had also recalled nearly 86,000 trucks from the 2015 to 2018 model years back in August of 2018, when those particular trucks had similar issues to current models. Those trucks will also need updated software, and the current recall notice includes issues with those models as well.

The solution, according to Paccar, is to update each cab control module’s NAMUX software, which will be done for free.

Paccar said it will begin notifying dealers of this recall starting June 4th, and will notify customers on June 5th.

This recall comes shortly after Paccar began recalling nearly 36,000 of its Peterbilt trucks due to a battery cable electrical short circuit–a malfunction that could potentially lead to underhood fires.

Only around 1% of the 365, 389, 567, and 579 vehicles from the six model years between 2015 and 2020 are suspected of having excessively long positive battery jumper terminal cables. With these lengths, the cables can easily change against the left front suspension spring.

According to Paccar, this chafing can allow the chassis ground to short circuit and create a vehicle underhood fire–which could potentially lead to a major crash.

“The recall population was determined by filtering build records by option code,” said Paccar in a safety report. “The recalled trucks are equipped with a left hand under hood jumper terminal.”

On January 17th, the company found a small underhood fire near the left-hand side rail mounted jump-start terminals. The fire damage was able to be localized to the battery cable area, and no injuries were reported.

After an investigation by engineers, Peterbilt decided to conduct this safety recall on February 27th.

Paccar said it will begin to notify owners and dealers on May 1st, and dealers will start inspecting battery jumper and terminal cables and will replace them, when needed, for free. The jump start terminal cables will be shorter than the originals, and an additional bracket will be added to support cables for certain option content.

On September 30th, a production change took place which began to allow improved jump start terminal cable routings with shorter cable lengths. After this change was implemented, the areas around the front suspension components had increased overall clearance.

Additionally, in the wake of COVID-19, Paccar announced it would be suspending trucking and engine production throughout its worldwide factories until at least April 6th, which was the first announcement from a truck manufacturer affecting the American heavy-duty market.

Paccar is currently the second-leading U.S. truck maker, according to retail sales data, and said its reasons for shutting down include customer demand changes and concerns for the overall global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Levinson and Stefani Teams with Local Filmmaker

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The firm was incredibly fortunate to work with Melissa Costello, a renowned filmmaker, in making a video highlighting our clients, our team, and what we do. Costello is known for engaging viewers with her story-telling approach.

“Melissa and her team were such a pleasure to work with,” said Ken Levinson. “She has an amazing ability to get to the heart of a topic with conversation, and I think that really came through.”

“The whole crew was extremely professional, but I was blown away by how fun the experience was,” added Jay. “I think the comfort and ease of the interviews allowed everyone’s personality and story to really shine.”

Ken summed it up best, “At the end of the day, we are very grateful Melissa was able to capture what we do — how we fight for our clients and how they become an integral part of who we are.”

Amazon, UPS, and Fedex Face Challenges in Protecting Workers During Delivery Surge

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many delivery services are making sure employees and customers are as well-protected as possible.

In a statement, UPS said it is making efforts to enhance cleaning in all facilities, especially around shared equipment, and is encouraging its employees to practice social distancing and to follow guidelines around proper hygiene. The company said it is also providing sanitizing supplies to all drivers, refilling automatic hand sanitizing stations, and providing emergency paid leave to any employee affected by coronavirus. UPS also said its facilities keep 60 days worth of stock in soap, paper towels, toilet paper, and other hygiene products.

Additionally, the company is adjusting signature regulations so that a majority of deliveries will not require a signature. If a delivery does need one, UPS will not share a pen with the recipient and will maintain social distancing guidelines.

Currently, UPS is working with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters regarding paid-leave for unionized workers.

FedEx is also temporarily suspending most U.S. and Canada signature requirements for its FedEx Express and FedEx Ground deliveries. The company has also relaxed signature requirements for same-day service, at FedEx office stores, and for FedEx Freight operations.

“This change is meant to help protect our couriers, drivers, and customers by preventing exchange of the signature equipment and keeping them at a safe distance from each other [that is] consistent with social-distancing guidelines from the WHO,” said a Fedex spokeswoman in a statement.

Amazon is temporarily suspending shipments of nonessential items and is focusing on making household goods and medical supplies a priority throughout its facilities.

Customers can still order in-stock nonessential goods that are already in warehouses, and can choose the “unattended delivery” option during checkout when ordering from Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods Market. With this option, their items will be dropped off at a specific location in order to maintain social distancing.

Amazon said it has also increased its sanitizing practices in all facilities, especially around door handles, stairway railings, lockers, touch screens, and elevator buttons. Any Amazon employee placed into quarantine or diagnosed with COVID-19 will be able to receive two weeks of pay.

Amazon has also been working to hire 100,000 additional full-and part-time employees throughout the country in order to keep up with increased demand. The company has said it will be boosting hourly pay for its workers by $2 through April.

As for UPS, the company said its paid-leave agreement applies to around 300,000 full-time and hourly employees–especially drivers, mechanics, and package handlers who are directly impacted by the virus.

UPS’ agreement with the Brotherhood of Teamsters will provide paid leave for any worker diagnosed with COVID-19 or who is placed under quarantine.

While on leave, full-time employees will receive payment for eight hours per workday for up to 10 workdays. For part-time workers, employees will receive payment for 3.5 hours per workday for up to 10 work days. Part-timers are also guaranteed at least 3.5 hours per day when they are called into work. Part-time UPS Freight workers will receive pay for four hours a day for up to 10 workdays, and UPS Cartage Service part-time employees will have local addenda guarantees applied. All workers will have health and pension plan contributions made in alignment with union requirements.. If a worker uses paid time off or self-quarantines and is later diagnosed with COVID-19, UPS will repopulate that accrued paid time off for up to 80 hours for full-time workers and 35 for part-time workers.

This agreement also maintains that any employee missing work due to the virus will not have any days missed counted as an attendance infraction.

UPS has also worked with the federal government to provide logistical support and transportation for the COVID-19 drive-through testing sites throughout the United States. Union members’ roles will only be associated with the delivery and pick up of supplies and test kits.

Regarding the safety of handling packages, the U.S. the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have both stated that the risk of contracting COVID-19 from packages or mail is low. Coronaviruses typically spread through respiratory droplets, according to the CDC.

“In general, because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces, there is likely very low risk of spread from products or packages that are shipped over a period of days or weeks at ambient temperatures,” the CDC explained.