MATS then and now

My most vivid memory of the Mid-America Trucking Show in 2004 is a gigantic pair of woman's underpants. The bloated, billowing bloomers flew like a banner above a vendor stall in the North Wing Lobby.

No bloomers in 2015. I assume they were banned by management who realized just how tasteless, politically incorrect, and socially insensitive those bloomers were. I was glad I bought a pair in '04 when I had the chance.

Other things were different this year, too. There was more rush hour traffic outside in Louisville. Somebody built a Ferris wheel next door, and they added on to the exhibit halls. In 2004 the displays of flashy, bad-ass trucks and components seemed to go on forever. In 2015 they actually did go on forever.

The chrome was shinier this year. Door panels, saddle tanks and bumpers -- crystalline mirrors you could almost walk through -- projected the passing crowds back at themselves. 

Chrome on a Kenworth.

A lot of numbers at MATS were higher in 2015, like the fuel you were going to save and the return-on-investment you were going to enjoy. Buy this and your driver retention will go up. Other numbers were lower, like your driver turnover and how long it would take to realize that terrific ROI.

There was a lot more automation than there was in 2004. In 2015 they're not replacing drivers so much as driver functions. Computerized drive trains adjust speed for hills, and lift axles pull themselves up automatically to maximize fuel consumption.

Back in 2004, so-called collision avoidance systems warned drivers of an imminent crash. Buzzers buzzed, flashers flashed, dash screens ran horror film trailers, and maybe a little pink hammer descended from overhead to bonk the driver on the head. But that was pretty much it. Actual avoidance was still the driver's job.

The 2015 systems manage almost the entire emergency. Sure, warnings keep the driver in the loop (or at least scare the hell out of him or her). But it's all pro forma. The systems are fully prepared to slow or stop the truck. They'll do everything but steer, and they'll do that as soon as the market will bear the cost.

Back in 2004 they called them collision "avoidance" systems. In 2015 they're collision "mitigation" systems. Diminished expectations? Turning hellish catastrophes into mere disasters? You decide.

Some things at MATS haven’t changed at all –the social composition, for example. The big boys pour cash on their spacious South Wing displays, and neatly clad sales people rule the aisles and carpeted plazas. Bearded drivers in denim coveralls come to check things out, of course, and the sales guys would be happy to sell them a truck. But let's face it, the suits are really on the lookout for fleet buyers, engineers who do the spec'ing, and vice presidents who make the million dollar decisions. Sure, driver, help yourself to a piece of candy and a brochure.

In the West Wing, where the ceilings are lower and smaller displays tumble over one another, the crowded aisles are more democratic. It's great to take the kids through the big halls and ogle the new trucks, but the West Wing is a different kind of adventure. Look over there, a China Pavilion, stall after stall of small manufacturers, very proper people in business attire. And look at the young women at the Hooters display! Oops. Sorry, Mama; look away, Little Buddy.

The Far East in the West Wing.

Something else between 2004 and 2015 was unchanged, at least in essence -- the shortage of drivers willing to work for fleets that ask too much and pay too little. It was front and center in 2004. It was front and center again in 2015. Every media event staged by every major manufacturer included a prominent reference to the "driver shortage."

Kenworth General Manager Preston Feight put a kind of smiley face on it when he told his audience that the current driver turnover rate of 80 percent could be considered "normalized" because it had been much higher. "It's not a crisis at all," he said. "It's OK right now."

It's OK that a 1,000 driver fleet has 800 drivers leave each year either for greener pastures or to get out of the industry? It's OK the fleet has to hire 800 new drivers just to stay in place? Or has our industry's chronic, untreated disease grown so familiar we regard the pain as normal?

In any case, drivers had to feel wanted at MATS in 2015, especially in the West Wing. Celadon, NFI, Prime, Schneider, J.B. Hunt and more were all there recruiting drivers. We want you, Mr. Road Man.

One affable recruiter told me All State Express was signing up owner-operators. When I said I wasn't an owner operator, he said their lease purchase program could make me one. When I said I didn't have a CDL, he said they would help get me one – and then make me an owner operator.

Straight from unlicensed newbie to owner-operator without ever having experienced truckload life on the road?

Sure, he said, actually smiling.

Clearly since 2004 the "shortage" that troubles our industry hasn't changed at all. Sadly, neither have some of the terrible ideas for dealing with it.

Who's 'King of the road' when it comes to model trucks?

This is Scott and Linda Levine's 13th MATS. The Levines, of Long Island, N.Y., operate a booth offering miniature and collectible model trucks, part of their shop called Toy Truck City.

Located in the West Wing at Booth 60080, the shop has a veritable smorgasbord of truck and heavy equipment models, from economically priced children's toys in the $10 range, to items in the $200 range for the serious collector or hobbyist.

So what's the most popular truck model in among the model truck community? Scott says the answer varies depending on the region.

"It's Peterbilt and Kenworth here," he said. "At the East Coast shows, they want Macks."

Because wily truckers know their tires

It’s a lot more than walking around to the kick the product. All major tire manufacturers are at MATS, and the aisles are full of tire users (in the truck world, isn’t that everybody?). Of course, we know you are on a crusade for high mileage and optimum fuel economy, but there’s more to knowing your tires. Especially in Louisville.

If you’re a tire connoisseur, you have to have a picture taken with the world’s oldest trademark, “spot the retread,” and maybe even participate in a buffalo wing-eating contest. First of all, you must scout out the new stuff from the vendors. Here's just a few examples of what serious tire users are paying attention to.

LL's Senior Editor Dave Tanner with you-know-who ...

At Peterbilt’s booth, there were the two Pete Model 359 Epiq trucks and pssstt, they were wearing Goodyear’s new Fuel Max LHD G505D and Fuel Max LHS long-haul tires. You can bet that did not go unnoticed by truck tire aficionados. Goodyear makes no bones about saying that, together the Fuel Max LHD G505D and the Fuel Max LHS make up the most fuel-efficient long-haul tire combination in North America. Peterbilt obviously agrees.

In celebration of 100 years of” innovation, experience and reliability,” General Tire launched three new highway truck tires at MATS, which has the truck tire whizzes scribbling down details. The General HS is a new long-haul steer tire featuring an enhanced tread design, fuel-efficient compounding, and an upgraded casing platform. The General HD, long-haul drive tire, features a deep 32/32nd closed shoulder tread design. The General HT, long-haul trailer, tire delivers optimal removal mileage and flexibility through an improved tread pattern.  

Yokohama Tire Corp.’s low-rolling-resistance tires were on display at MATS. The eagle-eyed trucker tire specialists sauntering the aisle will notice that Yokohama’s line includes ultra-wide base (UWB), drive, trailer and steer/all-position tires. And yes, they are SmartWay-verified.

Bridgestone Commercial officially launched its newly refreshed Dayton commercial truck tires brand at MATS. The brand refresh coincides with a new marketing campaign entitled Tires for Truckers. A new website and the introduction of eight new Dayton patterns, which doubled the product coverage of the former lineup, launched in January. Matt Loos, Director of Truck & Bus Marketing, Bridgestone Commercial says the campaign, Tires for Truckers, “gets to the heart of what we provide to these hard-working individuals – affordable tires that keep them moving.” MATS attendees found the campaign to get some attention, a buffalo wing eating contest at the show Friday.

A set of 10 Dayton commercial truck tires were awarded to the winner, a trucker named Roger Errett of Mount Pleasant, Pa. A consolation bag of prizes valued at more than $700, including a $500 truck stop gift card and $275 Speedco gift card, were awarded to each of the runners-up.

Truckers love contests to test their professional know-how. The Tire Retread Information Bureau at booth(No. 13036) is hosting a  "Spot The Retreads" contest to try to correctly identify a range of new and retreaded tires. You have to correctly identify all the tires to be entered into daily drawings for sets of eight commercial truck tires to be retreaded on the participants own casings. With seven sets of retreaded tires to be won, that’s over $10,000. Yikes!

Tires and tire technology, tire monitoring system, retread technology – it is everywhere at this show. And heads up, manufacturers – those wily trucking tire experts are taking notes on everything.

Four OOIDA members among five honorees for 2015 TA/Petro "Citizen Driver" award

Respect. Leadership. Integrity. Community involvement. These are just some of the values that TravelCenters of America is looking for in its "Citizen Drivers." And four of OOIDA's membership are among the five finalists honored at a luncheon Friday, March 27, during the Mid-America Trucking Show. The winners will have a TA or Petro stopping center of their choice named after them.

The winners and the locations of their renamed truck stops are:

• OOIDA Life Member Richard Ash, - TA, Commerce City, Co.. - "Richard Ash Travel Center"
• OOIDA Senior Life Member Sandy Long - TA, Oak Grove, Mo. - "Sandy Long Travel Center"
• OOIDA Member Micheal Sheeds - Petro, San Antonio, Texas - "Micheal Sheeds Stopping Center"
• Gary Buchs - TA, Bloomington, Ill.. - "Gary Buchs Travel Center"
• OOIDA Member Robert Fernald - TA, Willington, Conn.. - "Robert Fernald Travel Center"

OOIDA Member Micheal Sheeds, Senior Life Member Sandy Long,  Life Member Rick Ash. Not pictured: Member Rob Fernald

A total of 19 finalists were named from a pool of 72 nominees from 25 states and Canada, with over 1,386 years of combined trucking experience, more than 100 million combined accident-free miles, and included 10 nominees who have saved others lives. The nominees all have exemplary safety records, are involved in their communities, and serve in leadership capacities in the industry and in their personal lives.

The 19 finalists were submitted to a group of eight judges, including OOIDA president Jim Johnston; ATA president and CEO Bill Graves; Women In Trucking president Ellen Voie; Target Media Partners publisher Micah Jackson; Heavy Duty Trucking magazine editor Deborah Lockridge; and radio personalities Eric Harley of Red Eye Radio; Dave Nemo of Road Dog Radio; and Steve Sommers of America's Truckin' Network, who selected the final five honorees.

All 19 finalists and their guests were treated to a banquet hosted by executives for TravelCenters, including Tom O'Brien, president and CEO.

O'Brien said the award will hopefully serve as a foundation for restoring respect for the trucking industry.

"The overall success, the image improvement, rests on all drivers, the men and women behind the wheel," he said. "It's on their shoulders that the real image of trucking is based."

What began at last year's MATS as a means of honoring truckers and restoring the "Knights of the Road" image to truckers is becoming an annual tradition. Nominations for the 2016 Citizen Driver Awards open in May. Sheeds was a finalist last year before winning this year.

OOIDA Member Matt Slovack named Trucker Buddy ambassador of the year

An OOIDA member who helped expand the Trucker Buddy program beyond the classroom has been named the organization’s ambassador of the year.

Matt Slovack of Colona, Ill., was named the Darrell Hicks Memorial Ambassador of the Year on Friday, March 27, during the Mid-America Trucking Show.

“It’s a huge blessing beyond my belief,” Slovack said in an interview with “Land Line Now” Host Mark Reddig, who is a member of the Trucker Buddy Board of Directors.

“The biggest reward is seeing the kids smile and learn stuff about our industry and see us in a positive light instead of the negative light that some people see us in,” Slovack said.

Slovack, who drives for Don Hummer Trucking, reached out to the Boy Scouts of America to expand the Trucker Buddy mission of educating students about trucks and safety.

OOIDA Member Matt Slovack, center, is Trucker Buddy's  

Darrell Hicks Memorial Ambassador of the Year. Pictured with 

Trucker Buddy Executive Director Randy Schwartzenburg, left, 

and Trucker Buddy President KC Brau, right. (Submitted photo)

Slovak got involved with Boy Scouts as a youth. Later, when he became a truck driver and discovered the Scouts had a Truck Transportation merit badge, he decided to become a merit badge counselor. He has brought local Scout troops to truck shows to work on getting their merit badges.

“We got the word out to the local Boy Scout councils, and the first class I ever did was about 75 Boy Scouts. They checked out the museum, the truck stop, got educated on the industry itself. It was a great time, and we’ve been doing it ever since,” Slovack said.

To get the badge, Scouts must complete a long list and understand how trucking “works,” he said.

Trucker Buddy International Executive Director Randy Schwartzenburg says the goal of getting the Boy Scouts involved is to help improve the image of trucking among the general public.

“Getting the Boy Scouts in here to get their Truck Transportation merit badge and their Traffic Safety merit badge is really important to the industry,” Schwartzenburg said.

The Darrell Hicks Memorial Ambassador of the Year Award is named after “Uncle Darrell” Hicks, a very well-known personality among truckers and the Trucker Buddy program. He was a lifetime member of OOIDA who began his 50-year career in trucking as a driver. When he retired in 2007, he was involved in the business side of the industry, traveling for years as an employee of Penray. Uncle Darrell passed away in July 2012.

“Darrell Hicks was an awesome, awesome person,” Schwartzenburg said. “We wanted to honor his work with Trucker Buddy so we named our Ambassador of the Year Award after him.”

Trucker Buddy continues to reach out in new ways to expand its mission.

“I think we can continue to encourage our individual trucker buddies to go to the local scouting councils in their hometowns and say, ‘I have a truck; use me,’ ” he said. “So the trucker doesn’t have to teach the merit badge. A scout leader can do that, but they can use his truck and him to help teach that award. Same with traffic safety and other awards.”