Women in Trucking? You bet.

Since I started working at BTG, one of the things that surprised me the most was to find out that there are women truck drivers. There aren't many, but every now and then you find one.

Today I was surprised to find out about the Women in Trucking Association (WIT), a nonprofit organization established in 2007,  that works towards encouraging the employment of women in the trucking industry, promoting  their accomplishments and minimizing obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.

Getting excited for the BTG Holiday Party on December 17th! Hope everyone can make it!

As more states allow heavier trucks on interstates, safety and financial benefits debated

PORTLAND, Maine — Officially, the national weight limit for freight trucks on interstate highways is 40 tons. In reality, trucks are getting heavier in more states — legally — and advocates for highway safety and the trucking industry are sharply at odds about it.

Trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds are allowed to operate on federal highways in at least 20 states. Congress added Maine and Vermont to the list last week, granting exceptions to allow trucks up to 100,000 pounds on interstates there for the next 20 years. The change went into effect Friday when President Barack Obama signed it.

Selfless Trucker Awarded for Heroic Actions

In TodaysTrucking.com 11/21/2011

TORONTO – Over his relatively short 13-year career, Darryn Belanger, a driver with Kriska Transport has been commended by his company — not just once, but three separate times — for acts of heroism and extreme kindness at highway accident scenes. Those actions have now earned Belanger the 2011 Bridgestone-Ontario Trucking Association Truck Hero Award, presented to Belanger last Friday at the annual OTA conference in Toronto by Leighton Watkins, regional manager for eastern Canada, Bridgestone Canada. The annual award recognizes professional truck drivers who demonstrate courage, quick thinking and integrity in the face of an emergency. On July 16, 2011 Darryn was travelling behind another Kriska truck driver, James Monaghan, going westbound on Highway 401 in Mississauga. A car suddenly came up on James’ truck, fishtailed and struck the tractor on the driver’s side. As the car continued to lose control James swerved to avoid another collision, but in the process his truck tipped over on its side and the cab split open as it came down on a steel barrier.

Trucking Index Rises for Eighth Straight Month

According to TodaysTrucking.com

11/04/2011
Trucking Index Rises for Eighth Straight Month 11/04/2011 NASHVILLE, TN — Freight Transport Research's (FTR) Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) spiked 3.1 points in September bringing the total reading to 9.2. While this marks the eighth straight month of improvements, the TCI is still well below the 13.3 peak back in March.