Trucking Companies Driver Scams Ripoffs Hiring Training Leasing

Recent Trucking Scams News

View News Reports Below.

Includes Truck Driver Training Scams Dishonesty and Misrepresentation. Updated frequently to bring you the latest information and news on Truck Driver Training, Hiring and Truck Lease-Purchase Scams/Ripoffs as reported by the victims.

Most Popular Scams

Deceptive, Misleading Statements made by Trucking Company Recruiter's (professional sales people) designed to entice New (un-aware) Truck Drivers into signing loan documents for Truck Driver Training costs which are several times the reasonable amount for legitimate truck driver training such as found at Community Colleges.

They paint a pretty picture. The world is promised to you. Unscrupulous trucking companies and training schools run drivers through like cattle. This is called the "CDL Mill Scam". They prey upon those with poor credit and encourage co-signors. Those with Military educational benefits or Pell grants are especially at risk.

Drivers are then forced to quit after a short period of time. Their miles are cut or they are fired for the slightest infraction in order to make power units (trucks) available to new students. These dastardly actions keep the scam volume high.

Trucking Company Lease Purchase Programs

These programs are designed to screw the unsuspecting new truck driver. At $4.00 per Gallon for diesel, it costs approximately $1.35 per mile in total expenses to run a semi-truck. Keep this figure in mind before signing any owner/operator truck-leasing-purchase-agreement.

Speed Limiters Cap a Truck Drivers Income

Since most drivers are paid by the mile and NOT by the hour speed governors limit the total miles you can travel within your mandated driving hours. Truck Speed Limiters also cause undue stress and fatigue. Speed Limiters make drivers want to quit. Speed Limiters only benefit the trucking company's bottom line profits while endangering the truck driver and the motoring public.

See Speed Governor Videos - Click Here

Tips: Avoid Truck Driver Training Scams

Look for truck driver training schools that have some form of accreditation, such as Community Colleges. Never Take the word of trucking company recruiters. Do your Homework and calculate your expenses carefully before making any financial commitments. "Never Expect What You Don't Inspect First"

This Trucking Company Scams News Blog is part of the Truckers News Feed Published by FasterTruck.com

09/24/22 - Wyotrans’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy case ‘hitting rough waters,’ trustee says

09/24/22 12:33:57am -

Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for trucking company Wyotrans, doing business as National Freight Carriers, have taken a rocky turn after two of its largest secured creditors claim they haven’t been paid in two months for leased or rented equipment being used to haul freight and that the carrier is also behind on insurance premium payments. 

Besides its bankruptcy woes, the two men involved in the daily operations of Arizona-based Wyotrans, David Allen and Jeremy Louder, have ties to at least three other trucking companies set up through various LLCs over the last five years. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Daniel P. Collins has set a hearing for Wednesday after claims from Wyotrans’ insurance company, IPFS Corp., that it is owed nearly $84,000 for its post-petition monthly payments for July and August.

In its motion, IPFS seeks “authority to cancel certain insurance policies and to collect all unearned premiums” owed to the insurance company. 

In court filings, Penske states that Wyotrans leases and rents approximately 26 trucks and trailers and owes it more than $560,000 in post-petition charges. 

In its motion, Penske claims Wyotrans stopped paying the leasing company’s charges on Aug. 1, while at the same time continuing to use and possess its equipment “in the operation of its business.”

After initially agreeing to return the short-term units by Sept. 15, Penske claims Wyotrans has failed to return them. 

Allan NewDelman, Wyotrans’ attorney, said the company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection after one of the units it leased from Penske was involved in a single-vehicle accident. The towing company charged over $100,000 to haul off the equipment, which Penske paid but sought reimbursement of the towing bill from Wyotrans, which the company didn’t have on hand.

Wyotrans, doing business as National Freight Carriers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona. 

In its bare-bones petition, the company listed its assets ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 and its liabilities as between $500,000 and $1 million. At the time, Wyotrans estimated that funds would be distributed to unsecured creditors.

Christopher C. Simpson is serving as a Chapter 11 Subchapter V trustee in the Wyotrans bankruptcy case. 

“It’s a complicated case,” Simpson said at the Chapter 11 status hearing in July. “It’s a very difficult business to run, but we are optimistic today.”

However, at the Wyotrans’ status hearing in early September, Simpson said he was less optimistic. 

“Part of my communication to the court … was going to be that we are going to be hitting some rough water here,” Simpson said. “There does seem to be an uptick in unpaid administrative fees, a significant potential uptick. There are some disputes among the parties regarding accounting. So I wanted to let the court know that my prior cautious optimism is now reverted to just caution.”

Who owns Wyotrans LLC? It’s complicated

Michelle Allen is listed as the managing member of BMA LLC, which was incorporated on Dec. 3, 2019, in Sheridan, Wyoming. Allen signed Wyotrans’ bankruptcy petition. 

The incorporation paperwork also lists Allen as the chief executive manager and her husband, David Allen, as the executive director.

Court filings in other cases allege David Allen places assets in the names of his wife and son, Grayden Allen, to avoid creditors.

Prior to entering the trucking industry, Allen and Louder spent time in federal prison on fraud-related charges. Both still owe millions in restitution to victims in separate fraud schemes. No charges have been filed against Allen or Louder related to Wyotrans’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

David Allen, 44, of Gilbert, Arizona, along with four of his family members who owned a boat dealership, was convicted of defrauding banks out of $5.4 million in January 2012. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution since his release in June 2014. 

Since that time, David Allen has only paid around $12,000 of the $1.1 million he owes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office Financial Litigation Unit.

Allen’s business partner, Louder, 43, of Plano, Texas, was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Lounder served 60 months in prison and was ordered to pay $17 million in restitution to his victims. Federal prosecutors claim Louder, co-founder of Quadwealth, conspired to devise a scheme to defraud investors by promising them high rates of return on real estate and securities investments. 

Louder is listed as the president of MercTrucking and Mercury Holdings, with the addresses being the same as BMA LLC’s in Sheridan, Wyoming. Wyotrans listed that it previously operated its trucking business under the name MercTrucking in its bankruptcy filing. 

Some of the equipment the trucking company leased through Penske was through GBA LLC, which was formed on April 2, 2020, in Sheridan, Wyoming. David Allen’s son, Grayden Allen, is listed as the sole member and manager of GBA. According to court filings in another case, Grayden Allen was only 19 years old at the time and was likely on or had just returned from an overseas missionary program with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Legal troubles

According to court documents in another case, GBA LLC obtained a loan to purchase a house the family was renting in Gilbert, Arizona, in October 2020. The government placed a lien on the property in November as the only activity on the account was deposits from David Allen or BMA LLC. 

Since August 2021, the government has been engaged in settlement discussions after David Allen wanted to refinance the property but continued to send incomplete financial statements to the government and title company. 

Lani Carr, widow of Gabriel Fuentes Jr, filed a lawsuit, alleging fraud claims against Louder and David Allen in Bexar County, Texas, in September 2020. Carr claims that shortly after the couple started a hotshot transportation business, SLK G, LLC, with Louder and Allen in November 2019, Louder started funneling money from SLK’s business account to his entities, including Mercury Holding, according to the lawsuit.

Carr claims her signature was used without her permission by Louder to buy new equipment and that he wouldn’t provide her or Fuentes copies of the company’s profit and loss statements. Fuentes died unexpectedly on the road in April 2020. In May, she alleges Louder modified the SLK operating agreement using an encrypted program that showed Louder owning 66% and Carr owning only 33%. The partnership agreement listed Carr and Fuentes as owning 50% of the business.

Disclosure: FreightWaves SONAR is listed as an unsecured creditor of Wyotrans.

Read more articles here:

Appellate court upholds ex-Roadrunner CFO’s conviction in $245M securities fraud scheme
Parents sue driver, Colorado towing company over fatal bridge strike
TQL’s noncompete hurts ex-employee’s job prospects, lawsuit claims

09/23/22 - OOPS | 4 WHEELER FRIDAY

09/23/22 02:00:51pm -

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Direct Line: (913) 521-6875
Email: blevine@rtscarrierservices.com
___________________________________


DAT TRUCKERSEDGE provides carriers access to the trusted DAT® Network, North America’s largest marketplace for freight loads and trucks with over 600,000 loads posted daily. TruckersEdge provides unlimited searching and posting, instant alarm match notification, broker credit scores and days to pay, market rates, mileage routing, and more. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://www.truckersedge.com/0001789059


DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://dat.com/power/0001789059

*Promotions for new subscribers only
___________________________________


Bonehead Truckers® has shirts and stuff! Check them out!
https://teespring.com/stores/bonehead-truckers
___________________________________

Our official website:
http://boneheadtruckers.com
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® of the Week every Wednesday!!
To submit Boneheads, come to our Facebook group

SAY NO TO BONEHEAD TRUCKERS

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/
___________________________________

Fan mail? Hate mail? Send them here!

Bonehead Truckers®
P.O. Box 1856
Waskom, Texas 75692
___________________________________

This video is protected by Fair Use in Copyright Law.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/

Bonehead Truckers® is a registered trademark of Isaac L Stephens
#trucking #fail #comedy

09/22/22 - OOIDA permitted to intervene in renewed AB5 legal battle in California

09/22/22 09:48:11pm -

Just a few days after the state of California asked a court to keep OOIDA out of the next step in the lawsuit over the AB5 independent contractor law, a federal district court judge has let the association in.

Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, in a decision filed Thursday, ruled that the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association can be allowed as an intervenor in the case originally brought by the California Trucking Association.

Benitez is the same judge who handed down the preliminary injunction in early 2020 that blocked AB5, California’s restrictive independent contractor law that went into effect statewide at the start of 2020, from being implemented in the trucking sector. Benitez agreed with the CTA’s argument that for trucking, AB5 was in conflict with a federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, known as F4A.

Benitez noted in his ruling that OOIDA is not the first intervenor allowed in the case. The Teamsters union was permitted to be an intervenor alongside the original defendant, the state attorney general’s office.

“There is no party to the current litigation that primarily represents interstate truck owner-operator independent contractors who want to continue to do business in California,” Benitez wrote.

As OOIDA said in its initial request to be allowed as an intervenor in April 2021, the CTA had made two core arguments in its legal battle against AB5. The first was the potential conflict with F4A. The second was the Commerce Clause, which regulates and limits a state’s ability to interfere with interstate commerce. Benitez said the two arguments were “mutually exclusive.”

“OOIDA moved to intervene to press the Commerce Clause theory from its unique standpoint as truck owner-operators based outside of California,” Benitez said.

He rejected the state’s argument that OOIDA should be kept out because it was late to the party even back in 2021. Benitez argued that OOIDA’s request then was “not only timely, but prescient.” Its request to intervene came just before an appeals court overturned Benitez’s injunction but did based so on its interpretation of F4A, not on the Commerce Clause question.

“Because the Commerce Clause question has yet to be fleshed out and because OOIDA members would be the individuals most impacted by enforcement of AB5 among people seeking a livelihood driving their trucks into and out of California, OOIDA is better-suited to prosecute its claim for relief,” Benitez wrote. He cited four legal precedents for allowing intervention, and said OOIDA met all four.

The judge also noted that the passage of AB2257 — which expanded the list of professions exempt from AB5 and was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2020 — has changed the landscape.

“Applying the correct rule to the facts here makes clear that OOIDA’s motion is timely,” Benitez wrote.

OOIDA President Todd Spencer issued a statement that said, “[O]ur members’ livelihoods are at risk under AB5, and by joining this case, we will ensure that their voices are heard.”

A joint statement issued by OOIDA and CTA Wednesday made clear the two organizations were allied on the question of OOIDA being permitted as an intervenor.

The original Benitez injunction was overturned by an appellate court in April 2021, and the U.S. Supreme Court in June declined to hear an appeal of that decision, which resulted in the injunction being lifted. But the arguments in the original CTA lawsuit have not been fully heard before a court. The CTA has chosen to continue its fight, and Benitez’s courtroom continues to be the battleground.

More articles by John Kingston

Universal defends AB5-related deal, notes higher costs but touts that the deal is done

Sauer rises to top of California Trucking Association as CEO

Schneider driver described as employee, not an IC, in federal court appeal

09/22/22 - Court rules against Rhode Island’s truck-only toll program

09/22/22 12:54:05pm -

A federal judge has ruled that Rhode Island’s truck-only “RhodeWorks” tolling program to pay for upgrading highway bridges across the state discriminates against heavy trucks and ordered the state to stop charging truckers under the system.

“Rhode Island has a legitimate — even compelling — interest in the maintenance of its ailing bridges,” wrote Rhode Island Federal District Court Judge William Smith in an order handed down Wednesday.

“But there is no reason that interest cannot be served by a tolling system that does not offend the Commerce Clause. Because RhodeWorks fails to fairly apportion its tolls among bridge users based on a fair approximation of their use of the bridges, was enacted with a discriminatory purpose and is discriminatory in effect, the statute’s tolling regime is unconstitutional under the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.”

The American Trucking Associations, which sued the state when the program was enacted in 2018, applauded the decision.

“We told Rhode Island’s leaders from the start that their crazy scheme was not only discriminatory, but illegal,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “We’re pleased the court agreed. To any state looking to target our industry, you better bring your A-game because we’re not rolling over.”

RhodeWorks was created by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation as a way to pay for a group of the state’s ailing bridges. The Federal Highway Administration ranked the state number one in 2021 for most structurally deficient bridges.

The program’s toll scheme assesses single-user fees on truck drivers in varying amounts for traversing specific bridges, which accrue until a driver crosses a particular tolled bridge more than once in a single day or reaches $40 in total bridge tolls in a single day.

It was supported by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, which argued that heavy trucks were responsible for most of the damage done to the state’s bridges.

However, ATA and lawsuit partners Cumberland Farms Inc., M&M Transport Services Inc. and New England Motor Freight argued that the scheme not only unfairly charges trucks versus passenger cars for road use, but it discriminates against trucks registered out of state that also tend to be larger and heavier than those traveling within the state’s borders.

“The discriminatory effects shown by plaintiffs are not merely hypothetical,” according to the court. “The structure of the RhodeWorks tolls with their attendant caps ensures that the financial impact falls more heavily on large commercial trucks traveling primarily in interstate commerce than on similar local trucks.”

The decision could also have a chilling effect on other states considering such programs. Connecticut, which had considered highway funding programs that included truck-only tolling, more recently opted against it.

“This is a tremendous day for our industry — not just here in Rhode Island but across the country,” commented Rhode Island Trucking Association President Chris Maxwell. “Had we not prevailed, these tolls would have spread across the country, and this ruling sends a strong signal to other states that trucking is not to be targeted as a piggy bank.”

In addition to ruling the RhodeWorks plan unconstitutional, the court also ordered that, 48 hours after ruling, the state’s transportation department was “permanently [prohibited] from charging or collecting tolls …. or from enforcing nonpayment of such tolls through penalty for nonpayment or avoidance.”

Related articles:

• Rhode Island truck-only tolls staying in effect for now
• ATA pushing ahead against Rhode Island truck tolling
• Court dismisses carrier lawsuit against Rhode Island truck tolling

Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher.

09/21/22 - California doesn’t want OOIDA allowed into next steps in CTA’s AB5 lawsuit

09/21/22 04:07:25pm -

(Editor’s note: Comments Wednesday from OOIDA and the California Trucking Association have been added).

California is objecting to allowing the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association into the next round of the California Trucking Association’s lawsuit against the state over the AB5 independent contractor law.

The filing by the state’s attorney general office in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California late last week is the first action by any party since the lower court made official that AB5 was no longer blocked from enforcement in the state’s trucking sector. AB5 is expected to have significant impact or even upend the use of independent owner-operators by California trucking companies. 

OOIDA is seeking to intervene in the case brought in 2018 by CTA against the state attorney general, who is now Rob Bonta. In the original litigation, it was Xavier Becerra, who now serves as U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

The association first sought to intervene in April 2021, when it said in its filing that the CTA does “not adequately represent the distinct interstate commerce interstate of OOIDA and its members.”

In the OOIDA filing from last year, one of the primary arguments made by the organization was that the CTA was focusing on what it saw as a conflict between AB5 and the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. The CTA’s arguments regarding the so-called F4A regulation prevailed at the district court level in a request for an injunction against AB5, with the lower court granting that block on New Year’s Eve of 2019. 

When the injunction was handed down, consideration of the Dormant Commerce Clause was dismissed as a reason for the court’s action because potential conflict with F4A was an adequate argument alone. 

But with the appellate court decision of April 2021 overturning the injunction then upheld through Supreme Court inaction at the end of the high court’s 2021-2022 term, AB5 now applies to trucking and the original CTA lawsuit has been kicked back to the district court level. It was never fully litigated the first time, so the only question the court ruled on was the injunction. 

With that action, the question of AB5’s potential conflict with the Dormant Commerce Clause, which affects state regulation of commerce that has interstate impact, is back before the court. An unresolved issue is whether OOIDA should be allowed to participate as an intervenor.

But the state thinks it’s too late to let OOIDA into the case and told the court in a filing late last week that it was even too late back in 2021, when the organization first made its request.

Given that the original CTA case dates back to a 2018 filing, the state ticked off the timeline. OOIDA’s motion to be an intervenor “came two-and-a-half years [state emphasis] after this action was first filed, 27 months after the state defendants’ initial motion to dismiss, 19 months after this court’s ruling on defendant’s motion to dismiss the first amendment complaint,” the state writes, and the countdown continues on after that. 

California’s filing says even by April 2021, when OOIDA made its request, there had been three separate versions of the CTA complaint, “extensive briefing on various substantive issues” and several court rulings. 

The state says in its filing there are several standards that must be met for a party to be allowed into a case as an intervenor. One is timeliness. Another is having a “significantly protectable interest” and that the resolution of the case could “impair or impede” the potential intervenor’s ability to protect that interest.

OOIDA’s filing in April 2021 is not timely, the state argues. And with that, its ability to “represent the unique interests of independent contractor truck drivers” is moot because the organization did not seek intervenor status in a timely manner, according to the attorney general’s office.

In its April 2021 filing, the organization said it had not sought to intervene earlier because “it has only been by reviewing (CTA) arguments … that OOIDA has been able to discern that its interest will not be adequately represented.”

Among its worries was the CTA’s “expansive interpretation of FAAAA preemption that OOIDA is concerned could stifle the ability of states to pass laws to address other truck driver concerns in the future.” OOIDA also noted that CTA’s arguments only had two pages about the Dormant Commerce Clause claim, which is a key OOIDA concern.

Allowing OOIDA in as an intervenor would set up an interesting dynamic. OOIDA, in its 2021 filing, makes clear it does not think the concerns of the CTA are at the top of the association’s list. 

But despite that, the two organizations released a joint statement Wednesday critical of the state’s opposition to OOIDA participation in the case.

“It makes no sense that the State would oppose the participation of the nation’s largest and oldest organization representing small-business truck drivers in a lawsuit that harms tens of thousands of OOIDA’s members,” the joint statement said. “We urge the State of California to drop their opposition to the voice of independent and owner-operator truckers being heard in this matter.  They are the very workers whose livelihoods are at risk under AB5. Too many questions have gone unanswered with regard to this legislation. No one benefits when bureaucrats or regulators arbitrarily favor one small business over another.”

The key area of difference is the emphasis appears to be the Dormant Commerce Clause, because of the fact that OOIDA represents a national organization and Commerce Clause issues deal with interstate commerce. 

But there is also the fact that their members are just different, according to OOIDA.

CTA’s members consist, in part, of large companies that hire drivers, OOIDA said in its 2021 filing. But OOIDA is made up of independent truck drivers, it added.

“The contrast in interests between these two groups is significant,” OOIDA said. “While CTA’s members are concerned that AB5 will increase costs and force them to reorganize their business models, OOIDA members are concerned they will lose their business altogether. There is no party to the current litigation that seeks to represent the interests of interstate truck drivers based throughout the nation.”

More articles by John Kingston

Universal defends AB5-related deal, notes higher costs but touts that the deal is done

Sauer rises to top of California Trucking Association as CEO

Schneider driver described as employee, not an IC, in federal court appeal

09/21/22 - TRUCK STOP KAREN vs CR ENGLAND | BONEHEAD TRUCKERS OF THE WEEK

09/21/22 01:31:43pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
TRC Freight is now offering MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR OWNER OPERATORS!
TRC Freight is The Right Carrier for you if you enjoy independence!
http://www.trcandme.com for more information!
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® is working with the CIA! Thats right! Commercial Insurance Associates. From single owner operators to large fleets; Let CIA Trucking work for you!

https://www.cia-trucking.com for more information.
___________________________________

Save 10% off on Blue Tiger products! Click this "special link" and SAVE!!!
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Enter discount code: IS021422


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FUEL DISCOUNTS & FACTORING SERVICES:
Blake Levine
RTS Carrier Services
Direct Line: (913) 521-6875
Email: blevine@rtscarrierservices.com
___________________________________


DAT TRUCKERSEDGE provides carriers access to the trusted DAT® Network, North America’s largest marketplace for freight loads and trucks with over 600,000 loads posted daily. TruckersEdge provides unlimited searching and posting, instant alarm match notification, broker credit scores and days to pay, market rates, mileage routing, and more. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://www.truckersedge.com/0001789059


DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://dat.com/power/0001789059

*Promotions for new subscribers only
___________________________________


Bonehead Truckers® has shirts and stuff! Check them out!
https://teespring.com/stores/bonehead-truckers
___________________________________

Our official website:
http://boneheadtruckers.com
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® of the Week every Wednesday!!
To submit Boneheads, come to our Facebook group

SAY NO TO BONEHEAD TRUCKERS

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/
___________________________________

Fan mail? Hate mail? Send them here!

Bonehead Truckers®
P.O. Box 1856
Waskom, Texas 75692
___________________________________

This video is protected by Fair Use in Copyright Law.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/

Bonehead Truckers® is a registered trademark of Isaac L Stephens
#trucking #fail #comedy

09/19/22 - Can MVR monitoring be a fleet risk management tool?

09/19/22 03:34:57pm -

The old saying in trucking is that the easiest way to avoid violations is to be proactive about compliance. For some, that is easier said than done. Many commercial carrier operations believe complying with regulations is enough. This is especially true when it comes to drivers.

According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulation title 49 §391.25, motor carriers (or their designees) must pull a motor vehicle record (MVR) of anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce (or in some cases intrastate-only drivers when the state requires it). A new driver’s record must also be pulled within 30 days of hire for a non-CDL driver and sooner for a CDL driver to verify his or her medical status. The carrier must request the driver’s record at least annually and document that review of the MVR.

But according to experts from compliance specialists J. J. Keller & Associates, pulling records only once a year might miss important events that will trigger an out-of-service violation and potentially create legal liability for a fleet should an incident result in litigation.

Missed opportunity

Kathy Close, transport safety editor with J. J. Keller, said she has spoken with several customers over the years that were caught off-guard by suspended licenses due to administrative reasons such as not paying alimony or back child support payments.

“Since the reason was not safety-related, there was no pattern or history of unsafe driving to call into question a license status,” she said. “Nevertheless, the driver was not qualified to operate a CMV. Had the customer used an MVR monitoring service rather than request the minimum annual MVR, the driver would not have been placed out of service by enforcement.”

An MVR records a driver’s current information with the state driver’s licensing agency including driver’s license (number, class, endorsements, restrictions, expiration date), violations, disqualification, misdemeanor moving violations or convictions, accidents, medical status and state-based driving record points. Of note, moving violations in any type of vehicle are recorded, including personal vehicles and those operated for non-CMV fleets.

“A driver’s driving habits in a personal vehicle are a good indicator of how he or she will operate your commercial vehicles,” Close said.

Violations can include speeding, driving under the influence, seat belt violations, traffic control device violations and reckless driving. In fact, the majority of the top 10 driver violations during roadside inspections each year pertain to these types of issues, not hours of service as many assume.

All of these violations will impact carrier CSA scores to varying degrees. For instance, speeding between 6 and 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit counts as 4 CSA points (on a 10-point scale). Failure to use a seat belt is 7 points and operating a CMV without a valid CDL is 8 points. Accumulate enough points and FMCSA auditors may come knocking on the fleet’s doors.

Monitoring gaps

Keeping track of all this information is complicated with records in multiple states and each state maintaining records for varying amounts of time. But the important caveat is that this information could potentially deem a commercial driver ineligible to drive a CMV, and if a carrier misses that, it increases the overall risk profile of the fleet.

For carriers looking to be proactive about avoiding violations, once-a-year MVR monitoring is not a good option. Monitoring the MVR more frequently helps fill in gaps that may exist. While CDL drivers are supposed to notify a motor carrier if they lose their license or receive traffic convictions, not all do. J. J. Keller said that ignorance of a driver’s status is not a defense when under FMCSA audit — and it likely wouldn’t be an acceptable defense in a courtroom either.

Close said another client told her of a driver whose medical card had been downgraded by his state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

“Thankfully the carrier learned of the downgrade through an alert in their MVR monitoring service,” Close related. “The customer avoided a roadside violation and having their driver placed out of service. The driver was on a dispatch at the time — 1,800 miles away from his home. So the carrier pulled the driver off the road and placed him out of service at another of the company’s terminals. The driver was flown back by choice of the carrier to get the issue resolved at the home state DMV.”

What is MVR monitoring?

MVR monitoring comes in a couple of different forms. Many use a pull service (sometimes known as self-service). In this case, the carrier or its designee must log in to the state motor vehicle department from which the driver was issued the license. This potentially means logging in to as many as 50 different systems.

Push or employer notification services (ENS) are offered by some states and can be a useful way for carriers to receive updates, but as of September, there are only 19 states that offer these services. In all other states, the process is manual. For fleets with even a few drivers in different states, the time it takes to monitor an entire fleet of driver records can quickly add up.

To maintain record compliance and as a way to provide continuous MVR monitoring, third-party services such as J. J. Keller can be utilized. These services comply with FMCSA requirements and lift some of the compliance burden from fleet managers. The services can provide annual MVR service or more comprehensive MVR monitoring.

Why monitor MVRs more frequently?

As already touched on, monitoring MVRs more often or even continuously can help fill in gaps when drivers may not be eligible to drive but the carrier is not aware of this yet. MVR monitoring also provides coaching opportunities to mitigate the chances of a more significant future violation or incident.

Proactive coaching can help prevent behaviors from becoming habits, Close noted, and create a pattern of fewer traffic convictions, lessening the chance of an FMCSA audit due to elevated CSA scores.

Benefits extend beyond the regulatory bar, though, and could include less exposure to negligence claims during lawsuits and lower insurance rates as overall fleet risk profile decreases.

Many roadside inspections also start off with a traffic violation, so reducing the chances of a driver being pulled over will correspond to a lower likelihood of an inspection, which could trigger additional violations and even out-of-service orders that stand freight on the side of the road.

How to create a company MVR policy

Whether a carrier chooses to monitor motor vehicle records itself or contract with a third party to handle the task, there are several steps that can be taken to ensure that the information gathered is beneficial, Close said.

Start by assigning someone to carry out the overall MVR policy and ensure it is enforced. Similar to how FMCSA has created a scorecard of violations to generate CSA scores, consider assigning values to MVR data. Use this information to find patterns of behavior, especially unsafe driving behavior. Data has shown that past behavior is an indicator of future behavior.

Using this MVR data, create a progressive disciplinary program. It’s important to remember to conduct training in a positive light and not point out only poor behaviors, Close said. The discipline program should be guided by the gravity of the situation and the number of offenses. Correction actions such as coaching and refresher training may be appropriate, but more significant violations (or repeat violations) may require letters in the driver’s file, suspension or even termination.

Close advised using a corrective training library with behavior-specific training that can be used to ensure refresher training is focused. Targeting the training helps the driver get back on track through a teachable moment rather than through a broad-based safety training that might leave the driver discouraged.

It is also important to not only train on unsafe driving behaviors but also to reward good behavior. Close said drivers can be rewarded for good driving records and accident-free and violation-free miles. Prizes, gift cards and bonuses are some of the possible rewards. Occasionally, companies have rewarded drivers with special advertising on their trucks, or in some instances, with new or custom trucks.

With all the risk trucking carriers face today, a more proactive approach to safety is almost universally considered a best practice. But annual MVR checks can leave significant gaps in that safety program that if not addressed, increase risk on the roadways and in the courtroom. Developing a program that includes continuous MVR monitoring, whether internally or through third parties, is fast becoming a key pillar of safety programs.

 Click for more articles by Brian Straight.

You may also like: 

The power of your roadside inspection data

How to survive an FMCSA off-site audit

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09/18/22 - WERNER SAYS IT AIN'T HIS FAULT | BONEHEAD TRUCKERS OF THE WEEK

09/18/22 01:25:42pm -

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My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

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09/17/22 - Dookie! #fail #reels #short #trending #youtubeshorts #comedy #trucking #shorts

09/17/22 12:18:37am -

09/16/22 - Indiana appeals court moves Celadon case to Delaware

09/16/22 05:58:27pm -

The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed a decision against four former Celadon executives being sued by TA Dispatch LLC, which must now refile its case in Delaware.

In March 2021, TA Dispatch sued four former Celadon Group executives, including CEO Paul Svindland, after a 2019 agreement to purchase assets from Celadon fell apart. Indianapolis-headquartered Celadon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2019. 

Ensley, Alabama-based TA Dispatch’s complaint filed in the Marion County (Indiana) Superior Court claimed that the former Celadon leaders bear personal liability for the alleged breach of contract. Named in the suit were Svindland; Kathryn Wouters, Celadon’s former vice president of finance and treasurer; Chase Welsh, the vice president of risk management; and Jon Russell, president and COO. 

TA Dispatch is seeking punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. 

Attorneys for the defendants used a forum selection clause in the 2019 purchase agreement between Celadon and TA Dispatch to attempt to get the lawsuit dismissed or have the court venue changed.

That clause reportedly said the parties had agreed that in any legal dispute over the purchase contract, the case would be handled by either a federal or state court in Delaware.

In January, Hamilton County (Indiana) Superior Judge Jonathan Brown denied the defendants’ motion to have the case dismissed or moved to Delaware.

The former Celadon leaders then turned to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, which ruled Monday to reverse Brown’s decision and instructed the trial court to grant the motion without prejudice so that TA Dispatch can refile the case in Delaware.

Attorneys for TA Dispatch did not immediately return a request for comment from FreightWaves.

In 2019, TA Dispatch filed a $6.2 million lawsuit against the carrier six days before Celadon officials announced the company was filing for bankruptcy. That case was resolved as part of Celadon’s Chapter 11 settlement.

This is the second court victory for former leaders of the Celadon Group in recent months. In August, federal fraud charges against two executives — Eric Meek and Bobby Peavler — were dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Watch: Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton’s trial gets underway.

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.

More articles by Noi Mahoney

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09/16/22 - TRAIN VS CAR | 4 WHEELER FRIDAY

09/16/22 03:05:36pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
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DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
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___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

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09/15/22 - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! BONEHEAD TRUCKERS FOR SALE!

09/15/22 07:47:48pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
TRC Freight is now offering MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR OWNER OPERATORS!
TRC Freight is The Right Carrier for you if you enjoy independence!
http://www.trcandme.com for more information!
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® is working with the CIA! Thats right! Commercial Insurance Associates. From single owner operators to large fleets; Let CIA Trucking work for you!

https://www.cia-trucking.com for more information.
___________________________________

Save 10% off on Blue Tiger products! Click this "special link" and SAVE!!!
Click here --- https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
Blue Tiger has the best headsets on the market, in my opinion. I have been loyal to Blue Tiger since I bought my first Blue Tiger headset in 2016. They have comfort to wear all day long. The quality of the sound is unbeatable. Their customer service is top notch.

Enter discount code: IS021422


10% Discount Link: https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
___________________________________

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___________________________________


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https://www.truckersedge.com/0001789059


DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://dat.com/power/0001789059

*Promotions for new subscribers only
___________________________________


Bonehead Truckers® has shirts and stuff! Check them out!
https://teespring.com/stores/bonehead-truckers
___________________________________

Our official website:
http://boneheadtruckers.com
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® of the Week every Wednesday!!
To submit Boneheads, come to our Facebook group

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___________________________________

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___________________________________

This video is protected by Fair Use in Copyright Law.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/

Bonehead Truckers® is a registered trademark of Isaac L Stephens
#trucking #fail #comedy

09/15/22 - Appellate court upholds ex-Roadrunner CFO’s conviction in $245M securities fraud scheme

09/15/22 07:36:13pm -

A federal appellate court has upheld the conviction of ex-Roadrunner Transportation Systems CFO Peter Armbruster for his role in a securities and accounting fraud scheme that cost its shareholders $245 million.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ three-judge panel wrote in the opinion that there was “no reason to second-guess the jury’s decision.” Armbruster, 63, of Milwaukee, was sentenced to two years in prison in November 2021 by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. 

The jury rendered its verdict in late July 2021 following an 11-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, finding Armbruster guilty on four of the 11 counts against him: securities fraud, misleading Roadrunner’s auditors and two counts of falsifying Illinois-based Roadrunner’s books and records.

Read More: Former Roadrunner CFO sentenced to 2 years for accounting, securities fraud

Armbruster then filed a post-verdict motion, contesting the sufficiency of the government’s evidence on each count of his conviction, which the district court denied. 

As of publication, Armbruster’s attorney Andrew DeVooght had not responded to FreightWaves’ request seeking comment about whether the former Roadrunner CFO is in custody or when he will report to federal prison to serve his two-year sentence.

In December, attorneys for Armbruster filed an appeal with the 7th Circuit.

Chief Circuit Judge Diane S. Sykes and Appeals Court judges Amy J. St. Eve and Michael Y. Scudder Jr. served on the panel and heard oral arguments on Aug. 3 before issuing the ruling on Sept. 7.

“While the case against Armbruster may not have been open-and-shut, a rational jury could have concluded that the government presented enough evidence to support guilty verdicts on the challenged counts,” the opinion, written by Scudder, stated. 

Armbruster’s attorneys argued that federal prosecutors “did no more than prove corporate accounting mistakes, not deliberate fraud on his part,” according to the opinion.

Prosecutors claim that Armbruster knew since 2014 that there were accounting problems with one of Roadrunner’s subsidiaries — Morgan Southern — and that the company had inflated its balance sheet by at least $2 million and as much as $5 million by misreporting a receivable from Ikea and Maersk.

The adjustments were not made to Roadrunner’s 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the third quarter of 2016. Soon after the company’s Q3 filing, executives at Roadrunner informed its independent auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP, of the “material misstatements.”

In January 2017, “Roadrunner filed a form 8-K informing investors that they could no longer rely on any of the company’s financial filings from 2014 or 2015 or its first quarterly report for the first three quarters of 2016,” Skudder wrote in the opinion. 

This news caused Roadrunner’s share price to drop significantly over the next few days. The company later filed restated financial statements that showed the company’s net income had dropped by around $66.5 million over the misstated periods, causing its share price to plummet again.

The fallout

The jury acquitted former controllers of Roadrunner’s truckload division, Mark Wogsland and Bret Naggs, of all charges. 

Wogsland and Naggs were the first two former Roadrunner executives to be indicted by federal prosecutors in June 2018, nearly a year after the sophisticated scheme was discovered. It was nearly a year later before charges were leveled against Armbruster, in April 2019.

In August 2020, Roadrunner announced it was exiting the truckload business, selling off its three remaining TL carriers. The company remains focused on its less-than-truckload (LTL) network.

In March 2020, Roadrunner announced it was voluntarily delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and was deregistering from reporting requirements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and would be trading on the OTC Markets Group (OTCMKTS: RRT). 

In 2017, Roadrunner Transportation Systems moved its headquarters from Cudahy, Wisconsin, to Downers Grove, Illinois. 

What went wrong?

Shortly after Roadrunner went public, it went on a buying spree and bought more than 20 smaller companies between 2010 and January 2017. It consolidated the results into its own financial statements, according to court documents. 

However, in 2013, this flurry of acquisitions started to weigh on Roadrunner’s financial results.

From around 2013 to January 2017, Armbruster manipulated Roadrunner’s financial reports so it could hit prior earnings guidance and analysts’ projections for Roadrunner’s earnings per share, “while hiding significant expenses that were affecting Roadrunner’s financial performance,” court filings stated.

Eventually, Roadrunner’s financial challenges grew so severe that the company was in danger of violating performance-related debt covenants with its lenders. 

Instead of opening the accounting books and sharing the true state of Roadrunner’s shaky financial conditions, the SEC said Armbruster used a wide array of deceptive accounting maneuvers to manipulate earnings. These included improperly deferring incurred expenses and spreading them over multiple quarters to minimize their impact on Roadrunner’s net earnings and avoiding writing down assets that were worthless and receivables that were uncollectable.

Click here for more articles by Clarissa Hawes.

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Watch latest episode of FW NOW here:

09/15/22 - California trucking’s AB5 options get a hearing at IANA; brokerage on top?

09/15/22 02:18:58am -

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Marc Blubaugh, the lead transportation attorney at the Benesch law firm, looked out over easily more than 1,000 people gathered for the annual meeting of the Intermodal Association for North America and told them something they might not have wanted to hear about California’s AB5 independent contractor law.

“If you came into this session thinking you’re going to hear the bulletproof compliance model, you’re going to be disappointed,” Blubaugh said.

Yet even if there was no definitive word on what trucking companies, particularly drayage firms, need to do to come into compliance with AB5, the discussion among Blubaugh and his three panelists brought out key points that at least give some idea of how the industry might respond.

Little new ground was broken in that regard. It was clear from comments by the three panelists — Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, Chris Shimoda of the California Trucking Association and Peter Schneider of carrier TGS Transportation — that the list of compliance options is relatively short and little different from what emerged soon after the U.S. Supreme Court chose not to review a lawsuit by the California Trucking Association. That ensured the injunction keeping AB5 out of California, in effect since January 2020, would be lifted and the state’s trucking sector would come under the law.

One option is to make everybody who drives for a company an employee. Universal Logistics (NASDAQ: ULH) recently did that in its Southern California drayage operations in signing a deal with the Teamsters. Schneider said TGS has done the same thing. Its policy was in place Jan. 1, 2020, when AB5 went into effect in the state but not in trucking because of the injunction. 

Another is the two-check model, in which a driver with a truck gets hired by a third party (like Transforce, which is pushing this solution) or a trucking company while leasing his or her truck back to a carrier. The two-check model received little attention during the IANA panel. The Universal Logistics deal looks to the two-check model, but with Universal, not an outside company like Transforce, as the employer.

A final option, the brokerage model, “seems to have gotten the most traction,” Blubaugh said.

The brokerage model involves a trucking company converting itself into a brokerage, brokering freight to independent owner-operators, many of whom might have been previously operating on a lease deal with the trucking company that morphed into a brokerage. With the B prong of the ABC test in AB5 making it difficult if not impossible to hire as an independent contractor a worker who does the same thing that the hiring company does — like a trucking company hiring an independent trucker — the idea behind the brokerage model is that the new entity doesn’t actually move freight. It is an asset-light company that just brokers freight, and therefore wouldn’t run into the restrictions of the B prong.

But as Blubaugh conceded, “It’s not definite how a court would rule on that.”

Schneider’s approach at TGS, if it were ever challenged, would be a test of that. The president told the audience that TGS had split into two companies, calling it a hybrid.

One is a traditional trucking company that has employee drivers. The second is a brokerage company that brokers freight to independent owner-operators. He also stressed that the brokers at that company cannot broker freight to the employee drivers of TGS, and that the company has gone so far to separate the two arms that “we got rid of the fuel card just to be extra cautious.”

Schneider noted a key part of the brokerage model is that drivers need their own motor carrier authority from the Department of Transportation. Drivers under a company lease in the past would have operated under the authority of the company to which the truck was leased.

Getting authority is not a quick fix, as it takes $20,000 or more to get both legal authority and the insurance necessary to operate. And as an industry executive who requested anonymity said after the panel, the responsibilities of running under a person’s own authority are significant and involve a level of administration that many drivers might not be equipped to handle.

Even if that problem didn’t exist, HTA CEO Schrap said he has “regular communication with drivers and they don’t want to become employees.” Schrap said something he has noted before: There are numerous employee driver jobs available at any given time, and if independent contractors wanted to become an employee of a trucking company, “they can take advantage of it.”

“Look through the driver chat rooms,” Schrap said. “They have a consensus on how they feel about AB5. Getting your own authority is the path of least resistance.”

But Schrap also noted that whether the brokerage model will pass legal muster remains uncertain. And he pointed out what has become increasingly obvious to almost everyone trying to figure out what a company can or can’t do under AB5: It’s going to take some litigation and regulatory actions to build a body of law.

“Someone needs to get sued and someone needs to get cited and they need to fight back,” Schrap said. His organization, the Harbor Trucking Association, is the trade organization of the drayage carriers for Southern California. “That is not the preferred way of compliance, but again, the drivers do not want to be employees.”

(The panel at the IANA meeting came a day after the state’s Employment Development Department and Department of Industrial Relations held a webinar, listened to by FreightWaves. It was a two-hour recap of the legal history of AB5 but offered little in the way of examples of ways to comply while keeping the independent contractor model reasonably intact so the webinar did not address any kind of “workaround.”)

Schrap cast doubt on the desirability of the two-check model. “You’re still an employee,” he said, and that is something many of the drivers do not want. “We have owner-operators who make $5,000 per week. They are supposed to give that up to make $30 per hour?”

Shimoda, the vice president of government affairs for the California Trucking Association, whose suit led to the original injunction, reminded the audience that the full legal battle over AB5 was not done. He reviewed the current state of the case, which was never fully adjudicated; the original injunction made its way to the Supreme Court before being rejected for review there, resulting in the end of the injunction.

But the primary argument of the CTA case against the state — that AB5 is in conflict with a law known as the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act — never had a full hearing even at the federal district court level. The only question the court system ruled on is whether there could be a preliminary injunction to block implementation of AB5 in trucking (the district court said yes) and whether an appellate court agreed (it didn’t).

A fuller hearing on the law is now before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Shimoda said, and among other actions, the CTA will ask for another injunction. 

Shimoda said “we might hear something” before the end of the year or early in 2023.

Blubaugh tempered any optimism about the CTA case by noting that while he is “pretty bullish on the arguments being discussed,” not being in compliance with AB5 means a company is going through “another day of exposure from the California Labor Department or a private party.”

California’s Private Attorney Generals Act, known colloquially as PAGA, is a tool that individual citizens can use to sue an individual or an entity for what the private plaintiff sees as a violation of a state law where regulators otherwise might not have taken action.

Schrap referred to the legal sector that might pursue those suits as “container chasers.”

More articles by John Kingston

Parallel System’s autonomous rail initiative moving to the next phase

S&P upgrades flatbed operator Daseke’s debt rating after Moody’s holds the line

Focus appears to be shifting from Variant to ‘blocking and tackling’ at U.S. Xpress

09/14/22 - DRIVERS BEING BAD | Bonehead Truckers of the Week

09/14/22 01:16:55pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
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___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


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09/14/22 - Parents sue driver, Colorado towing company over fatal bridge strike

09/14/22 09:59:58am -

The parents of a woman killed last month after a trucker crashed into an overpass on Interstate 25 in Colorado have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the towing company and the driver.

According to court documents, Megan Arneson, 32, of Weld County, Colorado, and her 10-year-old son, Joe Duenas, were driving northbound on I-25 around 6 p.m. MDT on Aug. 8 near Mead, Colorado, when the tractor-trailer in front of them struck the bridge with the excavator the driver was hauling.

Despite her efforts to avoid the falling debris, a large piece of concrete crashed through Arneson’s windshield. Her vehicle continued north before coming to rest in the center median against the cable rail. Arneson, a single mother and preschool teacher, died at the scene. However, her son survived after being pulled out of the 2011 Honda CR-V by a couple who witnessed the crash. 

On the day of the crash, Arneson and her son were driving home from a day trip to a waterpark near Denver.

Photo of the excavator after the bridge strike. (Photo: CDOT)

Brian Christianson and Mirella “Isabel” Williams, Arneson’s parents and her son’s guardians, recently filed suit in Larimer County District Court against Import Towing and Recovery of Fort Collins, Colorado, and its truck driver, Darnell Yingling, 52, of Larimer County. 

A representative for Import Towing did not respond to FreightWaves’ request for comment.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s SAFER website, Import Towing has 14 power units and five drivers. Over the past 24 months, the company’s trucks have been inspected 11 times with none being placed out of service.

Import Towing’s website states the company has been serving northern Colorado and southern Wyoming since 1985.

Trooper Joshua Lewis, public information officer with the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), told FreightWaves on Tuesday that the agency’s final report on the fatal crash “has not yet been completed/approved.”

As of publication, Lewis added that “charges have not yet been filed against Mr. Yingling.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation lists the maximum clearance height of 17 feet, 1 inch for the overpass at milepost 245 where the bridge strike with the excavator occurred. Tractor-trailers hauling loads over 14 feet require a special permit, which Yingling did not obtain before hauling the piece of heavy equipment, the Colorado State Patrol told CBS News Colorado. 

Attorney Michael Kane, who is representing Arneson’s parents, is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount of money to cover medical expenses, physical and mental pain and suffering for their grandson, impairment of quality of life and emotional distress, according to the suit.

“It was obvious that driving on a crowded major highway with a load too tall to clear an underpass would cause death and destruction,” Kane said in a statement.

A review of the complaint is set for Nov. 10, according to the court docket. 

According to CDOT, repairs to the overpass will be made over the next two months to “get the bridge repaired to accommodate two-way traffic as it did before the crash.”

“We believe that [Megan Arneson’s] violent and traumatic death was completely preventable, and we want to do everything in our power to make sure that this never happens to anyone else,” Arneson’s parents said in a statement.

Click here for more articles by Clarissa Hawes.

Read more articles here:

TQL’s noncompete hurts ex-employee’s job prospects, lawsuit claims
Family sues Amazon after truck crash kills Maine fisherman
Ransomware target Apex Capital declares systems ‘back up and running’

Watch Grace Sharkey talk about Driver Appreciation Week on FW NOW here:

09/13/22 - THANK YOU TRUCKERS

09/13/22 04:51:43pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
TRC Freight is now offering MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR OWNER OPERATORS!
TRC Freight is The Right Carrier for you if you enjoy independence!
http://www.trcandme.com for more information!
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® is working with the CIA! Thats right! Commercial Insurance Associates. From single owner operators to large fleets; Let CIA Trucking work for you!

https://www.cia-trucking.com for more information.
___________________________________

Save 10% off on Blue Tiger products! Click this "special link" and SAVE!!!
Click here --- https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
Blue Tiger has the best headsets on the market, in my opinion. I have been loyal to Blue Tiger since I bought my first Blue Tiger headset in 2016. They have comfort to wear all day long. The quality of the sound is unbeatable. Their customer service is top notch.

Enter discount code: IS021422


10% Discount Link: https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
___________________________________

FUEL DISCOUNTS & FACTORING SERVICES:
Blake Levine
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Direct Line: (913) 521-6875
Email: blevine@rtscarrierservices.com
___________________________________


DAT TRUCKERSEDGE provides carriers access to the trusted DAT® Network, North America’s largest marketplace for freight loads and trucks with over 600,000 loads posted daily. TruckersEdge provides unlimited searching and posting, instant alarm match notification, broker credit scores and days to pay, market rates, mileage routing, and more. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://www.truckersedge.com/0001789059


DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://dat.com/power/0001789059

*Promotions for new subscribers only
___________________________________


Bonehead Truckers® has shirts and stuff! Check them out!
https://teespring.com/stores/bonehead-truckers
___________________________________

Our official website:
http://boneheadtruckers.com
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® of the Week every Wednesday!!
To submit Boneheads, come to our Facebook group

SAY NO TO BONEHEAD TRUCKERS

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___________________________________

Fan mail? Hate mail? Send them here!

Bonehead Truckers®
P.O. Box 1856
Waskom, Texas 75692
___________________________________

This video is protected by Fair Use in Copyright Law.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/

Bonehead Truckers® is a registered trademark of Isaac L Stephens
#trucking #fail #comedy

09/13/22 - Viewpoint: Are last-mile drones really ready for takeoff in logistics?

09/13/22 02:45:37pm -

This commentary was written by Álvaro Echeverría, founder and CEO of SimpliRoute. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Modern Shipper or its affiliates.

Autonomous robots have been filling conversations about modernizing last-mile delivery, and most recently, drones have entered the space too. Wing is Alphabet.Inc’s drone delivery company, with a dedicated fleet to fulfill last-mile shipment for small packages in the United States, Finland, and Australia. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime customers in Lockeford, California, are due any day now to start receiving packages via drones.

But it’s not always clear skies ahead. Residents in Lockeford have threatened to shoot the technology, fearing its impact on employment and privacy in the community. And while Jeff Bezos boldly declared that last-mile drones would very soon be the norm for door-to-door delivery (nine years ago), drone use in logistics remains in its infancy, with plenty of friction to smooth out.

Part of the problem is that companies risk jumping to “sexy” modes of transport like drones to impress customers and showcase their innovation. The reality, though, is that time, cost, and efficiency are a greater priority for both recipients and businesses. Here’s why drones still aren’t ready for takeoff in the last mile.

The drone delivery dilemma

Safety has long been a concern around drone tech: between 2015 and 2020, more than 4,000 drone-related injuries were reported. Amazon has also had to delay its drone expansion plans after sources said that during testing there was one drone “that just blew apart when it hit the ground.” There’s additionally the possibility that malfunctioning drones could cause damage to people and properties below. Unlike cars, if there are technical difficulties in the sky, there’s no safe refuge to pull over and get help.

Another issue is that drones don’t always have a safe area to land, meaning they have to descend in crowded places or navigate obstacles that lower the chances of a smooth descent, without damaging the goods being delivered. Some companies have suggested parachuting items but that process is heavily dependent on weather conditions. Amazon proposed building landing pads into communal spaces, but didn’t specify who would pay for those, and how they would be accessible in densely populated, urban areas.

Then there’s the regulation hurdle. At the moment, standard UAV rules set height boundaries, prescribed geographical areas, and data collection for drone activity, however, other specifications can vary between states. As more businesses look to implement drone last-mile delivery then, they’ll have to take care to stay compliant or face lawsuits and have to scale back on the fleets and routes they’ve already invested in. Just a few years back, drone company SkyPan was fined $200,000 (originally proposed to be $1.9M) for conducting 65 illegal drone flights in congested airspace over Chicago and New York City.

Coming back down to earth with AI 

Drones are expensive, and purchasing a fleet and maintaining an operating system for it takes a large chunk out of companies’ budget. Back on the ground, there is more affordable tech that is just as sophisticated as drone capability and optimizes last-mile delivery for cars and trucks. In fact, companies can integrate free AI-powered software like Detrack, Route4Me, and Shipday. 

Artificial intelligence not only shows drivers the fastest routes, with the least traffic, and the best conditions, it can reduce the time spent in transit and coordinate multiple stops in the smallest number of journeys possible. By streamlining routes and learning from historical data, AI is more than equipped to ensure quick, accurate delivery. This efficiency is particularly important considering that people are buying more products than they did before the pandemic hit, and that the last mile needs to keep up with this demand. For example, SimpliRoute’s AI enabled Walmart to reduce delivery times by 30%, increase the performance of each shipment by 25%, and lower logistics costs by 34%.

Drones, on the other hand, have yet to prove that their price tag is worth their outcomes. They have limited battery power, so often can only make one long journey with a heavy item before having to recharge. Not to mention, a 2022 survey highlights that 39% of people fear drones won’t deliver items to the right address. 

A potential nosedive in (financial) sustainability

Widespread drone use would require building infrastructure from scratch for launch pads, landing pads, and secure software that supports autonomous flying vehicles. There’s also been talk of needing smart mailboxes to accommodate drone delivery, where recipients are alerted via their phone when a drone is approaching, and they remotely open the mailbox to allow the drone to deposit the goods.

But drones at this scale demand a big change in customer behavior and trust. Delivery is a personal process – people want to know that their order is protected, that it goes to the correct place, and that a human is involved to swiftly rectify any mishaps. Rather than trying to completely reinvent delivery with drones – which is expensive and high risk – the last mile can be improved with existing trends and tools.

AI solutions for road logistics can be easily accessed via drivers’ phones; no new roads need to be laid and the tech can work with what is already there. The result is a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to better last-mile delivery. And, in the ongoing economic uncertainty, being more sustainable can equate to savings. AI optimized routing means using less gas and fewer hours on the road, cutting a large portion of companies’ expenses. 

Innovation may be everywhere, but the last mile needs to stay grounded. By doubling down on ways to enhance existing infrastructure and processes, delivery can advance while still making smart decisions around finances. Businesses that get lost in the clouds with drones could experience a harsh bump back down to earth – especially with a recession looming on the horizon.

About the author

Álvaro Echeverría, is founder and CEO of SimpliRoute, a route optimization software helping companies reduce logistics costs and increase customer satisfaction.

09/12/22 - 5 things to know as Trevor Milton’s criminal fraud trial begins

09/12/22 12:19:18pm -

As Nikola founder Trevor Milton’s fraud trial begins, it is possible to find similarities to Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who is awaiting sentencing on her conviction of defrauding investors.  Neither side is looking for a plea deal to avoid a trial, they told U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos on Thursday.

Here are five things to consider about Milton’s case.

The prosecution may be seeking to make an example of Milton

The 40-year-old Milton faces two counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud. The maximum penalties if convicted are 20 and 25 years respectively. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $100 million bail.

The three charges filed in July 2021 followed months of federal investigations of the startup electric truck maker. How much of that followed the 67-question expose by short seller Hindenburg Research is unclear. Nikola itself investigated with an outside law firm and found nine Milton claims to be partially or completely false.

Trevor Milton’s claims about the since discontinued Nikola One will be heard by jurors tasked with deciding whether his social media bragging amounted to fraud. (Photo: Nikola)

The feds claim Milton fleeced investors by lying about the company’s technology achievements and accomplishments. 

The addition of a fourth wire fraud charge in June suggests prosecutors are figuratively throwing the book at Milton. 

A real estate deal in which Milton tried to partially purchase a Utah ranch with Nikola stock options formed the basis of the latest charge. The landowner earlier this year sued Milton in a civil action, alleging he hyped the value of the options even as Nikola shares were tanking after the end of a partnership with General Motors due at least in part to the Hindenburg report.

Companies like Nikola that went public via sponsorship by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are the subject of federal probes. None has resulted in a criminal indictment or Securities and Exchange Commission action to date. Nikola itself agreed to pay a $125 million fine to the SEC, money it is trying in mediation to get Milton to reimburse.

Milton’s use of social media as a megaphone is a critical part of the case

Prosecutors allege Milton’s use of the internet, specifically his near omnipresence on Twitter, defrauded investors by amplifying misleading statements regarding Nikola’s product and technology development. Milton regularly scrapped with his critics.

In a pretrial conference last Thursday, Ramos agreed to allow testimony from prosecution witness Dina Mayzlin, associate dean and professor of marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business. She has written on social media influence. Much of Nikola’s stock runup followed Milton’s Twitter, podcasts and with business media.

Milton’s attorneys protested, calling the study of social media influence “junk science.” Ramos asked whether Nikola had become a meme stock — shares of a company that gain a cult-like following online and through social media platforms. 

Prosecutors said that some think that is the case, though Nikola’s stock runup after it merged with SPAC VectorIQ preceded the use of the word associated with electronics retailer GameStop and others. 

Meme stocks typically are born when investors find a stock with a lot of people betting the price will fall. Investors chasing each other into such stocks create what short squeezes on investors betting the stock price will fall. If the price rises, those investors must cover their positions as the price rises or risk larger losses.

Prosecutors said they will call three or four investors as witnesses. Ramos said he would give the defense leeway in questioning but warned against blaming investors for their losses.

High-profile trials gravitate to the Southern District of New York

Why is the case being tried in New York? Milton found that the famed Southern District of New York, sometimes referred to as the Sovereign District of New York for its nonpartisan independence, gets the cases it wants. It is known for high-profile cases from mob boss John Gotti to home decor and party-planning queen Martha Stewart. 

Milton twice tried to get his trial moved to Phoenix, where Nikola is based, or to Utah, where he lives and founded the company. Ramos sided with prosecutors, who said that Nikola’s stock trades on the Nasdaq in Manhattan. Ramos agreed the venue was appropriate.

Nikola allowed to protect itself from its founder

Milton wanted to use internal conversations and emails that he was not part of to bolster his case. Nikola, which has tried to distance itself from Milton since he left the company in September 2020, filed to enter the trial as a third party. Milton’s attorneys said allowing the protective order violated his constitutional rights.

The company challenged the use of conversations that corporate counsel Britton Worthen had with others. And it sought a protective order for certain documents to prevent them from being revealed at trial. Ramos granted both motions.

Milton has become a nemesis of the company, voting his 11% stake in the company — plus other shares he controlled — against a company proposal to increase the number of authorized shares to allow it to raise money for the business. 

In addition to paying for Milton’s defense as part of its severance agreement, the company had to pay for a proxy solicitation firm to hunt down shareholders to vote for the proposal. After adjourning the virtual annual meeting three times, Nikola finally secured enough votes to pass the measure on Aug. 2.

Milton, who faces dilution of his stake because of the higher number of shares, reversed months of share sales by purchasing 3 million shares for $17.4 million on Aug. 24.

Approach of Milton’s defense is a mystery

What defense approach Milton will use is unclear. Motions flew back and forth over the concept of an “advice-of-counsel” defense, essentially Milton blaming his lawyers for not keeping him out of trouble.

“We are not running an advice-of-counsel defense,” one of Milton’s attorneys said Thursday in the final pretrial conference. “We are running a good-faith defense. There’s an email in which the general counsel tells Trevor Milton, ‘Yes, you walked the line.’ Apologies to Johnny Cash.”

When Milton was indicted, his attorneys said his statements were protected by his right of free speech. That may come up again.

Related articles:

No plea deal offered by government nor sought by Trevor Milton

Guess who’s buying Nikola stock?

Judge denies venue change for Trevor Milton’s fraud trial

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Alan Adler.

09/11/22 - WILD DRIVERS FAILS | Bonehead Truckers of the Week

09/11/22 01:51:44pm -

Owner Operators Wanted!
TRC Freight is now offering MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR OWNER OPERATORS!
TRC Freight is The Right Carrier for you if you enjoy independence!
http://www.trcandme.com for more information!
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® is working with the CIA! Thats right! Commercial Insurance Associates. From single owner operators to large fleets; Let CIA Trucking work for you!

https://www.cia-trucking.com for more information.
___________________________________

Save 10% off on Blue Tiger products! Click this "special link" and SAVE!!!
Click here --- https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
Blue Tiger has the best headsets on the market, in my opinion. I have been loyal to Blue Tiger since I bought my first Blue Tiger headset in 2016. They have comfort to wear all day long. The quality of the sound is unbeatable. Their customer service is top notch.

Enter discount code: IS021422


10% Discount Link: https://bluetigerusa.com/?ref=ikestephens
___________________________________

FUEL DISCOUNTS & FACTORING SERVICES:
Blake Levine
RTS Carrier Services
Direct Line: (913) 521-6875
Email: blevine@rtscarrierservices.com
___________________________________


DAT TRUCKERSEDGE provides carriers access to the trusted DAT® Network, North America’s largest marketplace for freight loads and trucks with over 600,000 loads posted daily. TruckersEdge provides unlimited searching and posting, instant alarm match notification, broker credit scores and days to pay, market rates, mileage routing, and more. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://www.truckersedge.com/0001789059


DAT POWER is the industry's most advanced load board for carriers and freight brokers, with powerful tools for advanced filtering, group collaboration, automatic refreshes, multiple searching and posting simultaneously, partner research tools, and market-leading rate tools. Get your first month Free! Sign up here:
https://dat.com/power/0001789059

*Promotions for new subscribers only
___________________________________


Bonehead Truckers® has shirts and stuff! Check them out!
https://teespring.com/stores/bonehead-truckers
___________________________________

Our official website:
http://boneheadtruckers.com
___________________________________

Bonehead Truckers® of the Week every Wednesday!!
To submit Boneheads, come to our Facebook group

SAY NO TO BONEHEAD TRUCKERS

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/
___________________________________

Fan mail? Hate mail? Send them here!

Bonehead Truckers®
P.O. Box 1856
Waskom, Texas 75692
___________________________________

This video is protected by Fair Use in Copyright Law.

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
___________________________________

My name is Ike Stephens. I started driving a truck in 2002. I started making trucking videos in 2010. I've done everything from VLOGs to parodies.

Trucker Rag Chew | Trucker Rag Chew is mixture of Vlog, music, and opinion. It is one of the original VLOG style videos series in the YouTube Trucking genre.

Bonehead Truckers® | I am one of only people who will call out the bad things truckers do to ruin this industry. Bonehead Truckers® exposes the bad behavior of truck drivers.

Trucking Advice | Mixed is into the normal videos, I have been known to put out an occasional educational video. Even though I still have a lot to learn myself, the things I do talk about is stuff I've learned the hard way.

YouTube Live | I was one of the original content creators to do live content. I started on Ustream and when YouTube started the live interactive content, I was one of the first to participate.


For business inquiries, contact by email.
contact@boneheadtruckers.com

If you would like to support this channel, the cashapp is:
@ike73

Say No To Bonehead Truckers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/boneheadtruckersoftheweek/

Bonehead Truckers® is a registered trademark of Isaac L Stephens
#trucking #fail #comedy

Tags: Latest-News-CDL-Truck-Driver-Hiring-Scams, Trucking-Company-Scams-News-Blog-Reports, Victims-Reports-Truck-Driving-Lease-Purchase-Scams, Owner-Operator-Trucker-Lease-Purchase-Scams, Truck-Driver-Hiring-Scams-Ripoffs-Victims-Testimony