truck and my life

Ali Mohammed Solving a Problem ECPI University 03/04/2021 When | came to America, everything was difficult for me. | speak Arabic, and here they speak English. Two weeks later, | got a job and | saw there are many things that differ from my country, in Iraq | can drive a car without a license. | bought a car here, but | do not know that | cannot drive here without a license when | went to school until | learned an English language. | asked there, they said, “You cannot drive here. | have a problem, which is how to go to my work and school.” We got a job, my brother and | decided not to go out in the car only to work and study. After a week of study, | got a driving license. Here we solved the first problem with me, but there are many problems. My family consists of my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and we do not only have one car. How do | go to work? My brother, my father, and my mother, so | bought a second car after | collected money because of pressures. | became nervous from everything, reckless and quick with the decision. | used to work in a company, and | was comfortable with the job, but one day the verbal argument between me and the boss started speeding up the decision and | lost my job. | want to tell the people t and make them understand what | was going through. One of the psychological pressures that makes you lose your temper is that | am reckless in my behavior, and | regret my actions late, | am losing my job day after day. My brother tells me that you must be calm and patient for your problems to be solved, after some time you realize that my brother is right. Life is not as beautiful as we imagine it, yes, it is beautiful, but there are very difficult days. | thought and convinced to become a truck driver. | went to truck school and got a driver's license, When | completed truck driver school it was on 05/08/2016 and then | started my days. | started to work with a company in Greensboro. The company teamed me up with a trainer that trans me to become more professional in driving trucks. We was driving local from Greensboro to Raleigh, it meant to be for a short distant about 5 hours in a day. | spend about a month with my trainer and we had a really good time. After | completed training with the company at Greensboro, they gave me loads. | delivered it to the state of Tennessee. In my way to Tennessee the day was normal until | arrived in Asheville. | felt that my life was going to end. The Reason why it was that | did not go to the mountains before and | was driving a big truck. | was so terrified that | was driving less than the speed limited. The load was medicine, | still remember it was on the 06/10/2016 and how can | forget this day. | was very afraid until | got to

Ali Mohammed Solving a Problem ECPI University 03/04/2021 Nashville, Tennessee, to a company called CVS. There | was relieved about me think of death because of the dangerous road. After that | called the manager of the company and | told him, “I am a new driver, why did you send me on this road.” “He told me you did a good job because you completed the mission and now, | will send you from where you are taking the load to return to Greensboro”, | told him “OK". In my way home | buoyed gift to my family. | buoyed a teddy bear to my little sister becouse It was my first time leaving her for a long time. She was crying becouse she thought | will never come back and play with her. My sister was about 10 years old in that time, so she still had the kid’s imagination of losing the people she loved. Now she is 16 years old and she is my cheer leader who cheers my up when | feel down, she tells me to work and enjoy life, she also tells me to take the rise becouse there is more than surviving to life. | decided to lay down solutions for all matters. First, the companies should not send drivers who do not have experience, but the driver does not have the right to work on the losses of the company. | must calm down and think about any decision he made in my life so that | do not lose more than what | have lost so far. | have lost two jobs in the field of trucks, but this is in the past because and after | controlled myself, | did not lose my job. For every problem there is a solution. What is your problem, dear reader of this story, and do you imagine that you are unable to solve your problems? | tell you everything in this life has a solution. 1. Driver Shortage Driver shortage continues to be a top concern for the trucking industry. It’s estimated that over 60,000 drivers are needed, with a potential to increase to 100,000 drivers within the next five years. This need most commonly surrounds over-the-road or OTR drivers who are commonly kept away from home for weeks at a time. Since drivers are no longer able to park in their own driveways, many have opted for other options that keep them closer to home. What can be done? Develop an apprenticeship program to attract and retain a younger demographic of drivers. Since most truck drivers are over the age of 55, expect there to be a push for gaining interstate drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 years old. Attempt to expand driver recruitment to women and minorities. Female and minority drivers make up a small percentage of truck drivers, and actions are being taken to increase those percentages over time. This is largely due to the success of female and minority drivers. In fact, an additional ATRI study shows

Ali Mohammed Solving a Problem ECPI University 03/04/2021 Since 2014, truck drivers have frequently reported delays at customer facilities of six hours or more. This loss of time has a direct impact on the driver’s HOS, compensation, ELDs, and parking complications. What can be done? Research the impact of customer detention on trucking operations. Studies indicate that detention times have a negative impact on driver productivity and have been known to influence the crash risk of drivers. Smaller fleets also cite that they refrain from charging for detention rates to remain competitive against larger fleets, which can have a detrimental impact on their operations. Especially when you consider that drivers may be spending a surplus of six hours delayed at customer facilities. Assess the potential impact ELDs may have on increased detention times. Many drivers would like to see the causal effect the introduction of ELDs has on detention times. If this effect can be proved through data, it may provide enough of a push for shippers and receivers to improve turn times for drivers. Implement a “Shipper of Choice” database. This would allow drivers to choose a shipper where detention times are minimal or non-existent, further prompting other shippers to implement best practices. 5. Truck Parking Truck parking continues to be one of the most significant and dangerous problems faced by truck drivers. So much so, in fact, that we developed our entire business model around it! The struggle to find a truck parking lot causes drivers to drive outside of HOS rules or park in an undesignated and unsafe area. What can be done? Identify strategic locations to expand truck parking. Working off areas truck drivers have identified as critical, major changes may be on the horizon to improve truck parking. However, allocating funds for reopening old facilities and investing in new facilities may not be easy, causing drivers to search for a new solution. Create a federally funded program to increase truck parking. Many drivers are hopeful that government funding will be used to increase truck parking at critical freight locations. Continue research into the value of on-demand truck parking reservation systems. The percentage of truckers interested in this outlet is growing and is catching the attention of members of the trucking industry. On-demand platforms like ours are truly changing the game for finding a truck parking lot and addressing the problems faced by truck drivers. Learn how our Marketplace works and how you can leverage our nationwide locations to find the truck parking and container storage space you need by clicking here. 6. Driver Retention

Ali Mohammed Solving a Problem ECPI University 03/04/2021 Driver retention, while still an issue, has improved in ranking over the past few years according to the ATRI survey. Many feel that the improvements in driver retention are related to the increases in driver compensation. However, there are still improvements to be made. What can be done? Continue to prioritize retention strategies. Survey results show that additional research into successful strategies to improve driver retention may be worthwhile. Pursuing previously identified strategies such as improving trust between carriers and drivers as well as scheduling more time at home show true promise for continuing research. Examine the relationship between safety features and driver retention. Unsurprisingly, the adaptation of safety devices such as driver-facing cameras, speed limiters, and active braking systems aren’t widely accepted by truck drivers. While these technologies have their advantages, they may be influencing driver retention. Further research into this relationship is hoped to shed light on helpful strategies to retain drivers. 7. Electronic Logging Devices Mandate Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) have frequently been one of the key problems faced by truck drivers. In December of 2019, all fleets were required to make the switch from AOBRDs to ELDs. While it’s too soon to tell what impact this may have, we expect to see a drop in productivity from drivers, as well as ripple effects to HOS and truck parking. What can be done? Investigate the impacts ELDs have on the trucking industry. Now that ELDs have been fully implemented, drivers are calling for additional research to determine how ELDs are effecting driver safety and productivity. From the start, ELDs were mandated to save billions of dollars in administrative costs as well as driver lives. Without additional research, however, it’s unknown if these benefits have been fully realized. Identify the extent of ELD exemptions. Since 2017, numerous groups within the trucking industry have requested exemptions from the ELD mandate based on a variety of reasons. Now, more drivers are demanding to know the extent of these exemptions in hopes that they themselves may be exempt from the mandate. The last three problems faced by truck drivers on the list include compliance, safety, and accountability; transportation infrastructure, congestion, and funding; and the economy. While each of these are still a concern, ATRI states these issues have dropped in the ranking over the past few years, citing less notable complications for drivers.