Summertime Safety: Daily Routines & Road Hazards for Drivers

1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:06,960 Complacency is the enemy of safety. That line gets thrown around a lot in trucking safety meetings, 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:12,400 posters on the wall, stickers on the truck. But today on always pneumatic, never static. We're 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:17,879 going to talk about what that phrase actually means in the real world. Because the truth is, most 4 00:00:17,879 --> 00:00:22,680 accidents don't happen because somebody forgot one giant thing. They happened because somebody 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:28,680 stopped doing 25 things consistently. One day you skip the gloves. One day you hop out without three 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:34,040 points of contact. One day you rush the pre-trip. One day you stop paying attention to construction 7 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:40,080 signage. One day you think, I've done this a thousand times, and then one day the day bites 8 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:46,720 back. Today we're joined by Director of Safety Tim Hamilton and veteran driver and trainer AJ Reed, a 9 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:52,360 guy who spent 15 years hauling one of the most physical jobs bulk has to offer crawling rail 10 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:59,120 cars, dragging hoses, dealing with hot pipes, long days and training the next generation of drivers 11 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:05,660 the right way. We're talking daily safety routines, summertime road chaos, construction season, 12 00:01:05,660 --> 00:01:12,220 distracted drivers, hydration, mental stress, and the little habits that keep the professionals 13 00:01:12,220 --> 00:01:19,220 safe for decades. Because safety isn't usually one big heroic decision. It's the small stuff 14 00:01:19,220 --> 00:01:26,140 done right every single day. And if you're sitting there rolling down the highway right now 15 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:32,500 listening to this thinking, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all this stuff, well, this episode is probably for 16 00:01:32,500 --> 00:01:39,460 you the most. You are listening to. Always pneumatic, never static. 17 00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:44,819 The Totally Pressurized podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit where we keep the lines clear, the 18 00:01:44,820 --> 00:01:50,099 tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry. Whether you're running powder pellets or anything 19 00:01:50,099 --> 00:01:54,059 in between. Pull up a seat, crack the windows, and let's hit it. 20 00:01:57,300 --> 00:02:03,489 How's it going out there? Bulk and spur. Welcome in to always pneumatic, never static. Thank you so 21 00:02:03,489 --> 00:02:09,249 much for joining us here on the podcast today. I'm going to get to the homework right off the top 22 00:02:09,249 --> 00:02:14,249 here because I got a long conversation, as you heard, in the cold open with AJ Reed and Tim 23 00:02:14,249 --> 00:02:19,089 Hamilton, that you've got to hear this is just trucking right down the middle. We're talking 24 00:02:19,089 --> 00:02:24,569 safety. We're talking the changing of the seasons. Fantastic episode coming up around the corner for 25 00:02:24,570 --> 00:02:29,889 you. But first I want to make note. Of course the same thing we do right off the top every single 26 00:02:29,889 --> 00:02:36,289 episode remind you that your one stop shop for the always pneumatic, Never Static podcast is 27 00:02:36,289 --> 00:02:42,929 podcast.bulktransit.com. That's our landing page on the website. You can go there to listen to every 28 00:02:42,929 --> 00:02:47,249 single episode. You can find out all the information about what we're talking about and 29 00:02:47,249 --> 00:02:51,929 who we're talking to. And that's also where you can take those quizzes and you want to keep 30 00:02:51,929 --> 00:02:57,489 boning up on those, man, because we will be giving away more prizes, uh, sometime here in the near 31 00:02:57,509 --> 00:03:02,910 future, so make sure you're taking those quizzes after you listen to the show, because it could net 32 00:03:02,910 --> 00:03:08,630 you a really cool prize down the road a little bit. As I've said before, we gave away a couple of 33 00:03:08,670 --> 00:03:14,830 really great cooling vests, and I have to imagine, as it was 87 degrees in Eugene, Oregon yesterday, 34 00:03:14,830 --> 00:03:20,830 just a hundred short miles from the coast. Um, it's getting hot out there in the Midwest. It's getting 35 00:03:20,830 --> 00:03:27,310 hot down there in Texas. It's getting hot out there in Kansas, wherever you are at. So the 36 00:03:27,310 --> 00:03:31,349 cooling vest would be really cool right now, right? Well, we might give it away another one. We might 37 00:03:31,350 --> 00:03:35,989 give away something else. We haven't picked it out yet, but just know we've got other prizes to give 38 00:03:35,990 --> 00:03:40,989 away and they're directly tied to those quizzes. It doesn't matter how many answers you get, right? 39 00:03:40,990 --> 00:03:46,750 But when we start the giveaway, those quizzes will be your entry. All you have to do is go on there 40 00:03:46,750 --> 00:03:52,110 and take them. So get on there and get some practice right now. podcast.bulktransit.com 41 00:03:52,110 --> 00:03:57,209 and something else that we're going to talk about later on in the interview with Tim and AJ is the 42 00:03:57,210 --> 00:04:02,570 fact that everybody's welcome on this podcast. If you walk around with the with the word bulk or 43 00:04:02,570 --> 00:04:08,689 the word spur on your shirt, or on your truck or on your gloves or wherever it may be, you are 44 00:04:08,689 --> 00:04:13,569 welcome on this podcast and we want to talk to you if you want to talk to us. So head on over to 45 00:04:13,610 --> 00:04:19,608 podcast.bulktransit.com and shoot me a message. We can talk about anything. I've told you 46 00:04:19,609 --> 00:04:24,129 before, many drivers have sent me a message and said, hey, I think this would be great on the show. 47 00:04:24,170 --> 00:04:30,289 We've turned it into an episode. We'll absolutely do that for you, and we're more than happy to work 48 00:04:30,289 --> 00:04:35,569 with you on it so that we get something that you want to talk about going on on the podcast when 49 00:04:35,569 --> 00:04:42,328 you make your appearance once again. podcast.bulktransit.com. Now on to the good stuff, the real 50 00:04:42,329 --> 00:04:48,289 juicy stuff from today's episode. It is centered around safety. I know drivers like to hear these 51 00:04:48,289 --> 00:04:54,809 episodes because you guys take a lot of pride in doing this job safely. If you didn't, we'd have a 52 00:04:54,810 --> 00:05:00,429 lot more dinged up trucks and a lot more injured drivers, and that's not a good thing for anybody. 53 00:05:00,469 --> 00:05:05,069 We're trying to get everybody home safe here. Not just you, not just the loads and the equipment. 54 00:05:05,109 --> 00:05:10,669 We're trying to get everybody out there on the road, home safe. And, uh, obviously these little 55 00:05:10,670 --> 00:05:16,189 refreshers that we have from time to time on the podcast are a really good thing, because as Tim 56 00:05:16,190 --> 00:05:23,069 will tell you, as you heard in the cold open, complacency is the enemy of safety. And I really 57 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:28,269 don't want to eat up too much time right now with the intro, because there's so much good stuff 58 00:05:28,269 --> 00:05:33,870 that's about to happen in this conversation. Pay special attention, okay? Because AJ's been doing 59 00:05:33,870 --> 00:05:40,749 this for 15 years and he talks about Tim like Tim was kind of the the big turnaround in safety at 60 00:05:40,750 --> 00:05:45,869 the company. And I think you listen to Tim talk too. You can tell that guy's dedicated. That guy 61 00:05:45,870 --> 00:05:52,629 knows his stuff. Um, so what we're talking about here is, is a little bit of daily safety routines, 62 00:05:52,630 --> 00:05:57,459 things that can kind of fall by the wayside if you get a little bit complacent. And then in the 63 00:05:57,459 --> 00:06:02,179 second half of the interview, we're going to turn our attention to the changing of the seasons and 64 00:06:02,179 --> 00:06:07,619 the different things that drivers have to look out for as spring turns to summer. And let me tell 65 00:06:07,619 --> 00:06:14,539 you, the list is not short. And you might imagine it starts with the word construction. But there's 66 00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:20,820 also some other really important words in there too, like hydration and just general safety. So 67 00:06:20,859 --> 00:06:26,099 without further ado, let's get Tim and AJ in here and get this conversation moving. 68 00:06:34,540 --> 00:06:39,899 Welcome back into Always Nomadic, Never Static. Very excited for our segment today, as we are 69 00:06:39,900 --> 00:06:46,899 going to dive into multiple aspects that have to do with safety. So only seemed right that the most 70 00:06:46,899 --> 00:06:52,099 important person we get in here today is Director of Safety Tim Hamilton. Tim, welcome back into the 71 00:06:52,099 --> 00:06:58,119 show. Thank you so much for being here today. Good to be back. And we've also got a driver making his 72 00:06:58,119 --> 00:07:04,519 first appearance on Always Pneumatic, never static. Uh, very excited to welcome A.J. Reed to the show. 73 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,759 Uh, AJ, thanks for being here, man. Yeah, no problem, man, I'm glad to be here. Well, you know, you and I 74 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:14,799 got to sit down together when I was out there in Plain City. We had a great conversation. Um, but I 75 00:07:14,799 --> 00:07:19,399 want to go ahead and make sure that everybody listening has some of the same details that I do 76 00:07:19,399 --> 00:07:24,839 from my notes. Uh, first and foremost, I think the, uh, the main point here. How long have you been 77 00:07:24,839 --> 00:07:30,599 driving for, uh, bulk? Oh, I think I think it'll be 15 years in July. 78 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:36,799 Congratulations, man. That big round of applause for that. That's a big milestone, the 15 year mark. 79 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,479 And, uh, I have it written down that your specialty is something that I love so much, which is 80 00:07:41,479 --> 00:07:48,319 cornstarch. Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely my specialty. Now, are you on a dedicated route 81 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,099 with cornstarch, or is that just something you're always hauling to multiple different clients. 82 00:07:52,099 --> 00:07:58,939 What's the scenario there? I guess you could say it's dedicated, but not really. It's more or less 83 00:07:58,940 --> 00:08:05,859 I pick it because of seniority, but, you know, um, it's a tough it's a tough job. It's not a whole 84 00:08:05,859 --> 00:08:12,739 lot of people love doing it. So I kind of just I enjoy it, so. Okay, take it. And that's. Is it. You 85 00:08:12,739 --> 00:08:17,019 told me it was kind of the manual loading and unloading that you enjoyed about it. It gets you 86 00:08:17,020 --> 00:08:22,179 out of the truck. It's a little bit more physical. Is that is my memory serving correct there? Yeah. 87 00:08:22,179 --> 00:08:28,299 That's definitely probably the most physical product that we have okay. To be honest okay. A lot 88 00:08:28,299 --> 00:08:35,059 of crawling under railcars, going over railcars, dragging hoses. You know, it's 89 00:08:35,099 --> 00:08:40,579 it definitely gets physical. Uh, the the whole idea behind this episode is you heard in the open is 90 00:08:40,619 --> 00:08:46,179 we're talking about multiple aspects of safety, mostly daily safety routines here because these 91 00:08:46,179 --> 00:08:51,519 are very important. But we're also going to touch on towards the end of the break, A little bit of 92 00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:57,640 the change of the season, summertime safety, that type of thing. Uh, but first and foremost, uh, we 93 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:02,519 want to say that, uh, you know, safety failures don't usually happen just because somebody forgot 94 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:07,400 one giant thing. If we've learned anything, it's that they happen because somebody stopped doing 95 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:14,038 25 small things consistently. Uh, at least that's what my experience shows in trucking. Now, Tim, uh, 96 00:09:14,039 --> 00:09:18,919 I'm going to start here with you. When you hear that, uh, somebody doesn't forget one giant thing. 97 00:09:18,919 --> 00:09:24,999 They stop doing 25 things consistently. What goes through your mind in your position and how 98 00:09:24,999 --> 00:09:31,919 accurate is that statement? It's pretty accurate, but I think a lot of it, uh, when you stop doing 99 00:09:31,919 --> 00:09:38,759 the 25 small things consistently, I think it's a it becomes a shift in your mindset 100 00:09:38,799 --> 00:09:45,799 of, uh, of what you're doing. Uh, so, you know, it's important to, you know, remind yourself, uh, 101 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:52,749 you know, why you do what you do daily? Absolutely. A.J., how about for you? Uh. Same 102 00:09:52,749 --> 00:09:58,710 thing. Uh, do you feel like it's the small things and the consistency, uh, that get tripped up when. 103 00:09:58,710 --> 00:10:03,869 When things start to go wrong? Or is it one giant thing that you forgot? Uh. And all of a sudden, the 104 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:09,790 whole days falling apart. I feel like, uh, definitely can be a lot of small things. It can. It 105 00:10:09,790 --> 00:10:15,150 can accumulate, you know, throughout your days. And you forget one thing this day, and then you 106 00:10:15,190 --> 00:10:19,190 continue that in the next day, and then the next day, you got two things that you're forgetting, and 107 00:10:19,190 --> 00:10:25,869 it just keeps going. So you really got to pay attention to, like, details, or else then a big 108 00:10:25,869 --> 00:10:31,029 thing can happen too. So I mean, it goes both ways in my opinion. Right? And it kind of sounds like 109 00:10:31,030 --> 00:10:35,749 what you're talking about there too is like you, you develop these good habits, but if you forget 110 00:10:35,749 --> 00:10:39,510 one thing and then you do it a couple of times, it's all of a sudden you've developed a bad habit 111 00:10:39,510 --> 00:10:44,669 just because that's no longer part of your routine, and it's easy to forget that it ever was 112 00:10:44,670 --> 00:10:50,090 part of your routine if you just skip over it a few times. Yeah, pretty much like if, say, like you 113 00:10:50,090 --> 00:10:55,489 go to the rail yard, you're required to wear safety vests, hard hat, glasses. Day one, you forget 114 00:10:55,489 --> 00:11:00,408 your your vest one day. And, you know nobody says anything to you. You're like, oh, I got away with it 115 00:11:00,449 --> 00:11:05,569 the next day. You don't wear that again. And then next thing you know, it's hard hat safety glasses. 116 00:11:05,609 --> 00:11:12,449 It just continues on as a bad habit. So absolutely, absolutely great stuff there. Now, Tim, 117 00:11:12,449 --> 00:11:18,009 uh, before we get into some more specific questions about these routines, uh, there's some 118 00:11:18,010 --> 00:11:21,969 things that I'm going to ask you every time we have you on here, just because I think it's 119 00:11:21,969 --> 00:11:27,049 important for the drivers to hear it. Um, what trends are you seeing right now in the in the 120 00:11:27,049 --> 00:11:32,408 realm of safety as far as bulk is concerned. And these can be positive or negative. Uh, down the 121 00:11:32,409 --> 00:11:36,690 middle. I'm just wondering, is there anything you're seeing sort of trending one way or the 122 00:11:36,690 --> 00:11:43,530 other at the current time? No, I think the one, the one consistent, uh, 123 00:11:43,770 --> 00:11:50,549 trend that we, we see a lot with injury is, uh, you know, the soft tissue injuries drivers get, 124 00:11:50,789 --> 00:11:57,749 uh, might be from, uh, uh, over exerting when, when they're using their 125 00:11:57,750 --> 00:12:04,189 hoses. Uh, you get a lot of it from, uh, uh, we call slip trips and 126 00:12:04,190 --> 00:12:10,029 falls. You know, you're entering and exiting the truck a lot of times during the day. And it's 127 00:12:10,030 --> 00:12:15,109 important to remember to use, you know, three points of contact when doing that and when you 128 00:12:15,109 --> 00:12:21,589 fail to do that. Uh, that's when an injury occurs. And again, I want to go back to like what AJ was 129 00:12:21,590 --> 00:12:27,069 saying about forgetting something, like I mentioned on our previous podcast, is that 130 00:12:27,070 --> 00:12:33,709 complacency is the enemy of safety. Yep, absolutely. When we when we fall into that 131 00:12:33,710 --> 00:12:40,229 routine of a daily habit and, uh, you get so used to that daily habit 132 00:12:40,229 --> 00:12:47,089 and it's easy to fall out of it just out of being complacent. Yep. Absolutely. And and, you 133 00:12:47,090 --> 00:12:51,809 know, I'll tell you this story just as a personal anecdote. Obviously this didn't happen at bulk. 134 00:12:51,849 --> 00:12:57,569 This is a driver I know from outside of bulk as a dry van driver. And you talk about being easy to 135 00:12:57,609 --> 00:13:03,609 fall out of. Uh, this guy decided one day to jump out of his truck real fast, wasn't using three 136 00:13:03,610 --> 00:13:09,609 points of contact. And he told me this story personally. Uh, he said I was just so rushed, and I 137 00:13:09,609 --> 00:13:15,049 was trying to go. He caught his toe on the top step of the truck and fell all the way down on 138 00:13:15,049 --> 00:13:21,809 his face, broke his wrist, broke his collarbone, messed up his face. Uh, these little things that we 139 00:13:21,810 --> 00:13:27,769 talk about here, Tim, are, are crucial. People don't think three points of contact is something that, 140 00:13:27,770 --> 00:13:33,329 uh, all the time that they need to really drill down into their psyche. I remember my brother in 141 00:13:33,330 --> 00:13:38,769 law was trying to get a job at UPS as a UPS delivery driver, and that was the one sticking 142 00:13:38,770 --> 00:13:43,049 point that made it so that he didn't make it through his orientation and he didn't get the job. 143 00:13:43,090 --> 00:13:48,960 He's a young, you know, mid 20s guy. He's athletic. He's fit. Three points of contact is just totally 144 00:13:48,999 --> 00:13:54,519 foreign to him. But again, this is another very little thing that can have massive consequences 145 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:59,440 if we're not paying attention to it. Yeah, absolutely. AJ do you got any experience with that 146 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,880 three points of contact man. You're doing a pretty physical job out there like you said, crawling up 147 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:10,200 and down around train cars and everything like that. How important is something like three points 148 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:17,200 of contact to a guy doing cornstarch every day? Uh, it's no joke, man. Like the the rail cars, besides 149 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,999 the truck, the rail cars. You know, sometimes we have to go in between them, sometimes you have to 150 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:28,079 go under them. And you always want to have a hand and both two, both hands and a foot on something 151 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:33,520 because, you know, it could be middle of winter. You got ice to deal with in summer. You could be 152 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:38,880 sweaty, you know? I mean, it's just anything to cause a slip fault. You know, it just takes that 153 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:45,819 one second, you know, and could could all change. It could change your life 100%, 100%. Now, 154 00:14:45,859 --> 00:14:52,179 A.J., I want to ask you here, uh, just some things about your daily routine, because that's really 155 00:14:52,179 --> 00:14:57,139 what we want here. And. And Tim was the one that suggested you for this episode. So I have to feel 156 00:14:57,140 --> 00:15:01,299 like you've got a pretty good safety routine every day. Of course, pre trips are really 157 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:07,739 important. We know that. Uh, but walk me through your morning, AJ, before the truck even starts. How 158 00:15:07,739 --> 00:15:12,259 do you go about making sure everything is where it should be? Is there anything special that you 159 00:15:12,259 --> 00:15:17,379 do? Any tips or tricks that you might have to offer? Uh, that some drivers that maybe haven't 160 00:15:17,379 --> 00:15:24,260 been doing this for 15 years, uh, could, could benefit from. Um, I would say, you know, it's stuff 161 00:15:24,260 --> 00:15:29,380 besides, like, pre-trip stuff would be like, you know, make sure you have your gloves, that hard hat, 162 00:15:29,419 --> 00:15:35,819 all that stuff. Gloves are huge. I preach gloves during training because in the summertime when we 163 00:15:35,819 --> 00:15:41,219 deal with, uh, you know, pipes and stuff like that that are hundreds of degrees and it will 164 00:15:41,219 --> 00:15:47,519 literally burn you in a heartbeat. And, you know, it's just, uh, you know, checking your tires and 165 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:52,039 your life to make sure all that stuff is all intact and make sure you got all your fittings, 166 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:57,479 you know, all we have a ton of little things that we have to, you know, deal with, with starts cutting, 167 00:15:57,479 --> 00:16:03,159 you know, cutting tools, stuff like that. So you're not trying to break metal, wire metal, metal wire 168 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:08,959 seals. You know, I mean, it's just a ton of things I go through mentally and physically during the 169 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:15,160 morning just trying to get ready for the day. And as you're training drivers, what are some of the 170 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:20,200 things that you see that are the most overlooked? That, uh, is kind of maybe something that's pretty 171 00:16:20,239 --> 00:16:24,718 frequent and you get to say, listen, this is what everybody does. Here's how it's actually done. 172 00:16:24,719 --> 00:16:30,520 Anything like that that you see, uh, in your training guys not showing up, you know, maybe with, 173 00:16:30,559 --> 00:16:37,439 uh, steel toe boots. Oh, and, uh, and gear because, you know, steel boots at the yard 174 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:43,419 are imperative. And. Gloves. Gloves. I mean, I can't even express the gloves thing because they'll 175 00:16:43,419 --> 00:16:48,579 show up with no gloves. And I'm like, you're working with hot pipes. Hey, you should probably 176 00:16:48,579 --> 00:16:54,500 have a pair of gloves. Yeah. You know, and stuff like that. Just, you know, this small stuff and not 177 00:16:54,500 --> 00:16:59,819 usually not anything major because you guys are usually like, you know, they're overly cautious and 178 00:16:59,820 --> 00:17:04,459 they're usually, like, really prepared, pre-trip wise stuff like that. They're pretty on top of 179 00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:09,819 that. But it's the little things like gloves and the type of boots they're wearing, and they may 180 00:17:09,819 --> 00:17:15,899 not be prepared. So that's something big I noticed for sure. It doesn't matter if you're a soft hands 181 00:17:15,939 --> 00:17:20,979 guy like me, or if you've got hard hands and done this work before, uh, you'll still burn your hands 182 00:17:20,979 --> 00:17:27,299 on a pipe that's 120 degrees, right? Oh, I've been I've been burned many times. Yep. And it's just. 183 00:17:27,379 --> 00:17:32,659 Luckily, they weren't bad, but, you know, catch you catch an arm on a pipe just accidentally. It's. 184 00:17:32,699 --> 00:17:38,819 It's rough. Yep, yep. Been there, been there. Man. Uh, Tim, uh, turning that same question to you, is there 185 00:17:38,819 --> 00:17:44,089 anything that you see as sort of a trend for new guys in the realm of safety. Daily routines 186 00:17:44,090 --> 00:17:50,329 especially that you are habits that you're trying to break immediately, bad habits or good habits 187 00:17:50,329 --> 00:17:57,009 that you're really trying to enforce if you see them? No, I think what AJ said, you know, pretty much 188 00:17:57,010 --> 00:18:03,209 summarizes it. But, you know, I have to say one thing. You know, with AJ, uh, you know, we have a lot 189 00:18:03,249 --> 00:18:10,249 of great trainers, uh, at Bulk and Spur, but I think, AJ, you know, someone's got to be number one. 190 00:18:10,250 --> 00:18:16,689 I think AJ is, you know, in my my mind number one trainer. He goes he goes above and beyond 191 00:18:17,009 --> 00:18:22,569 with with people. And like he said what he you know, he tells him about hey you know your gloves 192 00:18:22,569 --> 00:18:29,129 and your steel toes and, and uh, so he, he, he really does a great job, uh, in my 193 00:18:29,130 --> 00:18:36,009 opinion, of, uh, training people. And it shows up. It shows up in, in retention as well. I mean, you 194 00:18:36,009 --> 00:18:42,789 can see you can go back in and look at all the guys that AJ has trained over the past years, and 195 00:18:43,589 --> 00:18:50,589 they seem to still be here and happy and safe. That's awesome. Well, AJ, uh, there's your 196 00:18:50,590 --> 00:18:55,269 flowers for you, man. We were going to give them to you on this, uh, regardless, but that's some pretty 197 00:18:55,269 --> 00:19:00,949 high praise coming from Tim. I appreciate it big time. Yeah, I mean, I try it, you know, I, I don't want 198 00:19:00,949 --> 00:19:04,709 these guys to go out and get hurt because if they go and get hurt, that's one less guy we got 199 00:19:04,749 --> 00:19:10,629 driving, one less guy we got taking notes. I mean, that's the scene. It's really pointless to me to 200 00:19:10,629 --> 00:19:16,429 train somebody the wrong way. And then they're not even working, you know. So. Sure. Absolutely. And I 201 00:19:16,430 --> 00:19:21,348 you know, I think that that just shows the pride that you take not only in the job, doing the job 202 00:19:21,349 --> 00:19:27,709 right yourself, but that ripple effect that you can have, uh, one person can create a, uh, a just a 203 00:19:27,710 --> 00:19:32,549 huge ripple effect across the country or the country, across the company, which technically 204 00:19:32,550 --> 00:19:38,030 could be across the country if we're really breaking it down here. But, uh, you know, it's it's 205 00:19:38,030 --> 00:19:43,129 one of those things that you see, the more people that you get your hands on, the better this 206 00:19:43,130 --> 00:19:48,009 company is in the long run. And I think that's really cool. And, Tim, I greatly appreciate you 207 00:19:48,050 --> 00:19:52,489 calling that out here on the show, because that's that's one of the great things we get to do on 208 00:19:52,489 --> 00:19:57,568 this podcast. We get to give people their flowers whenever they're due. Uh, and I wasn't expecting 209 00:19:57,569 --> 00:20:03,929 that. That's awesome. Um, yeah. I really appreciate it. I look at I look at AJ, you know, I think 210 00:20:03,930 --> 00:20:10,889 there's one saying is don't just make an effort, make a difference. And AJ 211 00:20:10,930 --> 00:20:16,689 definitely makes a difference on his training techniques that he does with everybody. So you 212 00:20:16,689 --> 00:20:22,329 know, he's he's he's one of the best. Well you got to be careful now because we're going to have to 213 00:20:22,329 --> 00:20:26,729 knock him down a few pegs. If we keep pumping him up here he's he's going to get a big head on him. 214 00:20:26,810 --> 00:20:32,010 Right. AJ people, people, tribe people tried over over the years to do that. But he he still gets 215 00:20:32,010 --> 00:20:38,949 back. Well yes. Yeah. Well I mean I I've been here for a while, you know, 15 years, like I said. And 216 00:20:38,949 --> 00:20:45,948 when I started here, the training was very little. We had very little. You rode with a guy for a 217 00:20:45,949 --> 00:20:51,869 few days, and there kind of like, there you go, go do the job. And for a long time I pushed and 218 00:20:51,870 --> 00:20:58,309 pushed and pushed. And so we've really got to like invest in training 219 00:20:58,630 --> 00:21:04,709 our new guys coming in here. We are all in box vans down the road. I mean, we've got a ton of 220 00:21:04,709 --> 00:21:11,389 things going on. These guys need like time to learn. So and then they worked with me all kind of 221 00:21:11,430 --> 00:21:17,229 work with me and trying to get a better training program together. I think we've come a long way 222 00:21:17,229 --> 00:21:23,230 from where it was when I started. Big time. That's great. I love to hear. And let me clarify, I wasn't 223 00:21:23,230 --> 00:21:29,310 with the company when AJ started, so. Right. Okay. All right. So Tim came in here and and that was 224 00:21:29,310 --> 00:21:34,670 part of the part of the investment in our training. Right. Exactly. Tim has totally worked 225 00:21:34,670 --> 00:21:40,379 with me on on trying to do a better training program for these new guys coming in. We work 226 00:21:40,379 --> 00:21:47,339 together and he works with the other trainers and we are every day we we talk pretty 227 00:21:47,339 --> 00:21:54,179 often about things we could do better. And you know what we didn't do right with guys or that 228 00:21:54,180 --> 00:21:59,419 left or this or that. So we we work together all the time with it. Well, you know, I, I never try to 229 00:21:59,420 --> 00:22:04,859 turn this into an advertisement, but it kind of is because you guys have such a good system and 230 00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:10,619 you're just talking about it as it is. So let me say this. If you're listening to this podcast and 231 00:22:10,620 --> 00:22:16,139 you're thinking about coming to work for bulk, uh, there you go. You're going to get the level of 232 00:22:16,139 --> 00:22:20,739 training that you need to go out there and operate these pneumatic trailers effectively, 233 00:22:20,739 --> 00:22:26,339 safely, efficiently. Uh, and if you're lucky, you might even get to train with AJ and get the 234 00:22:26,339 --> 00:22:32,540 absolute top notch training. Uh, from from the company. So, um, just just wanted to put that out 235 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:36,559 there. And we got some drivers listening that aren't necessarily working for bulk every now and 236 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:42,959 then. So, hey, uh, it's not an advertisement, but the options there. Check out Bulk Transit Comm for 237 00:22:42,959 --> 00:22:47,839 more information. Um, but on to a couple of other questions I've got for you here. And, Tim, I think 238 00:22:47,839 --> 00:22:53,119 this one's a really good one for you because you talk about the experience that AJ has and how 239 00:22:53,719 --> 00:22:59,999 hard he works on the training. Uh, what, in your opinion, can make experienced drivers like AJ 240 00:22:59,999 --> 00:23:06,879 start skipping steps in their daily routines? Uh, we talk about complacency and consistency. Is 241 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:12,239 there one thing that you see over your experience that will have an experience guy just kind of 242 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:18,719 lose part of his routine? Or is it just, I mean, is it life happening? Is it being tired? What's your 243 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:25,319 take? I think I think a lot of it, the the more experience you get, you sort of 244 00:23:25,439 --> 00:23:32,439 you trance, you transform into being overconfident of what you're doing. Mhm. And that, 245 00:23:32,439 --> 00:23:39,059 that can be a a buzzkill. A lot of times, yeah. You know, 246 00:23:39,099 --> 00:23:44,698 I have mentioned this quote before in my broadcasting career, and I hate it because it 247 00:23:44,699 --> 00:23:49,819 comes from a show, which it's quotable, but not for quotes that really have a lot of depth. And that 248 00:23:49,819 --> 00:23:55,859 is The Office. Uh, but when the Michael Scott Paper Company is breaking away from Dunder Mifflin and 249 00:23:55,859 --> 00:24:01,059 they're trying to hire employees, they find a guy and somebody says something about confidence, and 250 00:24:01,060 --> 00:24:06,819 this guy says, confidence is the food of the wise man, but the liquor of the fool. Um, and, uh, that 251 00:24:06,819 --> 00:24:12,219 that one's always really resonated with me. I try to stay humble in all aspects of life. Uh, but but 252 00:24:12,220 --> 00:24:17,060 confidence can really get in the way sometimes. I've seen it completely destroy my golf game, Tim. 253 00:24:17,060 --> 00:24:22,380 More times than I care to mention. So, uh, your thoughts on that little quote there? Yeah, that's 254 00:24:22,380 --> 00:24:29,099 that's true. I mean, the, uh, uh, the simple, the simple phrase where you hear guys that get more 255 00:24:29,099 --> 00:24:34,839 experienced is it's never going to happen to me. And if I've had a, if I had a nickel for every 256 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:40,398 time I've heard somebody say, oh, that's never going to happen to me. Uh, I would be retired right 257 00:24:40,399 --> 00:24:47,239 now so it can happen to anybody at any time. Uh, you know, safety doesn't 258 00:24:47,239 --> 00:24:54,239 have a, uh, a, uh, age or anything that it looks at. It's, uh, something that that, 259 00:24:54,760 --> 00:25:01,360 you know, you have control of. And, uh, it's important to work on that every day. Every single 260 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:08,199 day. Yeah. As drivers, I think a lot of times a lot of people forget that. You know, besides the 261 00:25:08,199 --> 00:25:14,480 life at work, you've got all kinds of stresses at home. You got kids, 262 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:21,279 wives, you know, hobbies, animals and all these things that weigh on you throughout the day. 263 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:27,400 So, I mean, it can be a lot some days. And, you know, health issues, you know, worrying about getting 264 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,749 your physical done. Are you going to pass physical this or not? It's just there's always stresses. So 265 00:25:32,750 --> 00:25:38,749 it's just trying to figure out a way to manage those without it letting it affect your day at 266 00:25:38,749 --> 00:25:44,829 work. Sure. That's always tough. Do you ever find yourself becoming a bit overconfident, AJ and if 267 00:25:44,829 --> 00:25:51,670 so, how do you check yourself? Um. Oh yeah, I mean, I, I do that from time to time, but, 268 00:25:51,750 --> 00:25:56,509 you know, you just gotta kind of go in some deep thoughts and just be like, hey, you know what? Why 269 00:25:56,510 --> 00:26:03,389 am I doing what I'm doing? This is really stupid. Uh, let's, uh, let's check it back a little bit and 270 00:26:03,390 --> 00:26:08,989 be a little more smart about what we're doing at whatever the point in time is. Well, I'll tell you, 271 00:26:08,990 --> 00:26:14,188 I. I pine for that level of self-awareness because I gotta be honest, I don't have it. And I think 272 00:26:14,189 --> 00:26:17,629 that's why they put a microphone in front of me. You just never know what's gonna come out of my 273 00:26:17,630 --> 00:26:23,509 mouth. And checking myself always happens long after AJ, so I'm glad to hear doing what you're 274 00:26:23,510 --> 00:26:29,789 doing, that you have that type of self-awareness. Man, that's 15 years of experience. I'm not perfect, 275 00:26:29,790 --> 00:26:35,289 but you can try. You know, you can put an effort into trying to be self aware of what's going on 276 00:26:35,290 --> 00:26:40,890 around you. And if you have too much stresses in your life, you need to. You need to put a check on 277 00:26:40,890 --> 00:26:46,609 it and figure out how to manage it, what you know. But what's more important first? Absolutely. 278 00:26:47,130 --> 00:26:51,849 Sometimes that may not be driving a truck that day. I mean, I, I know that's probably not something 279 00:26:51,849 --> 00:26:58,568 anybody wants to hear, but. You shouldn't be in a truck if you're too stressed or 280 00:26:58,569 --> 00:27:03,649 overwhelmed. But, you know, that's pretty rare. You know, it can be pretty bad. You have death in the 281 00:27:03,649 --> 00:27:08,169 family or something, and that can really mess with your mental state of mind when you're out driving 282 00:27:08,170 --> 00:27:13,369 a truck. Well, that's a really good point. Just put on that really good point. Tim, you got any 283 00:27:13,370 --> 00:27:19,329 thoughts to add there? I, I imagine that you've had guys shut down before uh, for the day and, and it's 284 00:27:19,329 --> 00:27:24,889 really when their mental states not right. You kind of have to just, uh, trust their judgment. 285 00:27:24,890 --> 00:27:31,269 Correct? Yeah. And that's that's always a concern. Uh, you know, with 286 00:27:31,270 --> 00:27:37,829 anybody that, you know, like, say you're going, you know, guys going going through divorces. And, you 287 00:27:37,829 --> 00:27:43,229 know, when I went through mine, I was, you know, really, really in a big stressful state of mind 288 00:27:43,229 --> 00:27:49,989 for a long time. And, and actually where I was working at the time, you know, I, my, my manager 289 00:27:49,989 --> 00:27:54,550 called me in and said, hey, you know, you know what's going on? I told him and he said, you know, 290 00:27:54,590 --> 00:28:01,469 why don't you take, you know, a few days off and and get your thoughts together. And, uh, and 291 00:28:01,469 --> 00:28:08,389 so I, I remembered that. So I bring that forward to people, you know, if you, if you got something 292 00:28:08,390 --> 00:28:15,348 that is going to, uh, impact safety, then, uh, maybe we should step back a little 293 00:28:15,390 --> 00:28:22,189 bit and, and gather yourself and. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It's so important. And 294 00:28:22,189 --> 00:28:27,829 it's hard sometimes to see it for yourself. Um, it's hard sometimes. Like, you know, we talked about 295 00:28:27,930 --> 00:28:33,129 AJ's self-awareness there. Um, when you're under that type of stress, be it a divorce, a death in 296 00:28:33,129 --> 00:28:39,128 the family, you've got an ill family member. Name it. Uh, maybe you just had, uh, the basement flood or 297 00:28:39,129 --> 00:28:45,449 something like that. Could be any number of things. Um, it's it's hard when, you know, to 298 00:28:45,489 --> 00:28:50,649 personally see that for yourself. A lot of times, you'll you'll notice that people outside see it 299 00:28:50,650 --> 00:28:54,969 because they notice you're acting different. They notice you're maybe not as smiley and happy as 300 00:28:54,969 --> 00:28:59,889 you normally are. And, uh, just a reminder to all the drivers out there, that's something that 301 00:28:59,890 --> 00:29:04,329 you've got to listen to as well. If if there's a bunch of people asking you, hey, man, are you okay? 302 00:29:04,370 --> 00:29:09,129 Maybe that's the time to take a step back and just reassess and make sure that you can do this 303 00:29:09,130 --> 00:29:15,169 job safely, because, man, one little thing goes wrong. And, uh, it's it's a cascade of bad things 304 00:29:15,169 --> 00:29:19,969 that can happen. And, uh, the most important thing here is getting everybody home safe. And that 305 00:29:19,969 --> 00:29:25,089 includes our drivers, uh, everybody at the office, all the four wheelers on the road. We're talking 306 00:29:25,089 --> 00:29:31,799 about everybody here. Um, which kind of brings me to the next segment of our interview. Here, fellas, 307 00:29:31,799 --> 00:29:37,119 I got a two parter for you today. Uh, I love all the stuff on the daily safety routines. We have 308 00:29:37,159 --> 00:29:42,839 kind of hammered it here on the show. Uh, a couple of times. We did it the first time Tim came on, and 309 00:29:42,839 --> 00:29:49,000 we. I just wanted to to brush over that again. And especially with a driver like AJ here, I wanted to 310 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:54,399 get his thoughts. Uh, but another part that I brought you guys on today for is the changing of 311 00:29:54,400 --> 00:30:00,199 the seasons. Uh, winter gets all the headlines when we talk about road conditions, snow, ice, you name 312 00:30:00,199 --> 00:30:05,359 it. Uh, but summer driving might be the season where people get the most careless. Right. We got 313 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:10,998 RVs on the road. The weather's nice. Everybody wants to get to the beach. Um, there's, uh, 314 00:30:10,999 --> 00:30:15,759 motorcycles all over the place. The kids aren't in school anymore, so they are littered throughout 315 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:22,520 the nation doing whatever they're going to do. Um, AJ, in your perspective and in your 316 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:28,659 experience, what changes the most Once summer hits, and one that I even forgot to mention is 317 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:34,659 construction. Uh. So sorry. That what changes the most, in your opinion once summer hits? I was 318 00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:40,819 literally just getting ready to say construction, and I think people's speed increases a lot during 319 00:30:40,820 --> 00:30:47,819 the summer too, because they, you know, they feel safer on a drier pavement. But destruction is 320 00:30:47,819 --> 00:30:54,219 like they say. There's, uh, there's like two seasons in truck driving. You got winter and construction 321 00:30:54,219 --> 00:31:00,579 and that's it. So like, it's just, you know, in construction zones, they are 322 00:31:00,579 --> 00:31:06,139 just not I feel like they're not as good as they used to be. Uh, I don't feel like they're as 323 00:31:06,140 --> 00:31:10,939 clearly marked as they used to be. And and a lot of them, a lot of times they're just shutting 324 00:31:10,939 --> 00:31:17,059 roads down at this point. So, like, you know, you're, you're down to one lane, roads everywhere. And it's 325 00:31:17,059 --> 00:31:23,938 a mess half the time. And, uh, it could be very stressful. Um, to say the least for sure. 326 00:31:24,020 --> 00:31:30,520 Construction is the biggest one, in my opinion. You know, I noticed that drivers have a real, um, a real 327 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:35,679 soft spot for construction workers because you guys share in common the fact that you're out 328 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:41,319 there on the road with a bunch of people that largely could care less about your safety, and you 329 00:31:41,319 --> 00:31:45,879 guys are constantly having to think about not only your safety, but everyone else's safety on 330 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:52,358 the job. Um, do you have any sort of, uh, I guess, routines or things that you do 331 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:57,719 consistently? AJ, when you're pulling up to a construction zone, are you one of the guys that, 332 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:04,239 you know, I just pulled up on a dead stop where a six year old had been hit by an RV last weekend, 333 00:32:04,239 --> 00:32:11,159 on Memorial Day weekend? Uh, unfortunately that happened. The child did survive, but traffic was 334 00:32:11,159 --> 00:32:17,120 stopped dead, and I was coming up over a hill on McKenzie pass, about to head down the hill in a 335 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:23,159 passing lane, and had the flatbed that was in front of me, not turned his flashers on. I could 336 00:32:23,199 --> 00:32:27,539 have caused a real problem just because I couldn't see around him. And I was just like 337 00:32:27,540 --> 00:32:32,459 everybody else, moving with the flow of traffic. We were all cooking. Um, how do you go about it when 338 00:32:32,459 --> 00:32:37,859 you see a construction zone? How do you manage the safety of your big rig and the safety of those 339 00:32:37,859 --> 00:32:44,778 around you? AJ um, signage is the biggest thing that you can pay attention to. Uh, trucks 340 00:32:44,779 --> 00:32:50,658 use left lane, uh, speed limits. I mean, they don't they don't put the speed limit signs there for 341 00:32:50,659 --> 00:32:56,899 fun of it that costs money to do it. And they wouldn't just buy them for nothing. You know what 342 00:32:56,899 --> 00:33:03,659 I mean? So they're there to slow you down. But the signage is huge because there's reasons why, you 343 00:33:03,660 --> 00:33:09,299 know, they have, uh, trucks use certain lane signs out. I mean, there's multiple reasons. It could be 344 00:33:09,300 --> 00:33:14,699 to keep you away from the workers. It could be to keep you closer to the workers. It can also be for 345 00:33:14,699 --> 00:33:20,619 soft shoulders that are currently being used as a roadway. I mean, there's there's a ton of reasons, 346 00:33:20,619 --> 00:33:26,729 but signage is big for me. And, uh, that's that's that's definitely my biggest point for 347 00:33:26,729 --> 00:33:32,130 construction. Just look ahead. They're they're telling you what you want, what they want you to 348 00:33:32,130 --> 00:33:36,250 do, and you just gotta pay attention. That's a that's literally all you got to do for sure. And 349 00:33:36,250 --> 00:33:41,249 they can come up on you really fast, man. There's no question about it. And hey, let's not forget 350 00:33:41,289 --> 00:33:47,689 fines double in construction zones in most places. So uh, and that might be in every place. Tim, maybe 351 00:33:47,689 --> 00:33:52,530 you can comment on that. Uh, but I also would like to hear your comments just in here in the way 352 00:33:52,530 --> 00:33:57,649 that AJ approaches construction zones and any thoughts you might have from your seat. Yeah, I 353 00:33:57,650 --> 00:34:04,489 think you both have touched on the point. Uh, I'm a big proponent of using flashers 354 00:34:04,489 --> 00:34:11,369 when when you're approaching, uh, construction zone adverse weather. Same thing. You 355 00:34:11,409 --> 00:34:18,209 hit those flashers. I mean, the those people behind, you know, that things are slowing down 356 00:34:18,209 --> 00:34:23,509 because they may not. It's sort of like a it's sort of like a domino effect. If somebody in front 357 00:34:23,509 --> 00:34:29,389 of you has their hazards on, you know, they're slowing down. And but the person behind you, if you 358 00:34:29,389 --> 00:34:34,830 don't have your hazards on, they don't see the hazards in front of you. They don't know. So it has 359 00:34:34,830 --> 00:34:40,229 to be a group effort out there of everybody, everybody hitting their hitting their flashers. 360 00:34:40,229 --> 00:34:47,029 And the one thing about, you know, why states have, have uh, 361 00:34:47,070 --> 00:34:54,069 uh, speed limits in the construction zones. Uh, it is one 362 00:34:54,070 --> 00:35:00,388 part of it is for the safety of the workers. Uh, but you, you know, you see, you know, we've gone 363 00:35:00,389 --> 00:35:04,749 through a lot of construction zone, and the Jersey barriers are up and the workers are on the other 364 00:35:04,750 --> 00:35:10,109 side. They're not going to get hit by a car. Car is going to hit the jersey barrier. But what happens 365 00:35:10,110 --> 00:35:14,949 in construction zones because they have the jersey barriers up. And like AJ was saying, maybe 366 00:35:14,949 --> 00:35:20,249 you got to use it. Use the, uh, soft shoulder of the road. You're below the frost line. They move. You 367 00:35:20,249 --> 00:35:27,089 know, move the lines. The roads are narrower. So, uh, you know, a lot of times, even when 368 00:35:27,090 --> 00:35:31,448 even when you're going through a construction zone and there's nobody working and everybody's 369 00:35:31,449 --> 00:35:38,049 like, well, why is speed limit 55? No one's working. You know, I'm going to go 70. It's it's the fact of 370 00:35:38,050 --> 00:35:44,448 the road condition is why they make the speed limit 55 as well. So it's a safety net. They're 371 00:35:44,449 --> 00:35:50,609 uneven usually. Yeah. It's the safety for all the people traveling. Plus, like I said, either people 372 00:35:50,610 --> 00:35:57,209 working or not working. You know, if it's if it's, you know, you're on a 70 mile an hour highway and 373 00:35:57,210 --> 00:36:04,129 you go through a construction zone that's 55. Go 55, 50, you know, whatever. 374 00:36:04,330 --> 00:36:10,968 Just because no one's around doesn't, you know, say, hey, I can go 70 because no one's working. 375 00:36:11,370 --> 00:36:17,290 Uh, you know, there's, you know, not much traffic and but that's, you know, not the right thing to do if 376 00:36:17,290 --> 00:36:24,189 it's 55, 45. Whatever. That's what you should follow. Yeah. You. AJ talking about 377 00:36:24,189 --> 00:36:29,429 the uneven roads like I think about, you know, uh, somebody cruising through a construction zone in 378 00:36:29,429 --> 00:36:34,069 a small little rig, like a Honda Fit. Very maneuverable. You can fit it just about anywhere 379 00:36:34,070 --> 00:36:40,749 you need to, uh, but that maneuverability is just downgraded when you get into those 380 00:36:40,750 --> 00:36:46,070 construction zones. And let's face it, nobody out there on the highway is an F1 driver. No one is 381 00:36:46,070 --> 00:36:52,149 that experience to be going that fast through narrow ways like that, where one small, uh, 382 00:36:52,310 --> 00:36:58,549 overcorrection can cause just a massive pile up road shut down, people get hurt, all this bad stuff 383 00:36:58,550 --> 00:37:04,428 can happen. Great stuff there, guys. I know drivers are out there seeing construction zones all over 384 00:37:04,429 --> 00:37:09,508 the place right now. I'm seeing it out here in Oregon. Uh, I've got stories from down in Florida, 385 00:37:09,550 --> 00:37:15,749 out in the Midwest, in Nebraska now, of course, Ohio and all the different places that bulk has. Um, 386 00:37:15,790 --> 00:37:21,979 it's it's that time of the year. And another thing I just mentioned a child getting hit on a highway 387 00:37:22,139 --> 00:37:28,378 that I was traveling on last week. We are in officially the area of the year that they call 388 00:37:28,379 --> 00:37:35,219 the 100 Deadliest Days. Now, this is sort of geared towards the younger crowd, the kids that are out 389 00:37:35,219 --> 00:37:40,979 and about, high school age drivers coming out on the road a lot more because they're not in one 390 00:37:40,979 --> 00:37:46,580 place at their school for eight hours a day, children playing around places you might not 391 00:37:46,580 --> 00:37:53,139 normally see them. Uh, Tim, how do you go about this time of year? Because this is something that you 392 00:37:53,139 --> 00:37:59,339 almost have to experience before you really get the depth of how many more drivers are on the 393 00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:03,819 road that are vastly inexperienced, how many more kids are out there playing, and just how many more 394 00:38:03,820 --> 00:38:10,739 hazards can pop up out of nowhere this time of year? Yeah, well, I think it's just the the constant 395 00:38:11,060 --> 00:38:17,919 reminders that that, you know, we send out, uh, you know, we do. We do a lot 396 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:24,799 of, uh, our online training. Um. I'll send. I'll send posters to the terminals. 397 00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:31,399 I think it's just the daily reminder of of, like, we go back to the three points of contact. 398 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:37,759 One thing when I started here, uh, because three points of contact, you know, very important, I 399 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:44,280 noticed. I noticed our trucks didn't have any signage on it, so, uh, I ordered a big stack of 400 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:50,080 stickers and had mechanics put right on the right by the door handle. And AJ, he can testify he's got 401 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:56,159 on his truck all the trucks that have him. It has a little three points of contact warning. And so 402 00:38:56,159 --> 00:39:01,759 you see that. I actually remember having that conversation with you. Yeah yeah yeah. So it's a 403 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:06,799 daily reminder. I mean, every time you get in and out of that truck, you can't miss that yellow sign 404 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:11,959 there about the three points of contact. That's great. Just put it right in their face. Make them 405 00:39:11,959 --> 00:39:18,179 look at it. Right. Yes. I was about to say I'm five five, and it's literally right at my eye level. So 406 00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:22,819 I see it every time I get in the truck, man. Definitely a good that was definitely a good call. 407 00:39:22,860 --> 00:39:27,979 I don't and I I'm I'm only saying this because I don't get to say it that often, but I, I don't 408 00:39:27,979 --> 00:39:33,019 really get to meet people that are shorter than me that often. AJ and I just met one, so I'm so 409 00:39:33,020 --> 00:39:37,979 glad you brought that up, man. I'm gonna feel six feet tall all day today. I'm far from it, I promise 410 00:39:38,020 --> 00:39:43,100 you. But, uh, it's like climbing a mountain, getting into a thing for me. Imagine so. Man, I've always 411 00:39:43,100 --> 00:39:48,579 thought that even for a guy that's, you know, six foot, that's a big truck. And that three points of 412 00:39:48,580 --> 00:39:54,978 contact again, something that's so important. Um, AJ, I wanted to get your comments real quick. What do 413 00:39:54,979 --> 00:40:01,179 you notice aside from construction? Obviously that's A1 the biggest thing. But, uh, do you notice 414 00:40:01,179 --> 00:40:07,859 more unpredictable driving out of RVs, boats, motorcycles, vacation traffic? Uh, 415 00:40:08,019 --> 00:40:14,339 the RVs. RVs are a big one. These guys are pulling 416 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:21,120 semi truck and trailer size RVs down the road with little to zero 417 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:28,039 experience driving something that big, and they are usually all over the place, and 418 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:34,239 I have sat behind some for quite a long time because I was like, I'm not passing these guys 419 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:40,800 until I can get two lanes over from them because they're just all RVs are huge. And then younger 420 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:47,599 drivers, I mean, from up here you see everything, and I don't know how many people I see 421 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:54,399 with their knees on the steering wheel, phones in their hand, both hands just going 422 00:40:54,600 --> 00:41:01,479 going crazy on the Texas. And it's it's actually insane. It's almost every other car. I'm not 423 00:41:01,479 --> 00:41:07,759 even exaggerating at all. I don't think you are. I mean, I, I drive a full size pickup. I'm a little 424 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:14,509 bit higher than than your standard car. And I see it AJ all the time and it's heartbreaking, really, 425 00:41:14,509 --> 00:41:19,069 because you know that sooner or later, if that person develops that habit and they stay in it, 426 00:41:19,070 --> 00:41:24,669 it's only a matter of time before they're in an accident. Oh, yes. Absolutely. But the RVs are 427 00:41:24,669 --> 00:41:29,829 dangerous, too, because they just, you know, they could have just bought that thing. You don't know. 428 00:41:29,870 --> 00:41:36,469 Yeah. Like I there's no there's nothing that's, uh, I guess governing those 429 00:41:36,669 --> 00:41:41,749 those people driving those RVs. I mean, and they're massive, and sometimes they're pulling a vehicle 430 00:41:41,790 --> 00:41:47,189 behind them. Yeah. And it's like, I don't even know how this isn't like dot regulated. Well, you know, 431 00:41:47,189 --> 00:41:52,549 it is in some states. You can't do that in Oregon. You cannot have anything towing behind your boat. 432 00:41:52,550 --> 00:41:57,749 You can't air behind your trailer, you can't attach a boat, you can't do anything like that. And 433 00:41:57,749 --> 00:42:02,908 it's long been something. Listen, Oregon being the red tape state that it is, it's it's not a whole 434 00:42:02,909 --> 00:42:07,709 lot better than California. But there are some things that I think we do right here in the state, 435 00:42:07,710 --> 00:42:13,569 because I'll be honest with you, I've seen it out there in the Midwest and I, I thought when if I 436 00:42:13,570 --> 00:42:18,729 hadn't been driving with someone from Nebraska, they wouldn't have been able to convince me that 437 00:42:18,729 --> 00:42:25,249 what I just saw was legal because it blew me away. And you make a good point about the RVs. Nobody 438 00:42:25,250 --> 00:42:29,409 asks you if you can back that thing up or maneuver it before they let you drive it off the 439 00:42:29,409 --> 00:42:34,728 lot. And if you want my honest opinion, I think every RV driver should have to do three things 440 00:42:34,729 --> 00:42:39,569 before they come off the lot. One, they should be. They should be able to prove that they can back a 441 00:42:39,570 --> 00:42:46,209 single axle, eight foot long U-Haul trailer into a parking spot, and after that, I want him to try 442 00:42:46,250 --> 00:42:51,329 maybe a single or a double axle, maybe a 20 foot boat, something that you can kind of see up and 443 00:42:51,330 --> 00:42:56,128 around. And then after that, I want you to put a garbage bag over their back window and make them 444 00:42:56,129 --> 00:43:01,769 back a fifth wheel trailer with just their mirrors. And then maybe you can get across to 445 00:43:01,809 --> 00:43:06,968 these guys that, hey, this is not just something that you hook up to the back of your truck and 446 00:43:06,969 --> 00:43:11,989 forget about. This is something you really have to practice to get good at. There's a reason that 447 00:43:11,989 --> 00:43:15,869 there's people at the boat ramp sitting in a lawn chair with a case of beer, saying, I'll back your 448 00:43:15,870 --> 00:43:21,829 truck for ten bucks because they know that most people don't understand how to do it. And I feel 449 00:43:21,829 --> 00:43:26,669 like that if you don't know how to back it up, you probably don't know how to drive it forward very 450 00:43:26,669 --> 00:43:31,590 well either. AG I don't know if that's out of bounds, but I agree that's my experience. Well, and 451 00:43:31,629 --> 00:43:36,309 I agree AJ, AJ has probably seen this. I'm sure a lot of our drivers have out there. When you just 452 00:43:36,309 --> 00:43:43,189 spoke about, uh, people sitting there wanting ten bucks to, to to put a boat in the water. We 453 00:43:43,229 --> 00:43:49,989 actually at truck stops there's people that will will offer to back your, your truck into a 454 00:43:49,989 --> 00:43:56,188 parking spot so you don't hit anything, especially with a lot of new drivers. They'll pay. They'll pay 455 00:43:56,189 --> 00:44:02,909 somebody five, ten bucks to back their truck in. Uh, and that's sort of scary, you know, that 456 00:44:03,229 --> 00:44:10,209 that way. You know, it's it's, you know, you got a CDL. You should have you should be able 457 00:44:10,209 --> 00:44:17,170 to back your truck in between two trucks at a at a at a flying J. Right. Not only did you get to 458 00:44:17,209 --> 00:44:23,969 CDL, but you also got trained and you got a job, so you really should be able to do that. But hey, 459 00:44:24,009 --> 00:44:30,369 not everybody is trained as well as AJ was trained or AJ trains people. Right. That's the one 460 00:44:30,370 --> 00:44:37,089 thing that that you know he you know we we have we have quite a few conversations when he is 461 00:44:37,090 --> 00:44:43,929 training somebody and he really he um stays on top of what their deficiencies are. 462 00:44:44,129 --> 00:44:51,009 He won't let them out on the road until he feels they're 100% safe. And yeah, I will not 463 00:44:51,009 --> 00:44:58,009 sign off on that. He doesn't. He absolutely not. And, uh, a lot of it, you know, he's like, oh, this guy, 464 00:44:58,010 --> 00:45:02,089 he can't back up or his crap. And I'm like, well, just keep working with him, get him some practice. 465 00:45:02,129 --> 00:45:07,209 You know, whether you know he can, he can. After you guys are done for the day, you know, give him your 466 00:45:07,210 --> 00:45:13,239 keys and and let him practice in your truck here in the yard for a while. But, uh, that I've done 467 00:45:13,239 --> 00:45:19,039 that many times. Yeah. Yep. And do you stand there and watch that guy? Like, my dad watched me the 468 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:25,279 first time I backed his boat into the garage, because, let me tell you, he was focused. That just 469 00:45:25,279 --> 00:45:31,638 depends, uh, because a lot of times that creates an extra pressure. So, like, if they ask me to, I will. 470 00:45:31,679 --> 00:45:37,799 But, um, usually if you let them just back there and let them just take their time learning how to 471 00:45:37,799 --> 00:45:42,958 do it, instead of having somebody hover them, they actually tend to do better. If I, you know, I know 472 00:45:42,959 --> 00:45:48,159 it sounds crazy, but they, um, you know, you had that extra pressure where somebody's staring you down 473 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:54,359 all the time, where as if they do go back in the back of the yard and just kind of practice by 474 00:45:54,360 --> 00:46:00,599 themselves. And I, you know, I tell them, take your time. There's no rush, obviously. So don't hit 475 00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:06,919 anything. Just get out 500 times if you need to. Just keep doing it until you get it right. 476 00:46:06,979 --> 00:46:11,979 And the next day I come back when they actually do it. Sometimes they won't do it, but when they 477 00:46:11,979 --> 00:46:17,099 actually do it the next day, I already see an improvement. So it's it. That is something I do 478 00:46:17,100 --> 00:46:23,219 with guys and suggest a lot. If they have backing problems 100% sure. Yeah, sure. And a little story 479 00:46:23,219 --> 00:46:29,859 about that was, uh, when when I was doing a road test a few years ago here at Balkh. I had a 480 00:46:29,860 --> 00:46:36,100 guy we were backing in between two trailers, and, uh, he was having trouble. You know, I'm sitting 481 00:46:36,100 --> 00:46:40,219 there in the jump seat. I wasn't saying anything. I wasn't giving him any tips or advice. I just 482 00:46:40,300 --> 00:46:47,060 wanted him to do it on his own. And. And, uh, it took him about 15 attempts before he finally he 483 00:46:47,060 --> 00:46:53,139 got in, and he he stopped and looked at me, and he goes, you're not going to hire me? And I said, why? 484 00:46:53,300 --> 00:46:59,539 He goes, well, it took me too long to back in. And I said, no, I'm going to hire you because you didn't 485 00:46:59,539 --> 00:47:05,779 hit anything. I said, I don't care how long it takes you to back at that trailer into that hole. 486 00:47:05,979 --> 00:47:11,759 You didn't hit anything. That's the most important thing. Absolutely. I think about the pressure that 487 00:47:11,759 --> 00:47:16,518 you talked about, age of just having your trainer sit there and watch you. And then I think about 488 00:47:16,519 --> 00:47:22,158 all of the internet videos I've seen of guys trying their damnedest to get the truck into a 489 00:47:22,159 --> 00:47:27,639 spot in a tight spot and a flying Jay or loves or something. I never thought about that part of it, 490 00:47:27,639 --> 00:47:32,239 but the pressure that comes there, not only are you trying to get this thing into a tight spot, 491 00:47:32,239 --> 00:47:37,479 but the whole peanut gallery is guys that have already gotten their truck into a tight spot so 492 00:47:37,479 --> 00:47:43,958 they don't have any sympathy for you whatsoever, do they? A.J. exactly. And that's why sometimes 493 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:48,639 depending, you know, depending on their level, like if, if they just struggle a little bit and I see 494 00:47:48,639 --> 00:47:52,959 that they're pretty, they're decent, but they need some practice. I'll be like, all right, go back 495 00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:56,839 there in the back. I'm out of here. See you later. And then I come back the next day and it's a big 496 00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:03,719 improvement. So that's great. I mean, some guys just don't. They don't do well under pressure with like 497 00:48:03,759 --> 00:48:08,619 trainers and stuff and teachers watching them, and they do better without them. I mean, it just 498 00:48:08,620 --> 00:48:13,458 depends on the situation. It's really situational. Sure. And I think that goes for a lot of things. 499 00:48:13,500 --> 00:48:17,979 You know, you have to train those skills to work under pressure. And if you've never been in that 500 00:48:17,980 --> 00:48:24,179 situation before. Uh, especially with that truck and that trailer, then you kind of have to retrain 501 00:48:24,179 --> 00:48:29,539 yourself. Listen, I've been broadcasting for 20 years at this point. The first time somebody put a 502 00:48:29,539 --> 00:48:35,819 microphone in front of me and clicked on, I froze up and just shrunk down into a little tiny statue 503 00:48:35,820 --> 00:48:40,939 of myself. You're never that good at something until you get the practice. You get the experience. 504 00:48:40,939 --> 00:48:46,619 You get some of that confidence that we talked about the liquor of the fool, uh, earlier. And, uh, it 505 00:48:46,659 --> 00:48:51,860 it all comes in due time. And having a good trainer like AJ, man, it can pay off in spades at 506 00:48:51,860 --> 00:48:57,299 the end of the day. Um, this is all great stuff, guys. I really appreciate it. There is one more 507 00:48:57,340 --> 00:49:03,100 thing, uh, on the summer, uh, safety aspect that I want to get to before we get to final thoughts 508 00:49:03,100 --> 00:49:09,649 and let you guys get back to work today. Um, and that is hot equipment and hot products now. AJ, you 509 00:49:09,649 --> 00:49:15,929 already talked about the, um, the hoses or, excuse me, the pipes that you can, uh, get up against and 510 00:49:15,930 --> 00:49:19,730 sometimes get some minor burns, and you need to have gloves and be prepared for that type of 511 00:49:19,730 --> 00:49:24,969 stuff. But I wonder across the board, and maybe this doesn't touch cornstarch as much. Maybe it 512 00:49:24,969 --> 00:49:30,849 does. How does the heat affect the products that you guys are hauling? AJ, I'll go to you first. Uh, 513 00:49:30,850 --> 00:49:35,289 specifically for cornstarch, and then Tim will go to you for some of the rest of the stuff. But is 514 00:49:35,289 --> 00:49:41,969 he ever a factor as far as the product is concerned? AJ uh, well, with cornstarch, I don't. I'll 515 00:49:42,010 --> 00:49:47,289 be honest, I don't really notice much of a difference with it. Um, besides, maybe like, some, 516 00:49:47,330 --> 00:49:53,330 like, moisture, but it pretty much remains the same for cornstarch. I know there's other products we 517 00:49:53,330 --> 00:49:59,849 have that Tim will probably touch on that. It's definitely affected, but mine is mainly just like 518 00:49:59,969 --> 00:50:06,189 the hot pipes and all that that. And if I, if you if I can add something. If that's all right. Yeah. 519 00:50:06,709 --> 00:50:13,709 Um, I noticed a lot of drivers have really bad habits with staying hydrated, and that can 520 00:50:13,710 --> 00:50:20,629 be just as dangerous as anything else when it gets, like, 99 degrees out here. And we're 521 00:50:20,629 --> 00:50:27,349 out here with a hot rail car, we got a hot blower running. You could literally pass out on the 522 00:50:27,350 --> 00:50:34,309 spot and have a really bad time. And then meanwhile, the truck is still just running. So 523 00:50:34,350 --> 00:50:41,109 I mean, I see a lot of guys, they drink soda, they drink all this stuff, I drink water, but I think 524 00:50:41,110 --> 00:50:46,389 hydration is huge. And I didn't want that to get untouched because, you know, a lot of people have 525 00:50:46,389 --> 00:50:53,270 really bad habits with their hydration habits. Absolutely. I think that's huge. And I'm so 526 00:50:53,270 --> 00:50:57,669 glad that you brought that up. AJ, I actually just talked to a driver yesterday and I happened to 527 00:50:57,669 --> 00:51:03,329 ask him, hey, this time of year, how much how much water you keep it on the truck. He told me I 528 00:51:03,329 --> 00:51:10,089 bought a tote from Walmart, and I have. At any given time. Two cases of 48 bottles of 529 00:51:10,090 --> 00:51:16,448 water on my truck at any given time. Because he's putting on a hazmat suit. You know, some of the PPE 530 00:51:16,490 --> 00:51:21,968 that you guys wear, it adds heat. It adds, uh, uncomfortable. It adds weight. I mean, all that 531 00:51:21,969 --> 00:51:27,850 stuff has to be thought of. And you're right, AJ soda, coffee, even Powerade and Gatorade aren't 532 00:51:27,850 --> 00:51:33,169 going to do it for you. You gotta get that H2O in your system. There's a reason behind them making 533 00:51:33,169 --> 00:51:39,409 that that movie The Water Boy, that is very important stuff that H2O. Yeah. It is. Yeah. And you 534 00:51:39,409 --> 00:51:46,049 know, over, over the last several years, uh, OSHA has taken a big stance on heat stress in, in, 535 00:51:46,249 --> 00:51:52,688 in all industries, uh, because, you know, they've seen a lot of, uh, uh, injuries and 536 00:51:52,689 --> 00:51:59,089 illnesses from, uh, heat exposure and, uh, they really they've really done a good 537 00:51:59,090 --> 00:52:05,790 job with the awareness and making every industry, uh, aware of. 538 00:52:05,790 --> 00:52:10,070 Hey, you know, if you're working in a in a hot warehouse somewhere, you know, you got to have the 539 00:52:10,070 --> 00:52:16,909 circulation in the fans and the hydration and, you know, we're we're we're, you know, fortunate and 540 00:52:16,909 --> 00:52:23,749 unfortunate in our, in our industry because, you know, we're outside working after we're done 541 00:52:23,789 --> 00:52:30,269 driving. So a guy might drive 150 to 200 miles in the nice AC of the 542 00:52:30,270 --> 00:52:35,509 truck. Now all of a sudden you're stepping out. Especially our drivers in Texas will step out on 543 00:52:35,510 --> 00:52:42,508 hot concrete that's, you know, it's 110 degrees out that day. So you're, you're you're exposing 544 00:52:42,509 --> 00:52:49,470 your body to two different climates in a very quick amount of time. So it's you know, they 545 00:52:49,470 --> 00:52:55,189 may not feel dehydrated while they, while they're sitting in the truck in the AC, but once they step 546 00:52:55,189 --> 00:53:01,300 out and and start working, start exerting after ten, 15 minutes, they start to feel it. So it's 547 00:53:01,300 --> 00:53:07,620 important to hydrate prior to getting out and working in that hot atmosphere, 548 00:53:08,260 --> 00:53:13,219 right? Build yourself up some of those H2O credits by getting some water in you before you ever get 549 00:53:13,219 --> 00:53:19,500 out there. Such great advice. And and you know, I'm a guy who I want. If I'm gonna drink water, there's 550 00:53:19,500 --> 00:53:25,099 got to be one thing I don't want. Just tepid 70 degree water out of a tap. I want my water to be 551 00:53:25,100 --> 00:53:30,459 cold. I'm a big ice water guy. And I know you guys aren't watching this and can't see it, but I've 552 00:53:30,459 --> 00:53:37,419 got, uh, I've got my Hydro Flask here. It's a 40 ounce Hydro Flask. I can put ice in this thing 553 00:53:37,419 --> 00:53:44,379 and I can. They're amazing. AJ and the ice will stay in them for days at a time. In fact, I 554 00:53:44,379 --> 00:53:48,179 have a buddy that works for Hydro Flask. And I promise you, I'm not trying to sell his product. 555 00:53:48,179 --> 00:53:53,020 They do well enough without me. But the way that he used to try to get into big stores like 556 00:53:53,020 --> 00:53:59,998 Cabela's and Sportsman's Warehouse is, they would set a meeting with them on site at, you know, the 557 00:53:59,999 --> 00:54:05,519 headquarters of Sportsman's Warehouse. They would pack up Hydra flasks with ice in them and ship 558 00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:10,399 them and have these people open the Hydra flask when they get there and find there's still ice in 559 00:54:10,399 --> 00:54:15,918 them after they've been traveling in a hot truck for a week. So if you're one of the guys like me 560 00:54:15,919 --> 00:54:20,959 and AJ, you like your water cold. You can get a lot of cold water out of a hydra flask and keep 561 00:54:20,959 --> 00:54:26,479 yourself hydrated all day long, only having to fill it 2 or 3 different times. So, um, another 562 00:54:26,479 --> 00:54:31,999 piece of advice there from from our hydro buddies here. It's it's a really important thing. And and 563 00:54:31,999 --> 00:54:35,958 you don't think about it as much because we've always just kind of drank water when you're 564 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:42,479 thirsty. Uh, but man, this is a demanding job and the heat can be a killer. I was one of the, 565 00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:49,519 like, perpetrators of the soda thing for a long time, and I actually made this mistake quite a few 566 00:54:49,519 --> 00:54:54,759 times. I used to drink nothing but soda when I was younger. You know, when I started here, I was in my 567 00:54:54,759 --> 00:55:01,499 20s, you know, And and now I'm, I'm 41 and things have changed a 568 00:55:01,499 --> 00:55:08,020 lot. So like now I see I really wish I would have been hydrating and taking better care of myself 569 00:55:08,020 --> 00:55:12,859 at that time. So maybe that'll catch some of the younger guys that are out there right now. But it 570 00:55:12,860 --> 00:55:18,820 does affect you later too. It's wear and tear on your body. So absolutely, absolutely. And as a 571 00:55:18,820 --> 00:55:24,339 fellow 41 year old, I can tell you from experience, I was the exact same way. It used to be able to 572 00:55:24,340 --> 00:55:29,579 eat, drink whatever I wanted and not have to worry about myself. Um, but the first time I got heat 573 00:55:29,580 --> 00:55:35,580 exhaustion, I lost a whole day in Las Vegas. I had to go and lay in the hotel room in the AC. I was 574 00:55:35,580 --> 00:55:41,300 sick, I was eating nothing but like a potato chip to try to get some salt in me. It's not fun. And 575 00:55:41,300 --> 00:55:46,739 you really know I can't. I couldn't party in Vegas. You definitely can't drive a truck under those 576 00:55:46,740 --> 00:55:53,099 types of conditions and and being affected. And then you if you if you're down from that you 577 00:55:53,100 --> 00:55:59,599 also leave your Job on other people because that load still needs to get 578 00:55:59,600 --> 00:56:06,480 delivered. And now now dispatch has to stress and find somebody else to run it. And then the driver 579 00:56:06,520 --> 00:56:12,718 that may have had a short day, now he has to work till 8 or 9:00 at night because you didn't take 580 00:56:12,719 --> 00:56:17,999 care of yourself, which is not fair. You know, I, I, I preach this to the new guys to come in too. And 581 00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:24,599 I'm like, just remember, when you call off, it's not just you. It affects it affects everyone. Yeah. So 582 00:56:24,679 --> 00:56:29,639 yeah, my philosophy is try not to make a dent in anyone else's day. And a lot of people would just 583 00:56:29,639 --> 00:56:35,359 call that anxiety. But no, I really would like to not be the guy that constantly causes more work 584 00:56:35,360 --> 00:56:41,319 for people age. So I really understand that and, and, uh, and resonate with it for sure. Uh, all right, 585 00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:46,119 fellas, this has been awesome, but I've had you here for over 50 minutes already, and I want to 586 00:56:46,120 --> 00:56:50,919 let you get back to it. It's been a short week this week. Everybody's busy. So we're going to get 587 00:56:50,919 --> 00:56:56,269 to our Final Thoughts segment here. Uh, AJ, just for your info since this is your first appearance, 588 00:56:56,270 --> 00:57:00,749 everybody gets a chance to share their final thoughts on this show when they join me here. Uh, 589 00:57:00,750 --> 00:57:04,829 it can be for anything you want. If we left something on the table, feel free to bring it up 590 00:57:04,830 --> 00:57:10,949 now. Or if you just want to give a shout out to the other workers, the family, anybody like that? 591 00:57:10,949 --> 00:57:16,309 The floor is yours. Tim shared his final thoughts with us before on this show. Since he's the vet. 592 00:57:16,350 --> 00:57:21,749 We'll go to him first. Uh, director of safety Tim Hamilton. First and foremost, thank you so much for 593 00:57:21,750 --> 00:57:26,550 the time. This has been great insight. Today, Tim, final thoughts from you before we let everybody 594 00:57:26,550 --> 00:57:33,549 go here today? Yeah, I just, uh, encourage anybody that that any of our 595 00:57:33,550 --> 00:57:40,549 drivers that are listening to this podcast to, um, uh, participate, you know, we 596 00:57:40,550 --> 00:57:46,230 can do a group thing, you know, can be with operations. It can be, uh, you know, with anybody for 597 00:57:46,230 --> 00:57:52,950 terminal B, anybody here, if they, they want to get on like AJ with me, you know, safety, uh, you know, 598 00:57:52,989 --> 00:57:57,569 definitely would. It would encourage that. It's a it's a good it's a good learning tool for for 599 00:57:57,569 --> 00:58:02,969 people out there listening. I'm sure somebody somebody was listening today and said, oh, I didn't 600 00:58:02,970 --> 00:58:08,248 know that. Now they know. So come on the podcast. That's what Tim's trying to say. We'd we'd love to 601 00:58:08,289 --> 00:58:12,969 welcome you. Everybody's welcome. And we're, we're slowly picking our way through the ranks here. But 602 00:58:12,970 --> 00:58:19,529 if you're out there and you want to be on the show, all you have to do is go over to podcast.bulktranist.com 603 00:58:19,529 --> 00:58:24,489 and shoot me a message. It'll come right to my inbox and we will get you on here, I promise you 604 00:58:24,490 --> 00:58:29,729 that. Um, Tim, thank you so much for the time today. And also thank you for encouraging people to come 605 00:58:29,730 --> 00:58:35,569 on the show. Um, it's a lot different from what you normally do in your daily life, but I think maybe 606 00:58:35,609 --> 00:58:40,330 AJ will tell you after his first experience here on the pod, that it's a pretty laid back 607 00:58:40,330 --> 00:58:45,529 conversation. It's pretty fun, isn't it, AJ yeah, well, too bad it was a pretty good time. Awesome, 608 00:58:45,530 --> 00:58:50,729 man. Uh, final thoughts from you today, AJ Reed. Thank you so much for, uh, for the time today and 609 00:58:50,729 --> 00:58:55,989 all the great insight. Uh, what can you tell us before we let you go, my friend? I like you a 610 00:58:55,989 --> 00:59:02,989 little shout out to Tim, because since he's come here, um, safety has been so much more enjoyable 611 00:59:02,990 --> 00:59:08,589 to deal with. And I actually felt like I could make a connection with the safety manager versus 612 00:59:08,629 --> 00:59:14,269 them being the enemy. So I definitely want to say that that that was huge when he came along. And 613 00:59:14,270 --> 00:59:19,549 then I also want to shout out a couple of my other buddies, Andrew, Lonnie, all the regular guys 614 00:59:19,550 --> 00:59:25,589 and our text chats. Man, we are always trying to communicate and figure out how to improve this 615 00:59:25,590 --> 00:59:30,789 place. And I also want to say, take care of your body, take care of your truck, take care of your 616 00:59:30,789 --> 00:59:36,949 family and things will work out really well. Sage advice from a very experienced driver and driver 617 00:59:36,949 --> 00:59:42,029 trainer there, AJ Reed. Uh, Tim and AJ, thank you both so much for being here today. We'll get you 618 00:59:42,030 --> 00:59:46,310 back on the air again soon. All right fellas. Sounds good. Thank you. Yes, sir. Have a good one. 619 00:59:54,610 --> 00:59:59,849 Big thanks to Tim and AJ for coming on the show and having that awesome conversation. I love it 620 00:59:59,890 --> 01:00:06,129 when guys, uh, you know, are talking back and forth with one another and, and making points off of 621 01:00:06,129 --> 01:00:12,289 other people's points, like just happened here. Uh, Tim and AJ obviously work hand in hand a lot. AJ 622 01:00:12,329 --> 01:00:19,128 being a trainer, uh, and Tim being, uh, the head of safety here. And you know, I love to 623 01:00:19,169 --> 01:00:24,370 hear guys give each other the pat on the back that they deserve. And you heard AJ and Tim do it 624 01:00:24,370 --> 01:00:30,809 multiple times for one another in that episode or excuse me in that segment. Um, and I just think 625 01:00:30,809 --> 01:00:35,970 that's so cool, man. You want a company that is dedicated to safety. That's the type of stuff that 626 01:00:35,970 --> 01:00:40,689 you're going to see within that company is not only guys that are very dedicated to it from a 627 01:00:40,689 --> 01:00:46,370 personal standpoint, but guys that work together with other people to try to make it even better. 628 01:00:46,370 --> 01:00:52,200 How can we do better? We can never be perfect, but how can we improve just a little bit every single 629 01:00:52,200 --> 01:00:59,119 day? And as you heard Tim say, complacency, man, it can eat people alive. It's not something that 630 01:00:59,120 --> 01:01:03,840 you want to mess around with. Forgetting one little thing one day, or just not doing it because 631 01:01:03,840 --> 01:01:09,680 you don't feel like it can start to cascade. It can really kick that snowball down the hill, and 632 01:01:09,719 --> 01:01:14,080 you don't want to know what's at the end of that hill when that snowball crashes into something, 633 01:01:14,080 --> 01:01:20,759 it's never fun. Um, it's almost always bad and you can get very badly hurt 634 01:01:20,879 --> 01:01:26,120 or worse. So these are things that are important for us to talk about here on the show. I really 635 01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:29,679 hope that what Tim said there towards the end of the interview is true. I hope that there's some 636 01:01:29,680 --> 01:01:34,559 drivers out there listening right now that think, hey, that's a good idea. You know, especially with 637 01:01:34,560 --> 01:01:39,920 the hydration. It's something that we don't talk about a lot because, again, it's something that you 638 01:01:39,959 --> 01:01:45,559 kind of just do, right. You feel a little bit dry in the mouth. You go have some water. Uh, but you 639 01:01:45,559 --> 01:01:51,698 guys are spending a lot of time on the road, and I understand I'm a big road trip snacks guy. Okay, 640 01:01:51,739 --> 01:01:58,100 I'll tell you right now, when I go on a road trip, that's anything over 3 or 4 hours in the car. Um, I 641 01:01:58,100 --> 01:02:04,339 looked like an unsupervised kid. Was given $100 and kicked into a 7-Eleven. I want all the salty 642 01:02:04,379 --> 01:02:09,940 snacks. I want all the candy. I found this wild wallaby licorice. That is just amazing. And I'll 643 01:02:09,940 --> 01:02:15,499 eat a whole bag of it. I'm an energy drink guy. I might have a soda in there. Now, I do try to go 644 01:02:15,540 --> 01:02:21,779 zero sugar soda, but that doesn't make it that much better. The point is, I've always got my Hydro 645 01:02:21,779 --> 01:02:28,179 Flask on me. And again, I'm not pimping this brand. You can get these in any in any manner that you 646 01:02:28,179 --> 01:02:33,820 want to. Okay, but a good insulated water bottle is something that has really, I think, made a 647 01:02:33,820 --> 01:02:39,339 difference in my health. Because when this water bottle is filled with ice, when this bottle, a 648 01:02:39,339 --> 01:02:44,259 water bottle is filled with water and it's sitting next to me, I don't necessarily reach for 649 01:02:44,260 --> 01:02:50,360 the Mountain Dew, Zero Sugar Baja Blast. I don't necessarily reach for the Monster Ultra. What I do 650 01:02:50,360 --> 01:02:54,520 is I go for the water first, and then I'll try to supplement with those other things. But the 651 01:02:54,520 --> 01:03:00,959 hydration is so important this time of year. It's so easy to fall victim to heat exhaustion or even 652 01:03:00,959 --> 01:03:06,879 heat stroke. And let me tell you guys, it's not a good thing, okay? I've I've seen a kid on a 653 01:03:06,879 --> 01:03:12,719 baseball field get taken away in the ambulance due to having heatstroke. It's very serious. As I 654 01:03:12,719 --> 01:03:18,159 said, I've lost an entire day in Vegas by just not finding enough shade and getting in the pool 655 01:03:18,159 --> 01:03:23,758 enough. And all of a sudden, you lose an entire day. The wife's out hanging out with all the friends, 656 01:03:23,759 --> 01:03:29,080 and you want to be there, but instead you're holed up in a hotel room. Same thing for your job. You 657 01:03:29,080 --> 01:03:33,040 want to be out there, you want to be working. You want to be earning money for the family, but 658 01:03:33,040 --> 01:03:36,999 you're holed up at home because you didn't hydrate. And you you got a little bit of heat 659 01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:41,999 exhaustion, and now you got to take some time to recover. It can really creep up on you fast. So 660 01:03:42,000 --> 01:03:48,619 it's important this time of year, especially down in places like Texas. It's getting hot. Get some 661 01:03:48,620 --> 01:03:54,780 water on board. Always have extra. You can never have too much, and I. Listen, I know that space is 662 01:03:54,780 --> 01:03:59,979 limited in these trucks, but you can find some nooks and crannies to just hide extra water 663 01:03:59,979 --> 01:04:05,259 wherever you can and make sure you're staying up on your hydration out there. Make sure you're 664 01:04:05,260 --> 01:04:10,740 paying attention to those construction signs. Make sure you're watching out for teenage drivers with 665 01:04:10,740 --> 01:04:16,018 a death wish, their knees on the wheel, and their phone in both hands. Make sure you're watching out 666 01:04:16,019 --> 01:04:22,860 for kids, motorcycles, RVs, vacation, traffic. It's serious this time of year, and 667 01:04:23,100 --> 01:04:28,619 like I said, they don't call it the 100 Deadliest Days for nothing. This is a serious time where 668 01:04:28,619 --> 01:04:33,339 we've got about 100 days between when the kids get out of school and when the kids go back to 669 01:04:33,379 --> 01:04:39,899 school, that are the hundred deadliest days in the course of the year. Uh, for for young people. I'll 670 01:04:39,899 --> 01:04:45,459 put it that way, because the age range is, is mostly, you know, kids to young adults there. So 671 01:04:45,529 --> 01:04:51,369 keep an eye out. Always leave yourself an out. All these things that are important. Uh, Tim's thinking 672 01:04:51,369 --> 01:04:56,050 about them. AJ's out there thinking about them. They're setting the example. You think about them, 673 01:04:56,050 --> 01:05:01,570 too. And, uh, we'll keep bringing you episodes just like this every single week to try to help as a 674 01:05:01,570 --> 01:05:06,410 reminder, while also giving you something entertaining to listen to as you roll down and 675 01:05:06,410 --> 01:05:11,849 put the miles on. Thank you so much Bulk and Spur for being here today with us on. Always pneumatic, 676 01:05:11,849 --> 01:05:17,889 never static. We'll be right back here next week, Wednesday 5 a.m. local time with another hour of 677 01:05:17,889 --> 01:05:23,889 content for you. Until then, be safe out there. And you know what? We're gonna add this. Stay hydrated. 678 01:05:25,809 --> 01:05:31,969 And that's all she blows for today's episode of Always Pneumatic, never static. Your number one and 679 01:05:31,969 --> 01:05:37,889 probably only Pneumatic Trucking podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us 680 01:05:37,889 --> 01:05:42,689 today. Till next time, stay safe. Keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.