Newbies - Company Driver to Owner Operator

12/5/2009  'Hey, Where'd My Truck Go?' Driver Security Tips
By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Short of rotting pig guts or trash destined for landfill, crooks will grab just about anything they can dispose of quickly and sell without a trace. Although security efforts are often aimed at "high-value" loads, much of what disappears in transit - or from "secured" terminals - winds up at flea markets, is sold on the black market, or already has an interested buyer.

Stuff like food, pharmaceuticals, and clothing can be sold at a five-finger discount almost anywhere, and nobody raises an eyebrow. Unlike electronics and computers, there are no serial numbers, no identifying marks, and no paper trail, such as product registrations, warranty claims, and customer service inquiries.

"Unfortunately, if you can package it, crate it, and ship it, there is likely a criminal enterprise that wants to steal it," says Chief Eric Ives, head of the Major Theft Unit in the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division.

An Ounce of Prevention

A determined thief will find a way to relieve you of your cargo despite your best efforts, but you can lessen the risk by making them work for their prize. Experts say that there are enough easy pickin's out there that thieves will generally leave the protected trucks alone.

Securely locked trailer doors may be enough, but the lock also can tip the crooks that there's something inside worth protecting. They won't try to bash the lock off in plain view, so that offers a measure of deterrence. Instead, however, they may try to grab the whole truck and open it up somewhere else.

Avoid dropping loaded trailers in unattended locations, but if you must, use a kingpin lock that makes it difficult if not impossible to hook up to. Consider removing the gladhand connectors from the nose of the trailer, or installing gladhand locks. It's small stuff, but it slows the bad guys down, and may deter them completely.

If you own the trailer, consider installing a concealed service air-line shut off valve so the parking brakes won't release.

Drivers can take several measures to secure a parked truck and trailer. Start by backing up against something so the doors cannot be opened. Install security measures like brake valve locks, electronic ignition switch lockouts, steering wheel locks, etc. Concealed air-line or fuel-line shot-offs will slow the bad guys down, though they are becoming more proficient in defeating some of these measures. The absolute and utterly simplest measure is to shut the truck off and take the keys with you when leaving the truck unattended.

Loose Lips

Cargo thieves often know what's in a targeted load by scoping out the shipping facility, but not always. And drivers don't need to help.

It's not tough for cargo thieves to learn what's on your truck, says Chris Parker with Zurich insurance. Just a few minutes at a truckstop, or on the CB, through casual conversation, it can be easy to discern what a driver is hauling.

"Loose lips sink ships," Parker notes. "Watch for unusual chatter and discussion of what they're hauling and where you're going. Others may be very chatty about what they have and where they are going, only to get you to open up about your plans."

Hijacked!

Hijackers usually know - and want - what's inside your trailer. They will track and attempt to seize the truck once it's under way, putting uncooperative drivers at risk.

Some will take a truck at gunpoint and then toss the driver overboard; some will take the driver along for the ride. Others will create some ruse to get the driver to stop so they can take control of the stopped but running truck. If you're lucky, they'll leave you behind.

In all cases, the best tactic is to cooperate or surrender the truck without a fight, says Lt. Chris Costigan of the California Highway Patrol field support section.

"There's nothing heroic about getting hurt or killed trying to protect a load of freight," he says. "The best a driver can do in these circumstances is focus on being a good witness - making note of as much detail as possible - so we stand a better chance of apprehending and identifying the perpetrators."

When All Else Fails

Be a good witness. Keep descriptions and serial numbers, tag numbers, identifying marks, etc. of the truck and trailer, as well as phone numbers and company contact information on your person. They'll do you no good tucked away in a missing truck, and law enforcement can't report it as stolen without that information. Report the incident immediately.

If you are hijacked, always and immediately do as instructed by the hijackers, but listen to what is being said and the sounds around you. It later may provide law enforcement with valuable information as to what the thieves plan to do with your vehicle and load.

"The vast majority of these thefts involve no violence or intimidation. The thieves are very patient and wait for the drivers to leave their vehicle, which they often do when there's no protection in place," says J.J. Coughlin, the law enforcement director for LoJack Supply Chain Integrity.

Don't resist, stay alive and safe, and take care to notice details. The best you can do is provide good descriptions of suspects and their vehicles. You are law enforcement's best witness.

Safety Tips

To minimize the chances of being forcefully parted from the load you're carrying:

• Maintain regular communication with your dispatcher.

• If possible, drive in tandem to lessen chances of being hijacked.

• Be aware of vehicles following your truck. Thieves will often use several vehicles to box in a truck at a stop light, pull the driver out and take the load.

• Be wary of strangers asking questions about what you're carrying. Don't talk about your load on the CB radio - cargo thieves listen too.

• Be suspicious of individuals asking you to stop claiming that you may have hit their car. If unsure whether an accident occurred, drive to a police station or to a well-lit, busy location before stopping. Hijackers frequently use this ruse to get drivers to stop.

• Whenever possible, vary your route, limit the number of stops, and avoid stopping at the same location each time.

• Get as far as possible from the terminal or shipper before you stop for a break.

• Keep your tractor windows rolled up until you are on the open road.

• Be especially watchful immediately after picking up your load. Most armed hijackings occur within a few miles of the pickup point. Freeway on- and off-ramps are particularly dangerous.

• Always lock your tractor doors and don't forget to take the keys with you.

• Make sure all trailer and container doors are secured with a heavy-duty padlock.

• When returning to the truck, check the seal and trailer doors for signs of tampering.

• If driving team, one person should stay with the truck at all times.

• Do not take your load home or park in unsecured areas.

• Avoid dropping loaded trailers in unattended locations. If you must, use a kingpin lock, consider removing the gladhand connectors from the nose of the trailer, or installing gladhand locks.

• If you own the truck, install security measures like brake valve locks, electronic ignition switch lockouts, steering wheel locks, etc.

 

Driver has reached illustrious 4-million-safe-mile mark and still going strong

Green File
How long driving: 38 years
Owner-operator for Crete
Birthday: Aug. 25, 1946
Lives in: Preston, Iowa
Favorite place to drive: Midwest and South

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While at the Petro trying to capture some photos for future publications, The Trucker noticed something quite interesting on a truck that was being filled with diesel as the driver: 4 million career miles driven.

The driver, Richard “Dick” Green, has been an over-the-road trucker for 38 years. He hit the 4-million-mile mark last year while driving for Crete, where he’s been for the past 12 years.

Green started his driving career after serving in the Army in Germany during the Vietnam era. He left the service in 1967 and drove straight trucks on local routes for about four years before beginning a long-haul driving career.

He hauls dry van loads to “mostly all 48 states; I don’t like going West and I don’t like going East,” Green said. For the first 25 years of his career, he pulled a milk tanker.

Green said he gets home about every three weeks and stays home about two days.

“I have to keep working to support two grandkids,” Green explained. “Crete would give me more time if I asked for it.”

At home, he’s got a wife, Sandi. Between the two of them they have six children and four grandchildren. Green said Crete’s been good to him and he shows a lot of respect for them.

“There isn’t a company on the road with any higher safety standards than Crete,” he said. “If more companies were that way maybe more of this stuff wouldn’t happen.”

Since so much news lately has brought up the dangers of cell phone use, that topic came to mind as he brought up safety issues. We wondered if Crete allowed drivers to use cell phones while driving and if it could be enforced.

“I don’t know,” he said, “they put it out on Qualcomm — that’s just the way it is. It’s just a bad idea to get on the phone while driving. It’s just a bad idea.

“About the worst thing is people on cell phones. If you come up behind a driver going 55 in a 70 you can almost bet they’re on the cell phone.”

As for how to deal with poor driving habits of four-wheelers and other truckers, Green seems to have a handle on it.

“I just consider it and deal with it,” he said. “If I got mad every time a car cut me off I’d just be mad all day long. They’ll pass ya and then cut in front of you and exit.”

Crete has its trucks governed at 62 mph and this Green deals with too.

“I wish they’d go faster but as I understand it’s a fuel saver for Crete. They keep me going. You just deal with that, too. They’ve given me a good living for the last 12-and-a-half years.”

Green said he’ll probably retire in trucking and has to work until he’s 66 years old.

“I would have loved to have been a conservation officer or game warden,” he said. “I like the outdoors. My hometown is an island city up in Sabula, Iowa, on the Mississippi. Since I was this big [he measured a height of about 3 feet] I was fishing, hunting, trapping. I still do some fishing but that’s about it. Hopefully I’ll have more time to do that soon. I miss it. I used to enter cat fishing tournaments every summer. Once, my wife and I caught 108 channel cats. We know how to catch the catfish.”

In Green’s 12-plus years with Crete he’s driven six new trucks, including the 2009 Freightliner Cascadia he’s driving now.

“Crete keeps you in good equipment,” he said. “Equipment has really changed for the good in some ways. Used to [you] could do some things to repair [them], now you have to wait on a wrecker.”

Another change Green’s seen is how people drive.

“Drivers aren’t as courteous as they used to be — truck [drivers] and four-wheelers,” he said. “Some of both, not enough training and not courteous,” he added. “Crete puts new guys with a trainer. We all gotta start somewhere, so I try to give others a break.”

Green said his long career has had ups and downs.

“It’s been good and there’s been times when it’s been bad,” he said. “It’s been a good experience when my kids were young. Crete has a passenger program. I used to take my kids and grandkids along. My wife has been on many trips with me, as well. Katie [his 19-year-old daughter, the youngest of the children] got too old. Boys are more interested. She’s going to college to be an RN.”

Driving 4 million safe miles takes more than luck. And while Green said he’s not a religious man, he does attribute much of his success to something he has in his truck.

“I carry a guardian angel pin on my visor,” he said. “It says: ‘Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.’ It’s been something that I’ve always carried with me in my truck.”