Every truck fleet manager has to thoroughly inspect each truck before they go out on the road. Your inspectors have to be skilled in determining the extent of any problem that your trucks are currently experiencing. You have to make it a point to get all your trucks inspected before they go out on long road trips. Trucks endure a lot when they're on the road for an extended period of time. The last thing you will want to have happen is for your truck to break down in the middle of a trip. Your schedule is important and you can't miss any of your stops.
But these tractor-trailers are vehicles little different in function than any other form of motor transportation. Still, the gigantic differences between a semi-truck and a four door sedan are readily apparent when it comes to changing tires.
Be Prepared - The first and most vital step for driving in bad weather is making sure that your vehicle is prepped and ready to handle the worst of your local weather conditions. Commercial and interstate drivers who operate fleet vehicles have to know what gear they need for each region as weather patterns will differ for each place.
Take your vehicle to be serviced and 'winterized.' If you operate a fleet, you can work with fleet management services to help you get your fleet ready. Know what equipment and emergency supplies you need to have in each vehicle so that you have chains for tires or an ice scraper when needed. Preparation is always the first and best way to make sure that you are ready for winter driving.
Whether it's a diesel particulate filter or some other part, you have to have several different versions on hand. You wouldn't want to be caught without an important part with a truck that desperately needs it. If you don't have the right part on hand, the people who are responsible for repairing your trucks have to have the resources necessary to get the part quickly. Your trucks have to be back on the road almost as quickly as you realize that they have a problem. Failure to do so can affect your business in an intensely negative way.
If the tire or if tires have been completely destroyed beyond repair, a driver should contact their dispatch to relay that information and decide which action would be most responsible. Often it is safe for a driver to transport the vehicle to the nearest service center even on the damaged tire, although there are likewise the instances where further use of the truck is not advisable in which case the company may be able to send a road-side team to help fix the tire or change to a spare.
If the tire is still operable, however, it is likely that a driver will have to repair the tire before making the journey to the service center for further aid. Repairing tires on a semi-truck is much like repairing tires on other vehicles, and is a task that all drivers should be able to perform.
Make sure that when on the road, you leave plenty of space between you and other drivers. Don't be in a hurry. Speeding cars and bad conditions cause more accidents than anything else, and keep in mind that speeding in bad weather may mean that you are going too fast even if you are 15 mph below the speed limit.
Your trucks will last much longer if they have good people driving them. There's a difference between hiring people who have resumes that read like they're good truck drivers and bringing in people who are actually good at driving trucks. You should hire the people that read like good candidates and then train them in the ways your company does business. Your training protocols have to be thorough and revisited on a regular basis. Older training protocols need to be improved over time to address the current concerns of the industry.
But these tractor-trailers are vehicles little different in function than any other form of motor transportation. Still, the gigantic differences between a semi-truck and a four door sedan are readily apparent when it comes to changing tires.
Be Prepared - The first and most vital step for driving in bad weather is making sure that your vehicle is prepped and ready to handle the worst of your local weather conditions. Commercial and interstate drivers who operate fleet vehicles have to know what gear they need for each region as weather patterns will differ for each place.
Take your vehicle to be serviced and 'winterized.' If you operate a fleet, you can work with fleet management services to help you get your fleet ready. Know what equipment and emergency supplies you need to have in each vehicle so that you have chains for tires or an ice scraper when needed. Preparation is always the first and best way to make sure that you are ready for winter driving.
Whether it's a diesel particulate filter or some other part, you have to have several different versions on hand. You wouldn't want to be caught without an important part with a truck that desperately needs it. If you don't have the right part on hand, the people who are responsible for repairing your trucks have to have the resources necessary to get the part quickly. Your trucks have to be back on the road almost as quickly as you realize that they have a problem. Failure to do so can affect your business in an intensely negative way.
If the tire or if tires have been completely destroyed beyond repair, a driver should contact their dispatch to relay that information and decide which action would be most responsible. Often it is safe for a driver to transport the vehicle to the nearest service center even on the damaged tire, although there are likewise the instances where further use of the truck is not advisable in which case the company may be able to send a road-side team to help fix the tire or change to a spare.
If the tire is still operable, however, it is likely that a driver will have to repair the tire before making the journey to the service center for further aid. Repairing tires on a semi-truck is much like repairing tires on other vehicles, and is a task that all drivers should be able to perform.
Make sure that when on the road, you leave plenty of space between you and other drivers. Don't be in a hurry. Speeding cars and bad conditions cause more accidents than anything else, and keep in mind that speeding in bad weather may mean that you are going too fast even if you are 15 mph below the speed limit.
Your trucks will last much longer if they have good people driving them. There's a difference between hiring people who have resumes that read like they're good truck drivers and bringing in people who are actually good at driving trucks. You should hire the people that read like good candidates and then train them in the ways your company does business. Your training protocols have to be thorough and revisited on a regular basis. Older training protocols need to be improved over time to address the current concerns of the industry.
About the Author:
When the California Air Resource Board's diesel emissions regulations first came out, Michael Schwartz, current President of FleetServ, started getting calls from panicked Fleet Managers looking for straight-forward information and compliance assistance. While FleetServ (formerly known as ACT Compliance) was originally formed to meet this need, over time it has evolved into much more.
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