Posts Tagged ‘Mar-2009’

March 1st, 2009

The Soda Experiment

Watching truckers react to a broken pop machine

I spotted it in the corner of a maintenance shop. Something I hadn’t seen in a good many years — one of those soda machines that drops a paper cup, then crushed ice, then six ounces of your favorite soft drink. Excitedly, I walked over to it, placed my money in the slot and pressed the button for a Coke. The soda machine reacted and started making noises. I watched as a clump of crushed ice dropped, followed by six ounces of soda pouring freely down the drain. The cups were probabl…

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March 1st, 2009

Show Biz

Getting the most out of the miles of aisles of a truck show

By Paul Abelson

I love attending truck shows. I get to see all the latest in equipment and services, and meet some of the greatest people in the world — truckers. That’s not just hype, it’s fact. When I used to be a supplier, I quickly learned that my marketplace, truckers, tell it like it is. They say what they think, not what they think you want to hear. My company got a great deal of valuable market research for free just by listening to the folks who came into our booth. As worthwhile as…

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March 1st, 2009

Building Better Highways

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison on infrastructure funding, the fight against tolling and expanding oil exploration

By Mindy Long

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) is among the top leaders on Capitol Hill working on legislation that will determine the future of highway funding, transportation projects and interstate commerce. She shared her top priorities and forecast for 2009 with Road King.

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March 1st, 2009

Danger Zone

Trucks supply the troops

No matter what the situation, trucks almost always prove necessary for getting supplies to the place they are needed. For U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, the situation is war and the supply destination is accessible by one battle-centered road through the Khyber Pass. Three-quarters of the supplies shipped to the military stationed in Afghanistan arrive in Pakistan’s ports and must be transported to troops by truck. So the road, which connects the two countries, became a target for I…

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March 1st, 2009

Get Your Fill

An all-you-can-eat menu and full-time friendliness await drivers at the Saginaw, Mich. TA

Store Manager Patty Murlick may only have worked at the Saginaw TA for three years, but she’s been stopping by for a lot longer. And what drew her there is the same thing that attracts many of the location’s repeat customers — the restaurant’s working train set. “I can remember coming in here when I was a little girl and the train was always running,” she says. “We’d come in every Sunday and eat lunch and watch the train. Now drivers tell me they …

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