It was either 1996 or ’97, our regional director received word that seasonal extra help was needed for a national account customer. Their business involved transporting fresh cut floral greens and wreaths from their production "farms" throughout the country to retail outlets. The Christmas season was their busy season and they were asking for volunteer drivers to spend six weeks running team to support their operation. The drivers would be guaranteed $1,000 per week minimum to those that would commit. I had just completed the orientation of a new young driver named Dave. I was going to be riding with him for two weeks training anyway so I asked if he was interested and he said yes, without hesitation. He was trying to save up cash so he could move his wife and kid to Salt Lake City from Grealy, Co. He had left them at their apartment to come to Utah for a decent job as she was still employed at a meat packing plant in Colorado.
Daniel S Bridger's Trucking Blog
Having been a professional truck driver and trainer for more than 30 years (now retired), I find that you never, ever know it all. There are always new things to learn. My primary goal with this blog is to help other drivers (especially newer ones) with pertinent information and tips to enable them to work happier and more safely. Guest posts, contributors and feed-back are always welcome and wanted!
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Team Driving: "Not for the faint of heart!"
It was either 1996 or ’97, our regional director received word that seasonal extra help was needed for a national account customer. Their business involved transporting fresh cut floral greens and wreaths from their production "farms" throughout the country to retail outlets. The Christmas season was their busy season and they were asking for volunteer drivers to spend six weeks running team to support their operation. The drivers would be guaranteed $1,000 per week minimum to those that would commit. I had just completed the orientation of a new young driver named Dave. I was going to be riding with him for two weeks training anyway so I asked if he was interested and he said yes, without hesitation. He was trying to save up cash so he could move his wife and kid to Salt Lake City from Grealy, Co. He had left them at their apartment to come to Utah for a decent job as she was still employed at a meat packing plant in Colorado.
Thursday, June 5, 2025
Driving Miss Daisy? No, it's Mrs.Pritzker
Every time I heard or read the name Pritzker for the last couple of years, it seemed so familiar. That name is often in the news as the current governor in our neighboring state of Illinois is JB Pritzker. Now, the governor and I are on very opposite sides of the political spectrum, as you would correctly assume. But his name seemed so familiar, like I heard it before. The name is distinctive. But why? It’s been bugging me for a long time.
I was thinking last week about my late father. He retired in 1979 after 30 years at Chrysler/AMC and he and mom moved to Florida with my three youngest siblings. During the 1980’s mom would work part time for a firm that provided services for the elderly. I remember my dad telling me that he would occasionally drive a woman around on errands and appointments when she needed him. On the couple occasions he talked to me about it, he would always refer to her by name, Mrs. "So-and-So". He had also mentioned she was a wealthy widow from Chicago and said the family was in the hotel business. Suddenly, it clicked, Chicago? Illinois? Distinctive name? Wealthy family? Could she have been a Pritzker? Last week, I even asked my younger siblings if they remembered the name of the woman that dad used to drive around. They all said no.
That made me even more curious and led me to look up the Pritzker family. Well, I’ll be! I discovered a Rhoda Pritzker that had lived 10 miles from my parents home. She had married Jack Nicholas Pritzker, who was a great uncle to the current Illinois governor JB Pritzker. The family indeed built the Hyatt hotel chain and family members still have a large holding in the company. Jack and Rhoda bought the home on Casey Key in Florida in 1970. Her husband died in 1979, the year my parents moved To Sarasota.
So, my dad had his little “Driving Miss Daisy” job helping a Pritzker widow. He would drive over to her house when she called. She also wanted her car “exercised” as she didn’t drive. So dad would get her big station wagon out of the garage and off they would go. Mystery solved!
Rhoda Pritzker died in Casey Key in 2007 at the age of 93. Her funeral was held in Chicago. The latest sale of her old house was in 2016 for $1.75 million.
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Sobering News on the State of Trucking in the US
This Texas crash occured in March, reported by The Gateway Pundit:
"A Travis County judge on Tuesday slashed the bond for Solomun Weldekeal-Araya — a foreign national and 18-wheeler driver — from $1.2 million down to a jaw-dropping $7,000, despite his role in a tragic crash that left five people dead, including a child and a baby.
The deadly pileup occurred last month on Interstate 35 in North Austin, involving 17 vehicles and 17 people, resulting in fiery devastation and multiple injuries.
Adding fuel to the fire, Araya, who is reportedly on a visa from Ethiopia, was previously cited for going 63 in a 30 mph zone, an offense that should have jeopardized his CDL. Records show he had a court date scheduled just a week after the fatal crash.
Independent journalist Sarah Fields reported that Araya is an asylum seeker on a work visa who barely speaks English and is employed by a network of questionable LLCs currently under investigation by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that according to public records and whistleblower claims, Araya was driving under a Texas-based company called ZBN Transport LLC. The company shares a physical address—9180 Forest Lane, Apt. 202, Dallas, TX—with at least a dozen other transportation LLCs registered in the same North Dallas apartment complex, each under slightly different names or unit numbers.
One of those names, Bay Area Lines LLC, even appeared on a truck inspection record just a day after ZBN was flagged—suggesting a pattern of companies swapping names daily to dodge regulatory scrutiny.
Industry insiders claim that while occasional business name changes aren’t unheard of, daily swaps signal red flags. “This kind of name-flipping is used to reset inspection scores, hide violations, and continue operating dangerous equipment with impunity,” one trucking compliance expert noted."
This infux of illiterate steering wheel holders and illigitimate trucking companies has been going on for years! It's about time something is done!
I've gotten responses from a state trooper and a current Illinois DOT officer. They both included their names but I won't post them here:
"I'm an a Illinois DOT officer and have been since 2008 i agree 100% . Then we have state law which is even more ridiculous. All CFV (commercial farm vehicles) farm plated are exempt with 150 miles from CDl, D & A testing,medical card and HOS, everything but maintenence. Had a farmer tell me he hires alot of people from Somalia. They then come here work for him for dirt cheap with no qualifications at all and need nothing. Makes you feel really safe on the roads. I deal with it daily people can't speak English even worse laying under their 80000 pound truck yelling for them to brake only hoping and praying they don't run you over. Even when we could put them OOS for non speaking they would get a relief driver get down the road and switch back anyways.
News Credit: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/outrage-travis-county-judge
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Automotive Backup Cameras - Early Aggravation to Tolerance
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2022 Ford Escape |
I guess this post certainly shows my age (72). It’s been getting close to ten years now since I first started driving a car with a rear view camera.
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2016 Nissan Altima |
So, on to 2019 when we bought a new Ford Escape SE. We didn’t have all the bells and whistles on it and it came with an eight inch LCD screen. The rearview camera was a big improvement especially at night. I didn’t notice any problems seeing out the windows after dark with the camera on. Still without sensors for audio warning, I seldom used it except in rare parallel parking scenarios.
In 2023, we traded for an unsold new 2022 Escape that the dealer made us a great deal on. This one featured many more options, including a large eight inch high definition display for infotainment and backup camera viewing. Included with the camera is cross traffic audio alert to warn of pedestrians and cars crossing as your backing, in addition to a fixed object warning. I haven’t really noticed any issues seeing out the windows at night with the camera on. I must say it’s a vast difference from what I had in 2017!
We've had this car for about two years now. But, thinking about it, I still hardly use the camera! After 56 years of driving I just can’t make myself use that camera to back out of a parking space or back down a driveway. Other than quick glances at the screen, I use my mirrors and keep my head on a swivel while backing. Previously, driving trucks for 37 years, using my mirrors is too instinctive. Looking forward at the center of the dash while backing is just so unnatural. So, I guess, that’s the way it’s going to be until I’m gone. I do appreciate hearing the audio warnings of cross traffic however. It does have a reassuring effect. It’s such a different world these days since I first got my driver’s license in 1968.
Happy Easter!
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Crime Story TV Series - Vintage Las Vegas and Cool Cars!
Do you like to see Las Vegas the way it was in the late 1980’s? Or, how about seeing the really cool cars of the late 1950’s and early 60’s?
We ran across this TV series starring Dennis Farina called Crime Story that ran for two seasons starting in 1986. The series setting starts out in Chicago in the early 1960’s. Farina plays a Chicago Lieutenant cop chasing down mob figures and transfers his team to Las Vegas after a few episodes. Before Dennis Farina started his acting career he spent 18 years in the Chicago police department advancing from a patrol officer to detective.
In Las Vegas, a lot of scenes were shot inside the old Bob Stupak’s Vegas World that eventually became the Stratosphere, now named The Strat. About 1989, my wife and I went to Vegas World using one of Stupak’s promotion club deals. They would give you $1200 in slot play tokens, vouchers for table game play with a room and meals for 3 days for $400 per couple. We actually broke even on one trip out there from Wisconsin. Since the series was shot in the late 80’s, it was cool seeing all the original decor, layout and even the same carpeting in the TV show! Lots of action on Old Fremont St. downtown before all the changes and great scenery.
And then, the cars! So many late 50’s and early 60’s pristine classics! Farina had the best set of wheels, a jet black 1957 Chrysler 300C convertible. It had a factory 392 hemi engine with 2 four-barrel carburetors producing 375 hp. In some scenes you can clearly hear the powerful engine as the car accelerates. No wonder Farina wanted to drive that car for both seasons. It's like watching a vintage car show. They didn’t abuse the car too much in chases, as I’m sure the owner would have had a problem with that. Too many cars to list from an early 60’s Corvette to T-birds, Cadillacs, late 50’s Fords and so many others.
With the TV show produced in the 1980's I was unaware until finding it on Amazon Prime a few weeks ago. There’s about 40 episodes over two seasons and we just started the second and final season. The show has enough action to be entertaining. There were quite a few guest stars in the first season including Debbie Harry, Paul Anka, Gary Sinese and Julia Roberts among others. It’s available to stream on Amazon, Tubi, Peacock and others.