Driving Ambition is excited to announce the Grand Opening of our fifth branch office.
In addition to Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Nashville, Driving Ambition will now also be helping trucking companies and professional CDL truck drivers in the great city of Louisville, Kentucky!
If you know of anyone who could use Driving Ambition's professional CDL truck driver staffing services - whether they’re in need of safe, qualified truck drivers, or if they’re a professional truck driver looking for a home with a solid company – please refer them to Driving Ambition. We genuinely enjoy helping people find the right “fit”!
Our local Louisville office address is:
9301 Hurstbourne Park Blvd., Louisville, KY 40220
Phone: (502) 276-8854
Toll Free: (877) 259-4963
info@da-drivers.com
As demand for safe, experienced CDL drivers continues to grow, Driving Ambition looks forward to meeting that need with further expansion into the following areas:
Dallas / Fort Worth, TX
Atlanta, GA
St. Louis, MO
Kansas City, MO
Memphis, TN
Oklahoma City, OK
Driving Ambition’s growth and continued success will always hinge on its commitment to providing Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service to the trucking industry.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Trucking Companies: Update Your Cell Phone Policy
Article provided by Antony E. Palmer, Jr., Attorney with AldenLaw
The age of the cell phone ban is upon us. Effective January 3, 2012, the FMCSA banned the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving a CMV and stiffened penalties against drivers and trucking companies that violate that ban. With a possible fine of up to $11,000 per offense for employers and $2,750 for drivers, trucking companies surely want to protect themselves and establish a written policy to address cell phone usage by drivers.
AldenLaw encourages a proactive approach in updating a carrier’s mobile communications policies according to the following recommendations:
- Make your policy uniform. While the federal government and states may have different rules on the use of hand-held mobile phones, AldenLaw recommends that trucking companies adopt one uniform policy to eliminate confusion. Where the federal law and state law conflict, a company should adopt a policy that follows the more stringent government restriction.
- Be clear in what is prohibited and what is allowed. At a minimum, an employer should include a provision that the company does not allow or require drivers to use hand-held mobile phone while driving a CMV. A policy should also mirror the regulation by prohibiting its drivers from dialing, using a push-to-talk function on a mobile phone, and reaching for the phone. Certain communication options remain legal for drivers, such as hands-free mobile phone use and touching a single button on a mobile phone, earpiece, steering wheel, or instrument panel.
- Establish specific consequences for violating the policy. The consequences could be warnings, termination, or other disciplinary actions, including a fine. A driver needs to know what the specific consequence of his violation will be. And of course, after setting the policy, enforce it.
- Disclose the policy to your drivers. It is advisable that the employer include a written acknowledgement to the driver that indicates that the driver understands the policy and agrees to abide by it.
AldenLaw is a law firm in Columbus, Ohio that focuses on transportation law. AldenLaw provides guidance and assistance to carriers on issues relating to safety regulations, business matter, and CDL traffic cases. AldenLaw also represents carriers before federal and state enforcement agencies. The founder of AldenLaw, John L. Alden, has practiced in transportation and warehousing law for over twenty-five years. Along with John, attorney Anthony E. Palmer, Jr. represents carriers and drivers in business, regulatory, and traffic matters. AldenLaw’s transportation clients range from local motor carriers to the largest nationwide carriers, including specialized carriers of all types, as well as brokers, shippers, and logistics companies.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The 41st Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) is set for March 22-24 at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, KY. As the largest heavy-duty trucking show in the world, MATS 2012 is expected to see record attendance.
Driving Ambition will again be exhibiting at MATS. We hope you visit our booth and say hello! We’ll be in the West Wing – booth #66149.
Do you plan to attend MATS 2012 but missed the deadline to pre-register for free tickets? Worry not - Driving Ambition can give you a free ticket if you contact your local branch office (general admission tickets are $10, otherwise).
MATS 2012 Show hours are:
• Thursday, March 22 VIP Session: 10 AM - 1 PM | General Admission: 1 PM - 6 PM
• Friday, March 23 General Admission: 10 AM - 6 PM
• Saturday, March 24 General Admission: 9 AM - 4 PM
For more answers to some of MATS 2012 Frequently Asked Questions, please visit http://www.truckingshow.com/faq.
We hope to see you there!
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA recently issued an interpretation on its final rule limiting the use of hand-held mobile phones by CDL drivers. The FMCSA also updated the FAQs to clarify that the use of the push-to-talk function on mobile phones is permitted, under certain limited conditions.
The FAQs state that a driver may use push-to-talk mobile communications equipment while driving provided the driver does not reach for, dial, or hold the actual mobile telephone in his/her hand while driving and the driver is able to touch the button needed to operate the push-to-talk feature from the normal seated position with the safety belt fastened.
FMCSA stated that the use of this type of communications equipment generally does not require drivers to take their eyes off of the forward roadway because the button used to enable the driver to communicate can be operated from the normal seated position with the safety belt fastened.
For example, if the mobile phone is mounted in a cradle or similar device near the driver, or there is a remote push-to-talk button near the vehicle controls to allow the driver to communicate without reaching for, dialing, or holding the actual mobile telephone in his/her hands while driving, the equipment may be used.
To view the updated FAQs on FMCSA's website, click here.
For the Governors Highway Safety Association’s compilation of state laws that limit or prohibit drivers’ use of cell phones or texting, click here.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Article written by Jim Fairfield, Director of Safety & Human Resources
Riddle me this, Batman…”When does an $80 haircut save you millions?” For the answer, just ask the risk management and safety associates at some of our most safety progressive truckload carriers. Carriers like JB Hunt, Schneider, C.R. England, Roehl Transport, Gordon Trucking, and more, are aggressively testing their drivers for the use of illegal drugs.
You say, “Hold on there bucko…everybody is testing drivers for illegal drugs!” Well, not so fast, my friend! In addition to the “DOT required” urine test, more and more safety aggressive carriers are now using the “radio immune assay of hair” (RIAH) test…or, commonly known as hair-testing.
Transport Topics reports proponents of hair-tests reveal as many as 12 times more positive tests, or failures, than the DOT mandated urinalysis test. Why is that? Experts say illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, PCP and such) can be detected in hair for upwards of 90 days. A casual use marijuana (THC) user, for example, can safely pass a DOT urine test 1 to 7 days after use of the illegal drug. With the longer window of detection, hair-testing will not allow that marijuana using donor to slip through the screening process. From that angle, hair-testing is a no brainer.
Hair-testing laboratories, like Omega Laboratories and FleetScreen Ltd., state only a small percentage of their trucking company customers have stepped up to the more accurate, more expensive testing. The lab experts feel most non-participating trucking companies will not likely step up until FMCSA/DOT mandates hair-testing for all.
Depending on volume, urine tests will cost $35 to $45 each. Hair-testing, on average, is running almost double that amount…about $80 per test. The leaders in safety have decided paying $80 for a hair-test and another $35 for a DOT mandated urine test is a worthy investment. The investment allows them to keep drug-abusing drivers out of their trucks.
So, can you pick out the “hair-testing” drivers because they have large gaps of missing hair? Nay…Nay says Greer Woodruff, Senior Vice President of Safety and Security for J.B. Hunt. Woodruff states “The process of collecting is very simple and not invasive. Collectors lift up the hair, cut a discreet line straight across so there are no gaps.” And, for the unfortunate sufferers of male pattern baldness (or female pattern baldness), arm or leg hair can also be utilized for hair-testing samples.
So, when does an $80 haircut save you millions? You save millions when serious accidents are avoided by not placing an illegal drug user behind the wheel of your truck. Hair-testing…$80….prevent a fatality accident…PRICELESS!!
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.