Air date: Feb. 28, 2006 – You still have time to call Indiana state senators and ask them to vote against HB1008, which will allow the governor to lease the Indiana Toll Road to foreign companies for 75 years. Thursday, March 2, is the deadline for the Indiana Senate to vote on the bill, but the vote could come as early as Wednesday. To find out who your state senators are and to get their phone numbers, visit www.vote-smart.org and key in your nine-digit ZIP code. If you don’t know the full nine-digit ZIP, the site has a link to assist with getting the last four digits. To e-mail Indiana lawmakers by clicking here: and follow the prompts on screen. You can also call the OOIDA Membership Department at 1-800-444-5791 and they can find the contact information for you.

Air date: Feb. 22, 2006 – Claiming to represent the trucking industry, Swift VP Dave Berry has asked the U.S. Secretary of the Interior if the Bush Administration would reconsider slowing down long haul trucks nationwide by 5 mph, citing fuel savings. Secretary Gale Norton replied she wanted more input from trucking. You can offer your two cents worth to Secretary Norton at webteam@ios.doi.gov. Important note: you might also send your comments on getting the feds involved with speed limits again to ATA’s President and CEO Bill Graves. The organization won’t release his e-mail address, but you can send comments to his Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Lowry at mlowry@trucking.org.

Air date: Feb. 14, 2006 – OOIDA member Leland Jennings suggested that truckers call their U.S. Senators – or the White House – and tell them what qualifications and experience they would like to see in the next administrator of the FMCSA. We said we would provide contact information, so here it is: Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121 and they can connect you to the office for any representative or senator. For a street address, e-mail address or fax number, call the Membership Department at OOIDA at 1-800-444-5791. Call the president’s comment line at the White House at (202) 456-1111.

Air date: Feb. 14, 2006 – The American Trucking Association has endorsed limiting new trucks to 68 mph at the time of manufacture. For more information on the subject, click here ….

Air date: Feb. 7, 2005 – In discussing mileage and truckers’ pay, Gary Green of OOIDA mentioned a section on the OOIDA Web site called “Interviewing the Interviewer.” It includes a list of questions truckers should ask carriers before agreeing to work for them. To see the list, owner-operators should click here. Company drivers who want to see the list of questions they should ask prospective employers should click here.

Air date: Feb. 3, 2006 – CMT’s “Trick My Truck” has raised a lot of interest from truckers hoping to have their own rigs made over. Unfortunately, filming and casting for the first season of the series has been completed, and there has been no word yet on whether a second season is in the works. For information on what the requirements were for the first season’s applicants, click here…

Air date: Feb. 1, 2006 – Kenneth R. Conceicao, 35, went missing in Boca Raton, FL, on Friday, Jan. 27. Driving a 2001 red Mack sleeper cab with 55-foot trailer. Pennsylvanialicense number is AF13336. The name “Burkholder” is on the side of the truck. Police ask anyone with information to call (908) 226-7660.