Trucking with OOIDA

Natasha Cruz-Sanchez has had a busy and prosperous year. Aside from her everyday job of hauling freight, the OOIDA member has also filed a petition with FMCSA on English-language proficiency, appeared on national television and launched a coffee company, not to mentioning acting as a first responder at the scene of an accident in the middle of the night. We catch up with Natasha to see how everyth...

If you’re not quite in the Christmas spirit yet, Angela Griffin has the cure. The professional truck driver, who’s gained a following with her Simple Livin’ YouTube channel, has a lot of ideas for making the holidays a bit merrier, even if you’re spending it on the road. Join the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: https://www.ooida.com/membership/ Tired of watching your rights eroded:...

Who doesn’t love a good convoy, especially one that revolves around a Christmas theme? Truck driver Noah Melton tells us about the Red Arrow Convoy in Michigan, which just wrapped up its third event – and it was bigger than ever. Noah walks us through the origins of the convoy, and the message he hopes everyone takes away from it. Join the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: https://ww...

OOIDA has been consistent about its stance on non-domiciled CDLs from the jump. The Association believes the program should be completely eliminated – and the Trump Administration and Congress are taking important steps to reign in the program. But meaningful, long-term progress on non-domiciled CDLs is going to take a collective effort, one the Association continues to lead. Lewie Pugh, OOIDA’s e...

There really isn’t anything quite like the American Truck Historical Society in the country, much less the world. Is it a truck club? A museum? Or maybe a research library? Brad Patterson, membership director of ATHS, says it’s all those things. But more importantly, it’s a place that honors the men and women who have dedicated their lives to the trucking industry, preserving their place in histor...

If you’re going to factor, there are a few things you need to know in advance. Linking up with a factoring company comes with risks, and OOIDA has the receipts and horror stories to prove it. For that reason, the Association tells its members to avoid factoring if they can help it. But OOIDA is also realistic and knows that many people rely on factoring to keep their business running – so if you’r...

The temperatures may be low, but the passion for trucking burns bright for Alaskan driver Tiff Hargraves — known to many as “Dalton Darlin” on YouTube. She joins Trucking with OOIDA to share what life is like on the road and how her career journey took her from commercial fishing to commercial trucking. Join the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: https://www.ooida.com/membership/ Tire...

Today we’re talking chips, not micro but of the salty variety. For nearly two centuries people have been enjoying these thin slices of potato. Trucking with OOIDA hosts, Scott and Ashley recently got to talking about this household staple and wondered how this salty snack came to be. They turned to Alan Richer, better known as the Toga Chip Guy. He joins the show to talk about the history of the S...

Solving the truck parking crisis is going to take a team effort, so when a state like Indiana takes action, we like to celebrate it. The state DOT is in the early stages of a plan that will add more than 1,200 truck parking spaces throughout the state. Natalie Garrett, INDOT’s strategic communications director, breaks down where they are – and where they’re heading. Join the Owner-Operator Indepen...

Living in Hawaii comes with some definite perks – and we’re not going to lie, trucking in Hawaii sounds pretty great, too. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges. Narrow roads. Truck parking problems. And a few more. As the now-former leader of the Hawaii Transportation Association, Kelvin Kohatsu is quite familiar with all the issues drivers face in Hawaii. He shares those with us, along w...

It’s a running joke, but like a lot of things in life, it’s funny because there’s some truth to it. And it’s especially true for professional truck drivers in Alaska, who keep hitting the road despite an endless wave of challenges in their way. Jamie Benson, president and CEO of the Alaska Trucking Association, breaks it all down for us – from living part of the year in constant darkness and moose...

This is the time of year when things normally pick up – but as you have probably noticed, the bump we normally have isn’t the bump we’re currently having. Carter Vieth, research analyst for ACT Research, explains what’s happening out there, before expressing some cautious optimism about a recovery in 2026. Join the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: https://www.ooida.com/membership/ T...

If you’re in the market for a new truck, Andrej Divis has some advice. The executive director of global heavy truck research at S&P Global says a number of factors are impacting the North American truck market right now, which by extension impact your buying decisions. Plus, the U.S. is trailing other countries when it comes to the development and deployment of electric semis. Is there a futur...

OOIDA has celebrated a lot of wins on the regulatory side of things this year. Proposed speed limiter mandate? Bye-bye. An honest-to-goodness exploration of hours-of-service flexibility? Check. Forcing action on non-domiciled CDLs and English language enforcement? Roger that. But make no mistake, there’s a lot more work to do. One person who understands that is Collin Long. OOIDA’s director of gov...

Linda Allen and Johanne Couture love trucking, which is one reason both joined the OOIDA board of directors. In a wide-ranging conversation, Linda and Johanne share stories from the road and express their wishes for making the industry a more welcome place for everyone. Join the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: https://www.ooida.com/membership/ Tired of watching your rights eroded:...

Mark Elrod, Danny Schnautz and Monte Wiederhold have had successful trucking careers, ones you can measure in decades and millions of miles. So when the trio of OOIDA board members impart their advice and wisdom, it’s worth something. The three reflect on where they’ve been, how the industry has changed over the years, and why a mind for mechanics combined with some self-reliance and a whole lot o...

We’re lucky here at OOIDA headquarters in that twice a year, board members come in from all parts of North America to check in and talk about the direction the Association is taking. And since they're already here and already in a talking mood, we thought why not get them into Studio A to chat? So we did. In the first of three roundtable discussions, Matthew Bradley, Tilden Curl, Mike Nichols and...

Our Truckers for Troops campaign continues with Lee Cooper, veterans service officer for the Larimer County, Colorado Veterans Service Office. His job description is both simple and complicated. Simple in that his day-to-day is dedicated to helping veterans in need, but complicated because providing that help is often accompanied by bureaucratic red tape. It’s enough to make you feel helpless, but...

Jennifer Seybold, executive director of the Veterans Community Project in Longmont, Colorado, knows the struggle too many veterans face all too well, which is why she dedicates herself each and every day to helping. That’s what the VCP does, and that’s why OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops campaign dedicates itself to supporting the nonprofit. Jennifer walks us through how you can as well, and the diffe...

Truckers for Troops week continues with Chris Admire, executive director of the Veterans Community Project. Yes, it’s a tiny home community for veterans who need a place to live while they get their lives back on track. But it’s also so much more, most notably a place to get help in any form it’s needed, no matter what, no questions asked. Failure is not an option, and that attitude informs every...

OOIDA’s Truckers for Troops campaign is underway! Since 2007, more than $800,000 has been raised to send care package overseas to active-duty military – and in recent years – toward veterans in need here at home. Since it’s day one of the weeklong campaign, we figured it might be nice to talk to a few people who have been involved with Truckers for Troops since day one of the event itself. Brad He...

Good news, bad news with regard to cargo thefts in the United States and Canada. The number of thefts appears to be leveling off. That’s the good news. The bad? The financial impact of cargo thefts is surging to record levels. Keith Lewis, VP of Operations at CargoNet, breaks down the numbers, the commodity thieves are targeting more than ever right now and the ways you can keep the bad guys at ba...

Take the 20 states that make up The Eastern Transportation Coalition, and you’ve got yourself the third largest economy in the world. So it stands to reason that getting those states on the same page when it comes to maintaining an efficient and safe interstate system is a tall task. And an important one. Executive director Trish Hendren explains how they do it – and why it’s important. Join the O...

OOIDA has long been leading the fight for more broker transparency, so when executive vice president Lewie Pugh made the trip to Orlando last month for the Broker Carrier Summit, he knew the issue would come up. And it did, because Lewie made sure it did. And as a result, summit founder Dan Lindsey said some misunderstandings were cleared up, which is the whole point of the Broker Carrier Summit –...

With the Trump administration cracking down on English-language proficiency and non-domiciled CDLs, there’s an important issue at the very center of the conversation: driver training. Lots of folks are doing it right – but too many are not – which is what led us to reach out to a group that’s making sure its members do it right, the Commercial Vehicle Training Association. Executive Director Andre...