Temperatures dropping, shorter days and longer nights – all signs that fall is officially here. At Gray Transportation, we understand it’s harder to stay awake and alert when the weather is putting you to sleep. That’s why we are sharing the top ways to bring your A game when on the road.

• You are what you eat. Energy drinks, caffeine pills and sugar will raise your alertness for a reasonable amount of time, but not indefinitely. Instead of filling your body with sugar, consider munching on an apple, orange or even a lemon to keep your taste buds awake. However, whatever you decide to intake, make sure to pace yourself. If you eat, take small bites. If you drink, take small sips. The more active you are, the easier it will be to stay awake.
• Keep it cool. The temperatures are getting lower each day, but that is no reason to crank up the heat! Set the temperature in your vehicle to just a bit colder than you would like – that way your body has to work harder to keep you awake and will help you be more alert.
• Sing along! It’s hard falling asleep in a loud car, but it’s even harder falling asleep when you are singing along to your favorite music. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and rock out! If music is not your thing, talk radio is another good option. It keeps your mind working by offering an endless variety of viewpoints and ideas.

Being a truck driver is not easy, and it can really take a toll on your sleep patterns, but we hope these tips help improve your time on the road. Do you have any other tips to stay alert when driving long distances on little sleep? Leave them in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

Are you brand new to truck driving?  We’ve all been there, and we want you to succeed.  See what the Gray Transportation experts say about how to have a successful start in driving truck.

Be Timely
Stay on schedule and show your carrier your dedication to timeliness.  Always call ahead to inform the customer of your arrival time and arrive early if possible.  If you want to impress the customer and your carrier, run your truck like you’re the owner.

Stay Safe
Keep your safety training in mind each time you drive.  Don’t forget to get out of your truck and look before backing up, comply with your safety department’s requests and always practice overall safe driving.

Stay Healthy
One of hardest lessons to learn for new drivers is how to stay healthy.  Create a plan for maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regularly.  We recommend keeping your carbs low and exercising for at least 15 minutes before your shift and during your mid-day break.

Work Hard
The transportation industry recognizes hard work so you’ll get what you put in.  If you work hard, you’ll be considered for promotions for important jobs. If you do the bare minimum, you’ll be given the bare minimum.

Dispatcher Dedication
Your dispatcher is your lifeline to more loads.  Get to know your dispatcher and learn how you can get the priority loads.

If you would like to grow your career in truck driving, apply now to work for Gray Transportation.  We offer driving careers with various pay grades depending on experience, miles and more.  We also offer great pay and bonus programs!

Contrary to popular belief, winter is not the most dangerous season for driving. Research shows that the number of fatalities increases substantially between July and September. At Gray Transportation, we want all drivers to be as safe as possible while on the road, so we are sharing some top tips and tricks on staying cool while you’re on the road, without turning the AC on.

1. Protect your truck from the sun.

You shouldn’t be in the sun without protection, and neither should your truck. Try finding shade when you pull in the truck stop. If covered areas are unavailable, buy a sun shade. This little metallic accessory is inexpensive but will stop sun from getting trapped in your car and the temperature from rising. An alternative is putting a blanket over your seat – the blanket will be exposed to direct sunlight but your seat will not be.

2. Let your truck air out.

Leave your window a few inches open to let the air out when you are not in the truck. Inside temperatures can rise up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit when it is 80 degrees outside, so letting even a little air out can help a lot and save you from a potential heatstroke when you enter the cabin.

3. Give your truck time to cool off.

Don’t enter the truck straight away. If leaving the doors open is not an option due to security reasons, wait a little while before entering the cabin. Having the door open just for 5 minutes can decrease the temperature significantly and give you enough time to stretch or check on the rest of the truck before you hit the road again.

4. Protect yourself from the heat while driving.

If the AC makes you feel unwell, seek alternative ways of cooling down while driving. A spray bottle filled with ice and water will keep you hydrated and keep your body temperature low even when the temperatures are high. Another possibility is a cooler full of not just cold drinks but also frozen wash rags or bandanas that you can wrap around your neck while driving.

Do you have other ways of staying cool while on the road? Let us know by leaving them in the comments section on our Facebook page or sending them straight to our Gray Transportation team. Also remember, making sure you are cool while driving is just the start when it comes to summer road safety.

Summer is here and that means it is primetime for home burglaries. FBI reports that 1 in every 36 homes is broken into every year, with an average of $2300 stolen. So how do you keep your home safe while you are on the road? Gray Transportation has some easy tips on how to make sure all of your things are still in place when you come back from a long trip.

• Secure all entrances

Most burglars enter the house through the front door, so making sure it is unbreachable is key. Fasten all windows and if you have sliding doors leading to the back yard, leave a pole or a nail in the track to prevent it from being open by force. In case your front doors have decorative glass, check if the security alarm is not visible from outside. That way burglars won’t be able to see if your alarm is on or off.

• Check what’s under your windows

Planting roses is a good long-term way to prevent burglaries. Thorny shrubs such as rosebushes under your ground-floor windows will not only add beauty to your house, but also deter burglars. If you have a two-story house, don’t store firewood on the side of the house, as it can serve as a ladder to the upper windows.

• Make the house look alive

No one except for you needs to know the house is in fact empty. Cancel the newspaper subscription to avoid it piling up at your doorstep. Set up timers to turn on lights, to give the impression that someone is home. Go the extra mile and put your radio on timer or simply leave it on during your entire absence. No one has a perfectly silent house and neither should you.

Burglaries aren’t the only thing that can happen to your home if you’re gone for an extended period of time. Here are some tips on what to check in order to avoid any accidents:

• Unplug unnecessary appliances

No one will be using the microwave or the TV while you are gone, so why keep them plugged in? Unplugging them takes only a few extra seconds and can save you from an electrical malfunction that can start a fire.

• Turn off the water

The water hose attached to the washing machine can often leak water when unused for a long period of time. To avoid flooding, just turn the valve off.

Gray Transportation wants to keep you on comfortable the road while traveling, and we know the importance of coming back to a safe home.

High blood pressure can lead to a host of problems. Stroke, heart disease, eye and vision problems, painful edema…all of these can be career ending and even life ending problems for truck drivers. Gray Transportation wants to give you a list of foods to limit (we don’t like to say “never eat”) to lower your risk of high blood pressure.

1. Pickles- Give up the gherkins! Pickles are low in calories, but they are loaded with sodium. One medium pickle can have around 570 mg of sodium. The delay sodium limit is 2300 mg for the whole day!
2. Canned Chicken Noodle Soup- It may be good for a cold, but canned chicken noodle soup can have up to 880 mg of sodium in a one cup serving. And who eats just one serving?
3. Sauerkraut- Who knew? What’s a bratwurst without the kraut, right? Healthier. A half cup of Sauerkraut has about 13 calories, but it also has over 460 mg of sodium.  Du meine Güte!
4. Fast Food French Fries- Sorry burger fans, but that tater is toxic! French fries still provide a large dose of sodium. A medium serving of fries has about 19 grams of fat and 270 mg of sodium. Never order fries with your canned chicken noodle soup!
5. Bacon- (Sorry about this one) Three slices of bacon (delicious, savory bacon) have 4.5 grams of fat and about 270 mg of sodium. Turkey bacon instead of pork is a “better” option. Make bacon a “special treat”, not part of every meal.
6. Frozen pot pies – Beneath that flakey crust lies trouble! A single pot pie equals a serving of about 1300-1400 mg of sodium. And about 35 g of fat! For you math folks, that’s over 50% of your daily recommended values for both.
7. Donuts – Who doesn’t love a donut? Just one donut those round and tasty breakfast treats packs in 200 calories with 12 grams of fat. So yes, those maple frosted donuts with bacon are a no-no. Again, sorry…
8. Booze- While alcohol may dull mind, alcohol causes the blood pressure to elevate.  Worse news, it also damages the walls of the blood vessels, which leads to more health problems.

Gray Transportation cares about your health! Everything in moderation, and if you have to eat the bad (but delicious) stuff, balance it out with good stuff and exercise.

Holiday shopping time is crunch time for many people, and can be a really stressful time if you have a truck driver or two on your list.  Gray Transportation is going to turn that ho-ho-hopeless shopping experience into a great one with some really great gift giving ideas! So in more particular order, here is our awesome (you’re welcome) trucker gift ideas list…

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