Dean SmallwoodDean Smallwood is managing editor of Commercial Carrier Journal and Overdrive. He has more than two decades of journalism experience, with more than half of that spent covering the transportation industry. Daytime Phone: 800-633-5953, ext. 1039BusinessFleet rolls on after founder’s deathTrucks bearing Marvin Pritchett’s name will continue to roll down the highways, and his dealerships will continue to sell rigs to other fleets and owner-operators. According to various news sources, Pritchett, founder and chief executive officer of Lake Butler, Fla.-based Pritchett Trucking, was fatally shot by a former employee on Aug. 24. Hubert Allen Jr., […]September 9, 2013BusinessIn defense of Alabama’s I-20One of my colleagues recently blogged about a Southeast road trip he took over the interstates of Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, commenting on the best stretches for scenery, speeding and listening to Leonard Cohen. Among those highlights of his drive, he also criticized a stretch of I-20 westbound in Alabama, just […]August 12, 2013BusinessSafe pulloversOn a recent morning commute on the interstate, I was traveling in the far right lane and reached the top of a hill, where the road then turns to the right for a downhill run. At the top of the curving crest, I was greeted without warning with the sight of a state trooper – […]August 5, 2013BusinessClimbing up the chartsIt’s that time again at CCJ when we get busy sifting through tons of data on trucks, drivers and revenue to put together our annual rundown of the nation’s top 250 for-hire trucking fleets. While it’s unlikely that UPS and FedEx will relinquish their strangleholds on the No. 1 and No. 2 positions on this […]July 15, 2013BusinessBusy highway, patient truckerYou’ve been there – a busy highway at the finale of a long holiday weekend. Every four-wheeler is busting a move to get home about 10 minutes earlier and will attempt no shortage of death-defying driving tactics they’ve picked up from watching NASCAR – except that those guys know what they’re doing and get paid […]July 8, 2013BusinessHappy hours-of-service day!In case you didn’t notice, today is Monday, July 1 – the implementation date of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s latest hours-of-service rule. There was no miraculous relief last week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That’s where the American Trucking Associations on March 15 had presented oral […]July 1, 2013BusinessLawyers, trucks and moneyI know there’s plenty of good, fine and upstanding attorneys in this world (I’ve needed to find a few of them myself from time to time), but there’s also a few bad ones with loose ambulance-chasing morals and no one’s interests to serve but their own bank accounts. Some of these types see big trucking […]June 24, 2013BusinessSummer trucking camp?Ah, those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer — at least I think that’s how the song goes. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my son was between school and his first summer camp, and he pretty much accomplished every goal he set out to do: sleep late, play video games and eat junk food. […]June 10, 2013BusinessSummer construction zonesSo it’s summertime, and that means road construction season is heating up along with the temperature. There’s a lengthy stretch of Interstate 20 east of Birmingham, Ala., that’s being widened, but for now, it’s a narrow two-lane path up and down fairly steep grades. OK, if you live in the Rockies, these hills would seem […]June 3, 2013BusinessRoad Team Captain gets a new rideDale Williams takes pride in helping to deliver trucking’s safety message to the public, and now he’ll be able to fulfill that mission behind the wheel of a new truck. Williams, one of 19 newly appointed Captains on the American Trucking Associations’ 2013-2014 America’s Road Team, received a new 2014 Freightliner Cascadia on Thursday, May […]May 30, 2013Previous PagePage 3 of 148Next PageTop StoriesComponentsHow to ensure your tires pass roadside DOT inspectionFrom tread depth to road gators, tires are a big problem during DOT inspections.MaintenanceHow to ensure your lights pass roadside DOT inspectionTest DrivesThe biggest and most power powerful 'green' engine I've ever drivenRegulationsHow to pass a roadside inspection: CVSA answers Roadcheck questionsCCJ InnovatorsChief Carriers uses financial incentive, gamifying safety scores and new job opportunities for safety initiative