March 23-27 is "National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week". New Construction projects will begin and pothole patching will be going on 24 hours a day. 

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A friendly reminder from your FirstFleet Safety Team that this Sunday @ 2:00AM our clocks jump forward an hour. The good news in that is that warmer weather is hopefully just around the bend... the bad news is you may lose an hour of sleep this weekend so don't forget to plan accordingly.

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"Proper Space Management" means maintaining enough space around your vehicle to operate and stop safely. To stop your vehicle safely, several factors come into play. "Perception distance" is the distance a vehicle travels from the time you see a hazard until your brain recognizes the hazard. For an alert driver, about 3/4 of a second; but at 55 mph, your vehicle travels some 60 feet in that 3/4 of a second.

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FirstFleet is continuing to GROW! Along with our growth comes a need for Quality Drivers to move this product in a Safe and Timely manner. Our Terminal in Delaware OH (central Ohio) is one of these growing terminals, and we are asking for your help in finding the SAFE and RELIABLE drivers we need for them.

We have increased the referral bonus to $2500, through 2/28/15, for the existing full-time FirstFleet drivers who send qualified drivers to our online application who are hired for Delaware, OH and stay a minimum of 90 days as a Full Time Driver.

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The federal motor carrier association has said that after January 30, 2015 a CDL driver will no longer be required to carry a paper medical certificate, his or her medical status can be verified by running a license status check.

Also, new medical information must be posted to the drivers CDL record each time a new medical is sent to the DMV. Such as medical exams where a driver does not receive a two year medical card. This will ensure no CDL down-grade will be taken against a CDL, due to a disconnect in getting the medical information onto the license record. All new medical certificates must be conducted by persons registered on the national registry of certified medical examiners. The CDL driver is still responsible for making sure his or her medical information is received by their state motor vehicle department. It is suggested that the driver carry their medical certificate for up to 15 days after a new medical evaluation is conducted to confirm posting of the new exam to the drivers CDL.

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With the beginning of the new year, we know many of you will be anxiously awaiting your 2014 W-2 in order to begin your tax filing process.

We want to assure you that, as soon as the last 2014 payroll was processed, the payroll department began diligently working through the process to get W-2s prepared to meet the federally-mandated January 31st deadline. Our goal is to get all W-2s prepared in an accurate and timely manner and to have your W-2 mailed out to your home address as soon as administratively possible.

Thank you for your patience.

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The holidays are a time to see family, to enjoy friends far and near, and to connect with those we love. It is our great hope that this season will bring life to you and your family as you celebrate the season. We know that ours is a business of tight schedules, and that the holidays bring unequaled load volumes and customer needs. Thank you for your hard work and efforts to provide our customers with service that continually exceeds expectations.

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The federal motor carrier association announced recently a change in their rule making that removes the requirement for property carrying commercial motor vehicles to submit post trip vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) when no defect is found by or reported to the commercial driver.

Motor carriers must continue however, to maintain a DVIR process, where drivers submit DVIRs when a defect is discovered by or reported to the commercial driver. An example would be a defect noted on a roadside inspection, needs to be noted on a DVIR that the driver completes for that day. This provision will be in effect on the day it will be published by the FMCSA, which is December 18, 2014.

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We have had a few inquiries about the payroll deposit date for this week, with it being a holiday week, so we wanted to assure everyone that your pay will be processed for Friday deposit as normal this week.

When banking holidays have fallen on Thursdays in the past though, we have seen a few instances where some banks may be a little later than normal posting deposits to their customers’ accounts on Friday morning.

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FirstFocus is the newsletter publication of FirstFleet, Inc. We use this newsletter to keep our employees updated with happenings, celebrations and information from around the FirstFleet family of facilities.

This newsletter installment brings us the celebration of 3-Million mile driver Dale Moore, Ten new 2-Million Mile safe drivers, Sixteen new 1-Million Mile safe drivers, and host of others that have joined the half million mile club!

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The past week has been an interesting one in the world of trucking and has resulted in the suspension of two provisions of the FMCSA’s Hours of Service (HOS) regulations. The two rules being suspended are the provision requiring a drivers’ 34-hour restart to include two 1 AM to 5 AM periods and the provision limiting the use of a 34-hour restart to once per week. The rule will be suspended until September 30, 2015.

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The company wants your thoughts on the FirstFleet Wellness initiative this past year. The success of the Wellness Program consists of how well you benefit from the investment. In order to offer more opportunities for you to take advantage of this next year, we are asking you to take this very brief (2-3 minutes) online survey to tell us how you will benefit from the Wellness Program in the future. Please understand that your replies to this survey is anonymous and confidential.

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As we complete the final days of 2014, we want your thoughts on the FirstFleet Wellness initiative this past year.   The success of the Wellness Program consists of how well you benefit from the investment.   In order to offer more opportunities for you to take advantage of this next year, we are asking you to take this very brief (2-3 minutes) online survey to tell us how you will benefit from the Wellness Program in the future.  Please understand that your replies to this survey is anonymous and confidential.  

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Today is a day to be thankful - a day to remember all of the blessing in our lives. For each of us there are no doubt a different set of things that jump out in our mind for which we are grateful. There are no doubt some common themes among us, but we are a diverse group of people with a diverse set of circumstances as well.

As I think about the things which stand out to me personally I am flooded with an attitude of gratitude. There are the personal things - my spouse, my children, health, caring friends and a collection of items that are convictions of my heart which are hard to articulate - but I am none the less thankful. There are undoubtedly blessings of country, freedom and an appreciation for those who sacrificed to ensure those things remained for future generations. We have much to be thankful for.

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Slips, trips and falls are frequent causes of injury for drivers. Over half of all slips and falls occur on or near the tractor or while drivers enter and exit their tractors and trailers. In addition, slips and falls occur while hooking up the trailer or securing the load.

Slips, trips and falls are also common on loading docks, where drivers in multi-stop and pick-up and delivery work are at the greatest risk. No matter where they occur, slips, trips and falls can be very painful and costly. Resulting injuries may include cuts, bruises, muscle sprains and strains, broken bones and back injuries, and may even result in death.

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