“THE INSIDER”
QUARTERLY REPORT
Happy New Year
Wow! A new year has started for J & S Transport. Where did 2013 go?! I am sure many of us have made resolutions for 2014. Our resolution, as a company, is continue operating safely, meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations and allowing our employees to provide for their families and loved ones. We wish everyone a safe and prosperous new year!
Company News
We are very pleased with our new team mate who joined us last quarter. Please welcome our new ace mechanic Mark DeGregorio. Mark, who really needs no introduction, will now take care of our equipment full time. Please introduce yourselves to Mark, welcoming him to the team.
How does it feel not having to back out of Stop & Shop, across Washington Street, into the yard now? Did you hear that huge sigh of relief coming out of Safety Steve’s office? The yard renovation is complete, more room to maneuver with better parking. It is no longer necessary for Bob Hoyt to play “Flight Deck Control Officer”, jockeying equipment around daily. We can all agree the renovation was a huge success.
DOT Regulatory Changes for 2014
Did you Self–Certify your Medical Card with the State issuing your CDL? The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has required CDL holders to inform their Registry or Department of Motor Vehicles of the type of commerce in which you operate and whether or not you are required to hold a medical certificate. The initial self-certification must be completed by January 30. 2014. J & S Transport drivers are classified “Non-Exempt Interstate” (NI) CDL holders and must self-certify prior the deadline of 1/20/2014 and then every time a new medical card is issued. In the future, the medical card will be electronically connected to the CDL with the driver not having to carry the medical card. Until then, make sure you self-certify or risk having your operator’s license downgraded from a CDL-A to a Class D license. See Safety Steve if you have any questions.
Truck Drivers and Prostate Cancer
The Los Angeles Times recently printed an article by Karen Kaplan that may connect prostate cancer to driving a truck. It seems that everything we do nowadays causes cancer. The take-a-way here is to use common sense and have your prostate checked annually. Below is the article in its entirety.
“Warning: Driving a truck for a living can be hazardous to your health — if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer, researchers said Tuesday.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in men, and in most cases it’s basically harmless. As the National Cancer Institute says, even patients who never get their tumors treated are likely to die of something other than prostate cancer. So, instead of looking at prostate cancer risk, the researchers who did the new study focused on the risk that the cancer would be aggressive at the time of diagnosis.
They had a hunch that truck drivers might be vulnerable, because previous studies had suggested that long-term exposure to the kind of “whole-body vibration” endured by men working with heavy equipment could increase prostate cancer risk. It’s not clear why this would be, but one possibility is that the vibration prompts the body to produce more testosterone, which is a known risk factor for prostate cancer, according to a 2012 study published in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene. Another is that vibration can lead to prostatitis, or inflammation of the prostate gland, which may also be linked to prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
The research team — from the NCI, the Louisiana State University School of Public Health, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y. — looked at medical records and other data from 2,132 men who were part of the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project. Along with other health and demographic information, they told interviewers about the two jobs where they had spent the most time in their careers, as well as their most recent job at the time of their diagnosis.
When the researchers crunched the numbers, they found that men who said they spent more time driving a truck than doing anything else were nearly four times more likely than educators to be diagnosed with a prostate cancer considered highly aggressive. (The educators were used as the baseline group because they were deemed to have pretty much no exposure to whole-body vibration.) These aggressive cancers had a PSA level greater than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood, a Gleason sum of at least 8, or a combination of a Gleason sum of at least 7 and tumors that were stage T3/T4.
Truck driving had the strongest link to an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but it wasn’t the only occupation associated with higher risk. The researchers also found that men who worked at a garden shop for at least six months were 2.33 times more likely than educators to be diagnosed with highly aggressive prostate cancer. That might be due to exposure to pesticides, although men who worked as landscapers, exterminators or in other jobs that involve pesticides were not found to have a heightened risk of aggressive prostate cancer.”
Cruise Control & Winter Driving
All J & S Transport power units and most of our personal owned vehicles are equipped with Cruise Control. For most of us, using cruise control is second nature; saving fuel costs, preventing leg fatigue and keeping us from unwittingly getting speeding tickets. What a great convenience! However, very dangerous to use for winter driving. Using cruise control in snow, ice and rain is dangerous because when the vehicle skids or hydroplanes, the vehicle sensors will sense a loss of speed and in turn, increase acceleration, rapidly spinning the wheels attempting to maintain a constant speed. When this happens, the driver can lose control of the vehicle. The best advice is not use the vehicle’s cruise control during inclement weather.
Winter Storm Preparedness
When watching the Weather Channel or listening to the weather on the radio, do you know the various levels of warning the Meteorologist refers to on an approaching storm? Here is what they mean:
Winter Storm Outlook – Winter storm conditions are possible in the next 2 to 5 days
Winter Weather Advisory – Winter weather conditions are expected to cause significant inconveniences and may be hazardous. When caution is used, these situations should not be life threatening
Winter Storm Watch – Winter storm conditions are possible within the next 36 to 48 hours. People in a watch area should review their winter storm plans and stay informed about weather conditions
Winter Storm Warning – Life-threatening, severe winter conditions have begun or will begin within 24 hours. People in warning area should take precautions immediately
Healthy Choices
Now what everyone is waiting for!! A delicious, healthy recipe: Loaded Cauliflower (a healthier alternative to mac & cheese)
1 head of cauliflower
1 brick of marble cheese
1/2 pack of ready cooked bacon crumbled
2 tbsp of real brick butter
salt & pepper to taste
sour cream
boil cauliflower until tender, drain, put cauliflower in a pam sprayed casserole dish and chop. Mix in butter and salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the top. Then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Bake at 375 until the cheese is nice and gooey. You can serve with sour cream (optional).
