
When you are driving on the road, it becomes extremely hard to stay active and healthy. Simply sitting in a seat for long hours can put immense mental and physical strain on your body. Not to mention the terrible food choices you have to make due to a lack of healthy options in many restaurants, motels, or truck stops. However, if you are really up for it, there are plenty of things you can do while you are on the road to keep your body and mind in perfect shape.
Stack Up on Healthy Snacks
If you drive from state to state for fun or as part of your job you should always think in advance and buy some healthy snacks for the journey. Nowadays, you can find scores of nourishing refreshments at your local superstore to keep your health in check. You don’t have to fill up your stomach with candies, chips, cookies, or other similar treats when you can buy some dry fruits, milk, baked chips, and other healthy alternatives. This way, you can keep consuming snacks when you are bored and remain fit.

Always Use Sunscreen
We often undermine the effects the sun has on our skin. The constant bashing of the sun’s rays can create serious dermal issues. Often times leading to life-threatening consequences in the form of skin cancer. You should make it your duty to protect yourself from the sun while you are on a long journey. Use good quality sunscreen, and you will never complain about blemished and wrinkly skin when you are older.
Get Ample Sleep
Sleep is often ignored by truckers and other long-haul drivers since they are adamant about meeting strict deadlines. In reality, sleep should be your priority when it comes to long-distance driving. If you are putting in at least eight hours of sleep every night, then your mind and body will be in top shape to perform the coming day. However, skipping sleep will lead to mistakes and accidents, which we all want to avoid.

Meditate Often
You should make it a habit to meditate for a short period of time whenever you get the chance. Meditation can help calm the nerves and soothe the mind. If you are a trucker who is constantly on the highway, make it your routine to meditate for ten minutes before beginning your day.
Keep Hydrated
Our bodies need sufficient hydration to stay functional. Hence, long-distance drivers need to keep water bottles with them at all times. Avoid sugary drinks like sodas as they can cause the dehydration process to accelerate.

Try Yoga
Driving for long hours can make the body stiff, which is why you should think about sneaking in a bit of yoga during your breaks. Yoga improves flexibility and mobility of the body while also helping the mind regain focus. You don’t have to go overboard with a full routine when a small one can do your body wonders.
Socialize
Humans are social animals, meaning we need constant human connection to stay mentally healthy. Being social is highly important for drivers who are driving alone since talking with friends and family can revitalize the soul and help regain your focus and determination.
Final thoughts
You can’t possibly find time to prepare full-blown meals or go to the gym while you are on the road, but doing a little bit of what we suggested can help you keep your body and mind in tip-top condition. Here’s to a healthier 2021!
Got some wellness tips? Share them on the comments below.
By Aldous Aldwin




Industry Update - December 5, 2019 <h4><strong>By Paul DeCoste</strong></h4>
<h3><strong>Did you Know?</strong></h3>
It is a safety violation to replace your truck seat with a <a href="https://cdllife.com/2019/nebraska-state-patrol-finds-unusual-violation/">lawn chair…</a>
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<h3><strong>Weather Report</strong></h3>
Pennsylvania and New Jersey have <a href="https://cdllife.com/2019/states-issue-truck-bans-ahead-of-snow-storm/">issued travel bans for vehicles</a> in lieu of a massive snowstorm. Vehicles affected are double trailers, empty trailers, RVs, motorcycles, and non-commercial vehicles hauling trailers. This travel ban went into effect at 6 AM on Monday, December 2<sup>nd</sup>.
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For more information on which roads are blocked from travel, take a look at the Pennsylvania DOT Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation/">https://www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation/</a>
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<h3><strong>Regulations</strong></h3>
California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced that it is <a href="https://www.ttnews.com/articles/carb-suspends-imminent-ghg-rule-trailers">suspending the enforcement of its greenhouse gas trailer standards.</a> The original standards could be met by adding features to trailers that reduce aerodynamic drag, upgrade the tire pressure monitoring system, introduce low-rolling-pressure tires or other weight reduction methods.
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These standards were set to go into effect on January 1<sup>st</sup>, 2020 and had to be met by manufacturers of new trailers. However, due to the lack of federal enforcement and confusion among the definition of a “new trailer”, the CARB has suspended the implementation of these rules for the next two or three years.
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<h3><strong>ELD Update</strong></h3>
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is warning <a href="https://cdllife.com/2019/cvsa-warns-truckers-no-soft-enforcement-for-eld-deadline/">that there will be no leeway on December 17<sup>th</sup></a> for drivers that have no transitioned to approved ELDs.
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Look out drivers! The CVSA says that on December 17<sup>th</sup>, any driver caught without an FMCSA approved device will be considered to have no record of duty status and will be declared out of service for 10 hours. That’s valuable time that no one can afford to lose! Make sure your ELD is in line with the FMCSA rules: https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/general-information-about-eld-rule
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<h3><strong>Trucking Industry Serving the Community</strong></h3>
Truckers serve the community in many different ways and styles. <a href="https://www.trucker.com/drivers/drivers-industry-leaders-lead-through-charitable-work">Here are just a couple of foundations making a difference this Christmas season:</a>
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<ul>
<li><strong>The Convoy of Care</strong> – Founded in 2016, Convoy of Care delivers critical supplies to families in need after natural disasters. They have delivered supplies to multiple states across the US and even found a way to get supplies to the Bahamas.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><strong>The American Logistics Aid Network</strong> – The ALAN provides free logistics support to disaster relief organizations before, during and after natural disasters.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><strong>CFI</strong> – CFI has been donating through its Truckloads of Treasure event since 1993 and has collected over $800,000 in donations from employees and contractors alike. They choose multiple charities to support each year and even hold fundraising events like chili cook-offs, silent auctions and ugly sweater contests.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><strong>XPO Logistics</strong> – XPO supports the Ohio based non-profit, Elves and More which helped surprise over 800 children with bikes during the 2018 holidays. They even donated 500 bikes for a Christmas in July event this past summer.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li><strong>Wreaths Across America</strong> – Drivers throughout the industry look forward to participating in Wreaths Across America, a foundation that coordinates wreath laying ceremonies at more than 1,600 locations across the nation. Drivers support by delivering wreaths to different locations and even participating in the wreath laying events.</li>
</ul>
Trucker Spotlight - Natasha <em>The Trucker Spotlight series explores the lives of truckers and their journey to make a difference in their industry. We interview different truck drivers to understand some life lessons that make them who they are today. We also learn more about their motivations, and the problems that they encounter on the job. We also tackle how Trucker Path's solutions helped them with what they do. The information that they provide helps inform other people who are looking to delve into the trucking world.</em>
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/12/ts-natasha-blog-2.jpg" alt=""]
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Today we are putting the spotlight on <strong>Natasha</strong>, who's a 27 year-old trucker/Youtuber and was born and raised in Hawaii. She's been driving for 1.5 years as a team owner operator together with her husband. She likes to make people laugh and smile through her Youtube videos. She and her husband are team owner operators. Let's get to know more about Natasha and her trucking adventures.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to be a trucker?</strong></h3>
From watching other Youtuber truckers on youtube actually! At that time, me and my husband had nothing to lose but sell everything we owned and join the trucking world.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/12/ts-natasha-blog-1.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>In the years that you have been driving, what are the significant changes that you've
noticed in the trucking industry?</strong></h3>
Since I haven't been driving long enough, the one thing I have noticed is that the trucking industry is getting bigger by the day! Theres so many diverse truckers, you have to stay open minded dealing with everyone across the country on a daily basis.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to put up your Youtube channel?</strong></h3>
I've always filmed random Youtube videos since I was 16 on old channels. I was bored one day trucking and uploaded one for fun, and slowly more people watched and asked me to post more. So thats how it snowballed into me uploading videos full time now! I wanted to post videos to help other truckers with owner operator questions I had when I first started.
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<h3><strong>Any times when you get lonely while driving? How do you deal with it?</strong></h3>
Since I'm always with my husband, I'd appreciate some alone time, but I'm always grateful that we have each other. Sometimes, i miss my family and friends since it can be hard to see them. Having my little toy fox terrier dog with me has really made trucking it best!
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/12/ts-natasha-blog-3.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>As a trucker, what are the current struggles in this COVID19 pandemic?</strong></h3>
The hardest thing so far for us during COVID is food. Most fast food places did and still are closing the lobby and only opening drive through which we definitely cant go through. Also many restaurants closed all together, in the beginning especially we ended up eating canned soups, ramen, TV dinners, etc a lot.
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<h3><strong>What's your favorite Truck Brand / Model?</strong></h3>
I like the newest Freightliner Cascadia's interior features the best, the outside is slick too, but my favorite thing is they made every tiny thing very user friendly and more livable. We had an older Freightliner before. It's WAY different in their new ones.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/12/ts-natasha-blog-4.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>Aside from being a trucker, any other things you dream of doing?</strong></h3>
I started investing in real estate a few years ago. I only own 1 house so far, but plan on continuing to build my portfolio over the years to come. Also, I dream of being a mom one day to a lot of kids and dogs!
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<h3><strong>What's the best truck stop for you?</strong></h3>
Russells in NM is one of the coolest - it has a car museum inside. We like Quicktrips, and Mavericks, their fuel is usually the lowest in their area, and they're clean and have good food. Many Jack Flashes are brand new and have tons of food options and a shop inside. Of course we found all these stops on Trucker Path!
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<h3><strong>What are the common troubles or problems you encounter while trucking?</strong></h3>
For us it's learning the different trucking seasons of the year and how it affects our rates, each season we have to adjust the routes we do in order to do well. Also, since I drive night shift, finding a place to stop for a break or sleep is the most difficult thing sometimes, it's crowded out here for trucks! The other thing is finding a decent bathroom/shower or any at all, sometimes I have to just toughen up!
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<h3><strong>What are your pet peeves while driving/trucking?</strong></h3>
Regular car drivers! They're always chillin in your blind spots not paying attention, and of course they like to cut in front of trucks really fast which is always a dangerous situation. We have to drive and break so differently than regular cars, so driving around a lot of cars can be stressful.
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<h3><strong>What are your trucker essentials?</strong></h3>
My morning travel bag I found on Amazon, it's big and I need it 2x per day so it has everything I need when I first wake up to right before I go to sleep. Another trucker essential is having everything in the truck as mini sized as possible since our space is limited.
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<h3><strong>We're glad that you use the Trucker Path app on your day to day trucking. What features do you enjoy the most?</strong></h3>
As owner ops, we use the <a href="http://www.truckerpath.com">Trucker Path</a>'s fuel prices the most! Secondary to that would be the restaurant tab to see what food is at each stop. Then, the trip planner to find stops along your route is very cool, especially when going cross country twice a week like we usually do, its a long trip to plan!
[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/12/ts-natasha-blog-5.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strongWhat are some tips that you would like to share for aspiring truckers?</strong></h3>
Be patient and stick with it, everything will be 200% harder at first, but eventually even the smallest things will get easier and better almost without trying. You will feel very rewarded after some time, and it all will be worth it!
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<h3><strong>Where can people watch your videos on Youtube?</strong></h3>
They can view my videos on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXtbBerWrhRFN7E-aJ-5M7g">Youtube Channel, Natasha Trucking</a>.
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vY6NQ5-x6Qo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Hope you guys enjoy!
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<h4>By Aldous Aldwin</h4>
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Understanding Team Truck Driving
[p]Trucking is a hectic job that entails adhering to DOT / HOS regulations which ultimately means you need to stop at some point to comply with the maximum driving hours. With these regulations some truckers often opt to drive with a partner to maximize efficiency. Team truck driving allows one driver to rest while the other one drives. The drivers can switch places with each other multiple times over a journey so that more distance can be covered while time is saved.
[/p]
[p]While some truckers love this concept, others prefer to drive solo. In any case, team driving has its perks, and they are significant enough not to be overlooked.
[/p]
[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/11/TP-BLOG-TeamTruckDriving-1.jpg" alt=""]
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[p][b]How Does Driving With a Partner Work? [/b][/p]
[p]The job is pretty straightforward. One driver drives while the other rests, eats, and sleeps. Each driver has their own duty-time set on a schedule, so there are no arguments regarding shift timings. This significantly reduces the time needed to haul loads from one point to another, and hence that results in better pay. Both drivers receive the benefits of the entire job even when they are spending half their time doing it.[/p]
[p]It is easy to judge from the brief discussion above that team driving has its benefits, but it also has its disadvantages.
[/p]
[p][b]Advantages of Team Trucking [/b][/p]
[p]It should be clear by now that for people who love to socialize and work at the same time, team truck driving is the best job to have. You rarely get bored, you always have a partner to keep you entertained and you don’t have to share meals with strangers while you are sitting at a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. But these are just a few perks. Trucking with a partner can result in a lot more advantages.
[/p]
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<li><strong>More Available Jobs </strong></li>
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[p]Trucking with a partner is like having opened up a new skill that qualifies you and your partner to apply for jobs that would otherwise be unavailable to you if each of you were driving solo. Trucking companies like to save time and love efficiency, which is why they admire the concept of team driving. They are willing to pay you more just so you deliver the goods faster. Moreover, team trucking is a great stepping stone for you if you want to go solo in the future. Partnering up with an experienced campaigner will allow you to access high-paid jobs with relatively zero experience. Once you have the necessary hours and skill needed to go solo, you can end terms with your partner and start your gig.[/p]
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/11/TP-BLOG-TeamTruckDriving-2.jpg" alt=""]
<li><strong>Consistent Income </strong></li>
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[p]Team driving is a more attractive package for trucking companies. They know they can rely on a team to deliver faster than a solo driver. They say two heads are better than one and that sometimes holds true for trucking. If there are two drivers, there will be more driving than resting and that would mean hopping from one assignment to another. All in all, you will be making more money and that too consistently.[/p]
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[p][b]Disadvantages of Team Trucking [/b][/p]
[p]While the advantages are tempting, especially for an upcoming young driver, some veterans prefer to drive alone, and they have some good reasons for it. [/p]
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<li><strong>The Profits Are Split </strong></li>
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[p]The term team driving is simple to understand. You drive as a team, and that means you equally share the spoils between each other. So while the idea of trucking with a partner seems tempting, it is not might not be feasible in the long-run, especially if you are in it for the money.[/p]
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<li><strong>Undesirable Partner</strong> </li>
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[p]Let's face it. It is not easy to spend a considerable amount of time with another person in a small space, especially if you don't like them. Your partner has to be entertaining or compatible with your level of thinking. If not, it can be very hard to pass time or trust your teammate with the job at hand.[/p]
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/11/TP-BLOG-TeamTruckDriving-3.jpg" alt=""]
<li><strong>Trouble Sleeping</strong></li>
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[p]As a truck driver, you have been trained not to fall asleep while driving long distances. And now, you have to fall asleep once your shift ends when your partner takes over the wheel. This could be challenging especially if you are not used to sleeping when needed to. Also, you might need to get used to sleeping while listening to some up beat music while your partner drives.[/p]
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[p][b]Closing Thoughts [/b][/p]
[p]Team truck driving is a highly attractive opportunity for new drivers who are looking to add miles and for old drivers who are looking for a partner since they are unable to drive solo. The pay is not that good, but the work is consistent. So team truck driving is recommended until you feel you have the experience to drive your semi or if you are a husband and wife team who love spending time on the road and enjoy an adventure more than the pay. Are you a team driver? Do you have tips for people who want to try team driving? Let us know on the comments.[/p]
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[p][b]By Aldous Aldwin[/b][/p]