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Navigating Marriage while Over the Road

by, ATBS Navigator and driver Jeremy Rhames

Many occupations require spouses to be separate for extended periods of time. I find myself in one of them.  I entered trucking when I discovered I was a soon-to-be father. Working in manufacturing and living paycheck to paycheck, I knew I needed to make changes.

So, I signed a 10-month contract with a mega fleet and left my crying, pregnant girlfriend (now wife), at the Grey hound station in hopes of providing a better life for us. This career was not just a sacrifice I was making, but one we were making together. Maintaining a relationship as a trucker can be challenging. Looking back over our developmental arch, I can truly say we have a relationship "forged in flames" meaning, we’ve seen some stuff. Despite all the stress and pressure, we were able to grow closer and strengthen our bond to the point where we wouldn't change a thing in our past, because it led us to where we are now. To say trucking has had a impact on my relationship, would an understatement. My wife and I were able to overcome many obstacles, simply because we sought the advice of people that were older and wiser. It was a form of preventive maintenance for our relationship. I was able to find audio books and podcasts that were edu-tainment, (Educational and entertaining). From there, we learned what healthy relationships looked like, and what some common mistakes were. I've experienced firsthand and witnessed the consequences of OTR Trucking on relationships. Several men I’ve trained had problems adjusting to the new lifestyle. I’ve witnessed divorce, and have heard numerous horror stories about relationships gone sour. A question I frequently ask old school truckers is, "Was it worth it?". The most common response I get is "No". I can't help but ask myself if I would feel the same after 30+ years. Now, for some unsolicited advice. If I could go back in time to my younger self there are three points that I'd share: communication, effort, and passion. Talking about our feelings keeps our finger on the pulse of the relationship. This helps us feel like both parties are putting in effort to make the relationship a success. Finally, learn how to create passion, especially for long-term relationships.

After 8 years with my spouse, we still boast a chemistry that I rarely see in our peers. I attribute a lot of our success to the fact that, with my job, I have the time to put effort in studying relationships. The biggest value I take from trucking is not the money I make, but the ideas I expose myself to. In this way, trucking has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

You can follow along with James’ trucking journey on his YouTube

I want to hear from you! For Driver Submissions, questions, and comments contact me at: [email protected] or Text me directly at 423-275-2444

Listen to Jeremy tell his story on the Lombard Trucking Show here!

Deep Dive into Atlanta Traffic

by, Lombard

A few days ago a trucker friend of mine had sent a photo of him backed up going through Atlanta. I think the “who has the worst traffic” debate is always a hot topic, but for me Atlanta always sticks out, and I know a lot of it has to do with not being able to drive through I-20, but there must be more to it. Atlanta is such a stand alone city, almost 350 miles from Jacksonville, the only close relevant city is Chattanooga (which has its own issues with Mont Eagle) but Chattanooga has a population of less than 200,000. A study conducted by Clever Real Estate in 2023 looked at the top 50 most populated metropolitan areas in the US. The study involved “annual hours lost to traffic",” the availability of public transit, and average cost of maintaining auto insurance. The best city for commuters was Salt Lake City, and Atlanta ranked as the third worst in the country with only Chicago and Houston ranking lower. An article from Ponton Law Firms gives us a deep dive as to what makes Atlanta so bad!

1. Atlanta commuters lose an average of 74 hours each year to traffic. The National Average is 51, Salt Lake City at 12.

2. The average one way commute in Atlanta is only 12.2 miles

3. An Atlanta Commuter will spend $1043 in gas per year

According to the American Transportation Research Institute, Atlanta holds NINE of the “Top 100 worst Truck bottlenecks” in the country, and three are in the top ten. Reasons for this issue has a lot to do with infrastructure:

1. Urban sprawl - The Atlanta metro has a population of 6.3 million residents spread out over 8,300 square miles. That’s a lot of people, living across a lot of space. When the population of a metro becomes less dense, it bottlenecks commuters traveling in for work

2. Limited Use of Public Transit. Only 3.5% of Atlanta commuters will use public transit, likely because of it’s poor availability and service times. That’s only about 100,000 people per day, which is a small drop compared to each individual in separate vehicles

3. Major Commercial Hub. Atlanta is home to the busiest airport in the world. Interstate and international commerce run through Atlanta. with more commerce, you get more traffic

With more traffic there always comes more accidents, which also slow things down on the roads of Atlanta. In 2021 there were 1800 traffic related deaths and just under 9,000 serious injuries due to accidents. That’s an average of 5 deaths, and 25 injuries per day.

When it comes to “solving traffic” the answer lies within how we build and zone infrastructure. Adding more lanes simply does not work, and proof of that is looking no further than the Katy Freeway. At it’s widest part including frontage/feeder roads it has up to 26 lanes, and still remains one of the most congested highways in the country. The cost of adding lanes adds a high price tag, can sometimes take over a decade of work, that can’t seem to keep up with growth. I believe if commuters had more options outside of passenger vehicles to get to work, we’d see far less clogged roads for America’s truckers to not lose time and money at work. Where 2020 wasn’t the greatest year ever, it sure was easier driving through any of America’s metros, including Atlanta!

Health Tip of the Week

The Benefits of Limiting the Use of Alcohol

In my time coaching I will never recommend any sort of restrictive/fad diets, or tell anyone they need to “give something up” to reach their goals. I sustainably lost 100lbs over the course of 6 years, and not once did I give anything up, but one thing is for certain: if you limit or consumer less alcohol you will reach your goals faster. Here’s how alcohol can hold you back from operating at your best levels

1. Ruins Restful sleep - Alcohol will increase adenosine, a chemical that will make you fall asleep faster, but as your body processes the alcohol you won’t fall into the REM (rapid eye movement) cycle of sleep. A crucial part of the sleep process where your brain and body refresh, like a street sweeper cleaning out the bad stuff in your brain. Besides not drinking, you should at least try to allow three hours between your last drink and going to sleep. At two drinks per day, your sleep quality can be reduced by 24%, so if you’re sleeping for 8 hours, you’ve essentially only gotten roughly 6 hours of decent/restful sleep.

2. Weight Management - Alcoholic beverages are called “empty calories.” Calories are energy, your body needs calories to perform your day to day activities, but with alcohol those calories serve no purpose because when your body takes in alcohol your body will cease burning calories as it has recognized a poison. It works in overtime to eliminate it. It isn’t metabolized in the intestines, but your liver and kidneys. The alcohol is broken down into ethanol, and then becomes acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Any nutritional value from where the alcohol was brewed or distilled is removed in the refining process, and the calories are never stored for later use.

3. Alcohol negatively impacts fertility in men and women. In men excessive alcohol consumption can lower testosterone levels, and affect sperm production. In women it can disrupt the menstrual cycle, ovulation, and hormones. Fertility can make a full recovery after just 3 months of alcohol abstention.

Despite what internet memes and “studies” on the internet say, there are zero nutritional benefits to Alcohol, and yes it’s a myth that moderate drinking of red wine is good for your heart. All of those studies have been based off of healthy user bias, and the French Paradox - meaning they based life spans off of people in France who lived longer, and where they consumed more wine they overall lived healthier lifestyles with food and movement

Again, I don’t tell anyone how to live their lives, but reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption will reduce your risk of cancer, neurological disorders, and other diseases. It will improve your sleep, and help control your weight. In my time I have learned to ask myself, “Is this serving my true needs or goals?” My father also has said “They’re called Distilled Spirits for a reason.”

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Partner Post of the Week

Big Shoutout to our girl Aubry! She has recently launched her own merchandise line, and is hyped up for MATS! For a one time use booking, get $20 off with her code TWA20 (all caps). Check out her website @ www.truckingwithattitude.com

@truckingwithaubry

Hyping The TruckHers Up 🎀 #truckher #trucker #truckingwithattitude #trucking #fyp #cdl

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