Blog Posts

Driver Pay Increase Announced

3/1/2018

You may have heard CalArk will soon be offering a better pay package to our drivers. Let's get right to the details and keep it simple:

These changes will take effect April 1st, 2018. No April Fooling.

Here are the rates, by experience level and miles-per-month:

<10,500 miles/month (new base rate)

   .39/mile - 1 year
   .40/mile - 2 year
   .41/mile - 3 year
   .42/mile - 4 year
   .43/mile - 5 year and up

10,500 - 11,750 miles/month:

   .41/mile - 1 year
   .42/mile - 2 year
   .43/mile - 3 year
   .44/mile - 4 year
   .45/mile - 5 year and up

11,750 - 13,000 miles/month:

   .43/mile - 1 year
   .44/mile - 2 year
   .45/mile - 3 year
   .46/mile - 4 year
   .47/mile - 5 year and up

>13,000 miles/month:

   .45/mile - 1 year
   .46/mile - 2 year
   .47/mile - 3 year
   .48/mile - 4 year
   .49/mile - 5 year and up

>19,000 (team) miles/month:

   .54/mile - 1 year
   .55/mile - 2 year
   .56/mile - 3 year
   .57/mile - 4 year
   .58/mile - 5 year and up

Let's look at three made-up drivers to illustrate the real-life effects of CalArk’s pay raises:

Charles “Truck” Norris
Truck loves the open road and a Johnny-Cash-heavy Spotify playlist. His miles reflect it. Some months are busier than others, but he averages 13,000 miles. With five years of experience, he'll now earn $.49/mile. His annual income this year will now beat last year's by $9,360 for a total of $76,440. That’s a 14% increase.

Kristy Kristofferson
Kristy enjoys balancing time on the road and time with her family. With five years of experience but an enjoyment of the trucking life, she drives 11,750 miles a month. Her pay rate is now $.47/mile. Before April 1st, she would have earned $60,630 but now earns $66,270. That’s a $5,640 increase (9.3%).

James Smokey Bandit
James works hard and enjoys watching videos on YouTube. He has five years of experience and averages 10,500 miles a month. His pay rate is now $.45/mile. He previously earned $51,660 annually but will now earn a wage of $56,700, so his pay went up $5,040 or 9.8%.

We know per-mile compensation is just one piece of helping drivers enjoy working for CalArk. We're rewarding the drivers who put the extra time and effort into logging more miles while keeping other perks that help our drivers feel like family. As always, we pay for loaded and empty miles, keep our headquarters welcoming to any driver who wants to know us better while passing through Little Rock, work to ensure weekly home time in many areas, encourage stopping at home for through-loads when time allows, and help motivated drivers get the most miles with the least down-time.

Any questions? We want you to feel great about working for us and ensure it's crystal clear what we can offer the people who make the wheels of American business turn. Call your dispatcher or recruiting for more information.

Stay Alert for Stowaways

2/23/2018

While the average citizen may associate stowaways with pirate ships more easily than tractor-trailers, experienced drivers know they can and do find ways to hide in or on trucks. Doing so not only endangers the life of the stowaway in the case of a fall or accident, but it can set the driver up for a long interrogation or even jail time if found guilty of knowingly allowing it.

Luckily, preventing stowaways involves staying alert for their presence, not an exhausting amount of effort. Kevin Hurtt, President of Central Maintenance Corporation, shared valuable tips to follow.

1. Always pay attention. Drivers with loads out of our Laredo location may be more likely to run into issues, but you can make an unwelcome discovery on any trip. This driver unknowingly drove 50 miles down I-65 in Indiana with a runaway Ohio teen crouched behind the cab.
2. Look during pre-trip walk-around inspections. Hurtt advises paying particular attention after stopping at fuel stops, restaurants, and rest areas where a stowaway is most likely to gain access. Don’t forget to check trailer door seals.
3. Look in the right places. The bunk area of the cab and a trailer’s under-tray can be great places to hide, but the roof fairing above the cab is an especially common choice. Hurtt adds that our CMC shops in Little Rock and Laredo can install a wire barrier to deter unwelcome guests.
4. Look for the little things. Because a person can be well hidden, it’s often something as small as a shoe, hat, or fingers that gives their location away.
5. Don’t approach. Stowaways usually hide on trucks because they’re in a desperate situation, and CalArk wants our drivers and owner-operators to put your safety first. Call border patrol (1-800-BE ALERT) or police (911), then notify dispatch.
6. Learn more. Still have questions or want to learn more about CalArk’s certification with CTPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism)? Call Connie Stroud or Leslie Stout (phone numbers listed below) or check out the description of CTPAT at the website for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection here.

Connie Stroud, Director of Safety, Central Hauling: (501) 407-3329
Leslie Stout, Director of Safety, CalArk: (501) 407-3388

Three Easy Ways to Drive Healthy

1/8/2018

Driving all day might make your New Year’s resolution to get healthy seem like an impossible task. Sitting at the wheel, not having a gym nearby, and limited dining options are all daily realities for a typical road warrior.

To gather some strategies for putting those obstacles in your rear-view mirror, CalArk asked a couple of our drivers for the tricks and work-arounds they use to make healthy choices wherever the road takes them. Here are some of our favorites.

Nick has gone from a 50 to 44 by making healthier choices

1. Bring it with you. When you have the chance to shop on your days off, stock up on fresh fruits or veggies that last a while. You might not be able to keep strawberries on hand, but an avocado or banana will stay fresh for days.

CalArk driver Chris invested in a freezer that he stocks with healthy frozen dinners. He then uses a power inverter and microwave to cook them. He thinks it’s worth what he paid for the set-up because it saves him the cost of restaurant meals and “the only person out here taking care of me is myself.”

2. Make better restaurant choices. Nick, another driver for CalArk, also makes food in his truck but has strategies for making better choices in a pinch when he ends up needing to eat out. Instead of going for a burger and fries, for example, he’ll buy “a healthier option like wraps or salads.”

Most restaurants and fast food chains offer nutritional information on their websites. It makes it easy to find the number of calories or amount of fat in any given item, helping you choose a tasty meal you’ll feel better after eating.

3. Move. While it seems almost too easy to be effective, walking is a simple way to get muscles working and calories burning. Nick walks laps around his truck while pumping fuel or waiting for a mid-trip inspection. Chris walks during his stops, too.

Both drivers say their food choices have saved them time and money on the road, not just calories. Chris is in excellent shape, and Nick has gone from a size 50 to 44 this year, with a goal of size 38 for Christmas 2018.

If you have fitness goals for this year, don’t let the difficulties of driving keep you from reaching for better health. These two guys show small shifts lead to big changes.

Being There When You Can’t Be There

12/12/2017

“Maintaining family relationships” was one of the top three challenges with personal issues given by company drivers in a Truckers News survey last year. Especially during the holidays, being a part of the daily lives of loved ones probably matters deeply to you.
New apps and devices that easily go anywhere your truck does have made it more simple than ever to stay in touch, but some of the best ways to feel closer to home have more to do with how you use technology than what kind of tablet you own.

Try New Ways to Connect

Have you driven there/done that once too often to want the headache of figuring out a new app? Why learn how Twitter works if you already use Facebook or get on Skype when you already know how to FaceTime? There are a couple of great reasons to experiment with apps you haven’t tried.
Just like the vegetable casserole you ended up loving after Mom insisted you try it, you might like it. If you discover you prefer Skype to FaceTime, you’ll start it up just because you’re thinking about that special someone instead of waiting until later.
It’s also easier to stay in touch with people where they already are. Your 15-year-old granddaughter might think Facebook is for parents because she and her friends spend their time on Twitter. It’ll be easier to see how her day went by reading her tweets than by following her on Facebook.

Make Connecting a Habit

If talking to loved ones is only a matter of getting in touch when you think about it, you might occasionally realize it’s been too long since the last time you spoke. If you then happen to call right as your Mom is walking into the grocery store, you’ll still miss the chance to catch up.
A good way to ensure you’re keeping up is to make it a daily or weekly habit to call or Skype at a certain time when you know they’re more likely to be able to connect.
If you talk to your wife the same time each morning while she has coffee before the kids wake up and again a half-hour before bedtime while they’re getting into pajamas, you’ll feel more like part of their daily routine.
If you Instagram a picture of your current location every time you stop for lunch, your family will be able to feel more like part of your trip every day.
Of course, a truck driver’s schedule varies a lot more than most, but even if you can’t pull off the same times every day, having a general time to aim for helps keep the contact more constant.
No matter how you’re finding creative ways to be with loved ones, the CalArk family wishes the very best for yours this season!
What’s your favorite tip for staying close even when far away? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. And don’t forget to like and follow CalArk while you’re there!

We know you already know this, but never use your phone or device while driving. Not only is it illegal, but also your safety matters much more to your friends and family than getting that text an hour earlier.

Ensuring Quality Scans in Mobile+

2/22/2017

Other Transflo Mobile Driver Training Tools:

Instructional Video: https://youtu.be/2_wXO3tzscg
Driver FAQs: http://www.transflo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Driver-FAQ-DRAFT-080516.pdf
Driver Instructional Guide: http://www.transflo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/TFM-PLUS_UsersGuide_June2014.docx.pdf

HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I DRINK DAILY

6/20/2016

Have you been feeling tired and can't seem to locate the cause? It may be because of lack of daily water intake? Take a moment to review below for a quick reference to reasons for staying hydrated and the recommended daily intake recommended for an average person daily.
If there are any questions pertaining to the article contact your physician with your questions pertaining to the how much water one should consume each day.

The following list is a quick summary of the importance of daily water consumption to both your health and your body:

Promotes healthy skin.
Helps control hunger.
Hydrates tissues.
Regulates body temperature.
Cleanses the body of toxins.
Lubricates and cushions joints.
Helps normalize bodily functions.

Generally speaking, a good rule of thumb is to aim for EIGHT (YES 8) 8 ounces of water each day. More water will be needed if you’re physically active or in a hot environment.

Keep in mind that about 20% of our water intake comes from the food we eat. Foods like soup, melon, and tomatoes are high in water content, and this fluid counts toward our daily water intake.

If you’re having a hard time convincing yourself to drink more water, consider adding slices of lemon or lime to add a little flavor.