Are your wheels ready for the spotlight? The International Road Check event has rolled in, and it's the moment of truth for commercial drivers everywhere. Road warriors, buckle up! This is Walter Gatlin with Rollin' 18, and I'm here to guide you through the gauntlet of inspections that could make or break your journey. We're on the edge of our seats with nearly 5,000 downloads in just two weeks, and I can't wait to share the vital dos and don'ts that'll keep you trucking with confidence. This isn't your average checkpoint; it's a 72-hour blitz with 15 vehicles inspected every minute across North America, and I've got the lowdown on how to emerge unscathed and on the right side of the law.
Strap in for the full breakdown of what these inspections entail and why they're not just about ticking boxes but safeguarding our lives on the asphalt. With authorities combing through every nook and cranny, I'll reveal how to stay transparent without tripping any wires. And for those of you in the fast lane of life, heed my urgent plea for safety – because when we share the road, we share the responsibility. No stone is left unturned in this episode as I tackle everything from the importance of swift, safe passing to the dire consequences of falsifying documents or skirting regulations. Stay tuned and stay informed – your livelihood could depend on it.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Are your wheels ready for the spotlight? The International Road Check event has rolled in, and it's the moment of truth for commercial drivers everywhere. Road warriors, buckle up! This is Walter Gatlin with Rollin' 18, and I'm here to guide you through the gauntlet of inspections that could make or break your journey. We're on the edge of our seats with nearly 5,000 downloads in just two weeks, and I can't wait to share the vital dos and don'ts that'll keep you trucking with confidence. This isn't your average checkpoint; it's a 72-hour blitz with 15 vehicles inspected every minute across North America, and I've got the lowdown on how to emerge unscathed and on the right side of the law.
Strap in for the full breakdown of what these inspections entail and why they're not just about ticking boxes but safeguarding our lives on the asphalt. With authorities combing through every nook and cranny, I'll reveal how to stay transparent without tripping any wires. And for those of you in the fast lane of life, heed my urgent plea for safety – because when we share the road, we share the responsibility. No stone is left unturned in this episode as I tackle everything from the importance of swift, safe passing to the dire consequences of falsifying documents or skirting regulations. Stay tuned and stay informed – your livelihood could depend on it.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Speaker 1:
Hello drivers, and welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. I'm your host, walter Gatlin. I want to remind you, folks, that this is going to be a short audio today, because we only have 11 minutes that we can afford to give for this last monthly broadcast. And it's not exactly your month, it's the broadcasting podcast month. It ends on Friday and that's when we get all of our time back. That's why I'm only doing 15 minute shows. Some of them run over. That's why I've only got 11 minutes left on this last one. And then then, as we start getting sponsors, we have three out of six that we want to use already. So we're choosing wisely. These sponsors are going to be real fast. They're not going to be these typical one minute, two minute things. We're going to tell you about our sponsors in the beginning and the end of our audio, let you know who they are, what they can do for you real quickly, and then we're going to be back to business. So it's going to be great. So I want to thank each and every one of you for downloading. We're almost up to 5,000 and only just a little over two weeks. So it's great. I appreciate that. I appreciate all of you. Thank you for supporting me a 40-year driver who wants to do a podcast. The story that I'm going to remind everybody about today is today's the 14th, so that is the start of the International Road Check.
Speaker 1:
The International Road Check is an annual three-day event when the CVSA certified inspectors conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives targeted at various elements of motor carrier, vehicle and driver safety. Now the International Road Check is the largest enforcement program for commercial vehicles in the entire world, with nearly 15 trucks and motor coaches inspected on average every minute across North America during a 72-hour period. Now, since its inception in 1988, roadside inspections conducted during International Road Check have numbered more than 1.8 million. International Road Check also provides an opportunity to educate industry and the general public about the importance of safe commercial motor vehicle operations and the roadside inspection program. Now, if a lot of you four-wheelers listen to my podcast, please note do not hang out on the side of a truck, no matter what. Don't pass slowly, nothing. Please note. Do not hang out on the side of a truck, no matter what. Don't pass slowly, nothing. Pass safely, but quickly. If an 80,000-pound 40-ton truck lands on top of your family, there is a good chance that you and your family are going to die, so don't risk your life over something so silly. The CVSA sponsors International Road Check with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Now the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, transport Canada and Mexico's Ministry of Infrastructure are also involved and they provide communications and transportation.
Speaker 1:
Now the road check starts today. So they're going to be in every crack and crevice of America. They're going to be looking for you. If they see anything out of sorts, they're going to pull you over. Do not think you have rights when you're in a commercial vehicle. You do not. Okay, none of this sovereign citizen garbage. If they, whatever they ask you for, give it to them. That is it. Whatever you want to hide, make sure it's hidden in a very good hideable place, because if they want to find it, they're going to find it anyway, and when they find out you're obstructing their job, they're going to write you a ticket for that or possibly take you to jail.
Speaker 1:
Now we know we have a lot of drivers out there who are operating under false licenses. Quite a few have been busted here in the state of Iowa alone, driving with ID cards from Florida or New York or California, not even a CDL. Ladies and gentlemen, okay, that is shocking, but it is a fact. Now let me explain to you something. I would love to see these guys nab hundreds of drivers out there with false insurance information, with invalid IC numbers, with invalid driver's license. Get them off the road, arrest them, do whatever they have to do and give them the most severe punishment possible, because those of us that do the right thing all the time, every single day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we do not deserve to have our lives dictated by a bunch of criminals. What we do deserve is respect and dignity.
Speaker 1:
I got pulled over the other day by an Iowa State Patrol officer that wanted to weigh my wagon. It looked a little heavy and he also thought I was a little long. I drive a stretched Peterbilt, but the trailer is much shorter than a 53-footer. It does look a little longer than it is, but they pulled me over. They weighed my wagon, they checked all my paperwork. I had every single piece of paper that I needed in a binder. All I had to do was hand them that and my driver's license. He was actually shocked that I had everything ready to go, but I've been doing this for a long time. And let me tell you what. The last thing you want to do is hold up an officer that pulls you over. You give him everything that he needs right there, on the spot, immediately, and the next thing you know he's going to know this guy's got his oars in the water. So you know that's the secret to getting along with State Patrol.
Speaker 1:
But, like I said before, do not think that you have any rights whatsoever when you're driving a commercial vehicle. You are driving an 80,000-pound missile and they don't care what your excuses are. That missile can kill lots of people. That's the number one issue right now. People are dying because of these rigs.
Speaker 1:
Four-wheelers treat these rigs like they're another four-wheeler and they're not. You make one of these bad boys go out of control. They could wipe out several families in one incident and that is not a good thought. That's why we need these four-wheelers to understand. Treat these trucks with respect. Treat the drivers with respect, and I do know we have some drivers out there that get hot-headed and drive like idiots and tailgate. I've seen it. It's crazy. Don't do that. You're just making the rest of us look bad.
Speaker 1:
If any of you guys have a camera and you see a trucker acting irrational, get that camera, get that video footage, send it to DOT, let them know the time and date Hopefully it's on your video stamp, because that's what I use is one that has the GPS location, the time and the date. And although they may not be able to write that driver a ticket, they can sure send that company a stern, stern warning and they can make that warning sound so evil that company is going to think twice before they even let that driver out on the road again. So that's something we need to understand. You can call it snitching or narking or whatever you want. All you low-life, inbred drivers, you can do whatever you want, but that's not going to work for me.
Speaker 1:
Us rational drivers, we understand the difference between being stupid and being in a hurry. I do my share of speeding, but I do it out in the open road. I don't do it in the city and I certainly don't do it when we're stuck in traffic and I don't get mad. I don't make quick lane changes by trying to cut people off and all that other stuff. It just isn't worth it. So please do make all the excuses possible for your bad behavior and try and blame me and anybody else that tries to do the right thing or says the right thing. You can do that all day long and it doesn't make a difference to me. I don't even flinch when people talk so ignorant, because what I've always was raised that when you start calling names or you start telling something about somebody else that you don't even know that isn't even true, you've lost the argument. There's no use even listening anymore because you've done lost the argument.
Speaker 1:
But it's very crucial that we keep track of our senses while we're out on the road driving that 80,000-pound missile, 40 tons, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, it can hurt a lot of people. Now, like I said, this show is going to be short because of time constraints, but I want to remind you guys that when you're out there, be sure and pre-trip, post-trip, do whatever you have to do. You see anything out of the ordinary. Contact somebody If you're not familiar with it. Contact somebody If you are familiar with it. Get it fixed or take the time to fix it. This is not going to be the 72 hours where you want to go. Well, maybe I won't get pulled over, because our luck, these days we usually do.
Speaker 1:
Now, you guys know Memorial Day is coming up and the Memorial Day holiday travel period is defined as a five-day period from Thursday May 23rd to Monday, may 27th, so be very careful out there. A lot of people are going to be traveling. In fact, it's going to be another record year and they had reported here. It says we haven't seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years. Now that's the Senior Vice President of AAA Travel, so they're pretty up on this information. They're projecting an additional 1 million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which was extremely high, which not only means we're exceeding pre-pandemic levels, but also signals a very busy summer travel ahead. So we're going to have a busy summer. We're going to have a lot of traffic.
Speaker 1:
Remain patient. We are driving a 80,000 pound missile. You're going to get stuck in traffic. Let it go. People are going to cut you off. Let it go. Keep your wits, because the only one you're hurting when you're in your truck and you can't say that to anybody else anyway is yourself. That's the only one you're hurting. You're driving your blood pressure up for no reason and you don't need that. You guys, be safe out there. I appreciate you listening. Be back to normal schedule on Friday God bless. Be safe and, as always, keep it between the lines, driver. Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Visit our website at wwwroland18podcastcom. Remember we have a new episode every Monday, wednesday and Friday. Be safe out there, drivers. We love all of you.