Rob Carpenter

@RobCarpenter • 8,808 subscribers

Fleet fixer. Fact finder. WHCA. Investigator. ExpertWitness. Writer covering trucking & White House policy/Transportation. Long form loyalist. Conservative.

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The last 8 seconds of your life Ashley Chapman died in 2023 at a red light with 6 other vehicles because a driver fell asleep. The carrier incentivized per-load pay. Per-load pay and short haul meant tightened windows, which meant fatigue and speed were incentivized. Decision makers moved on. Richard Wright was sentenced to three years. The Executives went elsewhere. The owners closed, sold & retired. The trucks you hire and the drivers you hire matter now more than ever.

550,837 views

That bridge you're on? It froze before the road did. Every year we gotta learn this again. If you're one of those people who needs to know why, the ground under a road retains heat. The bridge has cold air under it. Now you know. Stay at the house.

1,702,494 views

We had a driver this week in a litigation case lose their load because they didn't know straps werent the same WLL as graded chain. Not all drivers are created equal. A CDL is not a CDL is not a CDL. We’ve got plenty of dock-bumper drivers for basic freight. The real shortage is trained, mechanically inclined, mode-specific operators. Dry van is not open deck. Open deck is not tank. Tank is not hazmat. Hazmat is not heavy haul. When fleets add specialized modes and start sliding basic freight drivers into them without real training, securement knowledge, mechanical sense, or understanding of the exposure, that is where failure starts. The truck may look similar. The work is not.

663,685 views

You cannot lease on the revenue and pretend you did not lease on the risk. An owner-operator may not be your employee, but when they operate under your DOT number, pull your trailer and make an illegal interstate U-turn, you inherit the crash, claim and scrutiny. Vet them. Contract it right. Monitor behavior. Enforce accountability. Your trailer. Your authority. Your exposure.

207,158 views

70% of todays truck drivers are not the truck drivers you envision after watching Over the Top or Smokey and the Bandit. The driver persona has changed a lot over the past 10, 20, 40 years from professionalism to skill to experience. This is who we're sharing the road with

1,206,115 views

Mexican-domiciled truck, crushed cab, wrecked trailer, still ending up under load in the US at some point. 1 in 4 inspections ends out of service. The ones caught deep in the interior, Tennessee, Arkansas, fail at 35%. The commercial zone is a fence with no gate. In other words. This truck might be next to you in Kansas tomorrow.

34,972 views

Smoke pouring off the rear tandems is not a “keep driving” event. Tires were the first ignited in about 30% of large-truck fires, and large trucks average about 15,462 fires a year. If you don't understand this..."cut it up." Underinflation, rubbing tires, brakes, bearings and wheel-end problems can all create heat. Check the mirrors. Check the tires. Check the seals. Carry the right extinguisher. The best tire fire is the one you catch before there are flames.

26,717 views

This is still a classic. Virginia State Trooper 2024. Move-over laws exist because people keep almost killing the people who stop to help them. This trooper didn't create the hazard. The car was already stopped in a live lane on I-495. She was trying to get it moved when another vehicle started the chain reaction that nearly killed her. All 50 states have Move Over laws. 36% of drivers still neither slow down nor move over at roadside incidents. See the lights. See the obstacle. Move over. Slow down.

47,843 views

In this building with the black awning in this Nick shirley clip, there is a ELDT truck driving school in this building called Titan Driver Training. As far as we know they're legit. In that building alone 1821 University Ave W MSP MN, $400k in PPP loans and fed awards. Titan was the only tenant in the building to not receive government funding. Quality Learning Center got $108k next door by itself in just PPP funds. We got your back wellness is a chiropractor in the same building doing FMCSA CDL Medical Exams. This address doesn't touch 2905 NW Blvd Suite 150 MSP MN where 50 different entities have received $1.7M in PPP, federal and state awards all of them are in Suite 150. If you're interested in the data we have it from MN State and the feds for all zip codes with the prefix 554 as well as PPP data we started collecting it 2020 because we were having so many issues operating in truck and bus terminals in that area.

421,355 views

Poor visibility. Stopped vehicles. People standing in live lane. Thats how 1 crash becomes 2. At 70 mph, traffic covers about 103 feet every second. Stay in the car. Drive for what you can see. Get out of the lane when you can. Dont survive the first crash only to become the pedestrian in the second.

73,731 views

One of the things we've found is 3D printed cloned plates to name one of many ways trucks get cloned across the industry. We see this in visual photos like Genlogs and we see this in the actual inspection, violation, and crash data. A truck can't be in CA and VA the same day. Why do we care? Because when that truck crashes and kills somebody. The plate and the marking will disappear. Then insurance gets involved and at some point society and the industry as a whole will share in the absorbed cost of this crash through higher premiums. The carrier will move to their next shelves authority theyve had waiting since they purchased it on places like The name of the trucking identity whack a mole game is make the money, let everyone else pay the costs. Move on untouched.

31,135 views

Bad drivers never miss their exit. 40% of all highway crashes occur at or near interchanges. This isn't the truck's fault but I know when I see a junction coming up especially with informational road signs I know expect some foolishness.

345,180 views

A 1,400 lb hay bale sitting in the road ain't just hay. A car hits it at 70 mph? ➡️ 116,000 lbs of force This is what unsecured and overheight "farm loads" really do. Strap it and plan your trip Or don’t haul it.

276,203 views

Illegal U-turns arent just a truck or ELP problem. 4wheeler in right lane cuts left across a large car already passing beside it to use an authorized vehicles only median crossover. T-bone at interstate speed. FMCSA found the passenger vehicle was assigned the critical reason in 56% of two vehicle truck passenger car crashes studied vs 44% for the truck. Sometimes the truck is just the vehicle that gets handed somebody else’s BS.

54,293 views

If we need a passenger endorsement to tell people, "We're at our stop, hold the rail," we need an open-deck load securement endorsement. This State Trooper must've been on break.

34,407 views

Raised dump beds and a missed body-position check become a six- or seven-figure problem. Sign structure. Utility line. Traffic signal. Whatever it is, it won't be the same. Know the condition of the equipment before the bridge tells you.

39,007 views

Who does this at an intersection of all places? Trying to save 20 seconds just cost this driver hours. Over 500 people die every year in passing crashes per nhtsagov. Most happen on rural two lane roads like this.

75,216 views

A steer tire blowout at highway speed can be ugly, and his driver did it right, but the better save happens before the tire lets go. CVSA found 2,899 tire OOS violations in 2025, representing 21.4% of all vehicle OOS violations. Check the tires, they usually give you something to find before they give up.

13,713 views

A truck from DOT 4316621 rolling down the road dumping fuel from the driver-side tank with what appears to be duct tape over a hole in the metal tank. The carrier’s numbers fit the picture: 66.7% vehicle OOS 47.1% driver OOS 46 violations 34 inspections. At some point the roadside condition tells you the culture.

39,025 views

This is actually where my yard was on yadkin Road in Chesapeake Virginia. I can't tell you how many of my drivers try to beat this friggin train drove me insane. About 6 vehicle-train crossing crashes happen every day in the US. FMCSA says a first railroad-highway grade crossing offense = at least 60 days disqualification, 120 days for a second, and 1 year for a third in 3 years. Hazmat cargo tanks and passenger buses are among the CMVs required to stop at certain crossings. You cannot beat a train. You usually cannot survive one. You can lose your CDL trying.

30,789 views

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