Announcing the Third Annual ‘Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel’

The sight of nearly 300 women in red t-shirts at the Mid-America Trucking Show always turns a few heads. 

The shrieks and hugs from the participants bring a smile to everyone nearby.  All female professional drivers are welcome to take part in this year’s event.

The Women In Trucking (WIT) Association is hosting its Third Annual, “Salute to the Women Behind the Wheel,” at the Kentucky Exposition Center (Louisville) on Saturday, March 24, 2012. 

Doors open at noon in rooms C201-C205 in the upper level of the south wing.  Drivers can register at the show at the WIT booth (#40565) in the north wing lobby.

Any woman with a commercial driver’s license is encouraged to attend and is not required to be a member of the association; although they are encouraged to support the nonprofit association as a member. Female drivers can register at the Salute to Women website.

Attendees and their families will be welcomed by the Women In Trucking board members and the sponsors of the event where each female driver will receive a goodie bag filled with gifts.  They will also be able to visit with corporate sponsors and meet with the driver advisory committee and accomplished drivers who have reached four million mile safe driving records.

Terry Wooley and Highway Fever will perform before the ceremony and guests will once again enjoy Women In Trucking’s signature chocolate fountains!

This year’s guest speaker will be Joyce Brenny, owner of Brenny Transportation, Inc. and Brenny Specialized, Inc. in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  Brenny currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Minnesota Trucking Association and is the first woman to serve in that capacity. 

Gold level sponsor representatives from Frito-Lay and Walmart will welcome the attendees and Women In Trucking President/CEO, Ellen Voie, will give an update on the association’s accomplishments.

The Women In Trucking Association hosts the celebration, but the event is funded through the generous support of the following sponsors:

Gold Sponsors: Frito-Lay and Walmart TransportationSilver Sponsors: U.S. Xpress, Inc. and Volvo TrucksBronze Sponsor: McGriff, Seibels, & Williams, Inc.Copper Sponsors: FedEx Freight, J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., Owner-Operator DIRECT, Rand McNally, Trucker Charity Inc., and UPS FreightNickel Sponsors: Airtab®, Anatabloc, Brenny Transportation, Inc. & Brenny Specialized, Inc., J.B. Hunt and Schneider National, Inc.

Women In Trucking (www.womenintrucking.org) was established to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments and reduce obstacles faced by women working in the trucking industry.  Women In Trucking is supported by its members and the generous support of Gold Level Partners; Bendix, Frito-Lay North America , Great Dane Trailers, Hyundai Translead and Walmart.

2011 Salute to Women Behind the Wheel (hi-res photo available upon request) Photo by Paul Hartley, AddMedia.com

© 2012, Truck Drivers News Blog. All rights reserved.

I'm just a EX-truck driver, trying to pass along a little information. I been in the Trucking Industry as a driver for over 15 years. I have driven both as an owner operator and as a company driver. I have also been a driver instructor for an accredited truck driving school in KY. I am no longer a truck driver, but I consider myself to be a watchdog for the trucking industry. In fact this site is the #1 site for getting the real news about trucking. We don't hold back here, you will hear the full story. Twitter | Contact Me |Truck Drivers News Facebook

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A Look at the Typical Rear Wheel Drive Power Transmission Configuration

If you're someone who tends to work on their own vehicles when problems come up you're likely already familiar with this information but for those of us who've typically had a mechanic work on our vehicles this could be some new information. Today we'll take a look at the ways in which most vehicles on the road typically get the power produced by the engine, transferred to the wheels and into the forward motion we all use to get us from point A to point B on a daily basis.

If you think about how a car is configured you have the engine mounted in the front -except on some more exotic or unusual models- and either the front or rear wheels are powered by the engine and propel the car. There are All Wheel Drive models but this is a little more unusual and certainly was not a common variant until recently.

For our first example take a rear wheel drive vehicle: the engine is in the front and the powered wheels in the rear. The power doesn't magically flow from front to back so how is it transferred? Usually you will find a automatic or manual transmission mounted behind the engine. The transmission allows you or the car's automatic system to select the best gear ratio for the current road conditions and load. The engine can work more effectively under heavy load when in a low gear whereas to move at maximum speed you would want a gear that minimizes engine revolutions-per-minute- while maximizing wheel speed.

In rear wheel drive models a drive shaft is attached to the rear of the transmission -typically this attachment point is roughly under the center console- and runs back to the final drive on the rear axle which apportions power between the two rear wheels. Since the drive shaft needs to have some flexibility to move up and down as the suspension compresses and extends over rough roads there are normally a couple joints at certain points in the drive line. These are usually U joints which are a bit different and often longer lasting than the CV joints you will find in the drive systems of front wheel drive cars. U-joints are probably a bit easier than the typical CV joint replacement as well.

If you are curious to find out exactly how this system looks one of the simplest and easiest ways to get a visual picture of it is to find an older truck like a 80s or 90s model Chevy pickup truck. These types are usually tall enough that you can easily take a peak underneath and see the drive shaft attachment points at the transmission end and the rear differential.

Ready to learn more about vehicle drive-line systems and the typical CV joint replacement cost? If so you can read more about CV joints and how they work right here.

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