Can YOU say that you’ve logged 25-plus accident and injury free years as a truck driving professional, as well as over 1.25 million miles behind the wheel?

When we discuss ‘niche’ hauling we are not advocating a “put all your eggs in one basket approach”. Spreading your risk is still the best idea. Just don’t spread yourself too thin by trying to haul for too many customers, in too large of an area. Alternatively, don’t haul for just one customer. The rule still applies: No more than 25 to 30% of your total revenue should come from a single source. This is very important in today’s economy, as even the largest companies can be affected by the sudden turns in the market they serve.

It is easy -- too easy -- to choose to eat fast or convenience food on the road. Come on, admit it. You do it quite frequently. With all of the reports about the occupational health hazards that commonly afflict truckers -- obesity being one of the top concerns -- managing your diet should rank as equally as important as ensuring your delivery arrives on time. It is one of the most controllable ways to keep your health in check.

How well does your GPS system work for you? Does it help you navigate the highways with ease and efficiency, or does your device lead you astray or is just plain unreliable?

Niche Hauling: a geographic area, commodity, particular service, unique method, or specialized market for which a small trucking company is best suited.

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about tax incentives available to truckers to help offset the cost of new technologies. Need a new emissions filter? There may be a tax break for that. Forced to run your engine less?

As is often the case with any new technology or innovation, incentives are offered to entice people to take advantage of a new concept thought to be outside the norm. Such has been the case with a range of clean transportation initiatives that have come on line in recent years.

Imposing caps on non-economic damages is a big concern for the trucking industry right now, and the issue could get even more exposure as the country debates health care reform.

Toward the end of his term, former President George W. Bush ramped up talk of drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, sparking a major controversy among the political parties. Then candidate Barack Obama opposed that plan, and still does.