COVID SUPPORT
Ontario Makes it Easier for Truck Drivers to get Tested for COVID-19
July 8th, 2020
Ontario Makes it Easier for Truck Drivers to get Tested for COVID-19
Sharp is proud proud to have donated 3 trailers to the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada mission. Great article covering the cause via FreightWaves:
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, a long-haul trucker and CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada, will haul a trailer with a message encouraging social distancing. (Image: Kimberly Biback/Sharp Transportation)
Read More....
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/trucker-hauls-message-as-essential-as-her-freight
A great interview with our CEO. Thanks to our Professional Drivers Brian Steckley (article cover) and Jeff Betts (NY) for the excellent photos that were used in the article. Thanks Nate Tabak of FreightWaves for taking the time to cover such a critical area of our industry.
Translated:
Serge Lapierre hauls pharmaceutical products to the United States for Ontario based company Sharp Transportation. We spoke to him earlier this week as he drove towards Cambridge before leaving for Tennessee and Oklahoma. He will then travel to Texas to take his mandatory 36-hour reset and pick up a return shipment. He will be gone for almost two weeks.
"I have everything I need in my truck, except a shower and a toilet," he says, adding that he has enough food to eat properly during his entire trip. "Even if everything closes, I won't be in trouble!"
His son, a paramedic, even gave him some advice to protect himself from the virus while on the road. For example, “Wear gloves when handling your passport and waybills.” Of course the Customs Officer is wearing gloves, but we don't know what he touched before taking your passport, so we should always wear gloves when we take it back," warns Mr. Lapierre, adding that his son showed him the right way to take the gloves off. “Then the documents go into quarantine for 72 hours in the glove compartment."
He also stresses the importance of staying focused on not touching your face as much as possible - people touch their face on average once a minute. Finally, he suggests limiting cash transactions and using your own pencil when it comes to signing documents.
"If we protect ourselves properly, we are the least dangerous person on the planet," he said about the truck drivers. "You never see anyone. All social is done with the phone today. Before it was CB, but no one uses it anymore. "
One of the main changes that Mr. Lapierre has seen over the past few days is the attitude of motorists on the highway. For the first time in his long career, he was honked for something other than insults. "When I turned my head, I could read "thank you" on the lady's lips and it made me really happy," he said. "Another thing that has changed is that I feel like I'm going to war when I pack my suitcase!"
https://www.transportroutier.ca/nouvelles/covid-19-les-heros-de-la-route-serge-lapierre/
Spread education, not fear
Yesterday we asked Professional Drivers for their feedback on fears and concerns relating to their roles and Covid. We received an overwhelming number of responses. The most common observation was not only that the vast majority are afraid, but they are even more afraid to share their fears publicly or with their Carrier.
How do we help ease fears?
If you want to understand fear and how we impact each other, read this:
Read this and think about it. Hopefully the respect for Professional Drivers and understanding of how critical they are to society is remembered long after this all passes.
Due to the essential nature of work that Professional Truck Drivers are performing, our provider has confirmed that they will continue to provide emergency medical coverage if our Professional Drivers become ill with COVID-19 or for any other medical emergency while working out of country.
We wanted to share this information to help put everyone at ease a bit during these unusual times. This coverage is crucial for our Professional Drivers, but also for our clients to have the assurance we can continue to provide service without risk of no coverage.
At HQ we are running a skeleton staff and most are able to work remotely. We continue to take every precaution for internal and external safety concerning this crisis.
In the meantime, please be safe and reach out if there is anything we can do to support your needs.
Good morning everyone. We are sending a little humour and words of encouragement in seemingly uncertain times. Let's keep working together to help one another and get this right.
At Sharp we are blessed to have Professional Drivers who are willing and ready to serve the community. We have retired Professional Drivers who have reached out to return to duty if it helps serve the community. We are still in operation and ready to help keep shelves stocked, thanks to our incredible team who recognize that their roles are not only essential but absolutely critical. With that, they are willing and prepared to serve.
We are now, and have always used best practices in sanitation and cleanliness, conduct, precautions with interactions, especially given the nature of the commodity our fleet is most dedicated to. We will continue to uphold our measures of safety, due diligence and sanitation for your safety as well as ours.
Hats off once again to our incredible team and Professional Drivers for their sacrifices and being willing and prepared to serve from the front lines 🙏
Covid-19 is no joke, but we thought we would share some comic relief in the current panic.
Here are some pointers on how to keep you and your loved ones protected.
1. Diligent hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of Covid19
(This should be done as frequently as possible, but especially before food prep and/or consumption)
2. Keep hands away from face (eyes, nose, mouth)
3. Stay home if you are sick
4. Do not come into close contact with people who are sick.
4. Cover your nose when you sneeze or cough with a tissue and throw the tissue away
5. Clean and disinfect commonly used surfaces often
6. IF soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer that has minimum 60% alcohol content. If soap, water and/or hand sanitizer are not available, then it might be time to concede and accept you are joining forces with the Zombie Apocalypse