Next stop, The Spirit sets up in northern Florida

Jon Osburn, skipper of The Spirit, plans to set up Wednesday near Ocala, Fla.

He plans to be at the Ocala Petro at I-75 and Highway 318 from April 5 through April 7. It is at Exit 368.

Before Jon rolls into the Ocala Petro, I-75 will take him through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park just south of Gainesville, Fla. The interstate highway bisects the park’s 21,000 acres of savanna, freshwater marshes and wooded areas.

This trip will be Jon’s first after full enforcement of the ELD mandate went into effect on April 1.

The law of the land now is that drivers without an ELD can be put out of service for 10 hours before being allowed to complete their run. Be prepared for law enforcement officer’s questions by going over this checklist.

Let us know via OOIDA’s Twitter or Facebook pages if you notice a lot of law enforcement officers interested in knowing if truckers have their ELDs or not.

From April 8 through April 10, The Spirit is scheduled to be at the Wildwood, Fla., TA. It is south on I-75 at Route 44, exit 329.

Next week, Jon plans to be in Vero Beach, Fla.

The stop before Ocala for The Spirit was the South Atlanta TA in Jackson, Ga., where, of course, electronic logging devices were top of mind as well as hours of service regulations.

One thing most everyone agreed upon was the part of OOIDA’s petition to that does away with the 30-minute “milk-and-cookies” break. The petition also suggests giving truckers more schedule flexibility, allowing them more time to rest throughout the day.

You can read about OOIDA’s petition here.

Whenever you see The Spirit tour truck, go and say hello to Jon. He enjoys visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. You can also join or renew your OOIDA membership for $10 off the regular price there. Also, you can get vouchers for flu, shingles and pneumonia vaccines from Jon at The Spirit.