Press Release:
‘Load Atlas’ clarifies rules, curfews nationwide
Mother Trucker Leads The Way
By Larry Hamp

            For almost 40 years Jeannie Holtz raised a family and worked as a bookkeeper in southwestern lower Michigan.  Born and raised in Benton Harbor, her business acumen inherited from a father who successfully developed real estate projects, Holtz is a person who abhors disorder and excels at simplifying complication.  With her children long out of the nest, and bored with actuarial charts, double-entry bookkeeping and the daily 9 to 5, she leaped at an opportunity to leave it all behind five years ago, and drove off into the sunrise.

            About the first thing Jeannie discovered in her new role as Pilot Car operator was the wide range of difference in rules and regulations concerning oversize loads among the 50 states and District of Columbia. For a load requiring one escort in a given state, crossing into the next involved dealing with a whole new set of requirements.  “Sometimes even experienced haulers had difficulty deciding what was required,” Holtz commented, adding, “And then there’s the curfews….” Many cities, sometimes whole counties and regions, impose restrictions on big loads during busy traffic periods.  “Heavy fines are the order of the day for violations, and it’s hard enough for haulers to make a buck today even if everything goes smoothly,” she said.

            “On a trip requiring passage through more than half-a-dozen states I was nearly frantic trying to determine what was required where,” she said, laughing at the recollection, “When it occurred to me that I could most likely bring a semblance of order out of chaos.”  On her return home, and during her downtime for most of the next year, Jeannie began collecting, clarifying, and collating rules and regulations of all 50 states, and organizing them in an easy to use format.  By the end of 1999, she was ready to publish, and found a ready market with trucking companies, drivers, and pilot car operators.

            While working on the ‘load atlas’, Jeannie began planning to form her own pilot car service.  “I have a friend who was recovering from heart surgery and had been pretty much confined for quite awhile, and asked if he’d like to make a short run with me,” she said.  Deadheading home they talked about the business and came up with the corporate name “Mother Trucker”, and the term ‘load atlas’.  Jeannie then designed her logo – a stylized self-portrait, and a big load legend was born.

            Jeannie has recently begun publication of her atlas for 2002, “And, last year, I added another atlas for the Canadian provinces which will ease the burden for drivers and escorts who must cross international boundaries.”  So far, demand has been good and is increasing.  “Sometimes I have to work far into the night in my so-called ‘down-time’ just to keep the orders filled,” she said, but added, “I’m not complaining.”

            Haulers, drivers, and pilot car operators who use Mother Trucker’s Load Atlas won’t be complaining, either.  Contact Jeannie at www.mothertruckerpublications.com/mothertrucker/ or 269-838-7017.