I first acquired my CDL in 2001 after many weeks of frustration, guilt from my then wife, and hard work in a factory that I knew was taking me nowhere.... fast. My dear father was a driver and a man whose skills I admired from the time I could climb into the cab by myself. Those lessons I took to heart and used it as motivation out here on the road to be a better trucker to those around me.
Most truckers can tell you though it's a hard-fought battle keeping the shiny side up on your rig and your attitude bright especially when you spend most of your time behind the windshield, being cut off by rude four-wheelers and accosted by local and state law enforcement for the collection of revenue. The job is by no means an easy ticket to a paycheck and we don't have time to screw off. We have to be on our game or shut the truck down.
I've only had a few incidences where my integrity and patience was tested. I lost it a couple of times out here. But I believe, from personal experience, that cooler heads prevail and maybe in time the general public will realize that WITHOUT TRUCKS AMERICA STOPS!
My observations over the years have taught me a few things about the trade (and, yes, it is a trade and a skill most people don't want to have or learn) and that's what helps me to be a better driver in the end. These aren't the only reasons but I know they rank up there.
1.) We are large, slow and take up a lot of space.
Most of the trucks out here weigh 80,000 pounds. There is a lot of energy that is used to get moving. There is a lot of force to stop us. We can't climb hills like we want to but we have the horsepower to actually get it over the mountain top. Imagine your car pulling 5 times it's own weight and there you have an idea of what it takes to get us moving.
The commuters of DFW who are hidden in their own little world behind the wheel often view us as a hindrance. Maybe they should take the extra 15 minutes to get moving for the day. Often times we get moving before most of you go to bed at night. We get up early so what's your excuse?
2.) Media coverage sensationalizes the negativity of the trucking industry.
I can assure you that most truckers are playing by the rules but some drivers and companies don't. I want to see these people off the road as much as everyone else does but that doesn't mean we have to be grouped with the bad apples. However, if you asked the media people how it is, we are all a bunch of pill-popping, lot-lizard-chasing, beer-swilling rednecks who do nothing more to get off on our negligence and running innocent bystanders and the general motoring public off the road.
Oh, and there is no such thing as a minor incident out here either. If a truck wrecks the whole world knows it. Most of the time it's not our fault but in everyone else's eyes there is always the trucker to blame. We will be reminded of it when the lawyers start calling. (See Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer. I share this link not because I like this ambulance chaser but because he does nothing to help the plight of the truck driver and he promotes the point of view most truckers are negligent.)
3.) There is no real education out to the motoring public about how to share the road with trucks and other large vehicles.
If you have a teenager in driver's ed then you would hope this subject would be covered in his class but sadly, no, it usually doesn't. Most driver's ed courses do not include even a basic overview of how to handle yourself around large vehicles. Many of us drivers wish they could include a day or two behind the wheel of a truck, even in a controlled environment, to get new drivers a feel for ALL types of vehicles and not just the sweet sixteen souped-up car or truck Daddy paid for as a gift for the ne'er-do-well's attendance in your worthless public school so you could be cool for your child's cliquish acquaintances that are so-called friends.
4.) It's viewed as slave labor and we are treated as such and we hate it.
And according to Federal Law it is. Most people think that because we work 70 hours a week we get paid like we we put in 14 hours a day. That's absolutely wrong. Drivers paid an hourly rate are EXEMPTED from overtime provisions in Federal Labor Laws. That means if I was paid an hourly rate of fifteen dollars an hour for 70 hours worth of work then I would make $1050 as opposed to the factory worker who makes 15 dollars an hour at the same 70 hours a week who would make $1275. Guess who makes out better and gets to go home every night? We are certainly not paid what we are worth and our attitudes reflect that.
5.) Companies often don't care if you live or die and therefore we do what we have to do to survive.
We are being pushed constantly and treated as if we lie to the company every chance we get. For every driver that quits five more suckers will take your place. Some companies don't care if you run or not as long as you have satisfied their 14-day-out requirement. (Can you imagine how it feels being 14-days away from home at a time and only have 34 hours to spend at home with your family?) We run hard and have to make the most of the time out here. Sometimes we will not talk to you, acknowledge you, cut you off (unintentionally, of course) and yell at you for seemingly no apparent reason whatsoever. We are under pressure to survive and our paychecks depend on the amount of miles we can get in factoring in for delays, traffic, load availability and hours of service among other things.
What can we all do to make it better? Give a truck driver his space and let him do his thing. Who knows? That may be the groceries that you need on that trailer.
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