Images and Interests

I recently read a post on the Women in Trucking page on Facebook where a driver was relating a story about his experience allowing another truck to pass him, one that was set to run almost the exact same speed as his own. This driver had made the decision to back out of his own throttle in order to allow the other to get past him and release the large amount of traffic that was building up behind the rolling roadblock that was being created by the two big trucks virtually running the same speed side by side along the interstate.

All of a sudden, over the two way comes a loud voice, one I like to call the ‘Bobby-big-rigger’ of the industry, saying something to the effect of “hey there super trucker, what kind of a bone headed move was that, why don’t you go back to that trucking school you came from and have them teach you how to accelerate” or something similarly demeaning and uncalled for. Then, out of the static comes another voice, loud and clear, “No, I’m not a super trucker, but I am a super trooper and if you don’t get off that big trucks hind end right now I’m going to give you a ticket for tailgating”! The CB went quiet for a couple minutes and, as the traffic opened up and the trooper passed the courteous truck driver he keyed up one more time and said “good job driver, keep up the good work!”

This spring, as Roger and I left on our annual cross country trek we noticed how much more of this type of behavior is going on than ever before. We travel now throughout the year, all over the country in our motorhome so we oftentimes get a Birdseye view of what I'm talking about without anybody suspecting we have a clue we know what we are seeing. The only explanation I can come up with for the lack of courtesy is lack of training and or lack of experience.

I like to think that, with experience comes knowledge, with knowledge, wisdom. Wisdom SHOULD bring courtesy with it because courtesy brings, along with it safety. Safety should be our number one concern when we are captaining an 80,000 lb. ship down the highways of America. Today we have SO MANY companies that are governing their equipment to a set speed, which creates true chaos out there when those speeds are so similar that they cannot get out of their own way, let alone each other's! The time has come, has passed really, when we drivers MUST actually put courtesy into actual practice EVERY DAY.

The only way to reduce traffic jams, and the stress they create is to be considerate of those around you. If you are driving a truck with a top speed of, say 63 mph, and you are coming up behind one that goes 62 mph, wait to pass it until you are in a position to have 3 lanes or there's a wide enough space behind you open to not hold traffic up for too long. If you are in the 62 mph truck that is being passed, you could seriously help out by doing like the driver I mentioned in the beginning of this story, back out for just a minute or two, long enough to let the slightly faster truck get around and clear you.

Believe me, I fully understand the frustrations on both sides of this argument! We owned our own trucks and drove everything from a 600 Caterpillar to the little UPS freight trucks on our last job but there is no excuse for aggressive, nasty behavior when operating a commercial vehicle. You must be professional, you have to be SAFE. I believe the best way to achieve that is to be defensive in your driving skills, be kind in your temperament behind the wheel, be courteous to others on the road, especially to fellow drivers. There are so many things we have to contend with on a daily basis out here, we really need to find that old camaraderie once again, reestablish the ‘code’ we drivers held amongst ourselves, hold one another in high regard so we can depend on each other like we used to!

I have driven commercial trucks for 40 years now, over 4 million safe miles. I have seen many things, lots of changes in all those years. One thing I have seen that is NOT an improvement? The way drivers stick together. I believe we can change that, one driver at a time. Begin with an act of courtesy, allow a truck to pass you, flash your lights, NOT YOUR BRIGHTS, to signal all clear, raise your hand in a wave as you meet or pass another truck, refrain from negative commentary on the two way, JUST ONCE, back away when you KNOW you won't be able to get around that truck ahead of you.

Think about it, there are hundreds of little ways we can all be a little kinder, a little more courteous and improve our image to the public or, even more important, amongst ourselves. It’s such a stress filed world today; let's see if we can’t reduce it a tiny bit within our industry?

Hope to see many of you at Walcott next month at the Jamboree!!!

‘Til next month, y’all be safe out there and God Bless!