Remember to thank a truck driver.
As Americans we are considered to be a patriotic nation, coming together in times of war and tragedies of mother nature, putting aside all contemptuousness, to unite and salute our troops for fighting for our country. We are taught to respect figures of authority on a level of veneration. Some of us even hear stories of strangers randomly approaching police officers or military personnel, even allowing their little ones to "thank an officer and shake hands!"
Pretty impressive, since our first set of rules to teaching our children about safety is to never talk to strangers, much less shake hands with them. But these are no ordinary strangers, right. They are the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect and serve us. And for that, we honor them. But have you ever thought about thanking a truck driver?
Sure there are lots of professions in which the people who work in them help us all in some way. We have Kyle and Carson, owners and co-founders of Wealthy Affiliates to thank for creating their awesome website to offer a "WEALTH" of knowledge and expertise, tools and support to help people achieve their goals of becoming successful online marketers. That's just one of literally thousands of examples I could use to make my point. Let's look at how important truck drivers are to us and how much impact they have on our every day lives.
Look around you right now, wherever you may be. Almost everything you see, unless you're in the woods with nothing but the device you're using to read this article, was brought to wherever you obtained it by a truck driver. And if you are in the woods, the device you are holding in your hands to read this was delivered from a warehouse in somewhere, USA to your local department store for you to purchase.
If you are at home, my guess is that 90% or more than what you have was made possible for you to obtain because of a truck driver. A lot of it, things that are necessary to survive, such as your food. Groceries, furniture, office supplies, clothing, these things are all manufactured somewhere and then have to be shipped to warehouses to be stored, then shipped to companies who distribute them (by trucks) to stores or smaller companies who then make them available for us to purchase.
One might think that driving is but a simple task. It is when you are commuting to your job, the local market, or perhaps even a vacation spot. Even if it takes you 8 hours to get where you're going, you can stop and rest, grab a bite to eat, stretch your legs or check into a motel to recuperate after a long stretch of driving. And weather or not many people realize it or not, being behind the wheel can be pretty stressful to both the body as well as the mind. Constantly having to focus on your own driving as well as all the traffic surrounding you, and let's be honest, there are some pretty crazy drivers out there that we have to watch out for!
Truck drivers especially have to watch out for other people on the road. Be mindful of the fact that the average vehicle weighs somewhere around 5,000 lbs. as opposed to a fully loaded tractor-trailer weighing in at up to 8 times that amount! Imagine all of the erratic drivers we see during our small trips to work or the grocery store and back home, people cutting people off, suddenly hitting their brakes (most times for no apparent reason), it can get tense out there, especially where all the truck drivers travel..the interstate!
Truck drivers are not only making it possible to feed and clothe our families, they are making sure that the world keeps running, delivering a vast majority of our every day needs to the locations that make it convenient for us to obtain them. It's not just a job to all truckers. I happen to know that a lot of them actually care about people genuinely. For those truckers, it is more of a mission to ensure that they do a good job, practicing safety on the road while stressfully dealing with those erratic drivers that are darting in and out of lanes, driving too closely behind trucks (please realize that if you do not stay at least a car's length distance between you and the back of a semi, THEY CANNOT SEE YOU IN THEIR REAR VIEW MIRRORS! IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!
I have never driven a truck. My Dad is a trucker and he is my hero. That is how I can confidently speak in this blog as if I were a truck driver. My father, his father, brothers, uncles, maybe a cousin or two, were and some still are truck drivers. I have so thoroughly enjoyed the stories, adventurous, scary, amazing, even silly at times, that have been shared from a "truck driver's" perspective, about people and places all across the USA and Canada too. My father has encountered families with young children on their vacation, broken down at rest stops and out of money, homeless people withering away in the streets, and he has fed them, lent his humble hand and helped many people.
My father said something one day that I never really thought about because job security was never an issue for my father. There will always be demands that must be met by supply, and the trucking industry is huge. My father has received many safety awards, inspections were A+, he has been awarded the million miles award, a million miles ago. What my father said really got my attention, as if someone had suggested what would happen if we were to go to war or if the sky turned black and daylight never returned. He said "What if the whole trucking industry came to a screeching halt!" How would businesses and consumers survive without the goods that truckers deliver 24/7?! I sat up in wonder, pondering on that thought, envisioning riots because there aren't enough supplies to meet the demands of our country, as well as other countries.
Truck drivers are important. Their uncommonly stressful jobs make all of our lives more convenient, not to mention, comfortable. They keep on rolling down the highways at night while most of us sleep. They can be compared to a business that runs on autopilot. The device I'm using to type up this blog was purchased from a department store in KY. But someone's father, husband, daughter, wife, son, or other family member sacrificed time with their family for a week, maybe 2, sometimes 30 days, to haul a 30-40 thousand lb. load from one state to another, to drop it off, pick up another, and make sure it gets delivered to your town, so you could jump in your car and drive a piece down the road to your local department store and have it home, unwrapped and enjoying it.
So look around again, see the blessing God has bestowed upon you and remember that a truck driver did you a service too. AND REMEMBER TO THANK A TRUserviceCK DRIVER!
Dedicated to my awesome father, Randy Cumpston, and all of you truck drivers out there, I salute you!
Recent Comments
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I must say a hugenoten THANK YOU, as a former trucker in Europe.
Due to sight troubleshooter (a Scar on my left eye) I decided to stop driving professionally. Legally it is permitted to drive with only One eye, but I don't want to take the risk hurting other people due to these circumstances.
Very nicely said Jbitt. You never think of truck drivers as heroes, so this was a real eye opener. This country--and many others-- are full of heroes.
Nicely said, I live in Canada and we were stuck in a snow storm. I was surrounded by truckers. As soon as we noticed that we'd not be moving for awhile, the truckers came over to me and a) if you keep your car running open your window b) would you like a coffee c) come over if you want to shut the car off and get warm d) if you need a washroom come over to the rig. Bless their hearts! They also made sure once we were moving that I was moving smoothly and under control, and I had a lot of air horns sending farewells when I got to my exit. I always flash my light when passing, and when pulling back in as a thank you.
Very well express and I have to say I do have respect for those truckers, I would not want to do their job, especially those ice truckers got to have some real skills to keep those trucks moving along, over here I know in the Highlands it can be a challenge on the roads and more so with all the trouble at the channel tunnel never did want that built love the ferries best
Jbitt Thank you for this. Truckers are so often considered an inconvenience and in the way .Even if cargo goes by rail or air it still goes part of the way by truck. Many truckers spend all day loading and unloading and then have to be at the destination by morning.
There are many unfair expectations on truckers by dispatchers and companies.
In the grocery warehouse business common carrier drivers work percentage and get no extra pay for changing a load from 1 size pallot to another because there are often not standard size to pallets.
I was fortunate to work a union car haul job for most of 35 years and 2 1/2 million miles. Many things that drivers do around trucks are very dangerous but as a pro driver you look for those things.
In the old paper logs there is a statement that in time of emergency you could be called for service.
80,000 lbs is wt. limit unless there are more wheels and special permits.
Marty
Thanks for pointing out some more important attributes that I left out, you understand because you've been there! New D.O.T. laws are practically dictating virtually every move of a trucker's day/night. I'm sure you're also aware that even more stressors are placed under these terms of having to shut down the truck and take a mandatory 10 hour break, even if that means you are still 5 hours away (in decent traffic
Appointments missed is money lost They now put points against
your cdl for having a marker light out.
It used to be if you had a problem that wasn't a serious issue you would get the truck back and the shop would fix it and you would go home. No loss, harm, or foul. Now you have to get it fixed on the road.
There have been many truck accidents from drivers falling asleep but it's not the drivers that put that kind of pressure on themselves.
I understand the need for rest but it alwas seems to be on the back of the driver.I ran potable Parkin lots and the company paid for motel rooms. You don't see too many car haulers in the ditch.
I retired 3 years ago and don't miss it.Well i like to remember the good times and there were many of those also.
Marty::))
Awesome Post - I drove cross Country for 20 years while moving Families household belongings. - If it's in our homes, a truck driver probably brought it. Thank You Julie
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My youngest son used to drive 18 wheelers. He first did OTR at age 21, then switched to many other jobs which kept him closer to home. He has a bad neck and back causing nerve damage, so he isn't driving anymore, but I am very grateful for truck drivers and I appreciate the hard life they live and the difficult task of driving among all of us. And many times, roads are narrow, bridges are narrow.
So, I thank and appreciate Truckers!
Eileen