To all the truck drivers out there. The information i am putting forth i have got from current OTR truckers.Some work for JBHunt some are independant or gypsies.If they and i am wrong please let me know.
If you put together a room full of truckers and had them talk among each other during meal time in the truck stop; you are bound to get alot of information very quickly. Some will be hard earned life saving information, others will be pure storytelling and alot will be motivated by stress.
“*&^% Dispatcher is an idiot.”
&^%DOT does not know what we do."
“^&^%$$ 4 Wheeler putting on make up or on cell phone during rush hour.”
“&^%$ Mountain is not safe without chains.”
"&^%$ Walmart refused my delivery for being 15 minutes late.:"
etc etc. Any of the above is sure to generate a great deal of talk both good and bad to the downright ugly.
I went into the truckstop for a meal in Little Rock recently for the memories one time and discovered a building full of extremly time-stressed drivers gulping the food, yammering on the cell phone (The table phones have since passed into obselence) and in general extremly stressed for a large variety of reasons usually time pressures.
When I started back in the late 80’s there was not much stress except the idiots who insisted on passing on the right side and the weak drivers unable to lump freight at the food warehouse. The bad 90 day wonders were simply removed from the road and sent off with best wishes in another occupation of thier choice. The good drivers were recruited quietly with offers of better equiptment, pay and runs or any combination of above. Satellites did not exist, you got your dispatch over the phone that covered an entire week at times. (LCL, seafood and market work) your pay came over western union (Now comcheck etc). The culture was a much more “Safer” not necessarily less dangerous towards good drivers who were able to do thier work week in and week out without signs of physical weakness, lack of sleep etc. Yes there were some truck stops with alcohol and dance halls and others with amusements that had a wide variety across the USA.
Trucking was slower back then. It w
Safety Valve you are well informed you know of what you speak! Thanx for a well written response!
Having held a chauffeur’s liscense since about 1961, and current CDL [since 1993].
I might offer that the fallacy of this story was, first of all listening to a bunch of truck drivers at a truck stop…Where all stories seem to start with
" I know you won’t believe this.[.*add your favoirute explative…]…,*but
Sam
If you REALLY want to hear a line of***, listen in on the CB radio.
They all just got with the hottest woman, have the most powerful truck and all get paid $3 a mile.
Errm. The C.B. may be jest TOO hot in some areas. I usually ran with it off unless we had a highway accident or a particularly bad storm.
Talk and factual statistic are often miles apart. Dad once said " I do not beleive anything I hear and only half of what I read." Thinga said at a truck stop table should be taken with a grain of salt. Retold as facts they could leave a bitter taste in your mouth.[2c] As always ENJOY
As do I. But it’s fun to antagonize on there sometimes.
Safety Valve; >>>
I also am one of the drivers you mentioned.Thetruck stops are just what you said. They are a lightning rod . It is too bad that the trucking industry has degenerated to the point it is today. Greed has pushed the drivers stress level to pop the valve. The oil patch gang is greedy, the insurance carpetbaggers dont’ help matters , & the worst of all is the pompious D.O.T. . Line drivers are not bothered much in some areas as much as other areas , depending who is under whos’ thumb. The C.B. rad. is at best a cartoon, like anything else, has good points. G.P.S. eliminates a lot of bad things on the CB. Also lots quieter. In my 50 yrs. of driving construction &freight there has been lots of change, some good , some bad. One can learn something new every day if you watch &listen .The last 10 yrs. has been good to me as an independent . My bride has been with me as second string driver for 5 yrs. You have done your home work on this article .We havent’ been everywhere as the guy in the song says and I havent’ backed up farther than you will drive forward as ratchet jaw says on the CB. >>> But been down the road a ways. Im not offended, just glad to see someone has taken the time to see what the hell is goin’ down. >>> respectfully , Cannonball & Hurricane.