Spiritual insight and truck drivers
A signal aim of religious teachings and practice is to place us in the other person’s shoes, to see things from the other person’s perspective — and nothing seems to be harder to do, in political discourse these days, on the information superhighway, or on the real highway.
Which is why this this Minneapolis Star-Tribune column, (via First Links), struck me as a kind of devotional reading:
Let me tell you a little about the truck driver you just flipped off because he was passing another truck, and you had to cancel the cruise control and slow down until he completed the pass and moved back over.
His truck is governed to 68 miles an hour, because the company he leases it from believes it keeps him and the public and the equipment safer.
The truck he passed was probably running under 65 mph to conserve fuel. You see, the best these trucks do for fuel economy is about 8 miles per gallon. With fuel at almost $4 per gallon — well, you do the math. And, yes, that driver pays for his own fuel.
He needs to be 1,014 miles from where he loaded in two days. And he can’t fudge his federally mandated driver log, because he no longer does it on paper; he is logged electronically.
He can drive 11 hours in a 14-hour period; then he must take a 10-hour break. And considering that the shipper where he loaded held him up for five hours because it is understaffed, he now needs to run without stopping for lunch and dinner breaks.
If he misses his delivery appointment, he will be rescheduled for the next day, because the receiver has booked its docks solid (and has cut staff to a minimum). That means the driver sits, losing 500-plus miles for the week.
Which means his profit will be cut, and he will take less money home to his family. Most of these guys are gone 10 days, and home for a day and a half, and take home an average of $500 a week if everything goes well.
You can’t tell by looking at him, but two hours ago he took a call informing him that his only sister was involved in a car accident, and though everything possible was done to save her, she died. They had flown her to a trauma hospital in Detroit, but it was too late.
Keep reading to the end…
Yep. I think how stressful life in this electronically monitored age must be for truckers about every time I drive between cities. I didn’t realize they made so little money. That job must have been fun, emotionally liberating just a few years ago.
Be courteous to them, please. Slow down a little to let them into the lane ahead of you, then flash your lights to tell them it’s safe to move.
I had a friend who drove trucks and he said the same thing. Everything i now electronically monitored – how often you shift, speed, how long engine idles, rest, all of it. That way if there is an accident they can evaluate what happened and make things safer.
He said a big problem was people pulling rv’s in the summer and had some horror stories about motorcyclicsts. One of them was going to pass and he waved him back as he saw a vehicle coming ahead and knew the cyclist could not make it. His girlfriend was on the back and he had to cut in front of the truck quickly. He said he could not see the bike but could hear the girls helmut clacking against his grill. He kept his truck back as best as he could as they were going down a hill.
Finally they were all able to pull over at a rest stop as it was totally harrowing and they all needed to breathe.
Naturally the girl took her helmut off and let the boyfriend have it with the helmut. My friend asked if he didn’t see him wave him back and the kid said he thought he could make it. sheesh.
Tough job but on the plus side the transportation ministry is doing everything they can to make it safer.
And for those on the right who want to complain about regulation….think twice!!!! Safety first.
Reminds me of this hilarious (and colorful) post about how to drive near or around trucks:
http://coldfury.com/index.php/?p=2361
Thanks, Studebaker, I learned a lot. So much I’m now scared to drive within 100 yards of a truck. Excellent warnings.