Captains of the highway
I‘m sure you‘ve seen or at least heard about the “Share the Road” campaign organized by the American Trucking Association (ATA) and funded by industry suppliers such as tire maker Michelin, Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks North America (sure, Volvo owns Mack - but let‘s give out the props equally, I say). It essentially takes a group of seasoned truck driving veterans with spotless safety records and puts them on the road to criss-cross the country, speaking at elementary schools, public events, and driver safety meetings, to emphasize the importance of safe driving - especially around big rigs.
These drivers are nominated by their peers in the industry to serve as “captains” of what the ATA calls “America‘s Road Team” for one year - and the ATA‘s been doing this for over two decades.
“The public face of the trucking industry is our drivers,” said Scott Kress, Volvo‘s senior vice president - sales & marketing. “Given the challenges our industry sees today, it is critically important that the U.S. trucking industry once again come forward with its best people.”
I got to talk with three such captains this week by lucky chance at the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting here in Orlando, Florida: Clarence Jenkins Jr., a driver for UPS freight; Rich Scholl, a driver with Roadway; and Wayne Crowder, a driver for FedEx Freight. Gregarious, funny, and plainspoken, they each jumped at the chance to represent their chosen profession and their peers before the public - even if they weren‘t exactly thrilled with the idea of speaking before large crowds, which they are called upon to do.
(Left to right: Clarence Jenkins, Rich Scholl, Wayne Crowder)
“It‘s a little daunting, to say the least,” Jenkins told me. He should know - a few weeks back he took part in safety event held on the steps of the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia with the Governor, no less. It might not compare to the pressures faced on the highway every day, but Jenkins said that came awful close.
“But this is important - we need to be before our fellow drivers and the general public to talk about safety,” he told me. “It can be dangerous out on the road, especially if you don‘t know the basics, like where a truck‘s blind spots are.”
“It also helps dispel the stigma about driving trucks for a living,” added Scholl. “It‘s good career - my wife and I have seven kids and this job allows me to put food on the table and take care of them. It‘s also important to take pride in what we do.”
Many drivers might dispute their experiences - lord knows, there are lots of truckers living on the edge of financial ruin these days, faced with high fuel prices and little freight - but I still think taking pride in doing a dangerous job well, in being a professional and not just a seat warmer, is a very good thing.
Tell you something else: we need more drivers like these guys.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I like the idea af the ‘Captians of The Road’ — if they can get people to understand how hard it is to move those big rigs across the country to do their jobs without doing harm, despite how we are treated!
I find most people totally misunderstand what is going on out on the road. The average driver may only be on the road for a couple of hours a day and has no idea that the trucker is in his office on the highway; so to the big rig driver, it is much more than just getting to the office and back home at 5 PM. To the trucker, it a job on the road 24/7, and it’s hard to travel from Houston to Miami without getting a stare and a complaint from some ‘4-wheeler’ who is mad at the boss and not paying attention. And it’s the trucker who comes out on the losing end of that situation; the trucker is misunderstood by everyone because none of them have been in our shoes…
I have been a big-rig driver on and off since 1964 (44 years) and I have never put a dent on a commercial vehicle; I’ve never had an accident. I have driven all over the USA and Canada, in snow and ice across the midwest, in summer rainstorms, the dense fog in California, Denver, Tennessee and Florida. I have braved the traffic through major cities: San Fransisco, Denver, Salt Lake City, Dallas-Fort Worth, NY, Chicago, Miami, and many others across the country. I have driven across the Sierra Madres, the Rocky Mountains, the blistering desert, up and down the U.S. from Texas to Montana, all without an accident or ever being stuck or off the road in any manner.
I say I’m lucky, but I’ve also trained myself to do better each time I go out. Every run is a training experience to me, and it will remain so as long as I can qualify for my Class A CDL … I am due for renewal in March 2009, on my 71st birthday. My brothers, age 72 and 68 also hold a Class A CDL, we are all looking forward to another 9 years as qualified big-rig drivers!
(My older brother and I, in our spare time, ride sports bikes — yes, those low slung handle-barred race bikes that run as fast as 180 MPH! We go out on a Sunday and ride 250 miles in the crooked roads of NE Kentucky at break-neck speeds, taking every curve as a new experience and attempting to be the best and fastest rider … and safe at the same time.)
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings!!
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