Hello, I am a member of Heather's Pages on FB and I have her blog site saved so i can read comments.
What do I have to do with trucking you may ask. Well i will try to fill you in. I was introduced to trucking by my father in the mid to late 1950s, I was about 8 years old. My father drove as a bedbugger. Later on he went on to drive reefers and such. My father died while he was driving, he had a cardiac arrest on the loading docks in St Pete Florida. He had been running up and down the east coast hauling frozen and produce.
Myself, I learned to drive in 1968 after high school, no trucking schools then, it was learn as you go. I hauled hay and livestock for a local company and hauled liquid feed in the winter. It was a challenge i accepted and learned how to back a truck to a loading chute, narrow confines and all.
I drove truck in the military hauling everything from rations to ammo to APCs and such on flatbeds, using portable sides for the boxed goods of rations and such. As far as bad and good drivers, I have seen both. This little town I live in is on a US Hiway. Many times I have seen drivers come running thru town doing at least 10-15 miles over the speed limit.
I have seen them make turns into oncoming traffic when there wasn't enough time for them to make the turn because they wanted to get fuel, coffee or whatever. I myself, have been cut off a couple times by a driver switching lanes suddenly when they didn't need to. I got on the CB and asked why didn't he signal and I got cussed out for it, he even wanted me to pull over to meet face to face all because I was in a 4-wheeler. Yet I have seen some of the better drivers come thru town. I know of at least 10 truckers that came thru in the last couple years that will turn on the 4 ways and stop when there is a funeral procession going by either direction, drivers who have stopped and helped locals and others on the hiways in my county when they were broke down or had an accident. To the steering wheel holders and the so called super truckers, pay attention to what you are doing. You will save a lot of time and also prevent a lot of accidents. You are driving 80,000 of moving steel and cannot stop on a dime. There is no reason to be tailgating other cars or trucks.
To those drivers who cuss out 4-wheeler; sure most of them are a pain in the ass, but there are a minority of the drivers who understand what a trucker does and
tries to go out of the way to make it easier for the driver. Whether it be stopping so the driver can make the corner easier or signaling the driver it is safe to pull back in after passing, There are those of us who try to make it easier. My dad drove truck, Yes I know what it is like, been there done that and didn't even get the tshirt or hat.
I drove when the DOT was known as the ICC, Interstate Commerce Commission. It was a lot easier to get a CDL then than it is now.
Have a safe trucking day and remember, we are also out there. Have a safe day and keep the shiney side up.
What do I have to do with trucking you may ask. Well i will try to fill you in. I was introduced to trucking by my father in the mid to late 1950s, I was about 8 years old. My father drove as a bedbugger. Later on he went on to drive reefers and such. My father died while he was driving, he had a cardiac arrest on the loading docks in St Pete Florida. He had been running up and down the east coast hauling frozen and produce.
Myself, I learned to drive in 1968 after high school, no trucking schools then, it was learn as you go. I hauled hay and livestock for a local company and hauled liquid feed in the winter. It was a challenge i accepted and learned how to back a truck to a loading chute, narrow confines and all.
I drove truck in the military hauling everything from rations to ammo to APCs and such on flatbeds, using portable sides for the boxed goods of rations and such. As far as bad and good drivers, I have seen both. This little town I live in is on a US Hiway. Many times I have seen drivers come running thru town doing at least 10-15 miles over the speed limit.
I have seen them make turns into oncoming traffic when there wasn't enough time for them to make the turn because they wanted to get fuel, coffee or whatever. I myself, have been cut off a couple times by a driver switching lanes suddenly when they didn't need to. I got on the CB and asked why didn't he signal and I got cussed out for it, he even wanted me to pull over to meet face to face all because I was in a 4-wheeler. Yet I have seen some of the better drivers come thru town. I know of at least 10 truckers that came thru in the last couple years that will turn on the 4 ways and stop when there is a funeral procession going by either direction, drivers who have stopped and helped locals and others on the hiways in my county when they were broke down or had an accident. To the steering wheel holders and the so called super truckers, pay attention to what you are doing. You will save a lot of time and also prevent a lot of accidents. You are driving 80,000 of moving steel and cannot stop on a dime. There is no reason to be tailgating other cars or trucks.
To those drivers who cuss out 4-wheeler; sure most of them are a pain in the ass, but there are a minority of the drivers who understand what a trucker does and
tries to go out of the way to make it easier for the driver. Whether it be stopping so the driver can make the corner easier or signaling the driver it is safe to pull back in after passing, There are those of us who try to make it easier. My dad drove truck, Yes I know what it is like, been there done that and didn't even get the tshirt or hat.
I drove when the DOT was known as the ICC, Interstate Commerce Commission. It was a lot easier to get a CDL then than it is now.
Have a safe trucking day and remember, we are also out there. Have a safe day and keep the shiney side up.
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