Are You A Dangerous Truck Driver?

It is a simple question. You went to school to get a CDL, got a job driving a truck, and now what? You have a choice to make.  There are many types of people out there who want to drive or are already driving a big truck.  Many of you are good people with families, and you just want to have a career in a field that is growing with the potential to make a good living. Trucking has been good to me overall.  After driving for 20 years, I can say I do not regret getting my CDL and starting my career as a truck driver. But beware, there are many dangers that come with driving a big truck in America and many dangerous truck drivers.

Here are some of the dangers that come with the job!

1. Driving.  Number one danger in being a truck driver is driving a big truck. America’s highways are a dangerous place to work. According to U.S. DOT, Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2012, we lost 33,561 people in motor vehicle crashes. Only about 12% of those fatalities involved truck drivers, but we can only imagine what kind of psychological trauma a driver must go through when he has been involved in a major accident especially when someone was injured or killed. A big part of driving a big truck is H.O.S. (hours-of-service) As you can see above, truck-related crashes on U.S. highways is not a major threat to the motoring public, but we are an easy target for government regulations.  When someone makes decisions when you can drive, when you must sleep, and how much time off you need that they deem necessary for public safety, you will never be as safe as you could be by making these decisions yourself.  Bureaucracy is the way it works in America, and it is not about to change anytime soon.
2. Parking.  Although parking a big truck can be difficult at times, parking in and of itself is not necessarily dangerous.  Where you park a big truck is where it can get dangerous. Many places that a truck driver may choose to park a truck, including some truck stops. If you are heading to Chicago from the East or the South, you may want to find some place to park before you get to Gary In.  There are quite a few truck stops in Gary, Lake Station, and surrounding area, but it may not be wise to park there.  If you happen to drive for a large company like Schneider National, they have a large terminal in Gary In. which is fenced in and secure.  These are small benefits to working for a large carrier, but benefits nonetheless. If you are ever heading into New York or New Jersey, it is probably best to find a place to park somewhere in Pennsylvania.(just sayin) A good place to keep up on the parking problem is facebook.com/jasons.law.3
3. Shipper/Receivers.  Yep, you heard right. Picking up freight and delivering it can be a danger that a truck driver must pay attention to. Some of these places are not always in the best parts of town.  As a truck driver, you will see a lot of different places.  Sadly, most of the places will involve many industrial parks. Not the most picturesque scenery in the world. Shipper/Receivers and truck stops will be the most dangerous places you will go as a truck driver. One of the best things you can do as a truck driver is to call ahead when you know where you are going.  Some shippers/receivers will let you park at their facilities and SOME of them are good places to park even in high crime areas.

These are some of the dangers that come with the job, but what about the drivers themselves.  We as truck drivers used to have a great reputation for being the “Knights of the Road”.  We have given ourselves this bad reputation, and we are the only ones who can fix it.  Every person out there can tell you many stories about “that” truck driver.

What is a typical BAD truck driver in the U.S.?  Let us count the ways.

1. Drives 70 mph in a 55 zone.
2. Weaves in and out of traffic like they were in a 4 wheeler.
3. Purposely tailgates to intimidate the “idiot” in front of them who will not move.
4. Try to pass another truck that they barely have enough speed to get around.
5. There is not much you or I can do about those drivers.  But, you and I can BE good drivers.

 Driving A Big Truck Safely Can Be Done.

What makes a good truck driver?  I believe the most important attribute of a good truck driver is patience.  There are too many opportunities to get into trouble.  Way too many bad drivers, truckers or otherwise, who will take any opportunity to “show them” how they should drive their vehicles.  You may have a job where you have to pull doubles or even triples, but you can only drive one vehicle at a time.

Secondly, do everything you can not to get distracted.  DO NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING! Use a hands-free headset if you have to use your phone.  I use the LG Tone HBS 730 Bluetooth headset. Look for a review on this headset later.  Also, most smart phones have the capability to do almost everything hands-free.  That means sending/receiving texts, phone calls, and anything else that you can speak into the phone to get the results you want.

Truth be told; there are all kinds of people driving big trucks.  You will find that the majority of drivers want to be good at what they do because they want to get home to their families as much as you want to get home to yours.

Let’s all drive safe, arrive alive, and truck drivers….Be Professional.

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