Truckers are as American as apple pie! Five days a week my husband is up and down the highways, delivering goods for you and me. I spend a lot of time at home alone, taking care of everything under the sun, being mommy and daddy. He is our hero because we know without people like him we would have no food at the grocery store, no produce at the produce markets, no gas at the gas stations, no mail delivered to our door, the list is endless. At some point in time everything we touch is handled by a transport company or independent driver.

Driving a big truck is not an easy job. Drivers have deadlines to make, they spend long periods of time away from their home and families, unless they are lucky enough to find a local driving job that pays enough. Not likely! They have to deal with traffic, weather conditions and other motorists. Most accidents that involve a tractor trailer are usually the other person's faults. People in general don't have a clue as to what it takes to drive a big truck while trying to deliver freight for you, me and everyone else on earth. Not many people know what is involved in the daily or weekly run of a truck driver. Take into consideration the 13 gears a driver has to go through to get up to highway speed, that's one hand on the wheel, one hand on the shifter, and their feet between clutch, brake and gas. Think about it, that is all four appendages being used at the same time. Most people can't walk and chew gum at the same time. When they drive in town, it is a constant shifting procedure in stop and go traffic. Once they are on the highway and have reached highway speed, stopping a loaded truck is just as hard as getting it going, sometimes harder. The weight disbursement is all in the rear end and literally pushes the tractor of the truck while the driver is breaking. This is the reason for so many jack-knives, especially on slippery wet roads, the driver tries to stop to avoid an accident and the heavy part, the trailer, does not stop, and swings itself around, usually dragging the front, tractor, right along with it. Truck drivers also have to deal with vision impairments, no that doesn't mean they have bad eye sight. The length of the truck and the positioning of the mirrors make it very difficult to judge. Trucks have a lot of blind spots, they are much higher and much longer than other vehicles on the road. So all you brave souls in your little cars that like to ride along side big trucks, THEY CAN'T SEE YOU! When you follow to close behind them and try to turn beside them, thinking you are faster than they are, THEY CAN'T SEE YOU!

I've found most truck drivers leave their professions because of accidents caused by others. Most of them are family men and women, yes I know women truck drivers, who seldom see their families. When a car full of young people pull out in front of them and they can't stop it causes dreadful accidents, the driver reflects on his own children at home. When the mother in the car full of children, who decided it was great to ride along side a truck so the kids can get a look, doesn't see the truck changing lanes and gets run off the road. The driver flashes back to his own family at home.

I think it should be a requirement to take an additional test at the time of receiving our license on knowing how to conduct ourselves when driving near a big truck. Remember truckers are out their doing a job for us, transporting goods to our home towns, moving us, and delivering for us. They should be treated with respect on the roadways.

A truck driver is always one of the first people to stop and help others stranded on the highway. They make emergency calls for people, they give up their water reserve to cars that have over heated, and they usually will take someone who is stranded to the next exit for help, even on their strict deadlines. If they can't make the stop, you can pretty much bet they have radioed the local police or the trucker behind them that someone needs assistance. They are a group of people we don't come in contact with much anymore, people who are willing to lend a helping hand to a complete stranger in need. Truck drivers are heros, just as much as the police department, or the fire department. In the midst of doing their job they take the time to help others. So please respect them and avoid pulling out in front of them or passing on their right side. Better yet, before messing with a big truck, get behind the wheel and take one for a spin, go ahead, see what it's like. I did, and I must say, it's not anything I would want to do for a living and I pray constantly for my husband and the father of my children to make it back home safely!

Copyright © 2000

Wendy Kudlicka  please dont copy this thank you