I looked up a few definitions of truck drivers and here are my results:
 
Dictionary.com Truck Driver - A person who drives a truck
 
Wikipedia - Truck Driver - is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.
 
The one upsmanship gets comical as we listen in to other drivers talked as we are not real truck drivers since we drive a straight truck, others are not real truck drivers as they drive an automated shifting truck, others are not real truck drivers as they do not drive in the mountains and chain, others are not real truck drivers as they are not heavy haul...  so far we have not discovered who is at the top of the list. 

In my mind a real truck driver is what has been termed the "Knight of the Road" and that is what I consider to be a "Real Truck Driver".
 
Some of the highlights from what are considered a "Knight of the Road":
 
Courtesy - Professional drivers are ones a stranded motorist can turn to in a jam - a corps of competent professionals who'll willingly lend a hand when roadside assistance is needed.
 
Keep Your Cool - Staying calm and speaking with courtesy even when upset. If our response is courteous under all circumstances, even the most difficult ones, it proves that we are professionals.
 
 Public Relations - We are in the public relations department, either we represent the company we are leased to or driving for or ourselves in the case of having our own authority.  If a customer, or anyone else, sees us as kind, courteous, considerate, and cooperative, they are more likely to go on doing business with our company.  No one likes a grouch, so be cheerful.  Make sure every customer looks forward to our return.
 
On the Road - Courtesy on the road is a must.  Many others share the road with us and we need to treat everyone with respect.  What does the passing motorist see when they drive by?  A clean well-kept truck, a neat and clean driver, a truck that is not speeding, tailgating, and one that does not look menacing.  When using the CB or talking with other drivers our language is spoken as if our children are in the room listening.
 
All of this pays off as we are happier and if we run into a grouchy customer we know we acted professionally.   In my mind a "Truck Driver" is a "Knight of the Road" each and every day.  Being a truck

driver is not what we drive it is how we act.

Comments (5)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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Ken that is one of the best benefits of doing it right each and every time. We are the face of the industry and in order to receive respect we have to respect ourselves.

January 16, 2014 7:58:35 AM

Call us Old School or Knights of the road, this is what brought me into trucking so many years ago and to this day I try to live up to that standard and preach it every chance that I get to the new drivers and to the old one that have forgotten.
As drivers we are the face of the entire industry to the public and it is up to us to make a good or bad impression.
It makes my day when an agent tells me that a customer has requested that I haul their next load because I acted like a pro. and treated them with respect.

January 16, 2014 7:50:38 AM

Newbie truck drivers take a whole bunch of abuse before they are considered "real " truck drivers . This is a real shame as they really should be looked as the future of truck driving.

December 29, 2013 12:10:12 PM

To me it is very simple to define a "real trucker" and it is not what type of vehicle they drive.

December 28, 2013 5:36:47 AM

I think that you have defined a professional truck driver.

December 23, 2013 4:39:02 AM