Trucking Isn’t a Job or a Career, It’s a Lifestyle’: A Trucker’s Story. That isn't my title, but the title ABC recently gave the segment that it ran on their news show. You can see the video segment by following this link. I thought the piece was fair, however there were parts that could've been changed. Whatever the report, some people will be upset how the news portrays us and that's understandable. We are an industry with millions of employees so there will be a variety of personalities.
Loren West is the main trucker interviewed by 20/20 and I've pasted a portion of his blog for ABC News below. The entire blog can be found here.
Loren writes: Challenges have always motivated me. I’ve run a marathon, gone skydiving, boxed in a sanctioned boxing match, raced a stock car and played on stage in a rock band. So when I felt the urge to make a career change, my wife suggested the challenge of getting my commercial driver’s license and becoming an over-the-road trucker. I love to drive and I’ve always been a gearhead, so I went for it.
Traffic jams, blinding sun, freezing rain and road construction are conditions most commuters deal with on their way to work, but truckers deal with these obstacles (and many more) all day and every day as part of daily life. Multiply that times 18 wheels, 80,000 pounds, and a 70-foot rig, and it equates to a grueling way to earn a living. I worked in an office for 13 years and I used to gripe about my job being impossible to bear when the copy machine ran out of paper or someone stole my yogurt from the break-room refrigerator.
I enjoy posting pictures and video of the views from my “office window” on my Facebook page. Many of my followers marvel at the places I’ve been and tell me how fortunate I am to live this kind of life. With only 15 months of lugging loads from coast to coast, there’s still so much of this country I haven’t seen — and probably never will. In my short time on the road I’ve logged over 150,000 miles and crossed the borders of 44 states and four Canadian provinces.
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I think Loren did a fine job telling our story to the American public through the medium of mainstream television. Although, there are negative sides to our business, there are negative sides to all industries. The main takeaway from this segment is that our industry is made up of tough people doing tough jobs that keep this country moving forward.