The trucking industry seems to be intent on bringing attention to ourselves in one way or another. Many programs promote us in a positive light. The efforts that have gone into organizations such as, Highway Watch, Worlds Largest Convoy, Trucker Buddy, as well as many others, have proven that our industry has good hearted people who are concerned about our image.
The unfortunate reality is that no matter how much we try to portray ourselves to be safe, courteous knights of the highway, a wrong move on our part can change the public’s view of us easily. The cold, hard facts are that bad news is remembered far longer than good news. When you turn on your news channel and listen, most reports seem to be dominated by the bad events of the day, rather than the good.
I still remember several years ago while traveling in my personal vehicle to the Mid-America Truck Show in Louisville, Kentucky I encountered a few negative emotions of my own regarding our industry. I experienced the view of the general motoring public from the seat of my automobile. To top things off, my wife and young son had accompanied me along on the trip. We were traveling through a construction zone; my view out of the rear window of my car was totally dominated by a truck grill. This was not a comfortable feeling knowing my son was in the back seat. Here I am with Jersey barriers on both sides, following a truck at a safe distance and all I see behind me bearing down close is this large grill with gigantic teeth that look like they want to eat us alive!!! Not exactly a warm, fuzzy feeling. I thought to myself at that moment, is this how we are perceived to the general motoring public? It would be great to tell you that this was the only incident we encountered, however there were more. As drivers, we need to remember that the view from the rear window of a sedan looks much different than the view from the mirrors of a semi-truck. There is a large difference when you have a 48 to 53 foot trailer behind you versus a 3 foot trunk lid.
When we portray ourselves as big bullies on the roadways, we do not gain respect. Many of our peers are working hard each day to change the way the public views our occupation. Unfortunately the actions of a few bad characters undermine that hard work. Actions like roaring through a town at 3:00am with straight stacks and Jake brakes bellowing do little to make us anyone’s hero. Upon an accident the TV news report features the driver who has not slept for days. Urine bottles are left behind and can be found at most places where big trucks park.
Thanks to the actions of some, my safe and secure parking location has been banned. I was told that some had left trash on the premises and little things like light poles had been hit and knocked over. I was told that one driver ran over shrubs and did extensive damage. It was the hit and run seen which we have all heard about. Therefore, all trucks have been excluded from this particular parking lot.
Just imagine what someone outside of our industry would think if they heard some of the conversations on channel 19 of the citizens band radio. Do we sound like a bunch of professional people? Or a group of adolescents sharing all the big important words in our vocabulary? I will let you be the judge on this one. I once had a guest along on a trip and the person asked me “does everyone talk like that on the citizens band”? My response was “how many trucks do you see”? We were at a truck stop at the time so there were over a hundred trucks. I then asked “how many drivers do you hear?” The answer was 3 or 4. Therefore, it took very few voices in order to form a negative opinion.
We can all help the people who have put in an effort to improve the image of our industry. One way is to become unnoticed during our daily operations. This means backing off the commuter in front of you. Upon arrival at work, you wouldn’t want his/her morning conversation to be about you nearly running them over. If you had to select an area where this would be most important… not that it’s not important everywhere, this is especially important for those who travel through the Washington DC area. You wouldn’t want to find yourself bearing down or tailgating a US DOT employee or possibly a senator’s aid or any other government official.
All the information these folks need to know about you is posted clearly upon your truck for their convenience. This could prove to be a bad day for you, should you find yourself in such a situation.
We need to think of how our actions and behavior affects those around us. As drivers, we do not want to draw bad attention to ourselves. There are enough people outside of our profession who do that for us already. We need not add fuel to the fire. I know that trying to make a 70 plus foot tractor trailer invisible is nearly impossible. However, if you’re going to be seen, make your presence positive. This will to a long way to promoting our industry in a positive manner.