Another Driver Appreciation weekend has come and gone. Every year for the last 14 years, there has been "Driver Appreciation Days" at the Hudson TA Truck Stop. Chaplain Tim Sackett, the assistant Chaplains and a whole bunch of volunteers get together and have two days just for the drivers. There is a free pig roast dinner, music, and lots of yakking. We had a good time. A bunch of guys from FCC got a band together and played last night. Wow, they were great! It's been a long time since I've heard the song, "Six Days on the Road and I'm Gonna Make it Home Tonight", but those boys made it rock. They have bands play all day, and there is some really great music.
We talked to drivers from the South, from Texas, and New Jersey (to name just a few). The man from Texas had his son riding with him, and I got to chat with him for a while this morning. I found a little about the life of a driver. Not a pretty picture--no I'm not talking about all the things drivers get into, but the way that trucking is regulated, I don't know how they make a living. I had no idea. They had some interesting stories, and I don't mean the action-filled, romantic "Smokey and the Bandit" type. Trey and his dad were laid over waiting for a load. They'd been at the truckstop since Thursday, and were glad for the party, if nothing else but to break the monotony.
Here are a few things I learned:
People from the South can tell if you put the sugar in the tea while the tea was still hot, or after it cooled.
The words "soda" and "Coke" are synonomous.
Drivers are ultimately responsible for their load. If it is overweight, even though they did not load it and have no control over who did, they take the fall, and pay big buckage (and I mean big) if they get a ticket.
A driver can get a ticket if there is a letter scratched out of the name printed on the door of his truck. (I told the guy "shut up!", but he said it was true)
Just some interesting bits of trivia, a picture of how they have to jump through hoops to make a living. These truck drivers were some of the most polite people I have ever met. I know there are bad drivers out there, ones who are just out for a good time and don't care about anyone, but the majority are just guys doing their job. So give 'em a break.
4 comments:
Don't you mean, "Give them a BRAKE?"
I knew someone would say that--No, that's highway workers.
Great post! It's so nice that you folks go out of your way for the drivers out here.
It is a tough life and sometimes situations make it worse. If I could ask one thing of everyone out there, it would be, when you pass us wait 200 feet before you merge back into our lane. At 45mph, it can take as much as 450 feet for us to stop!!! The higher the speed, the further the distance. The more space you leave before merging back, the more options we have if you suddenly blow a tire or had a deer jump in front of you.
The reason you see trucks merging in a much shorter distance is because we try to keep the left lane clear and we can communicate with the other trucks and know what's coming ahead.
Oh, and while I am on a roll, if your exit is in 1/4 of a mile just stay behind us, please! What happens is people will race around us, cut us off and then slam the brakes to make the exit. We have 80,000lbs of momentum built up, we cannot manuver quite that fast. It's a physics thing.
I always drive with other's safety in mind and it is really important that others do too.
Again great post and thanks!
BTW, I finally got around to blogrolling you. Sorry it took so long, but I fell asleep and just remembered to do it.
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