Professional Courtesy and Your Professional Truck Driving Career

Let's Put The PRO Back In Professional Driver

I was catching a few minutes of the always uplifting local news last evening, and a road-rage story caught my attention.  It's no wonder that I couldn't go to sleep after that.

It seems that a driver thought he'd been side-swiped by another driver while on Atlanta's I-85 6 lane raceway.  He pulled over, somehow forced the other driver to pull over, and proceeded to pull a rifle out of his trunk.  Why he was driving around with a rifle in his trunk was never explained, and I don't think I really want to know why he was driving around with a rifle in his trunk.

Someone videotaped this, there was a lot of screaming, an emergency call to 911 and then fadeout.

So as I lay there trying to get to sleep, I began thinking about how the world has changed since I was younger.  How much younger I'll leave to your imagination.

And it was a natural progression that since I've been in the trucking industry for more than 10 years, my thoughts would wander to not only how the world has changed, but how the trucking industry has changed; specifically, how and why the attitude of many truckers has changed, which is to me, very sad.



Toby Bogard
The Truck-Writer

 You see, when I was a kid, my dad worked for a family run trucking company for more than 30 years.  He often talked fondly about the drivers, whom he associated with frequently even though he was an executive.  He talked about the brothers, former truckers themselves, who owned and operated the company.  For the most part, it was a company of happy employees.  People were treated with courtesy and respect.  When my dad retired, the company threw him a swanky retirement party, and half of the people there were company drivers.  There was a lot of hand-shaking, back-slapping and well-wishing.  And there was no division between management and drivers, only a mutual respect.

A while back I read Toby Bogard's "On The Big Road" in which he calls for putting the "Pro back in professional driver"!  In his book Toby made some valid points and interesting observations, one of which once again, took me back many years to another time.  And his book and the incident on Atlanta's notorious I-85 (which I avoid on penalty of death) prompted me to write this article.

Improving Trucker's Health and Quality of Life-An Alternative To Artificial Supplements

Studies have shown that truck drivers have increased health risks and it is widely believed that the majority of these health issues are job related. Many truckers use various types of stimulants to increase energy and stamina to stay awake, and other aids to help them fall asleep. These kinds of stimulants and aids are not only expensive, but can be dangerous as well.

Blog Talk Radio, hosted by Allen Smith of Ask The Trucker and Truth About Trucking, hosted Dr. Walter Gutowski and myself on his radio program last Thursday evening.  That show is below and we invite you to take a listen.....