We at Truck News often receive letters from readers filing personal complaints against their boss, co-worker or company and requesting that the magazine do its part to disparage their reputations to exhaustive lengths. Obviously, such action would both be irresponsible and unprofessional on our part, especially when the viewpoint is habitually biased, so more often than not we are forced to tiptoe gracefully around such squabbles.
But every now and then we’ll receive a letter that doesn’t pull any punches, but rather gets to the core of a much larger problem. In this one particular case, the writer doesn’t even go as far as to mention the name of the company. The complaint wasn’t about rates or hours or quality of equipment, it was about showing a little human decency to your workers.
The letter was originally a blog entry by the wife of a trucker whose mother had recently passed away. Because he was on the road at the time she died, the sad news was relayed to him by his wife over the phone. He was heartbroken, she recalled.
But when he called his company to tell them he needed to come home for his mother’s funeral, they wouldn’t allow him to simply drive back bobtail – he would have to pick up a load first. On the eve of the funeral, when most families are gathering together to comfort each other, the husband was still not at home. Originally, the wife feared her husband wouldn’t make it back for the funeral in time, but now, writing the blog the night before the funeral, she was simply fearing for his safety as he was hurriedly making his way home. I never did find out if he made it.
The wife referred to the company’s actions as “cruelty to the worst degree” and I couldn’t help but agree with her. If every company behaved this way, the industry would be defunct in a matter of months. No wonder trucking has such a hard time retaining drivers. The human function of a truck driver is so far removed from the company’s mind that they are often considered as lifeless as the very commodities they carry. Companies should remember that treating drivers like people, rather than simply a means to an end, will ensure that they will stay loyal and happy for many miles down the road.

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It seems truck hijackings are happening more and more frequently these days. It’s a scary thought, especially since the thieves seem to be getting more brazen. And they’re so organized that they often get away with their crimes.

Recently, Donald Woods was found dead in his truck in Pickering. He was last seen at the 10-Acre Truck Stop in Belleville late on Wednesday, June 21. It’s believed he left Belleville early on June 22. He was hauling a refrigerated trailer full of chicken. Chicken! It appears he lost his life over a load of chicken.

Is there anything these thieves won’t steal? I have spoken with several drivers at truck shows who have expressed an increased level of concern for their safety. Many know or have worked with a driver who has found himself staring down the barrel of a gun and ordered into the sleeper cab while his load is pillaged.

What can be done about it? These thieves aren’t your typical thug – they can disengage a GPS tracking system in seconds and be on their way. A crackdown on this type of cargo theft is needed before more drivers are killed. Hopefully, when arrests in this case and others are made, the judge will toss the book at them. It should be treated no less severely than a home invasion.

If you have any information about Donald Woods, contact the Durham Regional Police Homicide Unit at 905-579-1520. Detective David Henderson at ext. 5326 or Det. Mitch Martin at ext. 5405 would like to hear from you.

If you can’t help out in that case, please feel free to share your thoughts on the increasing risk of cargo theft and truck hijackings here. I know it’s something that would be on the back of my mind at all times given recent events. Be careful out there.

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