I hate how a lot of my blogs end up being traffic reports where I’m “telling on” other drivers, but with this most recent situation, I just couldn’t resist. I was heading south on the 400 near King Road on Friday, when up ahead I saw traffic was being directed off the highway to the nearest exit. I flicked on 680 News and heard that there was a major accident ahead, so I would have to head home using Highway 27, a slower, but adequate two-laner.

In front of me were two 53-ft. tractor trailers, one directly behind the other. At first I sort of groaned to myself, knowing that I would likely be driving a pokey 70 to 75 km/h in the hilly 80 km zone. But since it was already past 11 p.m. and I wasn’t in any particular rush, I decided to sit back and enjoy the ride.

The truck in front of me, however, had other ideas. We weren’t more than two minutes off the 400 when the truck to the rear started flashing their high beams at the truck in front of them, riding dangerously close to the back of the front-runners trailer, and weaving in and out of their lane, looking for an opportunity to advance. This nonsense continued for no less than 10 minutes before the truck in front was eventually forced to pull over to allow the other truck to pass.

I couldn’t believe how ridiculously arrogant and impatient that driver was. To put it into perspective, it was bad even by four-wheeler standards. Now that’s bad. The truck to the front was travelling somewhere in between 75 and 80 km/h the entire time; not an unforgivable speed given the darkness of the hour, the frequency of animals crossing those roads and then fact that that, oh wait, yes, he was driving the speed limit.

A four-wheelers driving like a jackass is one thing, but watching a trucker putting the life of a fellow trucker in danger was a deplorable thing to observe. So much for sticking together, I suppose. I guess it’s every trucker for themselves.

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I made my way out to the little ’burb of Stirling, Ont., just north of Belleville, this past weekend to check out the second annual Eastern Ontario Big Rig Truck Show and Shine, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. For a small community, they put on a pretty good show! I think about 90 show trucks were entered in the show and shine and I would say several hundred people from the community braved the blistering heat check things out. (My nose is still peeling. Note to self: always remember sunscreen).

One of the most original things I thought the show had to offer was the “Come and Drive a Big Rig Truck” event. Scarily enough, the event permitted anyone with a regular driver’s license to get behind the wheel of a big rig and take it for a spin. To be honest, I had no idea how they would pull this one off. I pictured the truck ploughing through the fairgrounds, picking off vendor’s booths like pylons before embedding itself in the side of a barn. Call me a pessimist, I guess.

But no, the novice driver was confined to an enclosed track, with the instructor’s foot at the ready, hovering above his own personal brake (a dead stop in a tenth of a second, I was told). And yes, even I, an admitted big rig rookie, decided to give it a shot. Thankfully, I was spared the pain of learning to double-clutch and instead learned the fine art of the slip shift. And with a brief two-minute lesson, there I was, on top of the world (or at least a bit higher than usual) making my way ’round the track just like all the drivers I’ve written about.

My instructor, Randy, said that many of the women who gave it a shot spent most of their lessons screaming with delight as they rounded each corner. Though I didn’t spend any of my lesson screaming, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a big smile on my face the whole time. Driving a truck might be old hat for you guys, but it was quite a rush for me!

I must say, I thought the event was an original – if not slightly daring – addition to the show, and the perfect way to educate the public on what it’s like to be a truck driver. Kudos to the organizers for pulling it off!

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Thanks to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s people-pleasin’ budget released earlier this month, the meal tax deduction limit for truckers slowly will be slowly creeping its way from 50% back to 80%, hitting its goal around the 2010 mark. So all drivers from all types of fleets across the country can count on reaping the rewards, right? Well, some will – but maybe not all.

Scott Taylor, vice-president of TFS Group, has written two articles for Truck News (March and April 2007) which point out that not all truckers are created equally in the eyes of the Canada Revenue Agency. The columns (appearing on pages 43 and 74, respectively) outline how the Income Tax Act treats all manner of truckers differently. From private fleets to for-hire carriers, from self-employed drivers to company employees, from longhaul drivers to shorthaul drivers; a different set of rules applies to each category (and every combination in between). Taylor takes away all the guesswork in his articles, which serve as vital sources for any trucker unsure of his tax claiming rights. Check out the issues on newsstands or search for them in our print archives at www.trucknews.com/archives.asp.

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When doing my monthly Truck Stop Question, I usually end up having a little chit-chat with the driver even after the initial interview is over. Typically this is an opportunity for the driver to vent about whatever happens to be bothering him about the trucking industry, and what I should be doing – or writing – to make things better.

The top two complaints I hear are usually focus on the high costs a driver must incur (including the high price of fuel) and how most four-wheelers don’t have the slightest idea how trucking works. The latter complaint includes, but is not limited to, cars cutting trucks off and slamming on the breaks, cars riding in trucks’ blind spots, cars not letting trucks change lanes; just a general distaste for the egocentric mentality of the automotive community.

Well, I’ve got news for you truckers: you’re far from perfect. During a half hour drive from Scarborough to Bowmanville this week, not once, not twice, but THREE times I saw big rigs driving more than 130 km/h, one which nearly ran a car onto the shoulder while making a last minute lane change. Does this sound like the actions of someone who’s concerned about conserving fuel? Does this sound like the actions of someone who is ready to hit their brakes and prevent thousands of pounds of freight from steamrolling the vehicles in front of them? I think not.

Having said that, are truckers still the best drivers on the road? Almost certainly. Are car drivers usually at fault with most car-truck accidents? Yes, the majority of the time, but that’s no excuse for barrelling down the highway like you’re driving a sports car instead of an 80,000-lb. behemoth. There’s such a thing as respect for your freight, your fellow motorists and your job. It’s time for truckers to take some responsibility instead laying all the blame on four-wheelers. Drivers should be approaching these reckless cowboys in their own companies or the industry’s name will continue to be dragged through the mud.

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My monthly trips to the truck stops to do the Truck Stop Question column have never ceased to be eye-opening experiences. Having never worked in the trucking industry prior to my appointment to Truck News, I found initially found the cornucopia of issues facing the average truck driver shocking. I truly had no idea what a trucker faces on a regular basis and the drivers I spoke with were quick to remind me: “My rates are too low,” “The roads are in terrible shape,” “I don’t see my family enough,” “_____ regulation is unfair/confusing/ridiculous,” “My company treats me like unfairly,” “Truckers don’t know how to driver anymore,” “Four-wheelers still don’t know how to drive.” The list has been endless.

But once the initial shock of how disgruntled so many of these drivers were wore off, I began to realize the problem was even more complicated. Despite these drivers having an overwhelming list of complaints – and most of them quite content in using as much of my time as needed to complain about them – about half of them still balk at the idea of having their names or pictures printed in the magazine.

For some reason I assumed – perhaps rather naively – that these truckers would welcome my presence and jump at the chance to have an outlet to voice their opinions. But month after month I have drivers who flit away as though I were a pursuing member of the paparazzi, waiting for that perfect moment to swoop in and ruin their lives. And it never ceases to annoy me.

The purpose of the Truck Stop Question is to get driver’s opinions on a topic related to trucking, not to pit drivers against each other or their employers. Believe it or not, our readers would actually like to hear what you have to say.

If you’re concerned your employer won’t like what you have to say, guess what? It’s time to get over it. Your opinion doesn’t reflect that of your trucking company and your boss should be swift enough to figure that out on their own. As long as your response to the question doesn’t include, “…and that’s why I hate my company and my boss,” I’m guessing you’ll be safe.

What irks me even more is when drivers will give a very non-controversial answer to the TSQ and still decide they don’t want their name used. I’m dying to know why. An opportunity is have your say is being handed to you on a silver platter and you still wish to remain anonymous, even though no one in their right mind would find your comments offensive. It’s mind-boggling.

For those drivers who do give their names, I still get about 50% of those who play camera shy as soon as a picture is mentioned. I had no idea truckers were so vain. If I worked for Chatelaine that would be one thing, but I’m pretty sure most Truck News readers will bite their tongues if you haven’t shaved in a couple of days or your hat is on crooked. Seriously, it’s okay.

The usual run-around I get doing my TSQ isn’t so much angering as it is disappointing. My respect and admiration of truck drivers has increased leaps and bounds since starting this job, but when I sometimes get shot down 10 to 15 times by rude and indignant drivers, my positive convictions begin to wane.

The bottom line: I want to paint a picture of truckers as they would like to be portrayed and the only way that can happen is if they act that way in the first place. Don’t make me lose my faith in truckers already. Last time I checked, truckers were real people with real emotions and real opinions, and the necessary chutzpah to back them up.

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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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Next time you’re sitting on the subway, in the mall or in a crowded restaurant, have a quick look around you. People of all ages, colours, shapes and sizes abound, but as the old saying goes, you can’t always judge a book by its cover. Chances are there is more to those people than meets the eye.

Whatever their age, sex or background, many of those strangers probably have some kind of hidden talent. The runny-nosed youngster with her Bratz backpack may in fact be a piano-playing prodigy. The elderly couple huddled over their early bird dinner may be spending their weekend scaling the jagged face of a mountain. The young woman pushing a stroller may in fact be the local Rock Paper Scissors champion or maybe she can hold her breath underwater for three minutes.

While some people may choose to keep those hidden talents hidden, others may prefer to display their odd gifts in the limelight. So for all those extroverted truckers out there, consider this your chance to show the world there’s more to your life than just driving a truck.

Truck News is looking for truckers with hidden talents for an upcoming article. So come one, come all, whether you be a painter, scriptwriter, ventriloquist, amateur stuntman or lion tamer, Truck News wants to hear about it. Feel free to post your talents on our blog or if you’re feeling a bit Web-shy you can always drop me a line at aledlow@trucknews.com.

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What is it that gives truck drivers their trademark demeanor? I’m not talking that lane-hopping, bumper-riding, slow-as-molasses highway jockey image so often projected by the public. I’m talking the courteous truck driver, who not only shares the road but is often first to act when another motorist is in trouble.

I had the privilege of attending Goodyear’s Highway Hero ceremony at the Mid-America Trucking Show on Mar. 23, when the industry’s most selfless, caring individuals are honoured for acts of heroism over the past year. Though only one could emerge the victor, my hat goes off to each one of the four finalists: Douglas Crawford, Danny Wallen, Robert A. Starr and Michael Knott. Through their noble actions, drivers like these shine as a beacon not just for other truckers, but for all of us.

In my experience, such drivers are by no means an anomaly. Almost every time I speak with drivers at a truck stop, a few always seem to have some story of intrepid heroism. The sheer normalcy with which they spin their tales tells me that most consider such actions a standard, however infrequent, part of their job.

But it’s not just the literal life saving that gets me. It’s the small acts of courtesy which really put truck drivers in a category a cut above.

Early in November, I was travelling with my girlfriend, Jennifer, to interview Lee Howard of Inferno Kustom Werks, when Jennifer fell ill on the car ride up. I had okayed having her with me for the interview, but hadn’t intended arriving on Lee’s doorstep with a sicky in tow.

When we finally completed the nauseous three-hour trip to Coe Hill, Ont., Jennifer announced that she would just stay in the car while I completed the interview.

Lee’s wife Linda wouldn’t hear of it.

Not only was Jennifer brought inside, she was fed, given medication and wrapped in a blanket on Linda’s couch where she slept the afternoon away. I myself was treated to lunch and hot chocolate to compliment the unrivalled hospitality from my hosts. I was blown away. We left with a “to-go” care package not only feeling revitalized by the nourishment, but by the fact that good people still exist in this world.

Back in February, while interviewing for a recent Truck Stop Question, I ended up having lunch with Phil and Phyllis Jordan, a lovely couple running teams from Moose Jaw, Sask. Though we’d only just met outside the Husky Truck Stop that day, the Jordan’s were so warm and receptive, we ended our afternoon exchanging numbers and speaking like old friends. They even offered up their home should I find ever myself in Moose Jaw.

And just last week, while conducting a phone interview with Danny’s Custom Truck Fenders’ founder, Danny Campbell, I received a no-strings-attached offer to come and stay at their home in P.E.I. anytime I felt like visiting the East Coast. This from a man I’d know for all of 16 minutes!

These offers join numerous others from drivers who have offered me a spare room. Countless others have graciously offered their passenger seat to me should I ever want to ride along. Even when I’m driving on the highway, truck drivers always seem to be the first ones to pull over if another motorist ever needs a helping hand.

So what is it that gives truck drivers this generous spirit? Perhaps long, lonely hours on the highway have given them a greater appreciation for human interaction. Maybe meeting people from all walks off life while travelling across the country has made them realize how similar we are, rather than how different.

Regardless, I am constantly amazed at the number of drivers who show such graciousness, generosity and valour on a daily basis. I can only hope that one day the general public will return the favour.

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Truck News received a letter from one of our readers recently describing the decrepit road conditions in southwestern Nova Scotia (including highways 101, 103, 10 and 8). According to the reader, the roads are in complete disarray; few warning signs for curves in the road and no truck rest areas are apparently just some of the problems plaguing the region, not to mention the damage the poorly maintained roads are causing to the trucks.
I’m looking for drivers who work in this “forgotten” region to give me their own accounts of the road conditions in the area. I’ll also be speaking with local politicians, so please use this blog as mouthpiece to vent your frustrations, and I’ll try and include your thoughts in my interviews.

Thanks in advance,
Adam

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I took a drive from my North York apartment to visit a friend on the West side late last week and decided to forgo my usual highway route in favour of an in-town trip. It was about 5 p.m. when I headed out – peak traffic time for the city. Normally I hate hitting the core at that time of day, but I was in no hurry, so I putted along at an easy pace and just went with the flow.

After about 10 minutes of reasonable traffic conditions, I was forced to slam on my brakes when a van that was appeared parked by the curb decided to lurch unannounced back into traffic. People in the city tend to be aggressive drivers as a rule, so I initially ignored it, until I realized the driver had been on his cell phone. Further down the road, traffic slowed again when a woman unloading her luggage from a taxi left a bag sitting halfway into the centre lane. Cars creeped and squeezed their way around her as she squared up with the cab driver, clueless to the annoyance she was causing.

By the end of the 25-minute trip I had seen no less than seven cars or pick-up trucks sitting in the right-hand lane – most either dropping people off or talking on their cell phones and all of which slowed traffic to a crawl.
I saw but one truck during the drive: a cube van hugging the right-hand curb while making a delivery. My fellow commuters and I passed around the truck with relative ease compared to those other seven cars we’d already passed. For one, at least we could see that the truck was stopped from further away simply because the truck was much taller than your average Honda Civic. The trucks’ four-ways were also flashing and the orange pylons had been placed behind the truck to allow motorists more space when maneuvering around it. In all, I felt much less hostility toward that truck driver than I did towards those other seven motorists.

Toronto Councillor Michael Walker's proposed ban would remove these trucks from the city’s downtown core during peak rush hour times, but who will remove these careless four-wheelers? How can we expect both truckers and their customers to put their lives and their businesses on hold while cars continue to block those same lanes – and in much greater numbers?

Walker’s proposal seems to be a quick-fix solution for a problem that extends way beyond trucks slowing traffic. It’s more of a general distaste for trucking. Walker’s ban would only serve to tarnish the public’s already shaky view of the industry. The feeling that “trucks are big and slow and they get in my way” is the same egocentric view that causes drivers in Toronto to be so thoughtless in the first place.

If Walker’s ban goes through, it will impede the flow of goods and services in a way that the public just doesn’t understand. Without trucks delivering four-wheelers’ cell phones and luggage, how will they be able to block traffic?

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