There have been numerous occasions when I’ve been having coffee with other drivers and the conversation turned to safe driving. Trucker after trucker would try to top one another with their tally of miles or years driven without an incident.
I look forward to each National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Since the inaugural event in 1998, it’s a time when America and the trucking industry recognizes professional truck drivers for the difficult job they do so well.
How does this sound? Trucking companies have a dedicated driver recruitment department that invests a significant amount of money each month in recruiting programs to find qualified drivers. This department has a well-defined program to drill down to the type of driver who will be most successful at the company.
With all that’s happening in the world these days, friendliness and kindness have all but gone away, replaced by crabbiness, aggravation, anger, stress, frustration and fear. Common courtesy and civility have gone by the wayside.
Like any professional trucker, I know that when you deal with law enforcement officers you ought to be courteous. Back in my “I’ve got a date with freight and it can’t wait” days, I learned that appearing rude, angry and annoyed, or treating an officer in a condescending manner makes any situation much worse.
