It’s no accident that four award-winning truck drivers return home safely every night after long, demanding days on the road. Their success is by design.
According to these seasoned professionals, the secret lies in a blend of experience, skill, patience, knowing your equipment, staying alert, and maintaining composure when faced with unpredictable drivers.
These valuable insights were shared by the winners of the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2024 Professional Driver of the Year Award during the “View from the Driver’s Seat” session at TCA’s 2024 Safety and Security Meeting.
“You have to keep in touch with your equipment, your surroundings, what’s in front of you, beside you and behind you,” said James White, a driver for P&S Logistics, which ranks No. 33 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. “It’s not just sitting behind the steering wheel. You have a lot to do.”
White, a 29-year veteran, added, “It’s so fast out there. Everyone’s in a hurry to go nowhere, and we’re out there trying to do our jobs. We’re always looking for the unexpected.”
“You have to be constantly vigilant,” said Clark Reed, a 19-year veteran driver for Nussbaum Transportation. “You can’t let down just because you’re on a wide stretch with nothing around you. You have to pay attention even when there’s nothing to pay attention to. Because anything can happen at any moment. It’s a mentally straining job.”
Reed also highlighted the importance of self-care for truck drivers, advising regular breaks and short walks. In his earlier days, Reed drove long stretches without breaks, which led to health issues. “That led to me getting blood clots, put me in the hospital intensive care for four days, took me out of work for two weeks, and I had to walk with a cane for a month. All because I didn’t get out of the truck and walk around,” he said.
“Behind the wheel, we always strive for safety first,” said Tim Chelette, a driver for Big G Express, former America’s Road Captain and a 22-year veteran. And he said an important part of safety is doing a thorough precheck before heading out.
“You have got to look at your equipment,” Chelette said. “You can’t just walk around it. You gotta make sure it’s in good shape.” Rosalinda Tejada, a driver for Knight Transportation, finds joy in the new experiences that life on the road brings. “I love the travel and the adventure of being a driver. I also love training young women to drive,” said Tejada, a 25-year veteran.
However, Tejada and her peers acknowledged the challenges, with one of the biggest being finding safe places to rest. “What keeps me up at night is my safety because there’s no parking out there,” she said.
Tejada, along with other drivers, wishes for more support from regulators and Congress in creating additional parking spaces. The American Transportation Research Institute has identified truck parking as one of the industry’s top issues. She cautioned that the stress of finding parking could even be dangerous, sometimes forcing her to park in neighborhoods or strategically plan around favorite fuel stations and truck stops along Interstate 10. “If we had more parking, I’d feel much safer at night,” she added.
Daytime traffic also presents its own set of challenges. “Drivers will cut you off and slam their brakes in front of you,” White said. “Patience is key. Everything won’t go your way. You have to be open-minded because things are always changing.”
“You may have an idiot in front of you,” added Reed. “Give an idiot room to be an idiot. Keep that following distance.”
By learning from these seasoned truck drivers, we can all appreciate the complexity and skill involved in trucking. Their dedication to safety and professionalism ensures they get home safely every night, showing the importance of experience, vigilance, and proper self-care in the life of a truck driver.
Source: Transport Topics
