Not a question but a thank you

Most people never say thank you so it's nice when someone does. It means a lot. Many or most people in trucking will help you, but you'll need to not be shy about asking for help. I know it felt like having a different guardian angel every time someone helped me. Back when I started 1990s, and especially when my dad started, helping other drivers was normal and expected. With the language barrier , almost no CB radios and the smartphones it's not as common as it was once. Being a woman, you will probably get help more than you need or want, and not always because the helper wants a "temporary adult experience". Most men are/were raised to offer help to women. Some women interpret offers of help as accusations they can't do things on their own. Some men are dangerous, but that is rare. Most men are more like eager puppies, clumsy, harmless, trying to figure out how be helpful. Mostly everyone is just in a hurry and 200% focused on their job. The best way to say thank you, it's never wrong to say it, is you help the next driver when you see someone wanting or needing help. It is no fun having a problem, not knowing what to do, but it feels like winning the lottery when someone knows what and how and helps. An offer to buy someone coffee inside the truck stop is standard etiquette. Those are mostly refused by the helper, but good either way. You aren't usually expected to hang around after buying the coffee. You're in a hurry, too.

 

Oh I know but sometimes it'd be nice to strike up a short convo, of time allows. I know time is money but sometimes those small moments are worth more than those few cents we make per mile. I'm not planning on doing it constantly but from time to time it may be worth it. I know being a female that I'm facing all this a different way, but that's fine. I'm not shy. I have a loud mouth sometimes. But I know when to tone it back.

 

A lot of people get asked the same questions day to day…

 

Well I try not to do that. Unless I'm confused, then I will nicely ask for further explanation but only if they have time to do so. I try not to take up a person's time. But as I said, I'd like to meet some.pf the hands from on this forum. Maybe it'll happen and I can make some friends that I can hopefully rely on for answers anday e share that cuppa.

 

If she sticks around (which I think she will), she'll eventually catch on & look back at this one with humor.......

 

Pretty awsome that you not only took the time to thank folks, but also explain why.

Reading all your questions, replies & posts..... I have the feeling you are going to just fine after you find your footing out here.

Thank YOU for being a refreshing difference from a lot we see.

 

The CB radio was great for conversations, NOT ON channel 19, back in the day. I had a CB in every truck I drove even as CB use dwindled from 95% to 10% among drivers. Most every truck stop has a sitdown chain fast-food restaurant, very few have full-service restaurants. There's nothing wrong with wanting conversations, you can have them daily. But if you aren't comfortable being alone all day, every day this job will feel like a prison sentence. Thankfully, with smartphones and BT headsets you can stay in contact with people you already know and people you meet. There are "radios" like walkie talkies that use the cellphone network nationwide that can provide something like CB radio functionality. I think one is Zello. Another is Rapid Radio. Zello works on your phone and you can get hand-held devices like a CB radio mic to use. I'm not familiar with them. I stayed in trucking for less social contact, not more.

I left trucking after 1 year when there were no cellphones, only payphones, no satellite radio, no podcasts, and no GPS because me, Mr. Introvert, was so crushingly isolated. I came back into trucking with my pet dog after a year and it it was fantastic. Then cellphones and satellite radios and podcast became common. Make friends with your company trainer and other new and veteran drivers and talk by phone and whatever other people you meet along the way. Women, in general are more social and have a higher need for social contact than men, in general. Trucking is about 90% male so many drivers avoid social contact out of habit and no strong desire to change that. Trucking is like the olympics of being alone. You will need to make social contact happen, otherwise it won't just happen in trucking. If you can't be happy having only short conversations with clerks at customers and cashiers at truck stops as you do business this industry isn't well suited for you.

 

She offered herself up in her Kentucky husband’s stead. Oh my!

 

Definitively lots of good info in the forums! I haven't been super social yet because its a bit intimidating but enjoy reading through all the information.

 

Gallantry & selflessness.

Admirable.