Truckers have trouble finding a place to park

That is funny, just the other day I was in VA circling the parking lot over an hour before I finally got into a spot.

Very true and is not going to get any better.

 

Could it be because of a lack of awareness? I mean, until I started looking into trucking as a possible career option, I never thought about how my food and everything else gets to me and what the men and women who deliver it go through on a daily basis. I bet you 99.9% of the US population are the same (in that they never think about it, that is).

Truckers are - and will remain to be - invisible until they make themselves heard. I thought that's what unions and truckers' associations and such were for. Are those guys doing anything? Just asking.

 

True...it's amazing how many 4-wheelers dont know that those slow trucks on the road are 'governed!' Or, even know what 'governed' means!! I talked to a recent HS grad working on a loading dock who had had driver's training while in HS---didnt teach them anything about the limitations of big trucks, etc.!! Sad!!!

 

Of course not. Did you know any of this before you became a trucker? I don't mean to attack you, just trying to make the point that nobody learns stuff unless they have to, or unless they're interested in it for some reason.

Better driver education, starting in HS, would help, but in order to improve drivers' ed, somebody needs to let the people who design these programs know exactly what they need to teach new drivers about trucks.

 

Hey I know 'governed,' used to push power lawn mowers in HS! ha ha
No, just kidding, but for all the hoopla and regs on trucks, how come those kids arent getting educated on in HS? My dad took a 'Senior Course' on driver safety so as to stay alert/aware and keep their licenses, and he got instruction on big trucks in that course!!

 

Interesting! I just asked my 21-year-old son if his driver's ed class addressed trucks/truckers/trucking limitations. His answer? Not much. They were taught to "stay out of their way"... "don't cut them off"... and "they are bigger than you".

I don't remember being taught anything about it in my school training, either. We (my parents and I) learned what we know from all the traveling we did. We pulled a 17' travel trailer in the mid-60's... and then decided it was too much "baggage". So we ditched the trailer when my sister outgrew her desire to travel with us, and the three of us decided we'd make a go of it in our pick-up truck with a 30" cap. We'd travel for a month or more, preparing our meals on our little Coleman stove at rest stops (fed many a'trucker, too, who would "sniff" out what we had cookin'.)

I guess word got around, too, because we always had the feeling the drivers of the big rigs were watching over us in our travels. We had some really nice conversations with some of those men we met! I guess that's part of why I still love to drive... to travel so much...

Thanks, ya'll!

 

..that when a 4-wheeler broke down (B4 cell phones) they would wait for a trucker to help them out!! Ppl still look for truckers in desolete areas when they need help!!

 

I don't remember any real breakdowns, but when we towed the trailer, the tires would periodically develop bubbles on the sidewalls. While we always checked our tires at rest stops, truckers there would usually point it out to us, too.

Most of their assistance was in route planning and fuel stops. They seemed to know everything about everywhere! LOL

To be honest? We didn't meet a single trucker back then that wasn't pleasant and helpful. No doubt there were crabapples out there, but we were lucky not to encounter any in all our years of traveling.

 

..dont pickup riders unless it's an emergency! I'll stop for a woman with kids or a grayed hair couple but that's pretty much it! So if you want help from me, carry a 'gray hair wig!' ha ha

 

Gray hair? I'm gettin' there, JAM... I'm getting there! The "stragglers" of yesterday are gaining ground every year, it seems.