what happened to brotherhood

Hey now! We don't all have to be over 6 feet tall!

 

I can say one thing,i am with you ,and i am very very very glad i was ol skool trained by an old O/O and not in some class room or driver mill

 

Im 32, Ive been driving part time when I could till I got out of the Army in 07' I was tauggt too drive by a family friend who had been driving for 25 years. When I was in the seat and didnt do the courtesy thing he would slap me in the back of the head! Im a big guy, he didnt care, it was literally beat into,me to be a courteous driver. I try too help where I can in hopes that who I help will return the favor too someone else. Whats an extra 5 minutes to just help a guy back in to atight spot, or help slide tandems. Hell Ive opened guys doors for them. A little courtesy goes a long way. My biggest gripe is the knuckleheads that flash you over with thier high bram lights. Very ignorant, but it seems to be the norm anymore... I will always be a courteous driver of the old school.

 

'A little courtesy goes a long way.' Exactly. My 1st run when a 60's something Knight Driver showed me how to chain at night in a snowstorm on U.S.550 in Colorado. I will never forget it. 8 years ago in Conroe,TX at a steel mill..Very windy night and all we carried were lumber tarps. I could not hold them down long enough to bunjee;a young Black guy came over to help. 15 others in the tarping area would look away when I would glance at them...All middle-aged White guys as myself-I will never forget it. Of course there have been other times but I'm not all that great on a keyboard-and you probably don't wanna read it anyway.

My point is this. It does not hurt to help someone else. Although not all recipients of a helping hand will appreciate and/or pass it on,I would bet serious money most would/will. Plus it makes one feel kinda good helpin someone else out..Trust me. It does.

Of course those of you who know the in's and out's of Trucking have the option and the right to not lend a helping hand;as anyone alive can justify anything one does..Or doesn't do. As for me if I can-I will try to make the World just a bit of a better place,however small that action may be.

So far as the "bright lights" I too was guilty of this practice when I started as I thought that WAS the signal to bring er back over. It took one hell uv a ### chewin on the C.B. to understand it wasn't.

 

Just wanted to share this: Today I had a pick of rubber molding located at 500 W 140th St in Gardena,CA (Greater L.A.) I could not understand their English for directions and the broker of course was no help.

I ran the address on google maps and wrote the directions down from that.. I found W140th Street and made my right turn..And came to a dead end. A Daycab Truck Driver finishing his shift asked me what I was looking for.. After talking a couple minutes he told me to jump in his pick-up and we found where I had to go about 1/2 block away. Sounds simple right? Nah.. Trust me it wasn't.

I do not forget that sort of thing..There are STILL good people out there....(here)

 

Your day went better then mine. It started at the Effingham Pilot with me trying to fuel to start my day. This, after scaling my load, then having to wait for the empty flatbed whose driver went inside to get coffee to move. Driver comes strolling out, staring at me the whole time. I just stared back at him, and reminded him that "karma is a b" as he pulled out of the lot.

I tell ya...if I didn't have to drive for a living, I'd quit tomorrow. I've had it.

 

Phhfffft. Don't get me started on THAT Brotha..I've "had it" also..And I could type a response well into the night-if not into daylight tomorrow as to why..

I'm simply trying to remind people there are good folks running around still..

 

I was running back from montreal and following a tanker yanker and a dryvan early early Sunday morning. The drivers were having a conversation on 19 and were talking about their careers. They were talking about round front cab overs and the newer square ones that came out in the 70s, companies they worked for for a bit (8 years). They talked about company owners who jumped in the truck and took loads just like the next driver. My wife and I enjoyed the conversation like it was a talk show. My wife started laughing and asked if I thought they would be impressed that the oldest truck I had driven was a 2012. Obviously I kept my mouth shut and learned a little more about trucking.
Dont know if thats how it was But- I know thats how it should be.

 

In the last 16 years I've been on the road, I have definately seen a decrease in the quality of 'professional' drivers, and the evidence is quite clear of that even on this forum. When so many companies out there spend less time with training and evaluations and more time putting steering wheel holders at the wheel, the industry looses the sense of brotherhood that it once had. I shake my head in disbelief when diners are filled with 'drivers' that spend more time complaining about everything and anything than they spend actually doing their job and driving their truck.

I don't go to truck stops too often anymore, but the last time I went to one I finally said enough was enough. I overheard a jitterbug complaining about his company. Mainly about low miles and long waits between loads. I finally interrupted him and asked:

"Instead of sitting on your butt complaining, why aren't you bugging your DM for a load?"

I got no response. I then asked:

"How many log violations, late loads, tickets and accidents do you have?"

Again, no response. I then told him:

"Have you ever jogged the idea in that pea-sized brain of yours that maybe you're the problem and not the company? I sat here and listened to your garbage about how you expect the company to hand the world to you on a silver platter, and then cry when you find out the industry isn't peaches and creme. Maybe you need to assest your situation and adjust your attitude. You're sitting here complaining and not doing your job."

I then walked away. This is why the 'brotherhood' is gone. Companies sell the illusion that the world will get handed to you on a silver platter, and people buy the BS. I have no sympathy for lazyness, and even less sympathy for lack of education. Nothing irks me more than someone who doesn't know squat about their truck, but yet calls themselves a 'driver'.

 

Right,but hen you get companies that suck bad and dont care,like the one iw as running for i even put fuel in to get the load there against my better judgement (shoot me now),but i did what i had to to make sure that got there on time. plus fix there truck on the road when it broke to save them money. yeah i think you should be able to fix your truck if your going to operate it.