There's quite a few categories of Truckers, the main ones I'm talking about are the guys and gals that drive the units (or big rigs, if you drive in the US) and long trailers, proper Truckers, (you could also include draw bar Truckers) pulling tons and tons of products, ranging from........well anything that you can think of, along the main arteries of the country, namely the motorways and for the Truckers across the pond, the highways.
Now within this category of Trucker, you have 2 main drivers, your daily or nightly driver (core or agency) that usually works a 12, sometimes 15 hour shifts, then you have the Trampers (Sleeper Drivers for the US), these are the guys that stay out on the road all week, then take their weekend off at home, catching up on sleep, which we never tend to do. Now most of the Trampers that I've come across in the past are fairly old guys, that are sometimes single, have lost a loved one and near to retirement or just enjoy doing it because the money is good.
Now there is a commonality for both sets of drivers, we are all Brothers of the Haulage trade, most of our time is spent alone (unless you are double manned), with just our thoughts, music, our favourite radio station or streaming movies on our laptops, mobile device and tablets when we are on our break, even though, and many of you have seen this, the odd foreign driver is watching a movie on his laptop while he is driving, you tend not to miss this kind of thing as he passes you and his cab is lit up by the glare of the laptop, these are the guys that should be taken off the road and sent back to the country they came from, never to drive on our roads again, it is dangerous and irresponsible.
I passed my class 1 C+E back in 1993, on my first tour of duty in Northern Ireland, courtesy of the British Army, so I have quite a few years driving experience under my belt, I've driven in Germany, Canada, Cyprus but mainly within the UK, I've pulled most trailers that you can think of, from low loader to your standard curtain sider plus the odd 50 footer. I've done roping and sheeting, even though the ratchet strap as been around since the 1900's, it's great to know that these old load securing methods can still be used in todays industry.
Fun fact, my father taught me how to tie a truckers knot even before I drove a truck, he took pleasure showing me all the knots he knew, the half hitch, full hitch, bosuns hitch, the list was endless, goes back to his days as a Merchant Mariner, God rest his soul.
Now, to most of the road users (namely car drivers) think we are a menace on the roads, this is not the case in the US, they actually celebrate Truckers, this is a few lines taken from the American Truckers Association:
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is an annual, nationwide celebration and cornerstone program launched by the American Trucking Associations in 1988 to recognize and honor the vital contributions of truck drivers to our daily lives and the economy.
Now I know we have Trucking festivals all across the country and Driver of the Year is competed for with most companies but we are not honoured or recognized, the only time we ever got any kind of thanks or recognition was during the Pandemic. Truckers became essential workers, I mean, we couldn't work from home and who else was going to keep the country and economy alive. So if your not a truck driver and you are reading this, please spare a thought for all Truckers, because without us the country would literally come to a stand still and if you think real hard there is not one thing produced today that is not transported by Truckers on our roads, if you can think of anything, please leave a comment and as an after thought, please understand that we are not driving a machine that can pull a away as fast as a car, most trucks on the road have a speed restriction, so flashing your lights at us as we are in the middle of over taking another truck, is not going to make us go any faster, so please be patient.
The long and short of it all is that Trucking is a thankless job, long hours, sometimes lack of sleep, especially after a long shift, strapping the load can be a pain, the elements always seem to be against you. The road system in the UK is just getting worse, with long delays, roadworks on nearly every stretch of the motorway, accidents nearly every day, causing further delays not knowing if what has happened ahead is not only affecting your life but someone else's life, especially if there has been a fatality. We have rules and regulations to adhere to, most of which is time orientated causing infringement after infringement, hoping that the day never comes when you are stopped by the Traffic Authorities which could potentially cost you hundreds in fines.
To me, this job as a Trucker, is the most stress free job I've ever had, I have my own office, with no one there to tell me to turn the heating up or down, I also have a bunk in my office, great for working the night shift when you're stuck on the loading bay for a few hours, just get your head down and set your alarm every 30 mins, you tend to know which companies are fast at tipping or mega slow, I can take my break whenever I want plus the layby café is always a welcome sight if I want something substantial, you can't beat a full English during your shift!!
By Mrs Jackie Thompson
