Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/426944
VOICES 6 | Overdrive | December 2014 The world has become a wide open place, where information of any kind is easily accessible. Even things you may think are private and protected can be found with a few clicks of a button. But what about the information you choose to make public? What about your Facebook page, Twitter account, Insta- gram and Vine? Who's really watching? A video of a person (he is clearly not worthy to be called a truck driver), who recorded himself sitting in the passenger seat while having coffee and driving with his left foot, made the Internet rounds in October. The images clearly show his truck UW^QVOQV\ZINÅK_Q\P other vehicles in close proximity. He's laughing and carrying on, happy as a lark, while he endan- gers the lives of everyone around him. This guy not only happily performed the ridiculous act, he posted it to his YouTube account. The trucking commu- nity began to hunt this idiot like prey. Within a few hours, his name, the company he's leased to and phone number were readily available and turned over to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra- tion, along with a copy of his video. As of the time of this writing, he's at least had the sense to close his YouTube account, but it's way too late for backpedaling. The video is elsewhere online and will never, ever OWI_Ia;]NÅKMQ\\W[Ia his driving career is over. That's a good thing. This is the second article I've written in as many months about foolish images from the driver's seat being posted online. Apparently, there is a growing number of people who either don't understand or don't care that it's dangerous to drive a commercial vehicle with your feet, or while eating a watermelon or having a bikini wax. While I've never been one to tattle on people, it gives me a great deal of satis- faction to be able to assist in getting the blatantly foolish people off the roads my family and I use on a daily basis. The argument can be made that the people _PW_WZSMLWVÅVLQVO out who this driver was should mind their own business. Here's the deal: It's not cute or funny to endanger the lives of others. No one thinks you're a badass, they just think you're an ass, and the minute you post something to the Internet, no matter what the venue may be, it becomes every- one's business. Wendy Parker chronicles her journey on the road with her owner-operator husband, George, in the George and Wendy Show blog on OverdriveOnline.com. Scan the QR to read more from her on your phone or tablet. Trucking social media 101 "It wasn't quite as bad as this, but I did pass a driver with a sandwich in one hand and a drink in the other, steering with his elbows." — Allen John Sokol Steering a truck with your left foot? "Now you would think someone doing something so remarkably stupid would try to hide it," Wendy Parker wrote in her Oct. 25 blog post about a YouTube video in October. "I was a trucker and now a recruiter. Truckers rightfully want to be and should be referred to as 'professional driv- ers,' but this guy is so far from that statement, it's just not funny. In fact, it's embarrassing to the true professional driver that someone like the guy in this video is in any way associated with other professional drivers." — Reader posting as "Juggernaut" Via OverdriveOnline.com… The minute you post something to the Internet, no matter what the venue may be, it becomes everyone's business.