Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/23755
SMART DRIVING Truckstop Etiquette Drivers sound off and offer advice about proper off-road behavior n 12 years as a truck driver, Don Jackson has seen things at truck- stops that make him scratch his head. But a recent visit to a King- man, Ariz., fuel stop stands out. Jackson, leased to John Christ- I ner Trucking, was sitting in his truck when he saw a driver pull his rig into a fuel island. The driver exited his cab, locked the door and walked inside. “He must have been inside for an hour shopping, because he came out later with two bags,” Jack- son says. The driver left without fueling. Truckers typically have strong opinions about the lack of proper etiquette and acceptable behavior at truckstops. After all, they spend considerable time at the facilities fueling, sleeping and eating. On blogs and in interviews, truckers say behavior is getting worse. They blame it on a declining level of civility in society overall, as well as growing frustration by some with the trucker’s job and rocky economy. Some perceive the declining level of behavior as a generational fault of younger, less experienced drivers who haven’t been taught the right way of acting by trainers who them- selves don’t always know how to behave. “Nobody’s teaching them common courtesies these days,” says nine-year hauler Perry Gross, today leased to Landstar. “The older gen- eration seems to know to look out after each other better.” Truckers see some truck drivers taking the me-first attitude they wit- ness among four-wheelers on the road. “People don’t seem to care about other people anymore,” says John Manning, an owner-operator leased to Mercer Transport and a 24-year truck driver. “You should treat people the way you want to be TRUCKSTOP OWNER’S PERSPECTIVE Truckstops don’t post rules of behavior at their locations because the vast majority of truckers and others take care of their property and don’t abuse the facilities. “We’re blessed that they are a hardworking group that has the proper etiquette with- out us having to force proper etiquette,” says Jay Stinnett, senior regional sales man- ager for Pilot/Flying J travel centers who has spent 15 years in the business, includ- ing two years as a truckstop manager. Stinnett realizes truckers have a tough job and some- times are frustrated by a long day behind the wheel. “We understand there are going to be times when they come in and might not be in the best of moods,” he says. “It’s our job to make their life on the road as 28 TRUCKERS NEWS FEBRUARY 2011 enjoyable as possible.” Most truckers expect truck- stops to provide clean showers and good food, Stinnett says, and his company tries to meet those expectations by inspect- ing and updating facilities. Another growing demand is for wireless Internet service, which Pilot plans to enhance this year by rolling out a new network encompassing all of its locations. Improper fuel lane behavior is a big pet peeve for Don Jackson of John Christner Trucking. Landstar’s Perry Gross bemoans the lack of common courtesies among some of today’s truckers. treated. Try to put yourself in the other guy’s shoes.” Jackson wonders if those who abuse a truckstop act that way at home. He says truckers should treat facilities as if they were home. “This is basically our home,” he says. “They wouldn’t throw stuff out in their driveway.” A major complaint is about poor behavior when fueling. Too often truckers see drivers tie up a fueling line to go inside the store to shop, eat and, on occasion, shower with- out parking their rig in a designated space. Jackson recalls a time when he fueled, went inside to pay his bill and purposely avoided going to the restroom to make sure he could re- turn to his truck quickly to move it out of the way, only to see the rig in front of him still parked. He wait- ed several minutes and even walked back to the trucker waiting behind him to apologize. “He had seen the MAX KVIDERA MAX KVIDERA MAX KVIDERA