Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/58364
Feedback Demand respect and take responsibility L etters from drivers complain- ing about bad treatment have become a staple of magazines like this one. The over-the-road lifestyle can, over time, make one feel as if they are low-class. I have seen drivers who entered the pro- fession from other lines of work and move on quickly, flabber- gasted over how they were treated. For example, spending a weekend killing time, without pay, in a run- down truckstop is something no true professional should tolerate, or be expected to. If others perceive you as cheap, it is easy for them to treat you that way. In my 27 years behind the wheel I am ashamed at how often I have allowed myself to be used and abused. But one day I finally wised up and learned to com- mand respect. You can, too. If a dispatcher gives you a load assignment or vehicle that you know is not reasonable or safe, simply respond with something like, "I am not going to do that (or drive that) and I don't care what the consequences are." Use a firm but polite tone of voice. Do not raise your voice. Do not make any kind of threat or allow yourself to be threatened. Once you have communicated your stance, accept nothing less than respect. If you are a safe and reliable driver, they will make some other arrange- ment, because it is easier than replacing you. Do not be tempted to prove to yourself and others how much you can accomplish. That will get you added to the list of people who can be counted on to do it again; that is, to take ownership of a problem that is rightly some- one else's. They will use flattering language like, "We knew we could count on you to get-r-done." But a driver is like the captain of a ship: fully in charge and fully responsible. A captain who yields his authority to those who are not responsible for his ship is no captain at all. No one will stand behind you if you get in trouble with the law or the safety department, and no one should. You are in no way responsible for someone else's bad planning or poor judgment. No one else is responsible for yours. Howard Glass Grove City, Pa. DO YOU HAVE ANY TRUCKING-RELATED SUPERSTITIONS? | VIA FACEBOOK | Not really. Just try to be safe, share the road and never push an issue. Always take the time to think it through. — Bruce C. Never piss on a truck or it will piss on you! — Seth W. Always refer to a truck as "she," just like a ship — bad luck if you don't. — Richard B. Pat the dashboard and thank her for another job well done. — Donald F. Don't cross the highway when stopping for a break. Bad things happen. — Guy C. 8 | TRUCKERS NEWS | APRIL 2012 My trucker won't hit the road till I sing "On the Road Again." — Trucker's Wife Some trucks are cursed for some reason. Born in the same assembly line as all the other trucks of that same model year, but will give you nothing but bad luck and headaches, while the rest of them will be great rigs. — Duncan B. Always have your bell hung 4 inches off the ground, and always — I mean always — have it hanging in the middle of the trailer. If you don't, you'll turn over. You don't leave home without your train horns or your bell. That's a must. — Michael B. Hours of service T he government needs to leave the hours of service alone. It's wrong how they want to control us. It's very wrong that [the average American] can jump in their car, drive for two days with no sleep and not a word would be said to them. When they go on vacation, I think that RVs and campers should have to go by the same rules we do. Make them do a log book, too. But that's a joke; that'll never happen. We can't do what we need to do to pay our bills. We are adults, and we need to be treated like adults. For the drivers that don't know how to go to bed, they don't need to be driving at all!!! They need to quit judging all of us by what one driver does. Cause last time I checked this is suppose to be the land of the free and the country to better yourself, not to be con- trolled by the government. Jonathon Walker Fries, Va. I More on hours don't normally write in to any of the industry magazines; however, I couldn't help myself tonight. I'll keep it short. I can't say this enough: Thank you for saying what's on many driv- ers' and owner-operators' minds. There's no way a person can believe forcing a driver to take a 30-minute meal break or requiring two night- C ontinued on page 8