If you ask drivers what the golden rule of safety is, you’ll get a lot of different answers - and all of them are likely to be important. But let’s boil this topic down to it’s most simplest form - the one golden rule of trucking….

In my last post, I spoke a little bit about what truck drivers do on the road that can irritate 4-wheelers. This post is intended to help people understand what irritates us truck drivers.

Wow, it’s been two months since I hit the road with my trainer. I can’t believe it’s already been that long. Time is really flying out here. As I stated in one of my earlier posts, my training period is much longer than most companies, so I probably won’t be done for at least another 6 weeks or so. But since I’ve put in quite a bit of time with a trainer already, I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on how to survive your company trainer.

Spring is something that everyone looks foward to after driving in the winter. The snow and ice and cold just wear a person out. Dealing with coats and boots and frozen brakes has worn out its welcome. Driving in the winter is not “easy” like it is in the spring and summer months.
You eagerly look forward [...]

Some days you just know it is going to be a bad day. Today was one of them. Its the last of November and there is all sorts of weather heading our way….

Last time I left you I had just finished waiting out my first blizzard off I-80 in Pine Bluffs. I was so glad I didn’t have to drive in that stuff again. After all, it’s spring! Last week we were leaving Fontana, California with almost 40,000 pounds of  something for UPS. This is an on-time, [...]

Let me start out by saying that I live in the desert. Yes, 120 degrees summer days desert. Blowing sand is common when it’s windy. We do have days when main roads are closed due to blowing sand - but not snow! Oh man, here comes a blizzard!

Any driver in a semi will either see, or be involved in these types of events with any amount of time behind the wheel. There is often a lack of driving etiquette from the others who share the road with us. Their actions sure make a mess of things at turns, and I will never ever understand why the game of  “chicken” is involved between a car and a big truck. Sometimes our size just freaks them out and they just want to get out of the way! Sometimes they get in the way and don’t even know it - at least not at first!

Whether or not a trucking company or bus company will do the necessary maintenance to the vehicle is one good way to determine if a company is right for you when searching for a bus or truck driving job. But the driver also needs to understand their equipment, how it functions, and how to inspect it.

Better late than never, and I don’t care how much it pays, because if I die by my careless driving, I’m not going to get paid anyway!

With 10 years of truck driving under my belt, I’ve spent a lot of hours in the driver’s seat.  Most of my driving time was at night, though.  It was easier on a woman to drive at that time of the day.  The guys couldn’t ogle you as they could during the daytime. You’d be amazed at some of the sights you’ll see sittin’ way up there above most everybody else on the highway.

You never know when something crazy is going to happen when you’re cruisin down the road. But when something does go wrong, the proper training and understanding of how to handle a big rig will keep you safe and ready to run another day. This story was about one of those days.

In day two of truck driving school they covered defensive driving techniques, including excessive speed and following distance. There is nothing more important to your safety than maintaining the proper speed and following distance.