The CB Radio Says It All

The best way for the general public to start thinking we’re horrible people is to simply turn on a CB radio to channel 19. If you’re anywhere near a truck stop, you’ll get to listen to all sorts of cussing, womanizing, racial slurs, gay bashing, random screaming and yelling, burping, and all sorts of other things you’ll wish you never heard. Give bored, stressed out truck drivers, who are alone almost all the time, a way to talk to the “outside” anonymously, and you have a mix for disaster. The shame is, the CB radio could be one of the best safety devices on the truck. But many drivers simply leave them off, since the select few ruin it for everyone else.

I won’t get into the specific about how we drive and why we do certain things on the road (that’ll be in another post), but the general public often times gets upset at us for doing certain things on the road. While there are definitely some poor truck drivers out there, usually we are simply misunderstood for driving certain ways. But regardless, this also hurts our image. There’s nothing drivers can do about that, but it definately helps to tarnish our image.

Are Drugs, Alcohol, and Prostitution Commonplace in Trucking?

Some movies and TV shows, along with things people see and hear in the news leads them to believe there is a huge drug, alcohol, and prostitution problem in the trucking industry. This is one that I believed myself. But really, this is perhapst he biggest misconception. Are there truck drivers who do drugs? Absolutely. Are there some truck drivers who drink when they aren’t supposed to? Yup. Are there some truck drivers who hire prostitues? There sure are. But this is not the norm! The vast majority of truck stops don’t have any of this going on. Or if it is, it’s kept pretty quiet. Other truckstops, like Ontario, CA, Nashville, TN, Gary, IN, and some others are crawling with “lot lizards” (truckers term for prostitutes). Those are the truck stops that don’t care and simply turn a blind eye to the problem. The drivers who are into these things know where to go. And the ones who aren’t into it know what truck stops to avoid. Thankfully, most truck stops don’t need to be avoided.

As far as drugs and alcohol is concerned, truck drivers are subject to drug and alcohol testing at any time. No probable cause is needed. Any weigh station can test you. Some police officer can test you. And our companies are required to randomly test us. Those who use drugs or alcohol usually won’t last long. Fellow truck drivers want them off the road just as much as everyone else. Drugs and alcohol are not part of the trucking culture anymore. It used to be more prevelant, but things have been cleaned up dramatically in the past few decades.

Truckers Come From All Walks of Life

The truth of the matter is, truck driving has to be the most diverse industry in the country. I’ve met young people, old people, men, woman, people of just about every race, people from big cities, and people from rural America. I’ve met some who have had felonies on their record (yes, they told me for some reason), and some who preach the word of God to everyone. I’ve met some who never graduated high school, and I’ve even met a driver with a doctorate degree (he was previously a dentist – he had all his teeth!). I’ve met some folks who have been doing this their entire lives, and I’ve met some who were previously cops, teachers, construction workers, and CEO’s. Truck drivers are plucked from the general public with all different backgrounds. Just like there are good cops and bad cops, good politicians and bad politicians, good CEO’s and bad CEO’s, there are also good truck drivers and bad truck drivers. And like always, the bad ones ruin it for everyone else. The vast majority of truck drivers are good people who work very hard to maintain safety and service. They sacrifice a lot for what they do, but do their part in keeping this country moving. If you bought it, a truck brought it. Truck drivers have a lot of pride in what they do, even if we are treated as if we’re bottom of the barrel. Please share the road with us, and remember we don’t all fit the sterotypes.

Until next time, drive safely.

TruckerMike

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