Trucking “An Opinion Piece from A Veteran Trucker”

     In all my years on the road, and they’ve been adding up, I’ve never seen it in a worse possible way. Between the infighting, the division lines, the poor education levels, the micromanagement and the severe lack of respect between truckers, the industry I love is slowly being destroyed. Many have quit caring about the importance of the service we take on as Truckers and are more today focused on the greed aspects of it. Caring not for the people in which we serve in our country, but how big the profit and what they can get from it. We forgot about the child in the hospital waiting on the medication on our rigs that keep them going. We forgot about the family we keep clothed and fed. We’ve forgotten about the elderly, the schools, and the programs in our country that help the needy.

      I’ve been out here almost 27 years now. And never have I lost sight of what’s important. And I’m not the only one, there are others like me. But our numbers are getting smaller by every passing day. The reason? Well, I firmly believe that the primary one is too many “false leaders” within our industry that have pushed the concept of money being the most important aspect of trucking. Although it has importance in relation to operating costs, it shouldn’t be the driving force behind being a Trucker. Trucking, although a major part of our country’s Critical Infrastructure is still a service industry. Service, or being of service, is my key point. Leadership in Trucking, as well as major companies, time constraints (micromanagement) regulations and laws and even travel centers have almost destroyed the concept of “being of service”. And with it the integrity and purpose of the Trucking Industry, allowing the “me, me, me” movement in Trucking to run rampid.

    Here’s a fine example. We’ve all heard the stories of the old timers. How they protected not only within the Trucking Community and looking after their own within the community, but the communities they went home to after being on the road for weeks or months at a time. A fine example of this is a man, and one I had the privilege to hear stories about was Rich Gavito. A man whose family still to this day operates in a manner that, although he runs golden roads now, carries his importance of service to others in their everyday trucking operations. Rich Gavito, in my opinion is still today a prime example of what a Professional Trucker should always be. A Trucker who didn’t stop being of service to his community, his family and to the communities he came home to. Today, myself and others try to be an example of what a true Trucker should be. We’ve allowed micromanagement and a clock to stop us from helping others. We’ve allowed someone 1000 miles away to control our semi’s even when all responsibility still remains on us, and we’ve allowed the all “not so mighty” dollar to dictate how we treat others.

    So, my question is Why? Why is the not so mighty dollar now the determination on why we’re on the road? Why have we allowed those who understand very little about what being a Trucker means continue to mislead an industry that is a Critical Infrastructure of our country not only for the service it provides the people in it, but the aide we bring on the highways and byways as well? Why have we forgotten our importance to the people and our country as a whole? And why has the community forgotten that WE can not be of service to our country as individuals as well as we can be as a whole?

     Let’s start with the last question first. Why? Because I believe this is where it all started. The Trucking Community is the backbone of any country. Without it no country survives, and the people…. well, they suffer greatly. If you look at a human backbone it determines everything. Health, longevity, survival and even success. The same pertains to a country. And this concept is very often overlooked. A country with a strong backbone keeps a country strong, healthy and provides it with the strength to not only continue to go on but succeed.  But if that backbone gets twisted, corrupted or is divided…everything attached to it is greatly affected to a point where the eventual end becomes fatal.

     And here lies the root of our problem in Trucking. We are divided on too many fronts. We are corrupted in such a manner that our industry is negatively impacting every community we serve. Even our own. Can you not see this? Am I only one of the selected few that see this as the root of the problems? No nation can survive with a broken, divided and corrupted critical infrastructure. Where is the pride of being of service to others? Where are the true Truckers that haven’t forgotten this?

    As for the other questions, one word can fit them all. Greed. Either personal or corporate. As I stated earlier, the not so mighty dollar has become the controlling force behind the “me, me, me” movement, which has severely infiltrated the trucking community. We can also add to this an ever-increasing social media presence that shows communities worldwide that we attack one another daily. Our lack of Professionalism is not only destroying our own industry, but it’s also weakening our nation and all the communities in it. Can I prove it? Yes, with one question. Would you as a trucker take a load to a community in dire need for just the cost of fuel, or possibly less? If I polled this question under a polygraph just to get correct positive numbers, the higher percentage of truckers today would fall in the NO category. That’s just plain truth. You may say, that’s untrue. But I can again prove that wrong with another two questions. How many truckers take loads into disaster areas just because the load rate went up to double for that previous amount of time? And how many truckers would pull the same load just to provide that community with supplies to ensure they can survive?

       Wanna know what kind of real trucker you are? Drop your visor and answer those questions honestly. The percentage of those of us who would act without thought of cost to us is ever growing increasingly smaller. Being a trucker has lost its meaning. Today we’re referred to as “drivers”. Why? Because “drivers” comply and don’t question, while Truckers are a different breed. My last question, which are you? Will you be the professional trucker who can accept the responsibilities of being the backbone of a nation, the medium lifestyle that goes with it and be willing to sacrifice for another or a community that needs you? Or are you the “driver” that’s only cares about “what’s in it for me” and chases the Jone’s in this materialistic world and cares little about any community, or the country you live in? Ultimately the choice is every one of yours to make.

       In conclusion. Too many have taken stands in this industry as truckers, when they’ve lost sight of the responsibilities of being one. Our backbone right now is sickly and crooked and it’s affecting not only our industry, but every community as well, with no hope of a chiropractor in sight to restraighten it. This is because the few that want to straighten it, restrengthen it and be not only the backbone of a nation and the start the healing process for an entire nation, are being overlooked for greed. Today it’s not about the whole of an industry or the country, it’s about personal, political and financial agendas focused on individuals and corporations. I’m not an advocate for trucking; advocates aren’t what we need. I’m a champion for trucking, my nation and every community within it. The people are my concern, as are my brothers and sisters of the road. We need more Champions. We need more real Truckers of the mindset that I, Rich Gavito and many others still today live by.

    I don’t need research to back this up. I’ve firsthand witnessed it the last almost 3 decades. I still witness it today. So have most of you. If you read this, and your comment is “Those days are over and gone”, my reply will be simple…...

“No, they aren’t! You just lost sight of what being a trucker is, didn’t know what it meant to be a Trucker from the beginning or your heart has callused over and you just don’t care anymore”. Good news is, every one of those is fixable. And I can only hope this article has started that.