Changes in Trucking

Changes in trucking are inevitable whether we want them or not. We may not always like them, but we have to accept them and the older we are the less we accept change.

One of the great things about having your own website is you can talk about whatever you want. You get to pick the topics. You get to give your side of the story and nobody can argue any of your points. (Until the comment section). all joking aside, I felt changes in trucking warranted some space on our site. I wandered into a few different areas in this article the way a truck stop conversation does.

The “New” generation of truckers

I’ve heard this term a lot by other drivers. I wonder if they were considered the new generation by their peers? I sometimes wonder if things are better today and if they’re safer? Having been born in the 60’s, I can only go back so far, but I always enjoyed talking with older drivers to gain their perspective on the changes in trucking they’ve seen.

I had relatives that were driving in the 40’s after the war, so I’ve heard my share of stories. From those conversations I learned the equipment is definitely better (heaters for one thing), but the older drivers refer to newer generations as a different “Breed” of truckers. If they are a different breed, then who bred them?

Maybe some of the responsibility lies with us for not teaching them the old ways? Maybe with the influx of foreign drivers we don’t have the chance to teach them? There’s always a part of me that thinks our generation blames, but never accepts any responsibility. We can’t accept it all, but we can accept some.

Then there’s the truck driver shortage.

With a massive influx of drivers from other parts of the world, I’m positive this accounts for some of the changes in trucking that have taken place on the road. I’m sure we’re all aware of this, but this is no excuse for racial slurs or prejudices to be thrown around like confetti.

Way too frequently minorities are being blamed for almost every dangerous, illegal, or near miss incident that seems to happen on the roads. If this were true, than our accident rate would have been zero 30 years ago. But that just isn’t true now is it?

Let’s clear something up.

Stupidity doesn’t prejudice. It comes in all shapes, sizes, races, colors, and ethnic backgrounds. Accidents are common working in the oil and gas industry where there is very little ethnic diversity.

If you do feel there are certain ethnic groups that have particular unsafe quirks or habits, you’re certainly entitled to that opinion. I don’t like having such a politically correct society that we can’t make statements about different ethnic groups without being labelled a bigot. I believe that sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade. But please be able to back it up with some verifiable statistics and be careful with generalizations as they can get you into hot water.

I recently did some traveling in Africa and Asia and found the driving in Africa an eye opener. I think Johannesburg was worse than Asia and the road rage there is very bad. Asia was an eye opener of a different nature to me. Everybody seems to drive wherever they want, but miraculously, they have very few accidents. They all seem to know what each other are doing.

I was surprised to see how little damage, dents, and dings there were on there vehicles. So maybe they aren’t bad drivers but just different? I managed to get lots of video and will put up a full article on this subject hopefully soon. This way I can gather some proper statistics and research to explain this.

The other thing I noticed in some of the larger cities was there are very few stoplights. It led me to believe that we’re lost without rules and regulations in our society and wouldn’t know how to drive there. They’re in the opposite situation as they become lost in our world of nothing but rules and regulations. We have too many rules, and they have not enough. I’ll investigate this more to find out which country has the best balance. They more than likely have the fewest accidents too.

Continue reading Changes in Trucking…..

Training

This is where I really question how we stack up to previous generations. It seems that we spend more money, time, and resources on training people how to do their paperwork, loading, unloading and other duties. Do we actually spend any time teaching new people how to drive anymore?




I don’t mean shifting gears either. Driving to me is not about shifting gears and the mechanics of it. Professional driving is about the mindset and the attitude.

I’m talking about all the unwritten rules of trucking. Etiquette, courtesy, consideration, and respect for one another. I’m pretty sure this is one of the changes in trucking that senior drivers are worried about for good reason.

Everything that seems to be taught now is technical and mechanical, and nothing about morals and values. With morals and values we learned how to be courteous, considerate, helpful, empathetic and compassionate to others.

if you’re interested in morals and values of driving, then you may want to read our mini series on truck driving safety. It has nothing to do with the mechanics of driving. We look at safe driving as a virtuous attitude.

So how do we expect the roads to be a safer and better place if these changes in trucking mean our morals and values are dying?

Do you explain things when you train? The way we teach is just as important as what we’re teaching.

Every valve, sump, handle, switch, fitting, latch etc… has a function. Do you tell trainees what each item is, and then explain the function? Do you make them understand why they are using it, and not just tell them they have to use it?

When I teach people how to landscape (One of my other sites), I always try to explain the different ways to perform a task. Then I explain the advantages and disadvantages of doing it each way. This allows people to understand why they are doing it the way they do.

Give people choices and let them find their own groove and way of doing things. (Within the boundaries of safety of course.) We all know that some jobs are really “My way or the highway” or someone can get hurt.

It’s not just changes in trucking rather than changes in society in general. All we teach now is rules and regulations instead of teaching people how to think.

Common Sense or Common Knowledge?

Driving a truck may have its challenges, but isn’t a difficult job. Many people like to think that common sense is an asset, but this is such a widely misused term. We really should call it common knowledge. Common knowledge comes with experience and training of the field you work in.

You can take a brilliant astronaut full of common sense with an IQ of 160 and make him look like a fool in the trucking industry. It doesn’t mean he has no common sense. It means he lacks the experience and training required for problem solving in this particular industry. New drivers lack these same attributes, so we need to teach them.

It’s true that some people are smarter, catch on faster, and some don’t ever seem to catch on. We all learn in different ways and at different paces.

We need to take time to understand the person and their ability to learn before we can teach them. Without proper training, they may not acquire the common knowledge they need. Without this knowledge, they will always lack the confidence to do their job effectively. Finally, you can’t develop the right attitude without any confidence.

I’m sure we spend more money on training than we did 30 years ago, but why do we have so many poorly trained truckers?

These are my thoughts on changes in trucking, what are yours?

What changes in trucking have you seen for better, or for worse?
What changes in trucking would you like to see?
How can we get back to the days where people cared for one another on the road?

Remember the days when you wouldn’t pass by a broken down truck without offering assistance?

Thanks for reading Changes in Trucking

Truckerswheel team