The Late Truck Driver

This story provides two perspectives of the life of a trucker; one from a trucker and one from his wife. I, the trucker, joined the ranks as a professional trucker late in life, after retiring from a great career in higher education, serving at the highest levels of state and federal government. I followed a dream to become a truck driver, and as you might imagine, found a world of experiences much different than I had experienced in my first career. My stint as a truck driver has been everything I hoped it would be. I have enjoyed all aspects of driving truck, from getting to know the truck itself, to learning the rules and habits of the road as a truck driver, and finally, to experiencing the life and predilections of the many great truck drivers that I met.

Getting to know the truck, both the tractor (what you may call the cab) and the trailer have been a fascinating experience. From the first day of driver training, to learning the 87 discrete parts -- from the engine to the brake systems, to the tractor/trailer connections, to the instrument panel, to the gears and the splitter, to the myriad lights and their distinct and unique purposes -- all of this has been a great learning experience.

But even more important is knowing the role and mechanics of each part. This includes operating the gears and breaks, and knowing the rpm ranges within which the gear must be changed and what happens if you miss that gear change. One of the most significant tasks to master, for example, is dance between braking and gearing in traversing mountain grades.

Most of a truck driver’s day, however, is simply spent behind the wheel driving at highway speeds across the country. From the hum of the engine and the oneness of driver and truck, to the vistas of the wonderfully diverse geography of this country, driving a truck is simply pure joy, at least it has been for me.

In addition to becoming acquainted with the mechanics and operations of the truck, a huge part of truck driving is living within the truck driving culture. Learning about my fellow truck drivers was perhaps the most humbling experience of my time driving truck. In my prior career I had been fortunate to have risen to the highest levels of my profession, including being the CEO of state, federal, and non-profit organizations. It is fair to say that I thought a lot of myself, or as some of my truck driving colleagues probably would say, I was a bit full of myself. And, while I was intrigued by the new community of colleagues I was joining, I suspect I came to truck driving thinking I was probably a bit superior to most of those I would be working beside.

I was wrong. I discovered three fundamental elements of the culture of truck driving.

First, there is no single culture of truck drivers. The truck driving community is as diverse as America itself – mostly, but not exclusively male, less white than you might imagine with a surprising number of non-native Americans including many Eastern Europeans, Middle Easterners, and Mexican and Central Americans. And a lot of these folks are very bright. While few are well educated, many are articulate, thoughtful, and erudite. Yet, the stereotypes of truckers actually do fit a lot of drivers. Many are substantially over weight, though that doesn’t necessarily distinguish them from many other Americans these days. And, while many drivers were very bright, a lot weren’t, and many of those who weren’t very bright didn’t realize it.

The second element of the truck driving culture, at least from my perspective, is that, although the community is quite diverse, the nature of the task at hand – driving, usually alone, across the country, with little time off – breeds a loners’ culture that focuses almost exclusively on the here and now, with little planning beyond rhetoric for the future, with little awareness of the massive changes occurring in America outside the sphere in which they operate, and with a bit of a victim’s attitude. Because drivers interact almost exclusively with others involved with trucking, and tend to have little engagement with a traditional community or even with their family, they tend to believe the world is one in which hard working regular people like them don’t get what they deserve in either earnings or respect. While I have not come to appreciate this general perspective, I have come to understand it better than I did and can now at least understand how good people can support Donald Trump.

Third, many truck drivers, like me, love their occupation. Many others, however, despise it. Many, like me, had been fascinated by the idea of driving truck, had taken it up and were living the dream. Others had been equally fascinated, but did not found it to be what they had hoped for. Quite frankly, this is not much different than with many other occupations. Quite frankly, this is not much different than with many other occupations. There are also those truckers who went into trucking simply because the high demand for truck drivers meant they could get a job. Not surprisingly, many of these drivers were less than satisfied with their jobs. Others, and there are many of these, came from other countries where they had professional training or highly skilled jobs, but could not receive recognition in America for that experience and found truck driving to be a good way to make a decent living while they became acclimated to our culture.

I have had a great experience following my dream and becoming a professional truck driver. But I realize that the time has come to leave this dream behind as well. What a wonderful life it has been, though, and I hope readers of this may be encouraged to follow their dream, as well.