Heros and heroines
You have read in past columns where I said that my girls call me "Alley Cat Mom."
Well, that is pretty much true. You never know where you may see me driving. Perhaps in a muddy road down the middle of a field, or down an alley that may have been forgotten by most. Or, perhaps, just driving around town remembering who lived where or which business sat in a certain location that is no longer there.
I have traveled many miles and driven, Lord only knows, how many hours. I think I traveled every nook and cranny in Alabama while working for insurance companies the ten years we lived there.
In the selling world, we call this driving "windshield time." To me it is one of the most relaxing things I can do. Many times when I need to think something through or get things back in perspective, I get in my car and here I go. There are times I want complete silence, other times I may choose to play a CD or turn the radio on full blast. This is my "me" time. Most of the time I return much more relaxed and with my mind a little more clear. Sometimes I love being with someone who loves to laugh, like my girls. When we get in a car together we laugh at the silliest things. But, oh the good ole belly laughs we have. You know what the scripture says about laughter and a merry spirit, "it doeth good like medicine."
I said all that to get to what I really have been thinking.
I was on my way to work recently and was taking some windshield time before starting my day. I wound up near a local business behind a big eighteen wheeler trying to park so he could unload his freight. The driver was very skilled as he was backing that big truck into a very narrow space. As I sat watching him, I began to think about truck drivers and those big rigs.
Many times when I was traveling the interstates I would latch on to one or two eighteen wheelers and travel behind them. I always felt safe with those 'good ole boys' of the highways. Sometimes you can get into some pretty desolate spots on those interstates.
In thinking about those big rigs, I thought about the men and women behind the wheels.
One of the men I thought about was my brother-in-love, Mike. He has spent most of his life in a truck. He has traveled to, if not every state, just about. He has spent much of the time away from home and his family. This is a part of the life of an over-the-road trucker.
As my mind was whirling all over the place with these thoughts, I started doing a little research on the trucking industry. These are some facts I learned.
The average daily run for a long-haul-over-the-road driver is nearly 500 miles. A majority of these drivers will drive on average, 100,000 to 110,000 miles per year. Now let me tell ya, that is lots of windshield time.
In 2007, the large truck fatal crash rate was a record low 1.85 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. In July 2002, AAA found that eighty percent of crashes were caused by car drivers. Now that is not saying that there are times when it is the fault of the trucker.
In most cases it is estimated that fatigue is a primary factor in only 7.0 percent. I say that is pretty good.
I also learned by the year 2020 that the trucking industry will haul 70.9% of the total U.S. tonnage.
I just happened to believe we owe a salute of gratitude to our trucker friends and families.
Seems to me that almost everything we acquire from our food to our clothing and all else gets to us via a man or woman who has taken on a huge load to make the choice of earning their livings by seeing to it that we get our life's needs from their driving these big rigs.
I saw a sign somewhere that said, "If you got it, a trucker probably got it to you." Yes, this week my heros and heroines are those men and women of the highways.
I'm proud of ya, Mike. Keep 'em rolling.
See ya next time somewhere in a corner.
kdover28@gmail.com - www.dailystatesman.com - 573-820-2404
Comments
- -- Posted by TNMom2 on Fri, Feb 8, 2013, at 5:49 PM
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