Dangers Of Trucking - Even Today!

Welcome to episode 2 - Truckers Have Feelings - Dangers of Trucking - Even today! I mentioned in my last episode about a trucker who was shot at on a Philadelphia highway in the United States of America. Also a trucker who threw his son out of the truck while driving through Rogers Pass, British Columbia, Canada. When a trucker leaves home and jumps in their rig the last thing on their mind is that they won't be back - well most truckers that is. Truckers know the roads are more challenging today than ever - In 1999 I dispatched a trucker into the US - he was taking a load of lumber to a customer in Philadelphia. En route to the drop site there was suddenly a bit of traffic - there was a car attempting to pass his rig in the passing lane, when up ahead the traffic was slowing which forced the car back... For some unknown reason the driver of the vehicle became enraged and changed lanes behind the truck and came up on the passenger side of the truck. The driver of that vehicle pointed a hand gun at the truck and was able to get two shots off and fortunately missed the truck driver. One bullet missed the truck while the other hit the top part of the passenger door frame. The driver was preparing to shoot again at which point the trucker was able to force the driver of the car onto an exit ramp never to be seen again by the trucker as there was no way for the car to get back on the highway. I understand these things don’t just happen to commercial drivers but it can happen to anyone who is in the wrong place at the wrong time or simply put just bad luck. But here is the thing Truckers have more chances at being on the receiving end of these situations as they are on the road the most so chances are much higher plus the rigs they are driving are not small or fast therefore the public who can be very impatient tend to take things out on these truckers. Now let’s head over to Rogers Pass, British Columbia, Canada. I remember hearing the story when I was in my teens about a truck driver who took his son with him on a trip out to Western Canada - part of the trip was going through Rogers Pass, British Columbia - a place which can be very dangerous. My family was good friends with the family I am about to speak of and these people were known to be very kind, giving people. As he arrived in Rogers Pass there was a section where it was very steep and as he was descending the mountain … something went very wrong … he lost his brakes and minutes before going over an embankment, he had to force his son out of the truck while moving at a high speed, it was guessed this was done as he knew certain death was upon him and he wanted his son to have a chance to live. At the time the young fellow was 10 years of age. Even though these stories are rare, it goes to show the type of people we have on our highways that sometimes get painted with the same brush so to speak. Sometimes public opinion is more of judgement due to perception. I lost touch with the family over the years but the young fellow who was thrown from the truck sustained life long injuries and trauma - it was thought to be the right decision at the time considering it was a split second decision - What would you do if in that position? I can be very honest with you, I really don’t know what I would have done in that in that situation - I would like to believe I would make the right decision but not 100% sure. Truckers have feelings because they really are humans - we need to remember that. If you have positive stories or stories of this nature that I spoke of and would like to take a few minutes and share your story with me to honour the trucker who was affected in a positive or negative way .. send me a message and we can talk about it here on “Truckers Have Feelings” Thanks for listening - if you enjoy what Im doing here and see the value of the messages please subscribe and share this with others. Talk to you in Episode 3 this coming Sunday.