by Garet Harris

Created on: April 11, 2009   Last Updated: April 12, 2009

When it comes to driving, most people don't really pay much attention to it. They take driving for granted as a guaranteed right, not the privilege it is. They also tend to forget that as with all privileges there is great responsibility. I see this exact attitude every time I make a run to the west coast. People fly by you without ever even looking to see what you may be doing. Traffic in major cities is even worse. Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles come to mind. Everyone is in such a hurry to get where they are going, that they just don't realize the risks they take at times.

I drove a hot shot route using a 1 ton dually, hauling brand new trailers from manufacturers to destinations all through the United States and Canada. I finally decided to quit when the recession got too bad. For three years, my wife and I criss-crossed the land, the things we have seen people do never cease to amaze me. To an over the road driver, safety is not just an idea. It's a constant philosophy that is employed every second of every shift that we drive. As a group, we can't afford to take the same careless attitude on the road, we must be constantly on the look out for what everyone else around us is doing, because I guarantee you they aren't paying attention. Sadly I can even say this about many of the younger semi drivers out there, but that doesn't mean some of the experienced ones don't pull the same tricks now and then. I've seen them talking on cell phones, using laptop computers, gawking at passerby's, and I even once saw an elderly gentleman reading a paperback book while driving. down the interstate at 75 miles per hour with medium traffic all around him.

We can't afford to let our guard down for a second. I know the 24 to 26,000 lbs I was moving doesn't exactly stop on a dime , so I'm pretty sure it's even worse at 80,000 pounds. When I first joined the company I worked for I was required to take a half day workshop on defensive driving and driver safety. It was really a good experience and I would highly recommend it to everyone. Especially small car drivers who I don't think realize the consequences of there actions around large trucks. I'm brought to mind of an incident that occurred to me just outside of Oklahoma city, Oklahoma in December of 2007 on a very dark night. I had just fueled up and gotten back on the interstate heading west out of town when a little sub compact car came flying bye me on the left and almost clipped my front end getting over. As I watched

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>