Considerate Drivers

If you ever equip your automobile with a Citizen's Band (CB) radio and set off on a cross country journey, please be sure that you do not have kids in the car. Things have gotten that bad on the CB. The conversations and language that you will sometimes be subjected to defies even being described as locker room language. The anonanymity of the CB allows for transmissions that go beyond filth.

However that (the filth) is not the point of this post. My intent is to discuss one aspect of vehicle transportation that you will frequently hear from truck drivers on the CB. All them "inconsiderate 4 wheelers" is something that, if you judge from the CB alone, you will come to the conclusion is the opinion that all truck drivers have of the drivers of passenger vehicles.

Well I am saying it isn't so. One thing that I have come to the conclusion of when it comes to the CB is that most of the truckers you hear talking on the CB are the rookie truck drivers. Most of the "old hands" long ago gave up on all the foolishness going on nowadays on the CB, and if they even have their CB turned on anymore, they only listen in and rarely key up their microphones.

I now have 10 years as a truck driver and have covered well over a million miles during that time. While I am not the most experienced, nor do I in any way qualify as being the "best" truck driver on the road, I do think my experience qualifies me to put forth my own opinion as to how good a job the "amateur" drivers of passenger vehicles do out there on the road.

My own opinion? I am impressed - not just impressed, a better word might be amazed - at how considerate the average American motorist is out there on the road. Now I am not going to say that "all" passenger vehicle motorists are especially considerate. Just like not all truck drivers are perfect, there are inconsiderate passenger vehicle operators out there as well. However it is my experience that the majority of "them damn 4 wheelers" are operated by drivers that have an amazing amount of consideration for their fellow drivers in general and for the drivers of the "big rigs" in particular.

Oh yeah, I have a few horror stories that I can tell about the times I ran into a flurry of inconsiderate drivers when I was attempting to change lanes or something. However the instances of this happening, in comparison to the number of times drivers of 4 wheelers have been willing to share the road with my large, slow truck, makes these occurences almost insignificant relative to the number of times I can point to where drivers went "beyond the call of duty" to be considerate towards me.

So my message to all the considerate operators of "them damn 4 wheelers"? Your considerate driving habits are noted and appreciated by all the truck drivers who have any real experience on the road. Don't be frustrated by all the negative comments you hear on the CB. Those are the rookies talking.

Perhaps not even every truck driver with even more experience then me will agree with my appraisal of the consideration displayed by the "average" 4 wheeler. So perhaps I should just stick with voicing my own opinion.

So here goes. In "my own opinion" all of us truck drivers (or at least this one) needs to send out a great big THANK YOU to the amazing number of considerate 4 wheelers there are out there for helping me get my job done. If it wasn't for all these considerate drivers, I am of the opinion that long ago I would have had to give up this job.

I am in awe of the consideration - perhaps kindness is a better word - that the "average" American motorist displays to the drivers of the big rigs. Once again, THANK YOU. Keep up the "good works"! <--- Tie in to previous posts on religious topics in the previous sentence intended - grin.