Remembering How Trucking Was, ‘Back in the Day’
Ask an old-school trucker about trucking back in the day.
It’s likely you won’t get a fast answer.
You’ll likely get a hesitation.
A grin.
Or maybe a slow shake of the head as they think back to those glory days.
Because back then, trucking wasn’t just any old job.
It was a job that took a real ‘man’ to do it.
And the drivers were respected.
Your Word Was The Contract
Back in the day, loads were booked with a phone call and a handshake.
If you said you’d be there Tuesday morning, you were there.
There were no tracking links. No excuses.
Your reputation mattered and you kept your word.
Even The Dispatchers Were Human
Drivers knew your dispatcher by name, not by extension number or email address.
They worked with you.
Problems were solved by talking it out. Not by a ‘canned message’.
The Trucks Had PersonalityCOMMON DISPATCHER LIES PIN
The trucks. That was one of THE best things about trucking back in the day.
No dashboard of warning lights.
No computer babysitting your every move.
Drivers knew their truck by the sounds, the vibration and by feel.
Damn, when something wasn’t right, you knew it!
Drivers knew the quirks and flaws of their trucks.
They had the ‘feel’ of the truck and weren’t told by a digital message what to do next.
Truck Stops Were For the Drivers
Parking wasn’t a circus show.
The coffee was usually pretty bad. But you could have as much as you wanted.
Drivers sat at the counters or booths, where the trucker stories flowed, along with the B.S. and trucker smarts, that you couldn’t look up ‘online.
Remember the truck stops with ‘Preferred Seating For Professional Drivers’? That was a thing.
There Were No Cameras. No Babysitters.
There was no one to watch your every move.
And drivers could make decisions.
They were trusted to be the professionals they were.
The Roads Were Quieter
There was a LOT less traffic which meant a LOT less pressure.
There was lots of work. Lots of miles. And the pay was good for the most part.
Drivers took pride in doing the job right.
The Way It Was Back Then
Those days in trucking definitely weren’t perfect.
But truck drivers were respected.
And truck drivers were independent.
That was the BIG attraction to the job back then.
Trucking belonged to the drivers.
Not the FMCSA.
Not the CEO’S at the mega carriers raking in multi-million dollar salaries.
It’s What’s Missing From Trucking
You know, that’s what old-school truckers miss the most.
Not the past so much, but the respect, freedom and the pride that came with the job.
And nothing has been able to replicate these things and bring back those ‘glory days’.
