No Lawyers, No Cameras, Just Trucking

There was a time in trucking when you didn’t need a lawyer on speed dial and a dash cam watching every move you made.

It wasn’t because the drivers were perfect in every way.

It was because adults knew how to handle business like adults.

There was more respect.

There were fewer lawsuits.

And there was no hand-holding.

“You screwed up, you owned it. There were no meetings, no lawyers. Things just got fixed and then it was time to roll.”

Before phone cameras, and long before social media appeared with their ‘outrage mobs’ , before “my attorney will be calling,” trucking ran on something that’s pretty much gone now…… responsibility and respect.

By no means was it perfect.

But it worked.

Mistakes Were Handled Man-to-Man

Back then, If you screwed up, you owned it.
And if someone else screwed up, you talked about it and worked it out.

If you had a fender bender at a dock?
You didn’t grab your phone and record it, lawyer up and then cry the blues for a settlement.

“I clipped a guy’s mirror in ’92. We shook hands, swapped info, and I was loading again in 10 minutes. No lawyers, no lies, no bullsh**. And that was it.”

Imagine that.

Drivers Were Trusted

Years ago, trucking companies hired drivers they believed they knew what the hell you were doing.

There was no 24/7 surveillance.
There were no weekly “coaching calls.”

“I worked for a company where they just gave me the keys and said ‘”Don’t embarrass us. That was pretty much the training.”

You were paid to drive. Not to be babysat.

Surveillance Cameras Changed Everything (And Not In a Good Way)

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these systems were brought into trucking as a safeguard to protect truck drivers.
They were introduced to protect trucking companies.

“That camera isn’t your friend, driver. It’s the Human Resources Department at your Company, recording everything and storing it on a big, fat memory card.”

Now every yawn, cough, eyes looking away from the road for a split second and every steering correction is gathered as ‘potential evidence against you’.

Fewer Lawyers, Fewer Games

Before lawyers smelled the money in every accident, most of these situations ended with common sense.

In today’s trucking, we live in a lawsuit-happy, sue-first culture.

“Everyone’s hurt. Everybody’s lawyering up. There’s no such thing as working things out anymore. “

And we wonder why the higher insurance rates and tighter regulations.

Respect Was Earned and Given When It Was Deserved

Four-wheelers gave trucks room (Most of the time)
Dock workers usually knew your name.
The dispatchers talked to you like the professional you were.

“Dispatch even used to ask what you thought. Can you believe that? Now they just read a script.”

Trucking for Everyone

Back then, trucking didn’t bend itself to fit you.

You had to fit the job.

If you couldn’t handle the hours, the weather, the pressure, or being alone for long periods of time, you weren’t referred to some committee to help you ‘work through it’.

“If a guy couldn’t hack it, he quit. Nobody rewrote the job description for him.”

Jobs weren’t changed to suit the driver.
If you struggled, so be it. You eventually figured it out.
The bar didn’t get lowered so everyone could ‘step over it’.

“A truck driving job didn’t care about your feelings. It cared if you could do the job.”

You earned the job by getting the work done and getting it done right.

There Was Accountability

In those days, there was no hiding behind lawyers or employment law or policies.

“If you screwed up twice, you were done. Believe me, that really kept drivers on their toes.”

I believe it made for better drivers.

Before Social Media Turned Everything Into a Public Shi* Show

Things that were once between drivers now gets smeared everywhere online.

“We used to solve our problems. Now we record them.”

Old-school Rule: Handle it. No need to advertise it.

The Job Was Tough, Straightforward

The trucks road rougher. The hours were long and grueling.

“Trucking was tough then, no doubt. But at least you knew exactly what was expected of you.”

In trucking today?

The bar has been lowered. A lot. No room for error. And trucking doesn’t want you, the driver to use your own judgement.

The Trust is Gone

And that’s the sad truth of it all.

“They don’t trust drivers anymore. And the drivers know it.”

Trucking hasn’t become safer with the all the rules, regs, better trucks, more technology, huge human resources departments, dash cams, cell phones, GPS’s….. it’s become lawsuit crazy.

It’s all about the money.

And every old-school driver out there, knows it.