Wind in their sails

This week we’re launching our Trucking Toward a Better Future competition in association with Resilienz Ltd. We gave you all a teaser about it online a few days ago, and I have to say we’re pretty excited. See below for full details. The more entries we receive the happier we will be.

It’s a great month to be a truck driver. Truck and Driver magazine is running its annual Truck Driver Appreciation Week campaign from 22 to 28 February (next week), and there’s a list of locations on its media as to where the guys will be.

In terms of the (better) future competition with Resilienz, I’m particularly excited. Outside of Dad and Mum, all my mentors have been men of the wheel. (FYI, the ‘men’ thing is just a reflection of the era in which I grew up.) Given a day off, that’s where you’ll still find me – somewhere close to the trucking fraternity. They’re funny, quick-witted, sometimes too street-savvy for their own good, genuine and – generally speaking – super-bright.

I spent years listening to their wisdom from the passenger seat as a kid, then in later years when driving in the industry with them, when managing them, and now while recording their history. They’re people I believe in, and they are a population largely unheard. As we say in our comp, truck drivers see the entire economy and fabric of society. They have the rare opportunity of being able to maintain productivity while contemplating what it is they’ve seen. They are one of the greatest untapped resources on practically applied solutions. Until now, our wider society hasn’t thought to ask them what it is they’ve seen. One entry we’ve received in the competition is so typical of what I’d expect from within our industry, completely obvious and practical, yet it’s something I’ve rarely seen in the design and construction of infrastructure. It’s also a concept that invests in the future rather than pocketing a quick buck now. I’m not going to give away anymore. All I can say is I read it, smiled and thought ‘Yep, go you good thing! Practical and easy to do.’

It’s going to be great, and my dream of dreams is that at some point – either this year or the years to come – someone’s in-cab musings will change their lives.

I’ll end by saying that if truck drivers serve your business, take a moment to go out and have a yarn and sign off with a ‘Good on ya, mate’. Don’t gush all over them; they’ll peg you in a heartbeat. Just be genuine – be yourself. They spend a lot of time alone, they’ll appreciate a two minute contact.

Oh, and in case you weren’t aware, unless you’re a subsistence-based individual living in a yurt by a river, you will be relying on truck drivers.

All the best

Dave McCoid
Editor