Opinion: Appreciating the Everyday Miracle
This Opinion piece appears in the Sept. 16 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
By Bill Graves
President and CEO
American Trucking Associations
We often fail to notice things until there’s a problem. When you go to the light switch, you expect when you hit it that the lights will come on. When you go to the faucet and turn the knob, you expect water to come out of the tap. It is only when the lights stay dark or the sink stays dry that you really start to have an appreciation for them.
Our supply chain works the same way. Every day, millions of Americans drive to the store — lists in hand — to get their milk, eggs and fabric softener. And without fail, those items are there. Every day, stores get deliveries to keep those shelves stocked with essentials we depend on.
And like the light switch and the faucet, we don’t do enough to appreciate the everyday miracle with which our increasingly efficient supply chain has provided us. It is time for that to change.
Changes like that take time. They take a change in culture. But you can start the change in small ways.
One small way is during this week — National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
In our industry, we recognize how hard it is — what a monumental thing it is — to keep our stores stocked with medicines, food, clothing and fuel; to keep our factories supplied with the parts they need to continue our economic recovery.
While many people play a role in this — salesmen, mechanics, dispatchers — all doing their part, the real heroes of this story are our drivers:
• Who spend many hours and days away from home.
• Who are moving more freight than ever, more safely than ever, all under more scrutiny than ever.
• Who deserve our utmost respect and appreciation.
We ask so much of our drivers. We ask them to meet exacting delivery schedules while driving on increasingly congested roads full of ever more distracted drivers. We ask them to maintain top-notch CSA scores while dealing with increasingly complex hours-of-service rules and other regulations.
And they always deliver — every day. They deliver on time in good weather and in bad. They deliver to our malls, schools, hospitals and grocery stores constantly, making sure that when we need something, it’s there — in stock and ready to go.
In a way, the fact that the public doesn’t have to think about it is an odd form of appreciation. Like the lights or the water, they just expect it.
But because we know just how much goes into getting those shelves stocked, we need to do more.
• Fleets: Reward your drivers for their efforts. Recognize them for how hard they work and what they do to keep your company moving.
• Shippers: Thank your drivers at the dock. Let them know you understand what it took to get your load from Point A to Point B.
• Law-enforcement officers: Keep in mind that drivers at roadside want to be as safe as you want them to be. Treat them as partners, not as potential risks.
We also can show our appreciation on the roads. See a truck on the road? Give that truck and its driver the space they need to operate. Most of us wouldn’t appreciate being crowded in our offices. Why is it appropriate to crowd truck drivers on the highway?
Relax. Slow down. Give them room. Not only does it show some common courtesy, but it ultimately makes us all safer.
Both American Trucking Associations members and nonmembers will be doing things to celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. That’s wonderful, and if you are, you are to be commended. But make sure you don’t just keep it to this week.
There are 51 other weeks a year where we also need to keep the trials and travails of our drivers in mind. They’re the most critical component to your fleet’s success. And they’re the reason why it’s a story when the store is out of milk.
American Trucking Associations, the largest national trade federation for the trucking industry, has headquarters in Arlington, Va., and affiliated associations in every state. ATA owns Transport Topics Publishing Group.
