I think we can all agree that it’s been crazy this last 2 years. Our faith, will and strength have been pushed to the max, and we’ve been tested repeatedly throughout. With all the different rules and laws, the contradictory information, etc, it’s definitely been a big shit show.
One thing I have learnt in my many years of trucking is that your attitude and perspective while out here doing the job (and in life in general) is what makes you – or breaks you. I can honestly say that the last 2 years has put my character to the test consistently… and I’ve landed on my face a few times. Trucking is already a hard and dangerous job, adding on the pandemic and all that came with it, that made trucking even more difficult. It is a challenge to keep a positive, helpful, altruistic attitude with all the selfish negativity you come across everyday.
The other day at work, I went into a government office (a regular customer of ours) to use the facilities before I went to pick up my load. There was a security guard at the door allowing only one driver in at a time. I said hello and that I would like to use the washroom, he joked and said “no, it’ll cost you”. We laughed and chatted a bit. I joked that his 20 bucks was in the mail for use of the washroom, he replied “oh no it would be more than that”, I said ok 30 then! He quickly said “no, and I don’t mean money wise either” and winked at me. I knew exactly what he was insinuating. I had a choice right there, do I confront him and make a big stink about it? Do I sluff it off and ignore it? Or do I play with it and have a laugh? The rest of the interaction with the security guard was totally up to me, which attitude and perspective did I want to take to respond and what outcome do I want.
That wasn’t just a random innuendo thrown out towards me/women truckers once and a while, it’s something we have to deal with, or endure, everyday. If I were to take the attitude of verbally slamming every guy that is disrespectful in whatever shape or form, I wouldn’t even have time to drive cuz I’d be too busy fighting all the time. I might as well become a lawyer then, or an MMA fighter.
The mechanical and logistics side of trucking can be a challenge as well. We all hope for an easy flowing work pace, but that rarely happens due to many different factors, like traffic, construction/road closures, accidents, breakdowns on the truck or trailer, waiting time at customers loading/unloading, mental and physical longevity and health, scheduling, hours of service/logbooks, border inspections and lineups, etc.
One trip out in the winter of 2018, I was on my way from Montreal to Virginia, then I was suppose to carry onto Winnipeg to see my dad and siblings. It was a time sensitive run, and I had to be in Virginia at a specific time to make it possible. I got to our yard and found a problem with my truck so the shop fixed it within a couple hours, not a good start lol. I got going tho and left during rush hour, was delayed but then passed a lineup at the weigh scale due to a truck and trailer on fire, and got to the Canada/USAborder crossing to wait a while in the lineup. It was proving to be an eventful trip so far and it was only day 1!!
Eventually I got going down the highway, then around 3:30am another truck problem popped up. I pulled over to contact our breakdown dept. and to find a garage near by, there was one close and they opened at 5am. I drove over there and parked, waited for about an hour or so then got my truck in the shop. It took them all day to do the repair, and I got back on the road around 6pm that night. I literally drove for 45mins and then boom! a trailer tire on the passenger side blew out, exploded and shredded, and it took out the brake lines on that side as well. It stunk bad like burnt rubber. I quickly and safely pulled over on the side of the highway right at an exit ramp then contacted breakdown dept., again. A mobile unit came, it took a few hours but he did the repair, leaving me with an hour or so on my logbook so I just drove to a truckstop and parked for the night. Finally I got some sleep.
The next day I carried on to Virginia, I was a day behind at that point and there was no way I was going to make it to pickup the Winnipeg load. It turned out tho that dispatch had the customer rescheduled to compensate for my lost time, so I was still able to take the load to Winnipeg. Thank god, I felt relieved and happy. So I unloaded in Virginia and picked up the Winnipeg load, everything was coming together. Or so I thought lol. The rest of the trip was also full of adventures, like being delayed due to an accident on the highway on my route, the diesel fuel freezing once I reached the USA/Manitoba border, the temperatures were in the mid -30’s and my truck didn’t like it and neither did I, etc. It ended up that my whole time out was full of adventures like that. I used to call experiences like that ‘a bad trip’, but since changing my perspectives on things, and approaching the situations with a more positive attitude, I can appreciate it all as adventures and challenges to overcome, with always a gift of gratitude at the end.
Trucking is an amazing and very rewarding industry, despite all the bullshit. You will have a bad day, or week, or your whole time out could be just one shitty thing going ‘wrong’ after another, but it all teaches you something if you are willing to stick with it and learn from your experiences. You grow as a person exponentially in trucking. I have learnt many different tools and skills on how to respond to a multitude of situations, and most often my weapon of choice is humour (ssometimes dark lol) mixed with some sarcasm. Trucking has played a huge part into the strong, hard working, focused, and compassionate woman I am today. And I am proud.