Driving a truck used to be just a good job. Now there's four or five people between you and the job.

The Plant Manager at Stein Steel shown me the Workman Compensation Insurance billing for just me, I was the only Company Driver, there had been two of us, but the other one quit when he didn't get his raise, like they told him.

The Rate they were charging the company, on an annum basis, was TWICE MY GROSS, and I was working a 5/40 with a mandatory 10 OT at $14.20, plus time and a half Overtime.

At that point in my life, after going through all the 'Driver Service' labor pools, I knew the Trade had Died (4 years ago). I have been Driving since 1966.

Monteagle had God Awful "Chock Full of Nuts" coffee.

Tired it is. Was running big dairy cows from WI to South, FL
Woke up one morning on old US45 near Champaign/Kankakee, IL. Ear corn was coming over the hood and right front steer bouncing.
Has dozed off, drifted off to the edge of the cornfield. Along there the road was straight, fields were nearly level with it, no culverts, power poles, etc.
Woke up... EMBARASSED... Dropped the old thing down 2 gears and gently steered back up on road. stopped a little later and removed the stalk debris from grill. No way to explain that.
Stayed real awake to Huntsville, AL the halfway stop for feed water and me sleep.

Never ran off to right again.
Switched to easing left and putting the left steer tire on the center line. Bright lights, air horn in your ear thru the open window put a stop to that.
Proper way was run till you felt tired... Stop and sleep till you woke up..Then go again.
(Old days- ICC- Agricultural products were exempt from HOS. No log books. Haul livestock,fruit, veggies, grain, lumber, anywhere, anytime, no requirements)

God had a reason we survived those days......

Back in the day meat used to be hauled hanging on hooks from the celling of the refer boxes.
In order to unload these refer wagons, the contents of those loads were swung over on a rail that was on the top side of the trailers.
Then rolled down to the tail,and swung over to another track inside the warehouses.
Swinging beef,lamb,and pork were very heavy.

These loads had to be handled very gently in transit as once the swinging livestock swung one way,or another it was almost like the old milk tankers with few or no baffles to slow the movement of the trailer contents.
If a trucker was going into a turn and the meat swung toward his turn,many times there would be a rollover.
You had to take it easy as not to get the load to swinging.
These loads really separated the men from the boys.
A trucker back in the day really had to know what he was hauling,and drive accordingly.

Now days all meat is packaged,and stacked,so the truckers of today do not have to deal with those dangerous loads they had back in the day.

However every commercial driver should know what is in his wagon.
They still need to also be focused on their path of travel,and there surroundings at all times.

Somethings never change,if your a trucker you still have to use your head.

Oh Lordy, here we go again with another "Coffee Stop" thread. Think I'll rename this the "Old Timers Rocking Chair Post"...

Long time ago in Nah Nah Land, had a Driver that was operating a very old Emeryville, in 1968 no less, tell me this is what you do.

In daylight, set your truck in the middle of the lane. Then up on the dash, where the middle line goes into the corner of the windshield, when you are setting comfortably, in your fuzzy slippers and BVDs, set a coffee cup or pair of gloves. A balled up bunch of white paper is best.

At night, when you can't see ahead of you, you will know you are in the center of the road because your headlight will show you the middle line in the corner of the windshield.
Do you know he was right, and I drove for all those decades without a single wreck of any nature? Thought I'd pass it along here for all those thread surfers to find and comment on.

Another point, Sidney Alterman, when I was hauling beef for him, Alterman Transport Lines for all the old poots around that remember, had a wreck where a kin of his died, where it swung the truck over as you pointed out.

From that day on, all he would haul would be cryovaced. Half a Head is one heavy piece of hamburger, but stack them up from the floor they did.

You got the Highway Hog, old 'Double H', reading the mail and wishing all a Happy Holiday.

Well hey as far as I'm concerned this Accident forum is not only geared to the carnage of the trucking industry.
I have tried to also include any safety practices anyone will share,from the old days or the present.

I say whatever it takes to not just cut down on trucking crashes.
But to eliminate them altogether.

I was a UPS Freight safety trainer when I retired,and am still very interested in seeing all commercial drivers willingness to have a safe trucking career.

So anyone who has any horror stories,or safety tips you are willing to share on this foum.
Please feel free to do so.

"Chicken Strips", the rings on the side of the tire that tells a D.O.T. Inspector without a Scale handy if you're overloaded or not.

My coffee is cold, is ANYBODY ELSE HERE OR JUST US CHICKENS?