A DESERT TRUCK TRIP * Australia - Related from a pub veranda
* South Australia - A truck trip through the S.A. desert
(Picture: Dropping the dust of the Strzelecki, a kilometre out of town) --- Sitting on the pub veranda, you watch the trucks come in. Dusty and battered from the desert, hundred kilometres of corrugated stony and sandy roads but travelling lighter, heading home empty...Other trucks weighed down with heavy payloads pull out of the graded pad and head out the Strez into the desert, taking another load to oil and gas camps, exploration rigs and some through to the far north-west town of Innamincka on Cooper Creek... They put on a half-decent feed at the Lyndhurst Pub and the beer is cold. This is the southern end of the Strzelecki Track. The pub is a kilometre up the track from the small town, where the dusty track joins the Oodnadatta track, a ribbon of bitumen south to Adelaide or northwards, following the old, long disused, Ghan Railway through Marree and Oodnadatta up over the Territory border through Finke to Alice Springs. The old Ghan Railway ceased to run in the 1980s...The slow plodding of the camel trains may have been replaced by the rumble of high horsepower diesel engines, but this remote silent place still today has that feel where the closeness of the various forms of old time transport, camels, railway and the early trucks are not so distant from the big modern jiggers rolling into town, a sense of achievement to successfully return to the bitumen...
Picture: A cold beer to settle the dust, watch the sun set over the Strzelecki, and a good feed at the Lyndhurst Pub
... The sun has set, and the desert wind starting to chill on the Lyndhurst Pub veranda. Time to stand, stretch an aching back and head inside to grab another beer and order a steak... Lyndhurst, South Australia, Australia - Big Rigs - 28 April 2017
FEMALE TRUCKER LIFE * Canada: She loves to drive trucks
* Ontario - Female truck driver loves her life on the road
--- Valeska Riveros isn't your typical truck driver. She is just about as tall as the door handle on her 18-wheel big rig. But Riveros, 37, says life on the road has given her a feeling of freedom, security, and independence that she's never known before... "I love this job," said Riveros, who works forChallenger Motor Freight Inc. "I don't know how I didn't do this before" ... Riveros came to trucking after spending about 10 years working in Kitchener at the Schneider's meat packing plant.When that factory closed, she was offered a job in Hamiltonat the new, amalgamated Maple Leaf factory. ForRiveros, the work was monotonous and unfulfilling — and she was getting paid $3 less an hour... (Photo by Gary Yokoyama,The Hamilton Spectator: Valeska Riveros in the cab of her 2015 Volvo truck) -- Hamilton, ONT, USA - Hamilton Spectator, by Emma Reilly - Oct 18, 2016
* Wiscosin - Senior woman gets behind wheel of big rig for first time
(Video from WKBT TV - Sep 2, 2016: Louise Spencer is about to turn 92, but that didn't stop her from getting behind an 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck for the first time Friday at a driving range on Minnesota State College Southeast's campus)
--- Louise Spencer is about to turn 92, but that didn't stop her from getting behind an 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck for the first time Friday at a driving range on Minnesota State College Southeast's campus... With the help of nonprofit organization JUMP!, which helps seniors realize their dreams, she went from an assisted living facility to a driving range... Spencer may be 91, but she's got a long road ahead of her... Back in her day not many women drove trucks like that, but times are shifting, and now, so is she...According to Spencer’s driving instructor, she's a perfect student...Even just cheering her on from sidelines, it's clear that she and her can-do spirit will keep on trucking... La Crosse, WIS, USA - WKBT, by Madalyn O'Neill - Sep 02 2016
--- Dick Kramberg knows a thing or two about the life of an over-the-road truck driver... Kramberg, 70, has been working for Dot Foods since 1976, and he can only shake his head in admiration in to talking about how far the company, the nation's largest food redistributor, has come in the 40 years he has been one of its drivers... "When I started, there were 10 trucks," said Kramberg, a Camp Point resident who has driven 4.5 million miles for Dot -- the equivalent of 181 times around the Earth...Kramberg was one of the honored guests Wednesday at the grand opening of Dot's $1.1 million truck driver lounge, a 2,800-square-foot facility on the south side of the company's sprawling 71-acre campus... The lounge will serve as a home away from home for Dot drivers -- there are now 1,200 nationwide -- coming and going from the company's Mount Sterling headquarters. Similar facilities likely will be built in the coming years at some of Dot's other distribution centers; there are eight across the United States... The new lounge includes showers, a full kitchen, laundry room, a TV room, computer room, vending machines, and a quiet room for reading and resting...The facility, which also includes a covered porch and back patio with a pergola and grills, was designed by Klingner and Associates of Illinois. Construction on the prairie-style commercial building with gable roof and multiple dormers began in January... (H-W Photo/Phil Carlson - Dot Foods Chief Operating Officer Dick Tracy, facing camera, talks with company truck drivers Wednesday, June 29, 2016, at Dot's new $1.1 million truck driver lounge on the company's Mount Sterling campus. The 2,800-square-foot lounge offers showers, a full kitchen, laundry facilities, a TV room, computer room with workstations, and a quiet room. At right is trucker Dick Kramberg, who has been driving for Dot since 1976) -- Mount Sterling, ILL, USA - The Herald-Whig, by Steve Eighinger - Jun. 29, 2016
HIGHWAY RUNNERS * Pakistan - A day in the life of truck drivers.
* Punjab - Truck drivers find ways to break the monotony from a life on the go, and how
(Video from Northern Areas of Pakistan - Apr 5, 2016: Brave Truck Drivers are real heroes of mountain communities.. Video By - Zahid Hussain Syed-24 June 2015)
--- On GT Road near Jhelum, a row of artfully decorated, fully loaded trucks can be seen from a distance. They are moving at a slow pace but occupy most of the road space, making it impossible for the fast-moving vehicles to overtake them. Ignoring the repeated honks and the high beams hitting the side- and rear-view mirrors, they do not move an inch to accommodate others. One can read phrases like “queen of the road” or “princess of the mountains” painted on the rear, and realise that the drivers in command literally mean it. They behave like royalty, and assume they have the first right to the highways spread across the country... A closer look into the lives of truck drivers, mostly belonging to the low-income group, uncovers the many perilous adventures they undertake. They are given charge of merchandise worth millions and tasked to deliver it at distant destinations that sometimes take a week to reach. They lead a lonely life. A driver and his helper travelling on inter-provincial routes get to meet their family twice or thrice a month only, and with trucks at the centre of their otherwise dull lives, they socialise among themselves at roadside truck hotels...
... Muhammad Yousaf, 47, who drives a 14-wheel trailer, has many times travelled from Karachi as far up as Swat in the north. A father of four, he remains connected with his family through his mobile phone — a luxury he did not enjoy when he joined this profession back in the early 1980s as a helper. Those were the times when PTCL landlines were the only means to connect with others and people were not as addicted to telephonic conversations as they are today... The number of trucks increased when the National Logistic Cell (NLC) was set up during the Afghan war and a countrywide network of highways was established costing billions of rupees. Cargo, which was to a great extent a domain of Pakistan Railways, went over to the road transport companies. Bedford trucks, trusted for their engine power and long life, were imported especially for the purpose...
... Plenty of truck hotals or khokhas emerged along the highways and busy routes with the increase of transport of goods by road. Despite their unattractive sitting area, crockery and cutlery, they remain busy all day long. Frequented by long haul drivers and other passersby, truck hotals are all-weather businesses as movement of goods cannot stop even in worst of conditions... Zaheer Khan, a truck driver from Peshawar, says khokhas are like oases in deserts. “They give us the break we need.” Their menu caters to people from all the provinces. There are also others that specialise in food varieties of a particular province and target a niche clientele. “There is no compromise over quality. You cannot feed low-quality food to a native of a province, claiming it to be its specialty and stay in the business for long,” says Khan... Mutton roast, namkeen gosht, Shinwari gosht, desi chicken qorma and karahi, washed down with mix tea or qehwa, are some of the specialties of these khokhas. Drivers are also provided charpoys for a quick nap for free or at a nominal price. And the lingo used at these hotals is exclusive — “Light tea is called 100km wali chai and strong is 500km wali chai” ... He dispels the impression that drivers have a hefty budget at their disposal to spend on lavish food. A truck owner gives them Rs1,200 per day, which is divided among two drivers and a helper. So, to make an extra buck, “we carry cargo of hotal owners for free and get free or discounted food,” adds Khan... From the sum of Rs1,200, they have to save some to bribe policemen, staff of excise department, and other officials deployed at inter-border checkposts...
... And theirs is one risky business — where they carry expensive goods and cash for fuel and incidentals, they are not allowed to carry weapons. Peer Bakhsh, a driver from interior Sindh, says that truck drivers move together at night especially while passing through risky areas to avoid robbers. “If you are intercepted, they deprive you of your belongings like cash and mobile phones but don’t usually put their hands on the merchandise. We do hide some money in different secret spots inside the truck but the clever ones ultimately retrieve it and beat us badly for trying to be smart” ... (Photos by Rahat Dar - A day in the life of truck drivers) -- Jhelum. Punjab, Pakistan - TNS, by Shahzada Irfan Ahmed - June 19, 2016
-- Major highlights from the recently released preliminary 2002 CFS data plus additional estimates show that: ° On a typical day in 2002, about 43 million tons of goods valued at about $29 billion moved nearly 12 billion ton-miles on the nation's interconnected transportation network. This represents an increase from about 37 million tons, valued at $20 billion, and traveling about 10 billion ton-miles in 1993. ° TheseBTSestimates of overall freight shipments support the often cited trend that U.S. households are acquiring more products and appliances. These estimates translate into over 300 pounds of daily freight shipments in 2002, each worth nearly $100 and transported over 43 miles per person, per day. By comparison, in 1993 about 280 pounds of freight, valued at $76, were transported some 38 miles daily for each U.S. resident. ° Trucking moved 64 percent of the value, 58 percent of the tonnage, and 32 percent of the ton-miles of the nation's total commercial freight... P.N.: Now you know why a trucker asks respect along the way, and for their job... (Image from Pacific Standard, by Shaye Anderson - Feb 3, 2016)
TRUCKERS' LIFE * USA: To be on the road again and again
* Former truck driving instructor describes what it’s like. Talks about the dangers and joys of living life behind the wheel
(Image: Ice road) -- For some, life on the road may seem idyllic. After all, it sounds like the ultimate adventure. Your office is the great American wilderness. Your view is ever-changing. Each day brings something new for you to experience... But according to a former truck driving instructor who traveled more than 750,000 miles in 48 states, life on the road is not all it’s cracked up to be... Truck driving is considered one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. In fact, “trucking kills more workers than the worst year in Iraq” ...
(Image: The charm of solitude) ... In fact, most of the dangers are because of car accidents rather than crazy murderers... Interestingly, many couples are joining the truck driving world together. Couple salaries are higher than single truckers, averaging over 100 thousand dollars a year... But for the redditor, however, the best part of the job is not the salary... Trucking is about seeing the sights. It’s about the constant change. It’s about trying those last surviving ma and pa restaurants still scattered in rural areas that are only frequented by truckers...It's modern cowboys' latest adventure... (Photos taken by a former truck driving instructor. Reddit user PM_me_Venn_diagrams) -- USA - Up Voted, by Natasha Umer - 20 Oct 2015
TRUCKERS´ LIFE * India: “The worst part of our job is that everyone hates us”
* Mumbai - Six million truck drivers are employed throughout India, for medium and heavy commercial vehicles
-- Currently, inIndia, three million truck drivers are employed for medium and heavy commercial vehicles for seamless logistics operation throughoutIndia... Trucks criss-cross our country for miles, irrespective of weather, ensuring that consignments reach their destination on time.They move literally everything from food grain, vegetables and fruits, meat and fish to clothes, machinery and consumer goods. With six million truck drivers inIndia, the trucking industry represents a notable proportion of the labour force (2.5 per cent). But what do they get in return?... “The worst part of our job is that everyone hates us,” stated Ajay Saroj, from Azamgarh, who was standing in front of his truck with a group of drivers in Azadpur Mandi, all wearing smiles on their faces...Another young driver, Ajit Yadav, who hails from western UP, joined in, saying, “The problem doesn’t stop here. While on the highway, police thinks we are rupee making machines. They harass us” ... There are many tough jobs in the world and driving a truck is one of them. Unlike other jobs, here, they don’t have a fixed time for their food, sleep and other activities. Most of their precious time of their life they spend in the cabin. For them, the truck is their home, which provides them shelter when they are on the road they sleep in it, under it and even on top of it. They hardly spend quality time with their family members...On the top of this, these drivers are continuously at risk, health-wise and life-wise. They have to drive trucks with mechanical faults, are under pressure to transport on time and the police takes advantage of their miserable condition... For all their trouble, they get paid very poorly... The outcomes and the grievances captured through this finding are that there is no proper road infrastructure, no place to eat healthy food, poor highway safety, high risk sexual behaviour and STD, low salary and low end facilities in trucks...
(Photo: Container trucks are seen parked in Torkham, close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, on July 4, 2012) ... Mostly truck drivers are illiterates and school dropouts or from poor families. They begin life on the road as cleaners and later learn how to drive. It’s a harsh life right from start. A majority of drivers do not have their own trucks and are dependent on their owners. This leads them to drive non-stop, 12-15 hours daily.“Usually we are on salary basis, but on each trip we get extra money or we save whatever money our owner gives us to spend on the journey. Therefore, we drive fast and continuously, so that we can get maximum number of trips,” asserted a truck driver, in Azadpur Mandi...Vineet Kumar, who owns a fleet of trucks, didn’t hesitate to admit that the drivers are highly underpaid. “They are the most vulnerable creatures on the road. They don’t have any proper time for food, sleep or rest. They are highly dependent on roadside eateries. They have to drive 400-600 kms per day, which leads them to consume drugs,” said Kumar.According to several studies, they are twice as likely to contract HIV infection... Less pay, over-stretched duty hours and mental pressure have made this job less popular among today’s generation. These days, hardly anyone is interested in this grueling job. They would rather focus on going to abroad to drive. If this trend continues, many fear that one day the Indian trucking sector, which contributes about 4.5-5 per cent of the GDP, is in danger... One can only hope concerned authorities can provide some succour in the form of regulations for these drivers, to create a safe and decent working environment for these hapless truck drivers... Mumbai, India - The Statesman, by Rakesh Kumar - 23 July, 2015
TRUCKERS' LIFE * Africa - A Better Life Beckons in Africa
U.S. Downturn Drives Immigrant Professionals Back Home
Kisumu,Kenya -The Washington Post, by Stephanie McCrummen -May 26, 2009: --Withthe U.S.economy in turmoil, his job as a truck driver no longer secure and his upwardly mobile life in theDallas suburbs in jeopardy, James Odhiambo decided it was time for a change... He wanted a healthier lifestyle for his family, less anxiety, fewer 14-hour days. So he recently traded his deluxe apartment, the pickup truck, the dishwasher and $4.99 McDonald's combos for life in a place he considers relatively better:sub-Saharan Africa... While that may seem counterintuitive to Americans accustomed to bleaker images of Africa, recent studies have documented the flight of immigrant professionals from the United Statesto their home countries. Chinese and Indian workers increasingly say they see better opportunities and lifestyles at home. And diaspora associations of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other Africans say their members -- mostly from middle-class backgrounds -- are joining the exodus, choosing life in the land of slow Internet connections and power outages over the pressures of recession-era America...(Photo by Dominic Nahr/The Washington PostIn - Kisumu, Kenya, home town of former Texas trucker James Odhiambo, traffic jams involve bicycles as often as cars)
Poll: Truckers livin' better * USA - Healthier lifestyles and access to technology more common
Many of today's truck drivers debunk the myths that have surrounded them for decades
Indianapolis,IND,USA -The Indianapolis Star, by Dana Hunsinger-August 30, 2008: --They tote laptops and talk on BlackBerrys. They work out at the gym and eat low-fat lunches...In an effort to humanize America's 3.4 million truck drivers, Evansville-basedAtlas Van Linesconducted a survey of nearly 600 of its drivers.The questionnaire asked everything from what stretch of U.S. highway is the most boring (I-10 in California) to what antacid gets rid of heartburn the best (Tums)... The survey found truck drivers don't quite live up to the stereotype, but instead are health- conscious, tech-savvy and family-oriented...Other trucking companies also have recognized drivers' desires to be more healthy. Indianapolis-basedCeladonrecently developed a Highway 2 Health wellness initiative that includes yoga classes and a 12-week Weight Watchers course... But John Wright isn't so sure that's the case. As he stepped off his semi at the Pilot station in Lapel last week, he said he isn't convinced his occupation has changed all that much...
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