Predicting The Unpredictable

My past week was a typical one for a truck driver.  The daily routine requires that you expect the unexpected while committing to meet the expectations of others. It is an interesting paradox we live by on the road.  The art of predicting the unpredictable.

On Monday morning I was greeted by the hiss of escaping air from a brake pot on the trailer I hooked to.  No problem, I was in our Edmonton yard and the part was quickly replaced.  The following day I was delayed at my second drop in Winnipeg because I did not have a dock appointment to drop 4 skids.  No problem, I was unloaded after waiting my turn behind two other trucks.  After my last drop in Winnipeg I switched trailers with another truck to deliver the following morning.  There were time issues.  I had time, the other truck did not.  No Problem.  On Thursday my AM pick up in Sioux Falls, ND was not ready until noon.  No problem.  When I scaled the load at the truck stop it was overweight.  No problem.  I went back to the shipper to have some freight taken off.  No problem.  I did not leave Sioux Falls until late afternoon on Thursday.  No problem.  I arrived home at midnight last Friday rather than dinner time.  No real problem, unless you allow it to become one.  These are all issues of the day that drivers face every week on the road.  You can predict where you went want to be and when but your are never certain of your exact path or timeline.  You learn to roll with the punches in order to meet your commitments in a timely manner.  It's often not pretty or exactly as you planned but the job always get's done.

On Saturday I headed to Toronto to take in the last day of the truck show, Truck World 2010.  I had registered for a seminar in the afternoon about the challenges & changes the trucking industry faces in the coming years from the perspective of the driver.  There was a lively discussion about a number of issues.  I came away from that discussion with the feeling that, like me, the industry as a whole may be able to predict the general trends and direction it will follow but is never certain of its exact path and timeline.  There are so many volatile issues facing the trucking industry right now that it is actually a very exciting time to be on the front line.  From technological changes to driver shortages and everything in between driver's are in a position to be agents of change.

Commercial drivers are proven problem solvers.  A driver's daily routine revolves around dealing with the unpredictable issues of the day and still meeting his/her commitments.  I don't think there is a better qualified group of people to meet the challenges ahead.  We need to recognize that quality in ourselves more often and make our individual voices heard.