Posted on the Truck News Blog & Today's Trucking magazine March 2020
I’ve taken to letting go of everything and falling into the
rhythm of driving whenever I can lately. Muting and dimming all the
non-essential electronics and just letting the world flow by is something I
find highly satisfying. Dealing only with what unfolds in the present moment is
the safest and most joyful action I can take at the wheel.
There are so many different sides to this line of work.
Finding the joy in all sides may not be easy or perhaps even possible. The best
times for me are when I find myself on the two lane roads of northern Ontario
at a time of day that I drive for miles without seeing another vehicle. This
usually happens in the dead of night. Slipping through the rock cuts under a
starlit landscape is a beautiful thing. I never get tired of it. The joy of
driving is a side of our work we don’t celebrate or encourage enough. It’s not
something we talk about regularly in driver safety meetings but we should. Our
health and safety issues are rooted in what’s good for a driver’s healthy state
of mind.
When I was mentoring new drivers one of the greatest
accomplishments for me was to see a new driver smiling and enjoying the drive.
It was at that point that I knew the driver had found that place of joy. It
usually came when the novice driver found the truck was becoming an extension
of themselves and not something they had to tame. That’s a feeling that doesn’t
come easily and it doesn’t come without an investment in time and care from an
experienced mentor. It’s also a feeling that allows new and novice drivers to
move on to tackling all the challenges in this work with a degree of
confidence. It’s the point where a new driver can start letting go and enjoying
the rhythm of the drive.
Finding joy in driving is also productive driving. Moving
your focus away from getting where you have to be by a certain time to enjoying
each moment as the day unfolds is when everything starts to fall into line. Your
stress level comes down as you no longer stop watching the clock tick down. You
operate in a larger cushion of space. Heavy traffic becomes less stressful when
it is just part of your normal daily routine. You become more fuel efficient
and profitable. The 600 mile day becomes your norm. Fatigue is more easily
managed and recognised.
There has been a growing feeling amongst drivers, especially
experienced drivers, that it is no longer fun out on the road anymore. This
comes from the imposition of rules designed in the name of safety and
productivity but not designed with the professional truck driver in mind. The
hours of service rules we live with and the electronic logging devices that
enforce the hours of service rules are the two pieces that undermine a
professional driver’s morale. They are a necessary framework but simply impose
compliance rather than promote, encourage, and allow space for drivers to
embrace a culture of safety in a relaxed and joyful manner.
This brings me back to what it is to let go of everything
and enjoy the rhythm of driving. A well planned day doesn’t require that I
watch the clock or feel the stress of the imposed time limit we know as the
hours of service. Dimming the screen of your electronic logging device and turning
off the volume is the greatest single thing you can do to benefit your own mental
health. Doing that hinges on the confidence you have in your own knowledge and
skills and in turn that is rooted in the job training you receive, its design,
and the quality of its delivery to you.
Professional training and accreditation is what we need.
I’ll never back down from that ask.
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