George,

This is an excellent and much needed piece on long distance-truckers and highway courtesy. Over the years I have had numerous instances of what you have described.

My respect for truckers began on a fogging Saturday in the early 50’s when I was driving home from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA to Teaneck, NJ for Christmas break. The visibility was so bad that when I arrived at the toll both in Easton to cross the Delaware River into NJ I considered pulling over to wait it out. The driver in the truck behind me jumped out and asked me where I was going. He was taking route 22 as far as Newark and said that I should follow him. He explained the various signals I should follow, including when he would be turning off.

It was a slow, but tension free trip, as I followed him. Luckily, the fog lifted just as we parted at his turn off. Since then, I have religiously followed your procedure with truckers, as well as other vehicles.

There are other aspects to trucking, both long and short-haul, that should be considered as well. More often than not, after a long tiring trip, the driver also is required to unload the truck. They often have tight schedules to meet and delays in unloading could cost them money.

My retail appliance business on Manhattan’s Upper West Side received deliveries both directly from manufacturers and local suppliers. Over time we became familiar with the drivers and their needs. Often they would call the day before for an early AM delivery since our merchandise was in the tail and needed to be unloaded before they could do other deliveries. This gave them room to adjust for their remaining deliveries.

RCI Discount Appliances belonged to Intercounty, a cooperative buying group based in Hauppauge, NY (Long Island about exit 65 on the LIE). They used independent truckers who left early to beat the morning rush hour traffic and to leave the city before the afternoon one started. My store opened at 9 AM, I lived ten blocks from the store and like to get in by 8 AM to things done. The Intercounty truck was usually there when I arrived. Since they were usually there when I arrived at 8 AM, they asked if they could begin unloading. If it was only a few pieces, they would put the merchandise into the store. On larger deliveries, they stayed until some of my employees arrived. It just made sense not to have them lose over an hour just waiting. Over time, they had the Intercounty dispatchers schedule our deliveries first whenever possible and we had an employee come in early. This worked well since we often had items on the truck that was needed for that day’s delivery. Also, they would often make nearby consumer deliveries when we were overloaded. It was a classic example of understanding someone’s situation and working together.

Truck drivers, regardless of their incomes, have a very difficult job and are usually unappreciated or even scorned. It is not easy driving long distances at all hours of the day and night and then be subjected to the whims of individuals at the receiving end. I’ve heard stories of their being told to come back the next, or similar insensitive delaying tactics. Also, they often have to navigate city streets, which is a challenge in itself.

Trucker’s courtesy should be part of every high school’s driver education program.

Teaching common sense is another matter.