Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

What is a “profile”? A definition describing a trucker could be “degree of exposure to public notice; visibility.” Simply, fitting certain characteristic such as looks or appearance and that is what we can change in this industry. It amazes me what I see come out of trucks or walking around a truck stop and no I’m not talking about lot-lizards.

I believe, the D.O.T. has its own set of “profile” on the looks of the driver and how the “truck” profiles us we drive. You drive through a scale, they look up in that truck at you and lo’ and behold you are asked to come “behind the scale.” Of course, they invite you in to discuss some things; usually, a cup of coffee is not served and forget the donuts!

Dang, you should have combed your hair this morning, even a washcloth shower would have been nice. Yes, there are costs of keeping the exterior of the rig clean however, keeping the mirrors and windows cleans, things of that sort, are low costs not to mention a safety factor. I have seen both owner operators and company drivers out there cleaning window and mirrors, polishing chrome to a shine of new. These are the drivers who are trying to set a different profile for others to view – drivers who are not only proud of themselves but their rigs as well.

Look at the truck, things broken, duct taped together. Look at the dashboard – if you can find it. Some have theirs covered with garbage, papers, cigarette packs/cartons, food wrappers, etc. It’s just unbelievable – sometimes I wonder how the hell some can even see out their front window. Don’t you think these men and women in the scale houses profile these drivers in some way? What about the passenger side lower window? Ever look inside other trucks and just shake your head? Is this not the same window that faces the scale house?

What we do out here is the greatest stage of life – the whole world can and does see us; we can’t hide from the audience. We have control of our own profile. Look around, you’ll find the profile of “us.”