Fuel for Thought

The old school and the new breed.

  My old beagle has a few years on her. She’s a great companion, although becoming a little less active as years go by, she still has a lot of life in her. She still hunts on her own when we go outside, but mostly she just lies around and enjoys the spoils of a life of leisure.

 

  We recently kept a puppy for some friends that were going out of town and didn’t want to board the little pup. She is a ball of puppy energy! Upon entering our house, rambunctious and full of energy, she ran straight to my old beagle. What a meeting! The hair down the middle of her back stood up and she gave the pup a look that was unmistakeable. She was telling her, in her own way, “ Hold it right there, we got rules here, and I’m just the one to teach ‘em to ya. “ Over the next few days, she did just that too. By the time the little pup went home, she had learned the rules and got pretty good at following them.

  The old school and the new breed.

  If you are an “old school” driver, you probably have some issues with the “new breed” of drivers joining our ranks out here. And the “new breed” of drivers have some issues with the “old school” drivers. If we want the new drivers entering this industry to follow some of the old customs we are used to, shouldn’t we be teaching them these unwritten rules ? We know many only get the bare minimum of training, and there is no way they are getting any of the unwritten rules.

For all the new drivers :

If you’re not sure, ask.

If experienced drivers try to help, listen.

For experienced drivers:

Teach them.

  Remember when we used to help each other. A driver might need a spotter while backing up. A driver might need a little help sliding tandems. Maybe a little courtesy to a fellow driver, new or old, could bridge the gap. A new driver will not usually go tell another driver that his hood latch is open, or that their landing gear crank is not secured, or a padlock is dangling, or a fuel cap is off, or that the have a low tire. Why? Because he was not taught that in CDL school and hasn’t had that experience yet. If we don’t show them the same courtesy we have become accustomed to, how will they learn?

  I was approached by a new driver asking me for help. His truck batteries had run down and he needed a jumpstart. He didn’t even know how to gain access to the battery box, much less have a set of jumper cables. He said he had asked a few drivers for help and was told “ to figure it out” or " call road service". I helped him get his truck started and he was grateful. He just didn’t know, now he does. He offered to pay me for helping him, I just told him to help the next guy. Pay it forward.

  If we want the next generation of drivers to learn, they have to be taught, not just ridiculed or ignored. Maybe there are a lot of “steering wheel holders” out there, but they are still our fellow drivers and might just need some guidance just as we did “back in the day” when we first started.

  If you're an "old school" driver, help your new fellow drivers. They may just be able to lend you a hand later.

See you down the road,

Greg

Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

- Vince Lombardi