Driver Lifestyles

Highway Thoughts

The professional driver has a number of distractions at his disposal to help while away the hours spent running those long stretches of endless highway.  Music CD's and tapes, audiobooks, satellite radio and conversation with a co-driver can be a welcome respite from the often boring shifts in the driver's seat. 

They say the brain is never at rest.  It's always active, even when the body is asleep.   Is it any wonder that those many hours behind the wheel are often accompanied by a busy mind?        

We talked to expediters and got their thoughts on thinking and asked them - 'What do you think about while you're driving?'

Gene Dunlap, straight truck owner-operator

"I think about the topics discussed on XM radio on the news channels, the Truckin' Bozo, Dave Nemo.  I occupy my mind with business thoughts and plans such as possibly putting more trucks on the road, whether I should buy a new truck."  

"I also keep track of the ETA on the load I'm running, and if I'm heading to an area I don't care for like the east coast, I'lll think about whether I will stay there or head west.  As you can see, most of my thoughts are business-oriented."

Matt and Katy Foscue, straight truck owner-operators

Matt says, "I'll drive for an entire shift and never turn on the radio or the CB and just think about future plans and goals.  Both Katy and I are distressed by the new HOS regulations and our thoughts are occupied by what we want to do after we leave trucking and we think about our options outside of this business."

"I think about the truck quite a bit, especially maintenance issues and Katy often thinks about money and our finances.  When I do listen to the radio, I'll think about what they're discussing on inflammatory talk radio."

David and Patty Jo Jaynes, straight truck owner-operators

"We listen to FOX news and keep up with current events.  I'm a list maker, so a lot of times I'll mentally make lists of things I want to do when we get home.  We're University of Kentucky Wildcat fans, so sports are on our minds, especially David's."

"At the beginning of a trip, I'll be thinking of our routing and where we're going to be delivering. I try to plan out our food and fuel stops in my mind, but if we're on a government load, I have different items to run over in my mind.  Things like, traffic, where we stop, safe havens, etc." 

"At the start of the week, we're thinking about whether we'll get some good runs that week and at the end of the week, we're mentally totaling up what we've made per mile, figuring our expenses and other business items."

Scott Hancock, former straight truck owner-operator, currently an Express-1 recruiter

"In my driving days, I was always doing a mental check of how many miles I had driven and how many miles I had left to go.  If you know where you are in your delivery time frame, then you can make decisions about when and where to stop for food, fuel, etc."

"I was always thinking about business plans.  You know, the more you run, the more data you compile.  I often thought about the next truck, how much I could spend on that truck and how long I should drive the one I was in and save a new truck payment.  I thought about investment strategies and how to make the best use of the revenue I was making.  That made up a lot of what I thought about."

"I didn't think too much about my personal life -  when I got in the truck, I flipped a switch and it was all business.  I find that if you can focus on the task at hand, it not only helps you become more efficient, but it also helps you to relax." 

David Sharp, Cargo Van Owner-Operator

"I have to admit that my thoughts tend to wander on the longer runs and I usually wind up thinking about my hobbies and fishing.   I'm into woodworking and I'll start thinking about woods I have known and different techniques for building things.  I daydream about tools and if I can afford a new toy, usually a power tool."

"When I concentrate, I can do some of my bookkeeping in my head and I'll run figures through my mind.  I try to analyze my business and how I can save money and make more."

"If I turn on the satellite radio, more often than not, I'll listen to talk radio.  I'll formulate arguments in my mind to use the next time I argue with a liberal."

"If I let my mind wander, sometimes I find myself twenty or thirty miles down the road and I won't be aware of it until I see my exit coming up!  I hate to admit it, but I've missed my exit more than once.  I've talked to other drivers about daydreaming while driving and they tell me they do the same thing."

Ben and Melanie Easters, Tractor Trailer owner-operators

Ben -   "We own property in Hawaii and lately, I've been thinking about getting a sailboat.  Melanie and I love diving and a sailboat would be a lot of fun."

Melanie - "A lot of times, I'm thinking about designs for the truck - tearing something out and rebuilding something.  How I want to redo the floor and thinking about how to rearrange the bed."

I'll also spend time in prayer and talk to God.  I write letters in my head that I never get down on paper.  These are letters to people I love who never know I have these hour-long letters written to them in my head."

"Of course, I daydream about vacations and I think about the drivers in our fleet and matters concerning them."