I have always been positive about the trucking industry. I’ve been in it for over 30 years. I have met great people, seen some awesome places, and worked for decent companies. So when people look at truck drivers and think that it is a low class industry I am usually pretty quick to get my back up and be defensive as I know the industry to be exactly the opposite. There are many good men and women working in this industry that do a great job and provide for their families by driving up and down the highway. That being said, even I will admit that we have a few boneheads in our industry when I see the things they do. With the invention of cameras and cell phones many of those idiotic stunts are now being documented on social media.

One post on a social media site was the reason for this article. A friend of mine put up a post showing a driver dumping a gallon jug of urine while driving in a parking lot out of the side of his truck in a plaza. Very classy that is! Now this is something that I just don’t understand or see a reason to do it. In all my 30 years in the industry, running team, single, long or short, I have never had reason to go to the bathroom in a jug. To me that is the worst trip planning I have ever heard. If you think you are going to drive for ten to thirteen hours each day without stopping for washroom breaks then you have something wrong with you. Oh I agree that there are not always choice places to go to the bathroom and sometimes in the middle of the night you are best not to get out of the truck but don’t throw the contents of your jug out the window in a public lot. Even camping with a porta-potty you take the contents to a proper dumping station, out house etcetera.

Every time someone pulls a silly move like this driver did, it makes us all look bad and sends the industry back twenty years. There is a lot of talk about improving training and other aspects of the industry to be more attractive and skilled for the future and people contaminating parking lots in this way are not helping. It takes all of us to make this industry better and that may be one person at a time. Let’s not hinder this industry, let’s help it. Remember being classy matters even when no one is looking!

About the Author

Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and is author of the books Driven to Drive and Running by the Mile. Challenger Motor Freight Inc. is one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies (platinum member) and is looking for quality team members. To learn more about opportunities with Challenger visit their website at www.challenger.com