The Real Story

This Editorial appears in the Aug. 31 print edition of Transport Topics.

When trucks and truck drivers are mentioned in the general media, they seem almost invariably to be put in a bad light.

Trucks often are portrayed as noisy, smoky, fire-breathing monsters, scaring the daylights out of everyone else as they roar down the highway.

Drivers usually don’t fare much better. They’re frequently stereotyped as reckless cowboys — irresponsible, badly trained and not caring about the safety of anyone else on the road.

That’s why the National Truck Driving Championships are so refreshing. They tell the real story — the story of drivers and of a trucking industry devoted to safety — all celebrated this year in Pittsburgh, where 415 of the best drivers competed in the “Super Bowl of Safety.”

American Trucking Associations has sponsored the national truck driving challenge since 1937, in an event that allows as competitors only those who have been accident-free for a year. Most contestants have records that far exceed that standard. Full Story.......