Say What?

Question: If you could change one thing about the trucking industry, what would it be?

Heath Evans: 36, New Market, IN
Professional driving experience: 13 years
“The attitude of the drivers. There are a lot of guys out here who don’t know what they’re doing. They’re not safety conscious. There’s no unity among the drivers. There’s no camaraderie like there used to be. When I first started driving, the older drivers were very helpful to the new guys. Now everyone is out for themselves. That’s a shame, because it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Mary Williams, 39, Samson, AL
Professional driving experience: 11 years
“It’s tough enough being a woman in this business, and some of these drivers make it even harder. You try to keep your radio on Channel 19 to get information, but every time you open your mouth, you get verbally assaulted. A lot of guys out there are nice. Then you have those who are downright rude. They hide behind the radio because they’re not man enough to say it to your face. If I could change anything, I would do something about the foul-mouthed idiots.”

Ray Dunn, 57, Huntingford, IN
Professional driving experience: 28 years
“I don’t know that I would try to change anything. I just go about my business. I suppose if I could change one thing, though, I would change the pay scale. I think drivers should get paid more money for what we do.”

Myron Campbell, 37, Morganton, NC
Professional driving experience: 11 years
“I'd change the attitude of some of these drivers. Too many people have bad attitudes, and that gives all the rest of us a bad rap. If you listen to channel 19 on the CB, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about…very unprofessional.”

Ray Williams, 45, Independence, KY
Professional driving experience: 18 years
“If I could change anything, it would be the way companies go about hiring people. We need to go back to the time when companies hired productive, polite individuals, not just a person to fill the seat. We have too many drivers out here now who are doing illegal stuff, taking drugs, cussing people out for no reason. It used to be that if someone was in trouble on the road, they would look for a truck driver for help. Now we’re the last people they want to see.”