Say What?

Question: If you had kids, would you want them to be truck drivers?

Blain Turner, 65, Crittenden, KY

Professional driving experience: 12 years

“I’ve got kids, but not in the trucking business. My son drove professionally for a while, but I guess he’s just not cut out to be a truck driver. Not everyone is.”

Carl Shoemaker, 58, Rock Island, TN

Professional driving experience: 22 years

“We’ve got three kids. My wife will say no, but I would like to see my boys get into it if they wanted to for the simple reason that this country is always going to need trucks and someone to drive them. It’s job security, as long as you do good work. If you go out here and get a bad record, it’s like anything else. You’re not going to have a job, or you’ll have to work for mediocre companies.”

Alma Shoemaker, 55, Rock Island, TN

Professional driving experience: 2 years

“No, not really. It’s really hard on families. After my husband got into trucking, we made a policy that he would only go with a company that would get him home at least every other weekend. The first company he was with, he was out 11 weeks. That’s too much, so when he changed, that was always our biggest thing—how often can you be home?”

David Beckman, 43, Phoenix, AZ

Professional driving experience: 17 years

“I suppose it depends on the type of kids you have and what they want to do. As for my kids, no. It really depends on the individual.”

Linda Beckman, 49, Phoenix, AZ

Professional driving experience: 9 years

“We have three grown children, all girls. I wouldn’t want them to drive a truck. Let’s face it, the trucking business is still a man’s world. Women need clothes, too. We need different things out here on the road, and we spend more money than men, so you’d think truck stops would cater to us more than they do. Then there’s the issue of respect. Most of the men are great, but there are still those who don’t show any respect just because you’re a woman.”