Murphy's World

Let the fun and games begin

Dear Murphy,

My husband had been driving a truck for several months when I just couldn’t stand the loneliness at home, so I decided to drive team with him. Four weeks before my training began, he convinced me to ride with him and learn all I could, since I had never been around any trucks. This is how I came to enter “Murphy’s World.”

During my first week, after waiting seven hours to be loaded, we had an extremely time-sensitive load and just enough driving hours for a solo driver to get to the destination.

Less than 100 miles from the shipper, we were alerted by a passing truck driver to a problem with our trailer. The right rear trailer wheels were missing. Now I know they were there when my husband walked me step-by-step through an entire vehicle inspection just before we left the shipper. We posed quite a spectacle at that truck stop, waiting on the company repair person as every driver stopped by to offer his or her own comments on the incident.

We managed to get the trailer back to our terminal so the contents could be switched to another trailer. As my then-exhausted husband backed down the inclined dock, the brakes failed and the trailer hit the dock harder than usual. This jolt knocked a skid full of computers to the ground. What a perfect ending to the perfect day!

Another team took the load, and all was well. I wasn’t sure that trucking was for me after this “Murphy” day, but I’m now enjoying the career change. I’m just hoping that as a driver I won’t create any material for your column. See you out there!

Future Driver,

Ohio

Dear Future Driver,

Some people can’t wait to get their own CDL before seeing for themselves all the fun and games we have here in Murphy’s World. As you found out, it doesn’t take long for the games to begin. I don’t even want to think what happened to those missing rear wheels or that toppled skid of computers.

I applaud you for having the guts to give trucking a shot, even though you’ve never been around trucks before. I applaud your husband for having the guts to show you the ropes. Love is definitely blind.

You haven’t even started training and you’ve already learned some valuable lessons about Murphy’s World: 1. time-sensitive loads never come with enough time; 2. drivers never run out of comments; and 3. never, ever think that you won’t create more material for this column. Trust me, you will. And we’ll want to hear about it.

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog