In case you're new: Thankful Thursdays is a series in which, every Thursday, I write about one thing I'm thankful for. Whether it's something as grand as the time we live in, or as specific about the way , nothing is off limits. Check out my intro post for more on why I'm doing this, and how it might help you too.
Until June 2017, I never thought twice about truck drivers. I didn’t have a problem with them, as many unfortunately do, they just never entered my mind. That started to change when, upon graduating from my Psychology Bachelors, I was looking for jobs to bridge the 6-month gap before my Masters degree would begin.
Desperate for any work experience, I happened to come across a start-up based in Hamburg. I’d be lying if I said I understood what they did, but it involved trucks. Only after my phone interview with the co-founder did I get that, in not only Germany, but a good chunk of Western countries, truck drivers are running out. I learned about the reasons for this (and why that’s problem) as I visited, and had lunch with, the team.
There are several contributing factors, but for one, the pay isn’t great. Add to that poor working conditions: think intense time pressure, inadequate breaks at car parks with no free spaces, copping everyone’s combined road rage, plus, in some cases, sleeping on the road, for up to weeks away from the family at a time. Together with the numerous stereotypes about their supposed stupidity and disgust, and it’s obvious why few self-respecting young folks dream of becoming truck drivers.
If it isn’t clear why that’s a problem, you only need to think about it for two seconds: literally everything is delivered by truck. Even train, ship, and plane deliveries need to be transported by truck for the last mile. No truck drivers = no Amazon deliveries, no goods at the mall, and most importantly, no food in the supermarkets. It sounds downright apocalyptic. Sure, autonomous trucks are on the way, but that’s at least a good several years to a decade away. Until then, we need truck drivers, the unsung heroes of the streets.
I wouldn’t have learned any of this had I not worked at TruckJobs (now JobMatchMe), and had they not infected me with their passion and enthusiasm. But that’s a story for another Thankful Thursdays. This one’s dedicated to truckers, without whom I wouldn’t have any of the following things:
- All the healthy and delicious food I buy nearly every day at the market or supermarket
- My fridge, to cool said food and keep it fresh for longer
- The pans and pots I use to cook all that food
- The laptop on which I type this very blog post
- My phone, which is like an extension of myself at this point
- Literally every piece of furniture decorating my flat
- Hell, the materials used to build the very building I’m in had to, at one point, be transported by truck
The list goes on. For a lot of these, it might be tempting to think that, instead of just having them delivered, I could go buy them in-store. But guess how they make it to the store: that’s right, by truck.
Yes, we need to change the way we transport things to slow down the emissions causing climate change. Sure, trucks contribute to that. But that’s not on the truckies themselves, and doesn’t change the fact that without them, we’d have nothing.
I don’t really have much more to say on the matter. All I want to do is say thank you, dear truck drivers. I hope that inspires you to, when you’re next frustrated at this hulking beast blocking your view in traffic, instead think of them as a friend. As a hero. Think of all the shit they go through just so we can have our stuff. Maybe that new mindset will even make driving and traffic a more pleasant experience in general with this newfound mindset. Isn’t it an honour that we get to share the streets with these rockstars?