09/18/2012
..Today's Thoughts By Jeff Head 9/17/12 Running Legal Blues
“And help us build a more positive public perception of truck drivers and the trucking industry.” (Xata on Face Book} A quote I borrowed from another site and I am all for what they have in mind. They are handing out a reward to a driver that does great things in the trucking world to help get the word out that some truckers actually care. That we are out here by the thousands trying to run legal and with a little help over the continuous stream of obstacles that the world keeps throwing at us, we actually one day might get there.
I remember when I first started down this path, an idea I picked up off of OOIDA about twenty years ago now I think. But even before that, bits and pieces for me were starting to fall into place as the trucking industry started down a path that led us to today’s world of trucking. More and more drivers were not only wanting, but demanding to run safe and legal. So now in today’s world, our industry is full of drivers that do great things and with this reward I see that finally, just maybe, someone might just be starting to recognize what I have been saying for years. We need to get outside of our world and let the real world know what we are up to, that we are trying to run safe and legal. Part of that is making sure that safe and legal drivers are not only recognized, but also protected so that we can survive this industry and remain out on the highways.
I wrote my book, “Running Legal Blues” to do just this. It was a cool tool that I could step outside of trucking and meet with everyday people and in my own way, let the world get a look into our trucking world and see that we are not the killer truckers that they were led to believe. It was awesome the way that the average person would relate to me and as we sat there in a small room somewhere. Together we became friends and I, as much as them; would walk away with a better understanding of our two worlds. We both I always found had just a little more knowledge and respect for each other and now as that lay person listened or talked to their representatives about trucking issues, they knew that at least one trucker out here was not what they were being led to believe. Letting the world know that safe and legal drives do exist is not only a must, but something that I have been working on for years.
As normal though, obstacles to our destinations do from time to time present themselves. Like the obstacle I found when I decided to come to Face Book with my new book. Many slammed me because as they seen it, I was only here to make money off of the drivers. That after years of advocacy fighting for drivers to be able to run safe and legal without reprisal, my only goal was to, to; well let’s just say that some gave me a less then happy welcome. I guess being new to social media I probably broke more than half of the un-written rules and in doing so I was left out in left field. Such is life.
Not being one though that lets life’s little setbacks get in my way, I simply set out with the same goal in a different direction. I started writing “Today’s Thoughts.” In this way I was still taking the day to day world of trucking and putting out stories that could be used to show the world that truckers do care about such things as highway safety and running legal. Not to pat myself on the back, well, ok; to pat myself on the back, the feedback that I received back from both in and outside of the trucking world sometimes would bring a very happy and proud tear to my eye. Drivers themselves would see that they were not alone in their own personal quest to run safe, but they also would feel that they were now safe in speaking out. Now around the truck stops, drivers were having this conversation when years ago you would get laughed out of the truck stop if you mentioned running a legal log book. One of my stories even ended up in Land Line Magazine a few months ago. Ok. I smiled at that one. Point is, my work makes a difference.
And the responses from those outside of the trucking industry, my work has made a difference in the way that many see us as truckers now. I always love to hear back about how my stories have touched their lives and they feel safer in knowing that truckers that think like I do are out here. That they now understand a little more about the life of a trucker. But the responses I think touch me the most are the ones that come from police officers. I feel that these are the most important ones because we as truckers are as much interested in highway safety as any Law Enforcement Officer is. And when one of them takes time out of their day to send me a quick note, I feel both humbled and honored and I also feel that I have made a very important connection towards two groups that should be working together in highway safety.
So what got me to thinking about all this the other day is a friend after I had mention my book, said that he had never knew that I had written it. I realized that why should he. I was kicked and slammed if I even mentioned it for trying to screw drivers over. And now I see that for the same reason that I was taken out, person after person is now using different tactics to draw attention to different products to do what? To get the truck driver to buy their product, Weird
As for me, the last couple of years I have ordered hundreds of these books, paying for them out of my own pocket, and then giving them away to different people that I thought could use the message within. Some went to drivers that I met out on the road. Others went to people like Anne Ferro and other government officials. But a lot of them went to the average every day person that I would meet in my travels. A waitress at a restaurant or maybe a nice couple I would meet at a rest area somewhere. The point is to give the book to people in high places or just the average person on the street. By doing thisI was letting the world know that safe and legal truck drivers are out here. And if you want us to survive, we could use a little protection from the world. My message was getting out.
So for now on, I am not going to let these people shame me into not talking about my book, it’s message or the next book that I am about to finish up. You can either join me in my efforts to spread our message or not. That is up to you. As for me, my books are priced so that every book I sell pays for one book that I can give away. I will take all the help I can get. Running Legal Blues on Amazon is a good place to find it. Also I have a youtube video, stop by and check it out.
Be safe peeps.
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