Hey Guys,
I was surfing around You Tube today and came across this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KnPdtHl9ZQ
Now it's a sad day when people are more worried about a loco than a person dying. The comments some of the people left were absurd and I let'em know how I felt. (You Tube name: lilfarmrboy19950 please read my comments.) Is it me or railroaders and truck drivers more or less in the same boat these days? No respect for the job we do, long hours, no decent pay raises because of the rise in fuel, away from home, FATUIGE, and the idiots we have to deal with on the road whether its in a truck cab on some road or some idiot crossing five feet in front of your train because he is so important he can't wait 5 min for the train to pass. How bout the hurry up and wait game? The load is so important that you have to have it from point A to point B in so many hours only to get there and have to wait for hours on end because most of the places you deliver to don't want to deal with you or the product your carrying. What really blows my mind is just how people don't realize that their job is either directly or indirectly depending on a railroader or truck driver doing his or her part to get the job done . For those of you who are scratching your heads think about it... If you bought it at Wal*Mart then it's a good chance that it started on a boat from China came into a port such as LA, got put on a train and was delivered to some point far inland in the USA or Canada then got put on a truck and got delivered to your Wal*Mart or Target or etc... Need I go on. Say you're a CPA. Your job still depends on us indirectly. You might be an accountant for a construction firm or a software maker... All that stuff still needs truckers and railroaders to get it delivered and if it don't you're out of a job. I know most of the people in this forum are smart people and already know most of this stuff but maybe some of you never really thought about it... either way just try to show some respect next time you come across a railroader or truck driver. Your job might depend on them.
Or the poor Pilot on the Southwest Airplane painstakingly going through his required check list, pre-trip and is pulled in so many directions while 130 tired, frusterated and grumbling travelers corraled at the gate impatiently shuffle thier boarding cards and accounting for every second ticking by on the clock?
Many times on the trucking, Ive called the Boss... usually the Dispatcher who wants to know what happened to the truck. Always that truck. Not me, my second seat driver (Wife) not the people in the other vehicle or party to the accident or whatever situation... they always want to know about the truck first. That is the way it is.
Usually it is the Safety Chief asking about a unusual mark on the truck that elicts a true story that starts with .. "Well "It's a fine day on the freeway..." and ends with "Boy, they were scared to death but we aint hit them but missed "Just this much"
I get to count the people who get to live if they know about it or not. Sometimes that person is me. Life is too short to be banking on that all consuming appointment time at a warehouse with a load of toilet paper.
The ones no one hears about are those where you are not sure if the party involved lived or died. We will find out soon enough when we pass over to the other side.
Respect? HAH!
I'll tell you something else about respect. In trucking, a first class operation attracts class and it is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
But a grubby driver who has no morale, hygene or concern for anyone but his scheduled delivery needs NOT to be on that road.
No wonder respect can be hard to recieve.
As far as Youtube is concerned, there are good things and some that are just, well, trash. I just sort it out and move on. A day can easily be wasted "Playing" on Youtube.
For the most part I agree. There are other professions that can be in the same boat i was just trying to cover the transportaion side of things. Most CPA's don't get the respect they deserve but then again i find it hard to feel sorry for them since most make over $100,000 a year... Don't get me wrong I love my job and wouldn't trade it for the world. It's in my blood so to speak (4th Gen truck driver) just like you hear RR'ers talk about it being in thier blood. I was mainly refering to the "idiots" who were more worried about a machine than a human being who was killed in the line of duty.
Falls Valley your right about the calling the dispatcher... its always how the truck. Its never how are you, are you alright? Yes the grubby driver who is more worried about his schedule needs not be on the road... I have seen to many of these to. These are the guys who give the good guys a bad reputation... and the first ones to cause an accident. Youtube can be a good or bad thing. I don't go on it that much but I had Wednesday off so I was playing around on the net, which is something else I dont have much time for these days. Some of those comments really got me steamed.
Well now im heading outside, its a lovely day out and I dont intend to waste it. Take care all.
Feelings and emotion has thier place. But you need to shake it off and keep on. If you allow your fear to lock your body up in a moment of crisis such as seconds from a crash, you are going to get hurt, killed or someone else will.
Inattention to task will get you killed too. I cannot tell you how many times ive seen a commuter blabbing on the cell driving clean off and flipping over and over in the median because of this... inconvient curve that requires a pause in the cell phone call.
Decisions need to be made, made quickly and once made, followed through regardless of doubt. There will be time enough for that later. I cannot tell you how many times I stacked my chips and pushed them onto the gambling table betting that my tires are all in good shape and can handle the 35 mph lane change that has to be done right this second.
Even better I hope to see that develop and not have to resort to such dramatics. I dont always get that luxury.
What they dont talk about in the media is the mental damage from accumulated near misses, injury or death over time. Eventually that crewman, engineer or driver needs to get out of that cab because enough is enough.
Until we get off the duff and elevate all grade crossings to eliminate any interaction between car/ train... this will continue.