What Difference Does It Make

Today's Thoughts. By Jeff Head 9/16/14 What Difference Does It Make

Today, I did what I normally do not do.  When I went inside to get a little something for breakfast instead of walking past the counter up front I actually sat down at it.   Now everyone knows where the bull flows at a truck stop restaurant and sure enough, I sat right down into a big pile of it this morning.  One particular conversation I found myself into really got me caught up into it.  "You see driver" I said, " When a driver takes a loaded eighteen wheeler and follows less than two feet behind a family at highways speeds. I think that is dangerous and someone needs to speak out about the problem."

As luck would have it my new found friend believed that even though it might be dangerous,  we should simply let the drivers company and the police do their job and stay out of it.  To each their own I say but I had to ask.  So If someone took  a loaded pistol and started waving it around in front of a group of people, you are saying that that is perfectly fine and that you should say or do nothing, just walk away and mind your own business.  My friend said"well no, it is a gun and no one should be waving around such a dangerous thing in front of people, someone might get killed by accident."

So I ask my friend, "What difference does it make if it is some clown with a loaded gun or a truck driver in a eighty thousand pound truck endangering the lives within just feet of them?  Think about I said, What is the difference in the kind of danger that makes you say one I should speak up and ask that the gun be put down while on the other hand you would look the other way because you do not want to rat out another driver?"  

A perfect deer in the head lights glare.   So I ask you, what is the difference?  We would not stand idly by while some one plays with a loaded gun around people.  We would not stand there and watch Granny get bullied by some punk would we.  Then why do so many truckers just sit there while some bully in a big truck endangers the life of who could be our own loved ones and say absolutely  nothing.  I have to ask, what difference does it make the weapon used that some truckers feel it is ok for a truck to be used to bully their way through traffic?   

What difference does it make, to me none at all.  If you are a bully behind the wheel of whatever you drive it is time for your to stop it.  Our jobs a s professional truckers is to keep that highway safe for those we share them with. If you are not up to the challenge, go sit on the porch with the puppies until up can learn to play nice with others out on the highway. 

God Bless America

#rlbjeffhead

Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"

Copy and share as much as you want (-:

Books By Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

Dirty Word

Today's Thoughts. By Jeff Head 8/31/14 Dirty Word

I set my camera up about a week ago, just for a trail run.  I stood in front of it and spoke from my heart the things I think about such things as tailgating and our number one jobs as truckers keeping the highway safe.  I spoke of the value of human life and I spoke of a family I watched die one day as a trucker tailgated them through a construction zone.  Just as I finished, the phone rang.  As I spoke with my wife, I watched the practice video I had just made and when done, I asked her what I should change to make it better.  "Nothing" was her answer, use it just as it is.  Being the smart man I am, I listened to her and with all the fuzziness and background noise, I posted it.  Much to my surprise, that YouTube video, "It Will Never Happen To Me"  has produced thousands of positive responses from truckers agreeing that truckers that tailgate, is a bad thing.  I feel very blessed that my message was so well received by so many in the trucking industry. 

I want to thank everyone for caring and sharing the video and I want to thank my friend Robin from the Face Book group "Give Truckers Room".  You see Robin asked a question to her group about what they could do as a group to help bring this tailgating issue in the trucking industry to the attention of drivers and companies and try to make a difference.  I thought about that as I was driving this morning and it came to me that Robin had already taken the first step to making a difference by simply raising the subject. 

It is like this, the video no matter how good it is will be like any other video as time goes on and will simply be replaced by the next greatest video and then the one after that.  However, by Robin keeping the conversation going, the tailgating issue continues.  So if I ask how can we as the trucking industry help bring this tailgating issue in the trucking industry to the attention of drivers and companies and try to make a difference, what would the answer be?  Simply to keep the conversation going.  If we as drivers bring this topic up as many times as we can in as many different places as we can, sooner or later someone might just get the idea that we mean business and this tailgating must stop. 

Personally, in these conversations I think we should let them know that "Tailgater" in the trucking industry is the dirtiest word you could ever call a trucker.  These drivers are destroying our image and endangering our families.  I think it is about time we stood up to these bullies not only in a safe and legal way so that we do not become the danger ourselves, but in a very public way so that the world can see that the majority of truckers are really just a group of hard working family minded folks just like they are.  

So be like Robin or even stop by on Face Book and join her in getting the conversation out there, who knows, the idea your group comes up with might just be the one that gets the job done.

God Bless America

#rlbjeffhead

Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"

Copy and share as much as you want (-:

Books By Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

Safety Check

Today's Thoughts. By Jeff Head 8/28/14 Safety Check

Eighty thousands pounds of rig and load, something interesting going on outside of your windshield and a hand held camera catching all the action as you roll down the highway all make for an awesome Face Book post later that evening.  I am sure many have seen my video in a parking lot where I have been caught videoing the action and then confronted by the driver.  The last one threatened to break my teeth if you might recall.  It seems that more and more drivers are getting involved in safety issues doing their part in cleaning up our industry, the trucking industry.   

A good thing I think but we must remain safe ourselves as we do this.  People for some odd reason beyond my comprehension just do not seem to like having their picture taken while they are doing bad things in public.  While many will just walk away, others will get up into your face and threaten you.  I can tell you many stories of getting caught and how dangerous the situation became.  You can also find many videos of attacks on reporters.  So be discrete as you go about your business especially while moving down the road.  Just a conversation on the CB radio can inflame another driver to the point that they will use their truck to run you off the road.  Trust me, I know.  That is why I never turn my CB radio on anymore unless a specific need arises.  There are safer ways to get the message across that will not jeopardize highway safety, your job, your life, or the life of those around you.  Make it your rule to never post anything that anyone could conceive as dangerous itself. by doing so you force yourself to find safe ways to get your message across.  

My rules for me, well, the rules I do my very best to follow go something like this.  I use two dash cams set up so that while one catches the action, the other catches the identity.  These cameras are never touched while the truck is in motion.  Pictures taken while I am out and walking around I try to do in a way that nobody else is around or from an angle such as I might not be seen.  If caught I always say I was going to ask a friend about something else and wanted to use this picture as a reference.  I never let them know what I am really doing.  Sometimes it is obvious though, and they end up in your face.  I do my best at this point and leave as fast as I can.  Even the best plans will find you in a bad place from time to time.  I never discuss company business out in the open.  Companies tend to get a little upset when their dirty skid marks are laid out for the world to see. 

Now to head off the usual argument, taking pictures or videos of people in public places is legal.  As long as they are out in public, they have no expectations of privacy.  Past that, you have a First Amendment right to offer your opinion as I do quite often.  I try never to outright accuse any one of doing anything or call them derogatory names but simply ask that they stop doing what the picture or video clearly shows them doing.  I do this once and then I leave them along so that I am in no way harassing them.  In short, I keep it simple, safe, respectable and within the law.   

Getting involved in cleaning up the trucking industry and making it safer out there on the highway in my opinion is always a good thing to do.  However, as advocates, we must do our best not to become the danger itself.  Sure, when I first started I was a mess, made plenty of mistakes.  As time passed though and I grew into what I am today, I learned many lessons along the way that I hope have made what I do a much safer thing.  Something that any company that I might work for will see as a positive thing for their image and not be wanting to fire me just to cover their butts. 

God Bless America

#rlbjeffhead

Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"

Copy and share as much as you want (-:

Books By Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

A Tooth Brush and the Crack Pipe

Today's Thoughts 3/31/11  A Tooth Brush and the Crack Pipe

 

Inevitably somebody somewhere along the way says something so stupid that it makes everyone that heard it just draw up and get that weird look on their face. This happened to me the other day while standing in line to pay for my fuel. The driver that just finished paying for his fuel turned around and right out of the blue exclaimed "Now that I'm done for the day, I'm going to find me a dime bag and a pipe and enjoy the rest of the afternoon" Four of us just watched him walk out the door and get behind the wheel of an eighteen wheeler and drive away.

 

After I paid for my fuel I headed for the showers. Mumbling to myself   about how this guy was going to end up killing someone and how the rest of us decent drivers would end up paying for his actions somewhere down the line. All the while I'm turning on the shower to get the hot water going, getting undress and grabbing my tooth paste and tooth brush so I can brush my teeth. While I'm doing all this, I'm still thinking about what this guy said. Just going through the motions like I've done a million times before, applying the tooth paste to the tooth brush, putting the cap back on, and all the while thinking about what just was said back in that fuel line. "Holy frick" I drop my tooth brush and back away from it. The dang thing out of the blue just starts vibrating and gyrating all over the dang place laying there on the counter.

 

Now I'm thinking I'm the one smoking the crack pipe because this tooth brush that I've been using the last month just comes to life. I'm standing there butt naked half in a karate stance looking at this thing from across the shower like it was a rattle snake fixing to strike.  "What the heck." This just is not right. I was about yea close to exiting that shower in my nakedness and leaving that possessed tooth brush way behind.

 

About a month ago, I tossed my tooth brush towards my shower bag while taking a shower. I managed to miss and it ended up on the shower room floor. Any one knows that if it hits that floor you just toss it and buy a new one. That’s what I did. The truck stop only had one the shelf and I just grabbed it and never noticed that even though it looks like a regular tooth brush, It actually had two small buttons on it. I never noticed them. So while I was engrossed in my thoughts about what this driver said. I found the turn on button for my new tooth brush that’s makes it vibrate. Who would have thought that just a regular looking tooth brush would do that? Thinking I need to get a life.

 

Proof I think that even though you're not the one smoking the crack pipe, just thinking about it can really get your mind in a messed up place. Imagine what it would do if you’re the one actually smoking the pipe and then driving a big truck down the highway. It's kind of like this folks. If you are doing drugs and getting behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle please do us a favor. Get out. Get out of that truck. Get out of this industry. There is no room here for you. The days of driving across this country while wired to the gills is long gone. You sir, are not welcome.

 

I wish I could have been close enough to get the name of his company and truck number. I would have dropped a dime in a heartbeat. Maybe next time, oh well. Me, I'm better now. My fears of possessed tooth brushes are long gone and I can once again, I hope, take a shower by myself. Hopefully this driver will not find himself in a wreck where someone is hurt. I'll try harder next time I think, not to let the things I see get to me so much. I really need to keep my mind on what I'm doing so that I never have to defended myself from a itty bitty tooth brush again. Glad no one was around to see that precious moment in my life. Oh well.

 

Jeff Head            Do you Like Today's Thoughts?…. Don't forget to share or add me as your friendGod Bless America

#rlbjeffhead

Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"

Copy and share as much as you want (-:

Books By Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

It Will Never Happen To Me

A very important message to those that think it will never happen to them. It only takes a split second for the whole world to come crashing down and your career to come to a end. A special message on youtube.  Please follow the link to watch  the  message from Jeff Head.  #rlbjeffhead
It Will Never Happen To Me

Snitch

Today's Thoughts By Jeff Head 4/21/13 Snitch

Is that what I am, a snitch that is? Some might call me that I guess as I was called this today by a trucker as he caught me snapping pictures of him two feet of the tail of a car at highway speeds. After that he went on to call me all sorts of nice things. What amazed me most here is the fact that at those speeds and that close to a car full of people, why was he looking out his passenger window at me instead of keeping an eye on the only part of the car in front of him that he could see, the top of it.

As usual when I see this going on, I ask the driver to please back off before he kills someone. Some do and others like today take it to a third grade level.  His choice I think to myself as he tells me his company will not fire him and actually rants off his truck and company phone number for all to hear over the CB radio. Then actually dares me to make the call and laughs as he tells me that I will just get laughed at. Then of course the usual next, I am to mind my own business and to drive my own truck.

 You see though, this is my business and yours to as a safe and legal trucker like most of us are in today's world. When things go wrong in this type of situation, the ramifications fall to every trucker in the nation. First, another killer truck story hits the newsstands and then politicians climb up on their stumps and what comes out of all that is the drivers and decent companies left out on the road now have to deal with the new regulations designed to stop killer truckers. Then of course we also have to deal with the loss of respect from those that we share the highway with. Our jobs as safe and legal truckers is to protect the traveling public as we share the highway with them, not shove them down the road for whatever reason. So you see, when one acts in an unprofessional manner, we all pay. Even if it is just at a company level, we all pay.

As for me being that snitch, sure, why not. And let's not forget all the threats of kicking my butt and the occasional death threats I receive from time to time. The thing is that I remember a time when I said nothing one day. I watched as an eighteen wheeler pushed a car through a construction zone. To this day I can remember the sights and sounds as the world went wrong and that truck ended up shoving not one, but two cars down that highway. To this day I can see clearly in my mind the smoke and debris and the bodies. And to this day I wake up at night and can still hear the scream of that little girl as she turned and seen what was left of her mother laying there half way under what used to be a minivan now nothing more than a twisted pile of metal residing under the front end of a truck. A driver by the way that now calls prison home.

I made a promise that day to that little girl and myself and a promise I plan to keep. That promise being to do just one more thing to help stop the needless deaths out on the highway. Each and every day I spend behind the wheel of my truck I try my best to keep that promise. If that makes me a snitch or something worse, so be it.

As for today's episode, well, off the pictures go with a letter to the company. Of course, copies will go to the proper authorities. One to the state the event took place in and a second to the state the trucking company resides in. Sure the company might laugh at me. But thinking about the proper authorities, well, we will see if they do any laughing as they knock on the door and ask what has become of this so called trucker they hired that likes to shove people down the road with a big truck with their name on the side of it. Judging from past experience, any laughing comes to a very quick stop right about here.

God Bless America 

 Drive Safe, Drive Sane

Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"

Hitting Home

Today's Thoughts by Jeff Head 6/19/14 Hitting Home

Driver in the Wal Mart Crash speeding in a construction zone and now we have another person dead.  Ok, after reading the article, I am finding this a little bit hard to write as the anger slowly grows inside of me.  Is anyone even listening to me, to us, the safe and legal truckers out there?  There are times I know for a fact, that some are.  Other times, like now, I do not think they even care.  Just too upset to do this now but I want everyone to please read the following from my book "Running Legal Blues".  I made a promise to myself to this little girl to try to make a difference.  To try to stop yet another little girl like her from losing their family.  That is the number one reason I wrote book. 

"Running Legal Blues"   Little Girl.

I made the river bridge ok, then to the split onto Interstate Twelve and into a construction zone.  The speed drops to sixty mph, so as usual I back out of it.  The truck behind me does not.  It jumps into the left lane and blows by me, right on the ass of a four-wheeler (car).  They pass the truck in front of me and I am watching.   I decide to back out of it some more because people are starting to act stupid.    It is a good thing I did, because another four-wheeler gets wild and passes the truck and car that passed me in the right lane.  Then it tries to go between the car with the truck on its ass and another truck back into the left lane so it can pass that truck too; but there is not enough room. 

The car that passed everyone hits the front truck on the left rear side pushing its ICC bumper into the duals and the tires explode. The first car, being tailgated by the truck, runs into the second car that just hit the front truck and the truck doing the tailgating pushes both cars down the highway.  By this time I am in the smoke and debris and locking it up.  I stop about thirty feet behind the truck in front of me.  The other driver hit the ground running.   Before I can get out of my truck, people from both sides of the interstate are all over the wreck.  

But I do go up to see what can be done.  As I get there, one of the drivers is pulling out this little girl and handing her out to another driver. The rest of the scene I think I will pass talking about. I will say this though; I drove my first truck in 1980 and over the years I have held a dying man in my arms with his skull crushed.  I have stood and listened to a man scream for two hours after he pulled out in front of a big truck.  I have seen what was left after an air-born body met the sharp end of a guardrail.  Saw some people that came out one windshield and went into another.  I have seen four-wheelers that met big trucks the wrong way on the interstate, and on and on.  I have seen bloody sheets so many times over the years that, well, you kind of learn to deal with what you see and move on.

But today, yes, today would be different. And it really did not hit me hard until I was halfway across Mississippi. You see, that little girl was about five years old. A stranger pulled her out. A stranger that, without fear of his own life, climbing through the wreckage just seconds after it happened, past the crushed bodies of what used to be her family, and handed her out to those that were standing outside.   Then, everyone gathered around to make sure she was okay. She was, by the grace of God, seemingly uninjured.  The two cars had just been pushed down the interstate, crushed and ripped apart, unrecognizable, and she came through it without a scratch as far as anyone on the scene could tell.

A few minutes later she started to come around to her surroundings, wondering who all these strange people were.  She started crying for her mom.  No one had thought to move her away; they were so concerned whether she was hurt.   She turned and saw what was left of her mom lying there halfway under the minivan.  Trying to pull away from the strangers, she fought screaming to reach the mangled body that used to be her mom.

I walked away.  Hours later, coming into another construction zone again I backed down and again they came out from behind me to speed on through.  My thoughts went to that little girl, and I cried.   That was something I had never seen before.   I hope it is a long time before I hear another child cry.

Thanks for reading.  Today, as I learn that yet another trucker refused to slow down in a construction zone, my mind goes back to that terrible day in my life, that little girl.  And once again I find myself crying.  People, and I say this as elegantly as I possibly can right now,   slow the fuck down.   

God Bless America

If you like Today's Thoughts, Be sure to add me as a friend

Books by Jeff Head

Running Legal Blues

Drive Safe

Available on Amazon,com