There sure is a lot of buzz going around about driverless cars and trucks being tested and operating on our public highways. I am certainly not a fan of that idea and have many of the same questions and skepticisms as most people probably have. Are they really safe? If so, are they necessarily safer than vehicles driven by a live human being? Maybe in some cases, but I overwhelmingly doubt it. Of course, they’ll try to sell us on the safety aspects and the efficiency quotient of fully autonomous alternatives to our current way of getting things done, but there are far too many real-world variables to make such a definitive assertion. And consider this – would the general public be satisfied and comforted by sharing the road with an 80,000-lb. drone? Or would it be better if we, as professional truck drivers, polished up our own driving habits and behaviors, to the point where we are no longer seen as a menacing obstacle in the daily commute, driven by a grungy ogre with a bad attitude? Regaining our image of being the heroes of the highway, or the knights of the road, would essentially secure our position as being the favorable option to share the road with, over that autonomous truck. Just something to consider. In this poem, I just wanted to ponder a few “what-ifs” regarding the threat of our way of life being replaced with automation. I thought that I’d encourage some of us to share a few inspiring trucker tales with other people so that maybe they might recognize this trucker thing as something more than just a job – it’s our livelihood and, for some of us, it’s something we’re very passionate about.
AUTONOMOUS
By Trevor Hardwick
Oh how I love the old trucker tales,
The kind my dad would tell.
Of life behind the steering wheel,
On a road he knew so well.
The challenges of being gone,
The lure of what’s ahead.
And how he’d never choose to have,
An office job, instead.
He’d face the wind and driving snow,
With courage I’d admire.
And take the time to stop and change,
A perfect stranger’s tire.
I drew my inspiration from,
Those knights upon the road.
They took responsibility,
For each and every load.
I might have some tales to tell,
And stories of my own.
But who will tell these trucker tales,
When trucks are simply drones?
Who will honk the air horns,
For the kids who pump their arms?
And who will haul the produce,
To the markets from the farms?
And what about the truck stops,
And the cafés down the line?
Who will Flo pour coffee for,
And pinch her on the behind?
What will truckin’ songs be like,
With no one at the wheel?
It may sound hypothetical,
But the prototypes are real.
Everything autonomous,
Replaces human skill.
And drives away the heart and soul,
Of everything, it will.
I prefer a diesel truck,
With a person in control.
Someone with a passion,
That’ll make those big wheels roll.
To keep our way of life alive,
Let’s clean our image up.
Inspire friends with trucker tales,
While sippin’ on a cup.
Be the one they can’t replace,
With artificial skills.
Let the public recognize,
A hero at the wheel.
A truck without a driver,
Means a driver without a truck.
And a country without truckers,
Is a country, run amuck.