If You Got it – a Truck Brought It

We have successfully made our annual trek to our cottage in Prince Edward Island.  Travelling by car the 1800 km brought home the paradox of dealing with transport trucks on today's highways.  There were, at various stages of the journey, many trucks which somewhat reluctantly shared the road with us.  The paradox comes in that dealing with trucks while driving a smaller vehicle – that is most vehicles, is not generally a positive experience.  However, trucks and the cargo they carry are essential to the modern economy. 

Reflecting on our experience of sharing the roads with trucks, I mounted the way-back- machine and to my former life when I worked in truckin8 policy for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.  A part of the job was to help educate the public on the value of trucking to our economy.  One of the slogans that was developed by the Ontario Trucking Association to help promote the importance of trucking was, ‘IF You Got it, a Truck Brought it.’  In effect, this statement summarized the reality that the things we use in today’s economy, at some point in its life, are moved by truck.  There may be some very minor variations to this but for the vast majority of things this is the truth.  This was true more than thirty years ago and it is even more so today.

The number of transport trucks that we encountered on our journey east gave a lie to the moribund picture of the Canadian economy which is apparently in ‘a technical recession’.  The number of trucks moving on hwy 401 and the TransCanada hwy was a sign of economic activity.  The goods that they carry could not practically get to their destination any other way.  Most manufacturers and other businesses no longer have rail connection as they once did.  That’s the positive.  However, looking at it from the side of motorists sharing the road with large trucks is not that positive.  Large trucks are not as mobile and maneuverable as cars and similar sized vehicles.   That means they take longer to accelerate and longer to stop – so it is wise to give them some space.  In addition, it can be annoying if a truck attempts to pass another truck which is going slightly slower, it may take a long time to do that manoeuvre while other vehicles are lining up behind the passing truck.  Trucks can also block road signs from the view of motorists – again annoying and requires planning if you are looking for a particular exit on a highway.  If you are really lucky -or rather unlucky – you might get caught in a situation where you are surrounded by large trucks with no way to escape – trucks in front of you; trucks behind you and, yes, trucks beside you in the passing lane. 

There are things that any motorist can do to adjust their driving to accommodate trucks.  The most important thing is to not let your emotions run you when you encounter a truck doing something to get in your way.  They are much larger and will win in any encounter with a car.  Of course, the government needs to do its part to ensure the trucking industry is operating properly within the laws, rules such as hours of service, and other regulations.  There was the recent account in the media about truck driver training schools scamming the system and not training students properly.  We all need to do our part in trying to ensure roads are as safe as possible.

So, the next time you are frustrated by the inconvenience or challenge of sharing the road with a truck, remember the part they play in our economy – if you got it a truck brought it.  Safe travels on your journey.

 

There Are No Accidents or Are There?

 The Charlottetown paper, The Guardian, had an interesting opinion piece on Saturday which dealt with bicycle safety.  The writer, Ian Brisbin, who is a biking enthusiast, was proposing that unfortunate encounters between bicyclist and car drivers should be referred to as ‘collisions’ and not ‘accidents’.  His reasoning for this is that ‘accident’ implies that the encounter was, “unfortunate yet inevitable result of using the road.”  Brisbin maintains that they are, “inevitably the result of human error.”

I found this to the to be something that I agree with and I also found it interesting as it is as issue that was first advanced when I was working in the Ontario Ministry of Transportation a few lifetimes ago – actually it was perhaps thirty-five years ago.  At that time the issue was how to report vehicle ‘accidents’ in the official statistics e.g., in 1980 there were 100,000 vehicle accidents on highways causing injury or death.   The decision was eventually reached that they would be reported as collisions for just the reasons proposed by the writer of the article.  Accident implies that the event was out of the result of using the road, whereas ‘collisions’ conveys that they are the result of human error and therefore preventable.  This reasoning is basically sound as vehicle collisions are generally a result of human error such as excessive speed, driver doziness, carelessness, inattention, distraction or even in rare situations deliberate acts (road rage) - and then there is drinking under the influence of drugs or alcohol which is a whole other can of worms. 

I’m not sure if this change in terminology ever directly prevented a vehicle collision but over the years there has been a general awareness that most vehicle collisions are preventable.  I am always interested to hear the reports of vehicle drivers doing incredibly stupid and thoughtless things while driving such as putting on makeup or texting or spilling a hot drink on themselves.  To confess, I can at times be distracted when I drive, as I’m sure Lorna will agree, but I don’t believe that it has ever resulted in an accident.  Although there was the time I said goodbye to the passenger side mirror on my car when I tried to park in a too small spot in a Tim Horton’s.  So perhaps I should amend that to serious accidents – oops collisions.  Nothing and no-one was injured except the mirror and perhaps my pride.

Moving the issue beyond the realm of vehicle collisions to human activity in general, there is a theme that runs through psychology and perhaps even theology that there are no accidents.   Things happen for a reason.  Human behaviour can explain most of what happens to people if you explore events and people deeply enough and have enough information.  Similarly, or perhaps not that similarly, in theology we can delve into areas such a divine and human will, fate, and predestination.   In all this people seem to have a need on the one hand to believe they are in control and do not easily assent to the concept that their lives and actions are not in their hands.  Conversely, on the other hand, people can look for excuses when things do not go as they hope or desire, “the devil made me do it” or “it was in the stars.”  St. Paul agonized about this, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” 

In all this, the question that remains seems to be, how can I be the best person I can be or as I prefer, how can I be the best version of the person God intends me to be?  I do not believe I am on this earth by ‘accident’ but it is no easy task to discover what God intends and how I can go about living that to a greater extent that I am doing so now. 

It does make for an interesting journey.  Blessings on yours.