In the middle of this horrid pandemic, we can only give a heartfelt “thank you” to the NPs, nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists, hospital workers, first responders, and delivery and grocery workers. But there is one more group without whom we’d be in a world of hurt, yet they seem to be forgotten—the truck drivers. Thank you for selflessly moving all of those supplies wherever they’ve needed.

Until the early 20th century, most cargo was moved by train and/or wagon. Yet, by 1910 there were 500,000 automobiles in the US, and 100,000 trucks by 1914. Originally, tires were made of solid rubber. That made it difficult to drive more than 10-15 miles an hour over rutted, rural road, so they generally stuck to paved urban areas. During WWI, trains were so swamped with both men and materiel that truckers, who by then used pneumatic tires that allowed them to drive much faster, began moving long-distance cargo. The AEF also used trucks and ambulances in France during the war.

During the 1920s and 30s, states began to standardize the sizes of most trucks. In 1933, truckers joined the American Trucking Association and in 1935, Congress passed the Interstate Motor Carrier Act, regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Trucks were crucial during World War II both for the US and Britain. And one of the few nice things that the Soviets said about the Americans during the war was that the 2.5-ton Studebaker truck was key to Russian victory on the Eastern front.

When Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1952, one of his objectives was to build the Interstate Highway System. Having seen what was done in the German Autobahn, he understood the economic and military important of a network of highways throughout the US. Passed in 1956, the Federal Aid Highway Act started building a series of interconnected roads and bridges across the United States. At the same time, cargo ships began using containers (intermodal shipping) that made it much easier to move supplies from ships to trucks to cities and states. By 1970, 18 million trucks criss-crossed the new interstate highways.

In a way, those were the hay days of US trucking. The Citizen Band (CB) became extremely useful for truckers and great fun for the public. CB’s slang was used every day. For instance, a Black Eye was a vehicle with a headlight out. Deadhead is pulling an empty trailer. A dragon wagon was a tow truck. The song “Convoy” was a hit in 1976 and was turned into a movie in 1978. Yet there were still serious issues, particularly trucker’s strikes in both 1973 and 1979 over the energy crisis. By the 90’s they were also moving supply chains from overseas, increasingly from China. By 2006, 26 million trucks carried about 70% of the total value of freight in the US.

Today truck drivers are one of the few industries that are thriving in the face of real adversity. They are the people who bring the food and all manner of supplies—don’t forget the toilet paper!—from Washington State to Washington, D.C. What would we do without them? Yet truckers have serious issues too. The Owner Operator Independent Association has asked the government for proper testing, especially for those who drive through the “hot zones.” And it’s outrageous that many states have closed rest stops and service plaza that the truckers use to get something to eat, take a shower, use the restroom, and sleep. In this case, trying to contain the virus had the unintended consequence of making it much harder for the people who are helping us!!! Thankfully some states have again allowed truckers to sleep at the rest stops, though most everything else—including restrooms and places to get take-out—remains closed.

Thankfully the American people are stepping up to help. Some are bringing hot meals to the rest stops. Others are setting up alerts along the highway giving directions to find a hot shower and something to eat. Some fast food places are putting up signs showing where to park your truck and walk over to get food and a bathroom (you can’t drive an 18-wheeler through a drive-through.) Overdrive Magazine (on-line and print) is also updating what is available for truckers on a daily basis. You might pass along the Facebook page Truckers’ Local Resources.

So, from all of us, a huge THANK YOU to all our truckers. Stay save and drive carefully.😇