Sharing Road With Truckers

I have read with interest the past 20 or so years the various articles and letters concerning the terror from truckers on our highways, but the letters of April 10 compelled me to at least answer on the truckers’ behalf. I did not get to read Kendall’s article, but I could wager quite heavily that it was not complimenting the job we truckers do every day on the highways.

I have been driving heavy trucks (semis and doubles) since 1963 and have yet to receive either a moving violation or be involved in even a minor accident. This is not to say that it won’t happen today, but as yet I have been very lucky. When my father started teaching me to drive the family car, soon after the Santa Ana Freeway was opened, he taught me to drive defensively and to give up my right of way rather than collide with other vehicles. This basic courtesy does not seem to have been inspired into many drivers nowadays, and if a truck is involved it seems we pretend they don’t exist. What the heck, the driver can stop on a dime with his air brakes.

CHARLES PROFFITT

Norco