by Jackie Cooper
Truckers are some of the nicest men and women in the world. I have heard story after story about people being stranded on the road and getting assistance from a truck driver. Although I have never had this happen to me, it is nice to know that if you are in trouble there is someone there who will probably help.
Truckers also have their habits on the road, some good and some bad. In Georgia I think the law is that on three lane interstate highways truckers are not allowed to use the far left lane. There are signs posted that say that. Still every once in a while you will see a trucker who is behind a slow moving driver edge over to that left lane.
Also, when there is road work being done, you can sometimes see people race as far as they can on the lane that is closing and then merge into the other lanes ahead of the people who have moved over earlier. Truckers sometimes take it upon themselves to block the closing lane. The intention is good but the results can sometimes be annoying.
A friend told me about this happening one night to him. He said the lanes were not closing for miles but an over-enthusiastic trucker started blocking lanes way before the closure was to occur. My friend got annoyed and tried to get past him, but nothing doing. The trucker slowed down to a crawl and kept my friend blocked. Finally at his wit's end, my friend sped up to pass the truck on the shoulder. At this point the truck veered over to the left and almost caused an accident.
Now is this something a trucker should do? I don't think so. I don't think anybody has deputized them as the monitors of the road. If someone wants to get by I don't think we want an accident to happen just to prove a point.
A few nights ago my wife and I were driving back from Bennettsville, South Carolina. When we reached the Georgia state line, the sky opened up and the rain began to fall. Now my wife is one of those people who thinks that if it is raining the speed limit should be thirty miles per hour. I don't happen to agree with that. So you can imagine the conversation we were having.
Finally the rain stopped and after a five-hour ride I was almost home. That's when I saw the sign that said "Road construction four miles ahead. Two right lanes closed." Since my exit was only two miles ahead I was relieved to know it would not affect me. Wrong!
As I topped a hill I saw that traffic was already backed up. Again I consoled myself with the fact I would be turning off on the right in just a couple of miles. Except there was a truck in front of me that was determined to block traffic. He was in the far right lane and he was determined not to go over a mile an hour (at least that is how it seemed). I couldn't believe it. He was blocking me from my exit.
I flashed my lights, nothing happened. I blew my horn, nothing happened. I thought about calling 911 but didn't think my truck adversarial relationship qualified as an emergency. Even my wife was asking, "What's wrong with him?" I didn't have an answer.
Eventually I reached my exit and was able to get off the highway. The truck was still in the far right lane as I left and I screamed my opinion at his truck. I am sure he heard me.
After I cooled down the next day I reasoned the truck driver thought he was doing something good. But blocking an exit is not a good thing, not for me nor anybody else who was behind me and trying to reach exit 138.
Truckers are generally good people, but on that rainy night in Georgia I got the exception to the rule.
Jackie K. Cooper was born in South Carolina and now lives in Georgia. He is the married father of two sons and the proud grandparent of a boy and a girl.
He is familiar to people living in the middle Georgia area as the "entertainment man" since his entertainment reviews run in newspapers and are shown on television there. His short stories have also been used as commentary on Georgia Public Radio.
Cooper has lived an exceptionally interesting life. Portions of it were contained in his first book JOURNEY OF A GENTLE SOUTHERN MAN. Now the journey continues in his second book titled CHANCES AND CHOICES.
and be sure to visit his excellent web site: jackiekcooper.com.
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