Trucks… Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking and to a certain extent, you could be right, but give me a chance.
They get a bad rap for the deteriorating roads, some say they are the cause of many fatal road accidents and they frustrate the living daylights out of you when you are stuck behind one, but take them off the road and their value becomes apparent.
For a moment, take away all the trucks, oh what a blissful intervention right?
You’re driving at an optimal speed on the road, that is still a bit bumpy due to a lack of municipal maintenance, but that’s okay, off to the supermarket to tick off the items from your grocery list…
However, as you enter the shop, you are met with empty shelves, uh oh…. Oh well, you’ll try again next week when they have restocked.
Back at home, you could swear you left a light on, but lo and behold, the electricity is off, must be an outage again, surely there must have been something published about the municipality’s financial woes or debt to Eskom in the newspaper, but come to think about it, there was no newspaper this week…
You see, we take so much for granted and are inclined to be overwhelmingly negative about something that’s importance cannot be overstated, on the contrary, our livelihood to a very large extent, depends on it.
Yet, it does not stop there since transport in general has more legs than a centipede in Chernobyl.
Here’s another fun one… taxis!
Regardless of the umpteenth clenched fist out of a car window, car hooters echoing in unison and colourful language exchanges, the mass population of our country are dependent on taxis, if some of your employees pitched for work today, thank a taxi driver.
Surely some of you are going, wow! This guy’s excessive positive attitude is infringing on my right to be a colourless little rainbow, but truth be told, I too have had my patience tested and the results were alarmingly negative.
I often have to tell myself: “Unless I am a pregnancy test, I need to get rid of the negativity.”
As an overly negative society, we need to do some introspection, consider our priorities and stop complaining constantly about things that serve to our benefit and help fulfill our needs.
Being a bit more considerate would make a world of difference and before you say it, yes, it is a two-way-street and people in the transport business need to be considerate too, but why not take the first step?
I realised about a year or so ago, when covering an article about the road infrastructure in Morgenzon and speaking to a certain Mr Tom Joubert, manager of a transport company, that they too have challenges, literally around every corner.
He offered his perspective at that time and said the fuel levies and licence fees for trucks are supposed to be used to maintain proper road conditions and the Department of Roads and Transport had identified the problem, but due to budget constraints, it would only receive attention at a later stage.
Don’t for one moment believe they like traveling on disintegrated roads, they share your frustrations.
Truck drivers trying to make a living are scorned daily.
Getting something to eat because they are hungry, having to use a bathroom because they have been holding it in for more than a hour, or merely stopping in a town to stretch their legs after an eight-hour- haul, are burdensome tasks and nearly impossible if no provisions regarding available amenities were made.
Stop for a moment and reflect…
Also think about the transport industry and its complexity, whether it be trucks, taxis, bus services or any other form of transportation, and without considering the several ‘buts’ at the back of your mind, tip your hat to them in appreciation.
