Take Care Where You Park

Something a little different for you folks to read today.

As many of you know I am now driving a truck for a living. It is not exactly what I want to do with my life, but I have to put bread on the table and for the time being this what I am going to do.

So in addition to blogging my thoughts on politics and whatnot, I will also include some of my thoughts about being on the road and upload a few pictures when I can.

Some of the thoughts I will have might rub some of my readers the wrong way because I am going to complain about some of the things that I witness out there on the road. When you read this I want you to remember something. I will probably put more miles on the road in one week then you will in a couple of month. Think about this, on an average day, I will do about 500 miles. That is an average week for many of you.

The other day I was waiting on my turn to get a load of bagged seed loaded into my trailer. It was beautiful day in Eastern Washington. The sun was out with a light breeze. The location was in an obvious industrial area with many small manufacturers and similar businesses up and down the several streets. At one point this car pulled up and stopped on the side of the street and stayed there for about 30 minutes.

No big deal, right?

Actually it was a big deal.

The person had decided to park right in a location that was used by truckers to gain some space for getting their rigs in and out of a loading dock.

Here is something for you to remember: If you are in an industrial area, and this includes businesses that serve the agricultural community, take care where you park. If you see an area along the sides of the streets and roads that look heavily worn and compacted keep in mind that this was mostly likely caused be trucks repeatedly crossing over that area as they enter and exit the local businesses.

Some will claim ignorance of how all this operates and that is fine. But in the case of the person I saw parking in situation described above, I know full well they were aware of where they were at because one of the employees of the seed business came out and got their lunch from the driver. In the time this person was parked there, one truck tried to exit the dock. They were able to get the rig out, but not after backing up twice just to make the corner. And the driver of the car did nothing to help, didn’t even offer to move.

If you don’t see other cars parked in these worn areas, take heed. The space is well worn for a reason. Please notice where the cars are parked and make every effort to park there. Those spots are so designated for a reason.