The Sept. 11 attacks on our nation were a wake-up call that life is unpredictable, and each day we have is a special treasure. After hijacked airliners were piloted on suicide missions into famous landmarks, thousands of long-haul drivers continued to deal with the tasks of doing their jobs, trying to piece together sketchy news reports, and coping with concerns about the safety of their own families …
You have to be a long-haul trucker to understand the anxiety of that moment. Not all trucks have satellite systems, and not all drivers have mobile phones. Many drivers did not know the details for many hours or could not immediately contact their families. Many wondered what they should do – stay on the road or try to get home.
In the days following the attacks, Donnie and Diana Harper of Somerset, Ky., were close to the WTC disaster. They are leased to Reliable Carriers Inc., in Canton, Mich. "We didn't have a lot of time to think about ourselves. We had a lot of work to do clearing out a parking area in Yonkers near Ground Zero to make room for emergency vehicle parking.
"I was more scared for my twin daughters at home," says Diana, echoing the emotions of many drivers. "Worrying about your family and not being with them at a time like that takes a lot out of you."
The experience moved them to turn their truck and its 166-inch custom sleeper into a stunning tribute to the victims and the survivors. Their Omaha Orange 2002 Peterbilt 379, called "Enduring Freedom," is dedicated to the leadership of former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and President George W. Bush on 9/11. Portraits of these men with the darkened Twin Towers in the background, painted by James Shively of Piquah, Ohio, highlight the hood of this prize-winning rig.
In the hours after the attacks, confusion reigned, recalls Gene Wainscott, of San Antonio, Texas. "I was sleeping in my rig at a loading dock in Salinas, Calif., when my wife called me on my mobile phone. Thankfully I was not in a dead spot, for once. I managed to get the TV working in time to see the second attack on the Towers," says Wainscott, who drives for Ft. Worth-based Lisa Motor Lines. "The news was just a big confusion at that point. Nobody knew anything for sure. What happened? Were we going to war? Who did it?
"Later, I did get a message on the Qualcomm that warned us to be on ‘heightened alert' as there had been terrorist activity on the East Coast," Wainscott adds. "It's not easy being so far away from your family at a time like that."
Ginny Miller, who teams with her husband, J.D., on their United Van Lines rig, was at home in Bowling Green, Ky., when she heard the news on television.
"We were just getting ready to leave later that day on a run to California. I was stunned. After we talked to dispatch, we decided to go with the load. One part of us sure wanted to stay home, but another part wanted to go. Driving is what we do. I guess a lot of truckers felt the same," she says.
Tragedy stuns, then inspires
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, much of the trucking industry ground almost to a halt. Robert Tarver, an owner-operator leased to J.B. Hunt of Lowell, Ark., remembers, "I was not leased to J.B. Hunt then. A week after 9/11, my freight slowed way down and I wasn't getting any miles.
"But, you know, we Americans are tough people. This country was built by people who got past the problems and found hope in the future," Tarver says. "I decided that the people who made it in this country are the people who take chances.
"So I became an owner-operator last April and leased on with the guys I worked with a few years ago. Now I am pushing 3,000 miles a week. Nobody ever wins a battle by folding up their tent and going home."
Amen, says Sherrie Gutz. She recently passed her driving exams at Tri-State Semi Driver Training Inc., with a 100% score and is ready to hit the road with Covenant Transport. "I have been driving long-distance buses for the past few years, but have always wanted to be a long-haul trucker," she says. "The events of 9/11 shocked me into not putting off my plans any longer. I think for a lot of folks 9/11 was a wake-up call, like it has been for me. Life can be unpredictable, so you have to move on your dreams while you can."
Ginny Miller had a similar experience. "Our miles dropped off at first, down to as little as a thousand miles a week," she says. "But they have come back up now. People still have to get on with their lives.
"The nature of our business has changed a bit," Miller adds. "We do more corporate, national account and military moves now, but the private-party business seems to have declined. At least our insurance coverage has not gone up like it has with some owner-operators."
Insurance up, freight rates fall
Miller's point about insurance rates rising since 9/11 angers many owner-operators. Bill Naylett, of Lansing, Mich., leases his 1999 Kenworth W900L and covered wagon to PGT Trucking, based in Monaca, Pa.
"We haul steel mostly, and we are not doing anything differently than we did a year ago," Naylett says. "But after 9/11, the insurance rates went up. That increase should have triggered an increase in freight rates, but it didn't. In fact rates have gone down.
"My workload is about the same as before 9/11 but the take-home is smaller. You want to hear a kicker? I have an old flatbed rate sheet from 1972 at the house. If I used those rates today, I would never get a load. We made more per mile 30 years ago."
Every segment of the industry changed on 9/11 in some way, including business for our neighbors to the north. Last year Paul Forbes, owner of Forbes Haulage in Ontario, Canada, had about five trucks hauling bottled water from Canada to South Texas, and then hauling auto parts back to Canada.
"After 9/11 the border up here got real tight," says Forbes. "For a while it was harder getting back into Canada than it was going to the States.
"Business is now about half of what it was a year ago for us, but I think it is now starting to pick up. I hope so, anyway. I am not the only Canadian operator trying to handle the problem of low rates, a downturn in business and increasing insurance costs. If things don't change soon, a lot of us will be shutting down for good."
Some carriers have grown stronger. Mike Norder, spokesman for Schneider National Inc., Green Bay, Wis., says, "We hauled a lot of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) loads with emergency supplies related to the events of 9/11. So we didn't have any real downturn immediately like a lot of smaller carriers.
"But the important change for us was that a lot of shippers suddenly wanted carriers that had already developed systems featuring a high level of load security," Norder says. "We picked up a lot of new customers since 9/11 and are stronger than ever now."
Security worries abound
For shippers, the security issue has probably been the biggest area of concern and one reason why some companies are doing well right now. Truckers must be more cautious on the road and alert for suspicious activity around their rigs, as both the truck and the cargo can be weapons.
However, as ATA security expert Jeffrey Beatty said in a recent Internet chat-session sponsored by TTNews.com, "Historically, there are more than 100 package bomb attacks for every vehicle bomb attack."
In today's trucking, it's not just the drivers who have to take extra precautions, says Greg Muirhead, who owns a specialized small fleet based in Gun Barrel City, Texas, just south of Dallas.
"I have always been tight on my background checks, but now even more so than before," Muirhead says. "The shippers want an assurance that we know who our drivers are and where they are at all times," Muirhead says.
"The people who will survive this current challenge and thrive in the future will have to do extensive background checks on the drivers and have good load-tracking systems in place. We all have to do our jobs better than ever," Muirhead adds.
The 9/11 attacks were intended to be a lightning bolt through the heart of America. But it didn't work out that way. Maybe for the first time since World War II, Americans – regardless of jobs, religious preferences or ethnic backgrounds – again became "We the People of the United States."
As it turns out, truckers are proof that the lightning bolt missed our heart by a mile, but did somehow weld us together in a common spirit not seen in our land in over half a century.
