Truckies: Life Behind The Wheel
RIS ID
97614
Additional Publication Information
ISBN: 9780646900056
Abstract
Trucks generate strong emotions. People generate an astonishing level of criticism, much of it negative and ill-informed, on the subject of trucks. I know as I've heard many a tirade on their failings in the course of writing this book. Experiences abound, often contradictory. The 'problems' with trucks are almost invariably explained through heart-felt personal anecdotes about how trucks impinge upon individual personal existence. The story is often a retelling of being in fear of the truck driver's activity on the road. The 'near death' incident; the 'nearly swiped off the road' narrative is often an expression of a growing fear of the size of trucks. The advent of the B-Double, where two trailers are linked together, has increased this anxiety enormously. They are denounced alike by car drivers and passengers, motorbike riders and cyclists, as a danger to others on the roads-whether this involves speeding or going too slow depends on the incident. Seeing a truck bearing down on a car in the rear vision mirror is intimidating for the slower driver. Seeing a truck proceeding slowly up or down a steep road is infuriating for the opposite reason if the driver finds their car stuck behind it. They are too noisy and too numerous, unnecessarily polluting the atmosphere. They are condemned for breaking up the road surfaces and the drivers themselves for their lack of responsibility-an accident is often automatically seen as being the fault of their negligence. They are accused of wantonly generating enormous Carbon Footprints that endanger the environment. The world, it would seem, would be far better off without trucks.
Publication Details
Karp, J. E. (2012). Truckies: Life Behind The Wheel. Australia: WBook.