The rally behind our truck drivers

All across North America, people and organizations are banding together to make life a little easier for those working on the front lines during COVID-19. Dark days bring people closer together. It gives us hope for brighter days ahead.

Signs, food and admiration are greeting many truckers. It’s heartening to see as they’re the backbone in the supply chain, delivering the essential goods we all need.

With restaurant closures, lack of parking and access to facilities like restrooms and showers for drivers due to COVID-19, we’re seeing people rally behind truckers to help fill some of the voids. We’ve never seen anything like it and it’s truly inspiring.

In Washington state, a high school near Interstate 5 opened its doors to truck drivers so that they can use the school’s parking lot, restrooms, and showers. And the school’s faculty members are working with local restaurants in the area to provide drivers with access to hot meals.

In Western Canada, Bell International Trucks recently donated 3,000 meals to drivers at its Saskatoon, Sask., Edmonton, Alta., and Chilliwack, B.C. locations.

Over in Nova Scotia, Crystal Blair, the owner of a Glenholme Loop Petro Pass restaurant decided to close her restaurant to the public so that she could provide free meals to truck drivers. Originally, Crystal offered discounted meals, until the surrounding community caught wind of what she was doing and began pitching in towards her efforts – allowing Crystal to provide meals for free. Crystal also allows truckers to use the restaurants’ bathroom and shower free of charge.

In Oklahoma, a company created the social media campaign, #Sandwiches4Semis, in an effort to bring people together to provide free lunches for truckers. Check out their Facebook page to see where sandwiches may be available next. https://www.facebook.com/groups/sandwiches4semis/.

In Michigan, a food concession’s business set up a cart to provide truckers and other essential workers with free meals.

But, the topper may well be in West Virginia, where a 13-year-old boy by the name of Logan Miller, decided to take it upon himself to make care packages for truck drivers passing through the area. His inspiration? His dad, who is a truck driver. He told Logan that he went to bed hungry because he couldn’t find a store or restaurant that was open when his hours of service were up. Logan went to work to fix that. He used his allowance to create the care packages.

Other children are helping raise awareness of how to stay safe on the road by entering the FMCSA Road Safety Art Contest where the winning drawings will be found in the FMCSA’s upcoming calendar.

It’s great to see so many people come together and support our truckers. But the hard reality is that as the the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, drivers may also become infected with the virus – and those that become sick need support too. We’ve seen C.H Robinson, Love’s Travel Stops, and Yokohama Tire step up in a big way, with their donations to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund. The fund is set up to help drivers who can’t work due to illness or injury.

These are just a few examples of what people and businesses are doing to help our truckers…there are plenty. And, we hope to see that support continue. Logan said the motto he lives by is: “America would stop – the world would stop – if we did not have truck drivers.” Well said!

If you’re a truck driver looking for some support on the road, check out a small list of resources our team has put together – stay safe, stay healthy, and thank you.