That feeling of Safety!

I wanted to write a post about safe trucks and trucks/truck companies that I personally trust when I see their logos rolling down the freeway.  Whenever I see these trucks, they have established a certain trust factor with me that makes me believe their drivers are safe, reliable and courteous.

The fact that I notice these companies and their good behavior on the road made me think they deserve some recognition, even if it's only among the readers of this humble truck blog :)

Disclaimer:  Before I start posting pictures in this post, I want to say that this post is based solely on personal experience and observations, it is not based on any surveys or statistics of any kind ... 

First of all, just because a trucking company is not depicted in this post does *not* mean they are not safe and reliable.  There are plenty of other trucks out there that are just that!

Secondly, I know there are plenty of safe independent drivers and unmarked trucks out there whose company names I don't know. Also, I reside in Southern California and there are probably a lot of logistics companies I have never seen that operate in other parts of the country. Again --- they are probably safe and reliable, but if I haven't seen them, I won't know to post about them. 

[End disclaimer]

So .... onward with my post and to my point.

I commute a lot. Every single day I'm out there on the freeway. I see a lot of driver behavior, 18-wheelers included.  I'm very impressed actually.  As much traffic as we have coming through the freeways every day, in general, most drivers are very safe and very good. And thankfully so, otherwise we would spend a lot more time sitting in traffic than we already do.

Truck drivers in general know to drive safely and are very courteous, even in situations where I myself might have blown a fuse. However, I have also seen some very unsafe truck drivers, which scares me, just because of the size and weight of their vehicle.  No matter what, if a person gets in a fender bender with a big rig, just due to the sheer nature of its size, it will most likely end badly and be very costly, so unstable trucks/truck drivers scares the crap out of me. I usually step on the gas and dart past them as fast as I can.
Accidents happen to the best of drivers once in awhile, but I do believe that when you are responsible for a vehicle the size of an 18-wheeler, you are definitely required to be even more careful and levelheaded than most drivers.

As a rule, most trucking companies seem to be conscious about hiring safe drivers.  I've had friends apply to some of these companies and been denied due to some ding in their driving record.  Obviously I sympathize with my friends who didn't get the job, but I applaud the logistics companies for sticking to their safety rules and regulations. Their name and reputation is at stake, they want to ensure that the men and women behind the wheel of their trucks with their logo will do their company justice by representing them well across the country.

So .... below are some companies that I've taken notice of and I feel that their trucks are safe to be around whenever I see them in motion.  Again, this is based only on what I see around here, I *know* there are more safe drivers out there than the handful I will post below.

Thanks to ALL of our safe truck drivers for your effort in keeping the freeways accident free.

Swift Transportation - always reliably safe

Schneider National

C.R.England

Knight Transportation

Mayflower Moving Lines

Stevens Transport

 United Van Lines

 

Walmart Transportation

AND ---- for showing utmost self control, driving around with gigantic burgers and crispy french fries on the side of your truck all day long must make a person constantly hungry ....
McDonalds and Carl's JR trucks especially, as their truck ads are particularly tempting!

So kudos to food truckers for safe delivery!

Eye Catching Trucks: MAYFLOWER

When I was a kid, I was always excited to see moving trucks around the neighborhood. At the time, the reason for my excitement revolved more around the fact that we'd have new neighbor and whether or not these neighbors had any cool kids I could play with ...

I'm all grown up now, and I'm still excited when I see moving trucks! Now however, my focus has shifted from the people moving in to the truck that carry their belongings. And now, I'm not scouting their belongings... I'm ogling the trucks. (Just to clear any potential misunderstandings! lol).

Most moving companies have really nice trucks, but the ones that always stand out are the Mayflower trucks! I really perk up when I see the Mayflower logo on a trailer, because I know with 99% certainty that I'm about to catch a glimpse of a gorgeous truck!

(So if any of you Mayflower truck drivers see my black pickup zooming by to get in front of you, it's not my intention to cut you off.... I simply wanna ogle your truck in my rearview mirror .... lol...)

A Mayflower truck I passed on my way to Arizona last year....

The Mayflower trucks are just so well polished! Both trucks & trailers are always well matched and they all look nice and clean and well taken care of. Some of the tractors have perversely huge cabs!! I'm talking apartment size cabs! Unfortunately I haven't been able to snap a photo of any of those, I usually see them when I'm driving myself & unable to take photos, but I've included a photo from one of my favorite websites, Hank's Truck Pictures , which showcases one of these cabs.

Mayflower truck with huge cab (Hank's Truck Pictures/Sissick Collection)

Another photo I found of a Mayflower truck with a good sized cab.

I recently stumbled across a Mayflower hub not far from where I live, and I was able to snap a few photos. Unfortunately it was a holiday so the gates were closed and it was hard to catch a good photo op of their trucks.

But fear not, now that I know where they are located, I'll be back there for more photos :)
(I guess I'll give up stalking United Van Lines and give them a break for awhile..... lol........)

Anyway, behind the wall of the Mayflower hub, I spotted a Mayflower trailer that probably isn't on the road as much anymore and certainly shows how the Mayflower trailers have evolved through the years... There was an old Ford truck parked next to it, but it was blocked by trees and difficult to photograph, so I'll have to catch it next time. I did, however, find a photo on the web of a similar Mayflower truck & trailer combo, so I borrowed that photo for my post.

Front end of the older Mayflower trailer parked @ the hub

Shot of the older Mayflower trailer parked @ the hub

Photo borrowed from the web, showing a similar trailer to the one I photographed,
hooked up to an old Ford truck.

Below are a couple of current Mayflower trucks & trailers I caught while out & about on my little photo safari. It's kind of interesting to compare them to the older trailer from above :)

Green Mayflower trailer outside a hub in Ontario, California

This gorgeous W900 was stretched out in front of the hub as well...

Mayflower Kenworth W900 truck, Ontario California

Mayflower Kenworth W900 truck & trailer, Ontario California

I visited the Mayflower website, just out of curiosity, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the following link:

http://www.mayflower.com/moving/full-service-movers/moving-tips/safe-driving.htm

It's a page that reiterates how to drive safely around a big rig, a topic that is near & dear to my heart and one that I cannot repeat enough in this blog so I decided to include their link.

Kudos to Mayflower for posting this! Hopefully at least a few motorists will read it & watch their behavior on the road.