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 trucking companies - Steven's Transport

I just love these trucking companies & logistics companies that spend extra time & money in overhaulting and customizing their fleets, so that when you spot their trucks driving down the freeway, you KNOW which trucking company it is without even having seen the logo. For me, because I'm a bit of a weirdo ;), it goes even further than that. I'll spot some of these trailers and I won't only know which company they belong to, I also pretty much remember what type of trucks are hauling the trailers.
I mean, truly, their trucks are nothing but a huge rolling billboard & advertising for a company, if the company is able to put together a nice look that can be recognized no matter where they drive.

One of my very favorite trucks that I see out on the highways are the ones that come from Steven's Transport. With their big, shiny trailers and their black trucks, not to mention that very stylish & elegant logo they have, it just really makes for a very nice & eyecatching package. I'll be sitting in traffic, and all of a sudden I'll spot the Steven's Transport trailer and at that point I'm just dying to move forward so I can pass the truck and get a good look at it.

Oh yeah ... uh .... forgot to mention one little detail .... these trucks are usually big black (or dark blue) Kenworths ... *blush* Whose to say I'm biased? lol.

It so happens the Steven's Transport has the largest fleet of Kenworth T2000 in the country. (Does that mean that they have the largest fleet of T2000s in the world? I don't know but I'm tempted to assume so...). For a Kenworth fanatic like me, that's pretty cool!! I found an article from 2005, and that point they had 1300 T2000s in their fleet and were about to expand it with another 600. Boy do I ever wanna go on a shopping excursion with Steven's Transport!!! :-)))

Seriously, other than the superduper stunning and fierce-looking Kenworth trucks they have, what caught my eye about Steven's Transport is the really awesome color coordination between trailer, truck and logo. It's just a perfect set, it can't be missed and although I personally get excited when I see Steven's Transport, because most likely it means I'll be able to drool over a nice black Kenworth for a few seconds, other motorists are also bound to recognize Steven's Transport when they see their trucks on the road.

Below are a few photos of Steven's transport trucks ... since I'm not usually in a position to take photos when I pass them, I've borrowed most of these from http://www.stevenstransport.com -- I hope they don't mind :)