KNIGHTS OF THE HIGHWAY

[Music] The tough old mules. Skinners who drove the covered wagons across America disappeared many years ago. But their spirit still lives in the 6 million truck drivers who haul the nation's needs in the 9 million trucks which represent a 30 billion industry. But Cole statistics don't tell us much about the guy behind the wheel. What sort of a Joe is he? Bet all you know about him is that he cuts you down to a crawl every time you're going up a steep hill. And what you think about him at like that is well, but there's a lot you can learn about him and the strict code he works under, the safety regulations and his long hard runs. You and Joe probably have a lot in common. He doesn't like city traffic any more than you do. And he's not pushing the family flavor either. He's pushing tons of somebody else's property and bucking a close time schedule as well. [Music] Like you, he likes the open road and he sure gets to know the country. Maybe sometimes he gets lonely, but when a man's driving, he's got plenty of time to think. And when he sees so much, he gets an idea of the bigness of America and what makes it tick. A truck driver's got to be a self-reliant cuss. Not only for his own sake, but how to start it and stop it. Suppose you were driving along and saw a car on fire. Would you stop? If you did, would you know what to do? You probably don't even have a fire extinguisher. Every trucker does, and he knows how to use it. This is all in a day's work for him. Another truck wants to stop and help but gets waved off. Joe's a pretty modest guy, but it's about time we let him tell his own story. I'm always running at things like that. And every time I tell a Mrs. about it, she calls me her shining night of the road. So, pardon my pride if I tell you about this gal stall on a railroad crossing. Why she had to pick a spot like that to run out of gas beats me, especially with a train do any minute. I was heading east and sized up the situation right away. I made her get back in and got ready to push her off the tracks. All the time, thinking if I lost the load, the boss would kill me. Believe me, I was sweating bullets. We made it with no time to spare. Yeah, we run into a lot of funny things on the road. Like one day I'm cruising along just minding my own business. This guy ahead of me looks like he's really tied one on. And then I suddenly know what it is. The guy's falling asleep at the wheel. I pulled up alongside him and for once in my life I didn't mind blowing my own [ __ ] [Music] The guy just hadn't learned a trick that all truckers know. As soon as you feel sleepy, just pull over to the side of the road and grab 40 winks. Then your dreams won't be permanent. [Music] But he ain't as dangerous as just the kind of a driver I was going to tell you about. The kind who has more luck than brains. I remember once when a guy didn't manage to get by by the skin of his paint job. [Music] Whoever causes anything like that should be put in a booby hatch. Sometimes when you get to them, they don't walk away from the wreck. And the nearest hospital is maybe 40 mi away. [Music] I was a cowboy once for one trip, my first, but never again. I thought I had to break all records for delivering my load, but the boss thought differently. He just wanted me to get there in one piece. So, he had me tailed by an outfit of road patrolling safety engineers. They have a car rigged with a camera that records your driving habits. And as Confucious said, one picture is worth a thousand words. [Music] Then they invited me to the premiere of my one and only starring role. I wasn't just a ham. I was a roadart with all the trimmings. You'd think I broke every rule in the book and then wrote some more just to break them. My face was redder than a taillight. The other side of the picture is much better. To promote safety and skill among us truck drivers, the ATA holds an annual, excuse the expression, a rodeo. The best drivers in the country get together at these rodeos to compete in all kinds of driving contest. You'd be surprised at some of the tricky situations a truck can get into and get out of. The tests are really tough, but they pay off. They show the public that driving a truck is a very exacting trait. And there are few drivers that can beat a trucker when it comes to driving skill and safety practices. It also pays off with the winners in each class. Each champ is awarded $50 monthly for a year, second place 30, and third place winner at 20 a month. You would think it was the World Series. [Music] [Applause] Meet Chad, a buddy of mine. He walked off with the first prize last year. It's a pretty lonely job driving a truck, especially when the sun goes down. You might have gone over a road a hund times, but it doesn't look as familiar anymore. And the only tie you've got with the world is the other trucks passing by. You begin to feel sleepy. And then you know it's time to knock off. No matter how much of a hurry you're in, a guy can't drive safely when he's tired. And that's when you head for one of your favorite truck stops. Every driver has one. A truck stop is a driver's hotel and social club. A place he can hang up his hat, take off his shoes, and feel at home. They answer his phone calls, and give him a nice soft bunk for the night. They also wake him when he wants to get up. And while he sleeps, they gas his truck and check his oil and tires. [Music] Those bunks sure look good. [Music] You run into a lot of good guys you don't get a chance to see very often. [Music] And some guys you'd rather see than hear. [Music] It's a good thing this joint is equipped for this kind of guy. [Music] Nothing like a good night's sleep to set you up right for a day of tough driving. You feel strong enough to rrestle a bigger scout to come down a pipe. You don't need a passport when you cross a state line, but every state has size and weight limits for trucks, and they check them pretty carefully. [Music] [Music] And don't try to sneak through or you'll find yourself without a license when a state road patrol catches up to you. around noon. The only patrol I'm interested in is the Java patrol. Hi, fellas. Hi. Hi, Joe. What's good today, Scott? What dish ain't good here? The only dish that's any good ain't on the menu. You ought to know your big eight. Take the goulash, Joe. I saw the cook put some real meat in it. Yeah, but it got up and walked right off the plate I had. Say, who asked you to eat here anyhow if you don't like it? What? and never see your smiling face again. Great kid as them, guys. You'd think they were as tough as they talked and that they meant all that stuff. And Stella, there's a gal for you. All right. She can take it and can dish it out, too. Say, don't I know you? Didn't you used to push a trailer for SNS? Yeah, but I got my own rig now. That's all. How's business? Good, but I sure got to keep hustling. Yeah, I'd rather haul for a big outfit. That gypsy is a rough racket. You're telling me? Haven't seen the misses in two weeks. And I've been all the way from San Antonio to Bangler. What have you been hauling? Oh, everything from potatoes to concrete. Oh, I thought you might have got a load of dresses from some Fifth Avenue shop. I'm always interested in the latest style. Baby, you've got plenty of style without them. Sure. Or all you guys hand me a lot. Then you go off and marry a secretary or a manicurist or something refined like that. Oh, Stella, you know you could never take dictation from nobody. I don't know. I ain't met anyone big enough to try. Stella, when are you going to give me a picture of yourself to pin up in my cab? What do you want to do? Scare the motorcycle cops? I got one of you already. I stole it from the bulletin board in the post office. When are we going dancing, Stella? And get trampled to death by them big flat feet of yours? Not on your life. Hey, I got news for you, kid. Yeah. What? The truckers union has just elected you Miss Flat tire of the year. Yeah, they ought to have their eyes examined. She's right. They ought to have their eyes examined. Yeah, trucking can be a lot of fun sometimes. But there are some rats who chisel in on it, too. The newspapers call them hijackers. I'm rolling along one day and throw a highball at a truck I recognize, but the driver ignores me and I'm going up getting snoody on me, I think. No self-respecting driver brushes off a high side. The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that he ain't even a regular driver, so I head for a phone booth. I was going to call a company the truck belonged to, but figured that would waste time. So, I called the police. I told him I spotted a suspicious truck and gave him a description of it just like they do in the movies. [Music] Ramsey, to all cars, signal 40. I read all about it in the papers the next day. The word was flashed to a patrol car. [Music] And the rat walked into the trap. [Music] They had one of these real mile a minute chases for a while and then a police pull over. I was glad I phoned him. I didn't want to get any innocent people in trouble, but many a good driver has had his skull bashed in by a hijacker's gun butt. [Music] The hijacker thought he could talk his way out of it, but he couldn't stop him from searching the truck. Included in a cargo was an old buddy of mine tied up like a sack of wheat. You wouldn't believe it. But hijackers get away with millions a year and everything from potatoes to pianos. Of course, the papers mention my name, even if they did spell it wrong. Most people think a truck engine is built like an automobile engine. They'd be surprised to know I can shift this baby into a 10 different gears. Going up a grade like this is pretty rough on a mullet. Maybe that's what caused it. [Music] I got to the top all right and then started down. A hill like this calls for low and plenty of brake power. Suddenly, I realized I was picking up speed. I started pumping a foot break and jammed on the emergency. No dice. She wouldn't hold. It's a good thing I didn't know what was ahead at the time. This couldn't happen in a million miles. And yet there I was, tearing down a mountain side with nearly 50,000 lb of dead weight pushing behind me. [Music] I'd been in tough spots before, but this time I was really scared. It took all my strength to hold her on the road. My arms felt like I had just gone 10 rounds with the heavyweight champ. And now he was closing in for the KO punch. [Music] Then I saw the school kids crossing the road. It was me or those kids. And I knew it wasn't going to be those kids. It was neither of us. [Music] Yeah, you run into all kinds of adventure when you drive a truck. You know, sometimes I think the MS is right. I wouldn't dare tell her anybody, but we are sort of knights of the highway. [Music]