Driver actually likes the unpredictability of trucking
David Montgomery’s first experience with a big rig was driving a friend’s truck bobtail in parking lots.
By BARB KAMPBELL
The Trucker Staff
11/30/2009
The Montgomery file
Drives for: Towns Transportation
How long driving: 14 years
Hauls: General Dry Freight
Birthday: June 30, 1968
Drives: East of the Mississippi mostly
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — David Montgomery knew he liked to drive big trucks so he pursued a job driving one.
While in the Army, Montgomery drove a self-propelled artillery truck. It was big and Montgomery said he enjoyed driving it.
“I had a friend who drove trucks and he let me drive his truck in parking lots bobtail,” Montgomery explained. “I liked that. When I got out of the Army I went home to Alabama. I did find a few jobs, but nothing that made me feel like I wanted to stay. Then I started driving charter coaches.
“Bill Ross was my boss and he gave me a chance to get into driving buses which opened the door to everything else. It gave me a taste of the road. After my son was born I went to truck driving school and hit the road.”
Montgomery’s son is 15 and lives in Alabama.
Drivers have all different reasons for driving a truck long-haul: some like the freedom, some do it for the money, while others say it’s all they know to do. And Montgomery has yet another reason.
“The unpredictability,” he said. “It’s predictable and unpredictable. Every day you know you’re going to be driving and it gets boring and all that but you never know what’s going to happen.
“Like this morning when I woke up, I never knew I was going to be interviewed for a newspaper. I have a love/hate relationship with this job. I love being out on the road. I can’t work in a factory. I can’t see the same people day in and day out. I’d go crazy.
“But I don’t like what I miss out on at home with my son and friends. When I go home it’s like a homecoming almost. I get to be me and not a truck driver. I get to be David and not a truck driver. Not a dumb ass. Most four-wheelers out there think truckers are stupid. We’re not. All the stats say that most wrecks are caused by four-wheelers. The level of ignorance of drivers out here amazes me. Mostly four-wheelers, but I’ve seen some truckers do some stupid things, too. I’ve done some stupid things.”
Montgomery likes to haul loads in the Northwest, the Columbia River area, and the Rocky Mountains. Sometimes he stops to view the scenery. He also loves the American southwest, especially the sunsets.
When it comes to distracted driving, Montgomery has a lot of problems with motorists as well as some truckers.
“Four-wheelers are totally unaware of the trucking industry,” he said. “They don’t see what we see — they don’t understand what we do. I’m guilty of [distracted driving]. If I get a phone call I answer it. I have a headset which minimizes me having a phone and holding it all day. I see a lot of four-wheelers that [are] driving and texting. I see people reading newspapers, texting, yakking, amongst other things. I think that hands-free phones are fine but texting needs to be banned in my opinion. If you’re gonna text somebody, why not just call them and say it?”
The day before we met with Montgomery, it was announced that the Hours of Service rule was going to be reviewed and possibly rewritten by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
“They re-evaluate that thing every year,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with FMCSA. They have to deal with a rowdy bunch, truckers are a rowdy bunch. As for HOS, there’s a way around everything. It’s rare when I drive 11 hours a day. I figure out my runs before I take off. I believe the HOS are there for a reason and I understand it’s there to keep us safe. These hours were brought about by a group of people who’ve never sat behind the wheel of a truck. I could be wrong, but I never heard that there was a truck driver involved in these hours. I’ll be interested to see what it is, if they write a new rule.”
Montgomery said he runs a good logbook and obeys all the HOS rules and tries not to exceed the hours allotted but “everybody fudges on their logbook,” he added. “DOT knows that. They are smart enough to see a mistake can be a mistake. I try to be safe. I learned a lesson not too long ago [when he had a wreck]. I don’t want to do that again.”
So what does he do for fun?
“Play solitaire. Read. I’m a boring person,” Montgomery said. “I love history. I watch DVDs on my portable player. I talk to pretty women. I like my books on disc. I watch people. People are very interesting. I met a woman once at a truck stop who had a big fat rabbit in a crate. It was something you don’t often see.”
The Trucker asked if Montgomery’s son wanted to be a truck driver.
“Thank God no,” he said quickly. And as for Montgomery, he has dreams of a different career.
“I’d like to go back to school to be an EMT,” he said. “My son wants to be a doctor and with his grades he’ll probably do it. I’ve seen so much [injuries] out here and I felt bad that I couldn’t help. Blood doesn’t bother me.”
Montgomery offered some words to other drivers: “Enjoy life, because it could always be worse than what it actually is. I don’t think I’m the sharpest tool in the shed. If people out there could understand that truckers aren’t dumb it would go a long way. Don’t slam on your brakes in front of us. Use common sense and have a little common sense on the road. That’s what I’d say to four-wheelers.
Barb Kampbell of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at barbkampbell@thetrucker.com or visit www.barbkampbell.com to find out about her new book.
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