We angled north on Interstate 76 until we picked up Interstate 80 in Nebraska. I was driving as we crossed what has to be one of the flattest stretches of land on the planet. Here or there a small pond, a rare tree now and then and miles of farmland. Mike’s chin would fall to his chest every few miles as he dozed off while reading a book. Ever the trainer though he did not drop his guard.
We had been trained in Schneider’s driving school in something called the Smith System of driving. It consisted of several key points that were considered critical to the safe operation of an 18 wheeler. We repeated each point over and over until they became second nature. One of them was that we were to check the mirrors, the one on the left side of the truck and the one on the right side, every 4 to 6 seconds. The theory being that if we knew what was going on around the truck at all times we could act instinctively without having to look in the mirror before taking action.
In the boredom of driving in a straight line over endless miles of flat road I would get lazy. Thinking Mike was half asleep I would fudge a little and check the mirrors maybe every 8 to 10 seconds. He may have been half asleep but the other half was wide awake. In no uncertain terms I was lectured that these rules were for our own good and could very well save our life and others. Understood.
We motored through Omaha in the dark, my wife’s birthplace and home of many of her relatives, and on into Iowa where we stopped at one of the company yards. Schneider is one of those companies that are big enough to have their own truck stops. Here you can refuel at favorable rates, shower, take a nap, stretch your legs or watch a movie. With their emphasis on safety you can have repairs and service done 24/7. Just pull your rig into a bay, tell them what you need, and it is fixed instantly.
Feeling refreshed, we hit the road. Somewhere in Iowa during the night we encountered a construction zone. In the states that have severe winter weather, they do their highway construction work in the summer. It is not unusual to have up to 25 miles of one lane driving because the other lane is closed. That is normally not a big deal but when you are driving a Schneider truck, it is. You see, the company has a policy of every truck being restricted, by governor, to a maximum of 55 miles per hour. This can be rather problematic when setting out on a stretch of 25 miles of one lane road.
As you enter that stretch the cars and trucks in front of you are soon long gone. Behind you is another matter. Since it is the middle of the night those behind you are primarily truckers. As the miles go by their numbers are increasing. As we ambled along at 55 mph I envisioned countless disgruntled truckers trailing along in our wake. All of them have CB’s of course and the grumbling starts. Mind you these are guys and gals that would normally be barreling along at 70 plus miles per hour.
In the darkness of our cab a voice comes over the CB “Another Schneider student driver”. I don’t believe I mentioned it but Mike has a very, very short fuse. He is also about 6 feet 4 inches and 240 pounds of ex-Ohio State linebacker. Mike takes great pride in his company and their safety record and is protective of his trainees. Mike responds “Hey *** hole, you got a problem”. A very heated discussion ensues culminating with Mike letting the other trucker know that we would be pulling off at the first off ramp and we would wait for him and upon his arrival he would beat the living **** out of him. The response came back “I’ll be there”.
Right at the end of the construction zone there was an off ramp with a gas station on the corner. We pulled into the lot. Mike got out, walked around to the back of the truck and waited. We watched as truck after truck passed by. Seemingly every truck within 5 states passed, but none stopped. Mike cooled down, and then laughed. We got back in the truck and took off.
On to Chicago.
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