Category: Drivers

Truck stops are a great place to fuel up, grab a bite to eat, use the restroom or simply stretch your legs after sitting behind the wheel for long periods. Because these stops often have bigger lots with roomier parking spaces, they’re easier to get a truck into and out of than other businesses offering the same types of services.

However, just as there are “rules of etiquette” for many of the places that we might visit frequently—such as restaurants and churches—there is also etiquette for truck stops. This etiquette can be split between two categories: truck stop dos and truck stop don’ts.

Truck stop dos

When at a truck stop, drivers should:

• Look out for other drivers. Drivers are part of a brotherhood and sisterhood. Treat them as such. If you’re at a truck stop and see a new driver who seems a bit lost, offer to help them out. If you notice that they are having trouble with their truck, see if you can lend a hand. Extend the same type of courtesy you’d like extended to you if in their shoes.
• Park in a designated spot. If you’re planning on only being inside the store for a few minutes, it can be tempting to find the nearest open space that can accommodate your truck and park there. The problem is that, depending on where the space is, it may be difficult for other drivers to pull in or see around you. Parking in a designated spot helps prevent these types of issues.
• Turn down your music. When you spend all day driving and alone, music can be a good way to help pass the time more pleasurably. But that doesn’t mean that everyone else in the truck stop enjoys the same genre or style of music as you. Turning the volume down when you drive in is a sign of respect, especially for those in the area who may be sensitive to loud noises.
• Turn off your truck. Leaving your truck running can help you keep the cab temperature more comfortable on a hot or cool day. But it can also leave people around you in a cloud of breath-taking fumes. And if your truck is noisy, that’s not fun for them either. When you’re in a busy truck stop or going to be away from your truck for several minutes, be kind to others and turn it off.
• Treat the truck stop as if it was yours. What is meant by this is, if you have garbage, throw it in a dedicated bin. Or maybe it’s not your garbage on the floor, but you take the added effort to stop, pick it up and dispose of it properly. Treating the truck stop as if it was personally yours helps remind you to go the extra mile in keeping it clean. It may even encourage others to do the same.

Truck stop don’ts

What are some things that drivers should not do at a truck stop?

• Park in front of a fuel nozzle. The only exception to this, of course, is if you’re getting fuel. Once your tank is full and you’ve paid for your gas, move the truck to a parking space if you plan to go inside. This frees up the nozzle for others who also want or need to fill their vehicles.
• Play “biggest truck wins.” Maybe you do have the biggest truck at the stop. This doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want, and all the other drivers must deal with it or go out of their way to make room for you. Stay courteous to others always, even if your truck could crush theirs.
• Be a follower of poor etiquette practices. It can be easy to let your truck stop etiquette slide, especially if you see other drivers doing the same. Instead of following their poor practices and developing an attitude of “it is what it is,” strive to be a leader instead. Be the person who will do their part—even if no one else does. Maybe your actions will rub off on them, compelling them to do their part as well.

Want more lifestyle tips while being on the road? Check out our lifestyle content library here.

In a study involving 65,533 heavy vehicle drivers, more than one in four (26.8%) had some level of hearing loss. This means having a harder time hearing your loved ones, co-workers, the television, and more.

It also highlights the importance of protecting your ears if you drive trucks for a living, and these tips can help.

Keep your windows rolled up

In the study mentioned above, researchers noted that the drivers’ hearing loss was more prevalent in their left ear than in the right. It was suggested that this was potentially due to regularly having the left window down to get fresh air, which allows more noise to drift into the truck’s cab—including the noise that is created by the wind.

To stop this from happening to you, keep your windows rolled up as much as you can. What you lose in terms of fresh air, you gain in the ability to better hear the world around you. This is critical since many forms of hearing loss cannot be reversed.

Turn the radio down

When you’re driving by yourself all day, it can be tempting to turn on your favorite music and crank the sound up. Over time, this loud noise can damage the cells and membrane in your cochlea, which is the spiral bone in the inner ear. As long as the exposure to loud music continues, your hearing loss will continue to progress according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While driving for work, keep your radio or music app to reasonable sound levels. You may even decide to turn the music off completely every now and then. Not only does this give your ears a break, but it also gives you time to think, which isn’t a bad thing.

Invest in a carbon monoxide detector for your truck

One study found that when noise levels are above 90 decibels and you are exposed to carbon monoxide repeatedly over time (which many truck drivers are), you have significantly poorer hearing thresholds at higher frequencies. One explanation for this is that carbon monoxide exposure reduces oxygen in the blood, which increases the deterioration of inner ear sensory cells.

Invest in a carbon monoxide detector that you can keep in your cab. This enables you to know when levels are getting too high. If you get headaches, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting, these are additional signs.

It’s also helpful to always park in areas where your truck has adequate ventilation. Also, do regular exhaust system checks to spot any issues before they have the opportunity to harm your health.

Get regular hearing exams

Sometimes the person with hearing loss is the last to know. If hearing deteriorates slowly over time, you may be accustomed to not hearing clearly. You don’t know what you’re missing out on because it’s not a sudden shift. Getting regular hearing exams can help identify issues in their early stages.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association indicates that there is no consensus as to how often adults should be screened for hearing issues. This is because the frequency of exams depends on several factors, including the person’s age, whether you have any other health issues, if you have a higher risk of hearing loss (such as being exposed to louder noises) and your access to regular screenings.

To help you understand whether you may need a hearing test, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders offers a convenient online test. This test is designed for people aged 18 to 64 and consists of 10 yes or no questions.

If you answer yes to three or more these questions, it is suggested that you see an ear, nose, and throat specialist, also known as an otolaryngologist, to get your hearing tested.

Need other tips on what you should be regularly checking? We’ve got plenty of tips on protecting your eyes, hands, back, shoulder, and knees.