Truly nothing brings out society's best and brightest like National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, when everyone from top Biden Administration officials to trucking-adjacent charities and nonprofits, mega fleets and shippers pours their hearts and generosity out on the professional driver.
But, according to recent Overdrive polling, an outright majority of drivers don't care.
To be sure, there was plenty of real deals, charity work, and heartfelt thanks to go around the week of September 10 (FMCSA even has a specific day, September 14, for commercial drivers). Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, met with the American Trucking Associations and other industry big wigs to announce $80 million for truck parking in South Dakota. That's real money going towards a real need -- parking.
"The food you ate for breakfast, the clothes you’re wearing, the device you’re using to read this -- most likely all reached you thanks to truck drivers. Happy #TruckDriverAppreciationWeek," tweeted Buttigieg.
One could get the sense that through this special week of the year, people outside the trucking world feel like they get to connect with something "real" -- the logistical underpinnings and the hard work that makes white-collar life easy enough.
But for those actually behind the steering wheel, another set of very "real" factors obscures the shows of appreciation, and can make the whole affair seem, frankly, fake.
The above graph shows that about 18% of drivers take the week for what it is, a chance to elevate truck drivers in the eyes of the public. With trucks so often seen as rolling dollar signs to billboard lawyers, tow truck companies and anyone with space to park, this represents an important and worthwhile mission.
