OWNER-OPERATOR OFFENDED BY ADVERTISEMENT
Today I was reading the January 2002 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, and I came across an advertisement for Swiss Water Decaf. I was deeply offended by the copy of the ad. The illustration depicts the back of a trailer that reads, “Don’t like my driving? Call 555-7768. Find out I lost my license years ago.”
We are owner-operators of a small trucking company. We, and thousands of other owner-operators on the road, are extremely safety-conscious and courteous drivers who own and operate safe, government-compliant equipment.
I can’t imagine the mentality of the marketing managers who would want to alienate potential customers. I would think they would go for a more positive take on their product by promoting health issues. Instead they slur others’ honest efforts to make a living.
Victoria Lunn
Pasco, Wash.
CELL PHONE AD AN INSULT
I saw the RadioShack advertisement, and as a person involved in the trucking industry, I found this ad very offensive. Four-wheelers usually cut off trucks, and frequently the driver is on a cell phone at the time. I was very insulted by this tabloid-style slam to the trucking industry.
Lynn Strand
Shell Lake, Wis.
DRIVING IS IN HIS BLOOD
I just started driving nine months ago for a company for which my father has driven 30 years. It took me 29 years to realize that driving is in my blood. My 23-year-old brother started driving at 18 and has no regrets. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize I should drive a truck, too.
When I’m driving that truck, I’m in a different world. I know what I have to do: deliver the pipe I have been given to deliver. That is not the hard part; the hard part is dealing with the four-wheelers that think you can stop an 80,000-pound rig on a dime. There have been many times when I thought I wasn’t going to make it home to see my daughter, wife or the sunrise the next day. Because of this, it is very frustrating when I hear that some people think driving one of these machines is easy.
Jim Baney
Evans City, Pa.
