It’s the beginning of a new school year, and I’ve been reminiscing about so many of the enjoyable experiences I’ve had visiting schools. Tops among them: Being invited to the schools with my truck and trailer, meeting with students, teachers, sometimes parents while teaching safety programs. Beyond safety, though, these events offered opportunities to share my life’s experiences and to hear others’ stories of sharing the roadways.
Those were among the best parts, on a personal level.
On a public relations level, too.
These events broke down whatever barriers may have existed between all of us. We’re all users of public roadways, after all.
I tried to dispel the popular notion that it’s all large trucks v. four-wheelers in a battle for highway dominance by always contextualizing the person behind the wheel or in the passenger seat — we share the highways with people, not just cars and trucks. I was often enough helped along in this by the children in attendance who had parents or other family members who were truck drivers. Others might offer stories of an accident involving injury or death – those can be instructive, too, though it’s equally important to tread lightly and listen, recognize the pain involved.
And while the goal of most of these visits was to encourage safe driving, standing in front of each of these individuals made me work more directly toward the same for myself. If I’m going to talk the talk, as the old saying goes, I’d better walk the walk.
I think we all like it when a child pumps their arm to try and get us to blow the air horn. It’s that little moment of receiving recognition. And I remember visits with the younger children at grade schools as the most enjoyable of all those I made. All these visits I shared with my little traveling partner, Scarydog, who just seemed to love and greet everyone who came to visit.
