How do foreign truck drivers navigate the complex cultural landscape of the U.S. trucking industry? Today’s episode grapples with this question head-on, offering an honest look into the lives of international drivers like an Australian trucker anxious about fitting in. I discuss how respectful communication on the CB radio and adherence to local driving regulations can bridge the gap between foreign and domestic drivers. By sharing real-life stories, I underscore the importance of mutual understanding and adaptation to promote harmony and camaraderie on the road.
In our next segment, we confront the sensitive issues of cultural differences and perceived racism within the trucking community. Through personal anecdotes and insights, I illustrate how misunderstandings and broader frustrations often masquerade as racism, highlighting the need for clearer communication and respect. By shedding light on the experiences of various communities, I aim to foster a more inclusive and cohesive environment. Tune in to discover how cultural assimilation and awareness can enhance safety and unity for all drivers on the road.
How do foreign truck drivers navigate the complex cultural landscape of the U.S. trucking industry? Today’s episode grapples with this question head-on, offering an honest look into the lives of international drivers like an Australian trucker anxious about fitting in. I discuss how respectful communication on the CB radio and adherence to local driving regulations can bridge the gap between foreign and domestic drivers. By sharing real-life stories, I underscore the importance of mutual understanding and adaptation to promote harmony and camaraderie on the road.
In our next segment, we confront the sensitive issues of cultural differences and perceived racism within the trucking community. Through personal anecdotes and insights, I illustrate how misunderstandings and broader frustrations often masquerade as racism, highlighting the need for clearer communication and respect. By shedding light on the experiences of various communities, I aim to foster a more inclusive and cohesive environment. Tune in to discover how cultural assimilation and awareness can enhance safety and unity for all drivers on the road.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. This 40-year veteran is here for anyone wanting to stay up to date with the trucking world. Grab your coffee, hop on board and let's get on down the road with Walter Gatlin.
Speaker 2:
Hello drivers and welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. I am your host, walter Gannon. I appreciate you folks listening to and or downloading my podcast. You can visit all the links down below in the description, including Rollin18Podcastcom. Now, last week I forgot to mention what you need to do to win that Waylon Jennings album I was talking about on my last episode, about that message from Shooter Jennings. So all you have to do is go ahead down to my link here at roland18podcastcom. Put in the comments section, okay, the word GOAT G-O-A-T. Greatest of all time. That's all you have to do is put GOAT. If you cannot find the comments section some people say they can't go to my Facebook page at Roland18podcast Go ahead and type in GOAT on whichever comment you want. I'll see it pop up that you comment a GOAT. You will automatically be entered into the drawing to win an original 1979 Greatest Hits Waylon album, and it's going to be remarkable, it's going to be fun. One of you folks out there, one of you drivers, are going to end up with a really nice, awesome Waylon Jennings Greatest Hits album from 1979. So be sure and do that.
Speaker 2:
Today's story is going to be about foreign drivers and I'm going to get some flack over this, but I'm going to be nice about it too, because I know reality and I know what I see on the road. I also know what I hear on the CB and I know what I read online. I don't believe a lot of people are understanding the message and it's probably because of the way people communicate, with anger and stuff like that, and it doesn't make any sense. I've always tried to explain to all drivers when you communicate on the CB, don't use anger, don't start calling people names, because if you've run out of answer to a topic, it means you've lost the argument. So rather than look like a fool and just spew out all this profanity and everything else in order to try and get your point across, you've lost the argument. Don't do it.
Speaker 2:
You know, out of all the complaints and things about foreign drivers, it comes down to one simple thing culture. There is a culture difference in every single country. A lot of countries are almost alike, but there is going to be some differences, no matter where you go. Driving is one of them. Commercial drivers from a different country are going to act differently in our country. It is best as a foreigner when you come into a different country, and I would do the same if I went to anywhere else to drive. You need to conform to the way we do things here. It's the best way.
Speaker 2:
Our DOT, our FMCSA, all of our people, our ATA, all of them have done so much hard work in the last 50 years to make sure that we get things done in a manner that is the safest possible. To make sure that we get things done in a manner that is the safest possible and that includes our roads, our signs, the attitude we give out to other people, the amount of police forces we have out there state patrol that pull people over and explain to them what they've done wrong, write them tickets, things like that. But the one story that caught my attention the most was an Aussie and he had put up a notice on February 4th. He says I am an Aussie who is keen to do truck driving in the USA, but I see some posts on this site and others on the internet where US truckers don't appear to be too happy about foreign people working in the industry. Not saying this is the norm, but I have seen some posts where people don't seem too happy about foreigners etc.
Speaker 2:
I'm just wondering if I were to obtain a job amongst you guys, would I be ostracized or shunned by the trucking community? Now that seems a little contradictive on itself, the statement itself, because he says but I have seen some posts Not saying it's the norm, but I have seen some posts. So then he goes on to say if I were to obtain a job amongst you guys, would I be ostracized? But he didn't say by few or by most, he just kind of put everybody in the same basket. Well, it's a silly question, because if you notice that most people are accepting to foreign drivers and only the few make contradictive or snide remarks against foreign drivers, then why would you throw everybody in the same basket when you ask the question? I'm just wondering if I were to obtain a job amongst you guys, would I be ostracized or shunned by the trucking community? And the statement is as a whole words are very important, communication is very important and the fact is no, you wouldn't be ostracized by most people. There would be a few out there that don't care about your driving habits, because I'm sure your driving habits are going to be a little different than America's.
Speaker 2:
But if you come into an American trucking industry and you drive in America and you get taught by Americans, even if you don't, I know, you have to get certified before you can drive. No matter where you've had a license in the world, you have to conform to our licensing practices. Then you can say to yourself okay, here's what they're teaching me. This is different than the way we do it. We don't have to stop at stop signs, we don't have to use our blinker when we make a lane change. I'm just going to do it the way I've normally done it, or you can, you know, conform to the way we do things here and not piss people off.
Speaker 2:
That would be a good thing and, like any decent minded human being, if I were to go to another country, let's say and I didn't know their driving practices, regardless of what they taught me in their school and then I got my CDL or whatever they call it in other countries. Then I get on the road, I'm going to drive slower than everybody else, I'm going to pay attention, I'm going to see what they get away with, I'm going to see what they do, I'm going to see what's acceptable, I'm going to see what's not acceptable and I'm going to conform to their way of life, their country's laws and things like that, ladies and gentlemen. It's that simple. Now just to look at somebody and say, oh, they got a turban on or they got a picture of a guy, a Habib, out there on the side of his truck with a machine gun, that's crazy. Okay, it's their lifestyle, ladies and gentlemen. They were raised that way and they will conform over to America. But it takes time, especially if they're going to live the rest of their life here. It takes time to realize that we do things differently. I'm not saying they're going to change their religion, but I am saying that they will conform to our ways.
Speaker 2:
But if I was in another country, I would drive slow, I would watch what other people do. I would find out what's acceptable, what's not acceptable. I would conform to their driving standards. That way they're happy and I'm happy. Now there's going to be the few who take one look at me and say, oh my God, he is pasty white. That is a foreigner from America, or from Europe, or from England, you know. Maybe he lived in the castle, who knows? Oh, I hate that guy. That's the way everybody does it around the world. It's not just an American thing, it's an everywhere you go thing If you're not exactly the same tone of color. There's going to be people that hate you right off the bat. It's normal.
Speaker 2:
And a lot of people use the word racism you know they love throwing that word out the racism card. That's not the case. To most cases, people aren't really looking at color. What people are looking at there's a person that's different. They're going to do things differently and we need to teach them the right way to do things. Or they're going to think out of straight out of the box and say that person's a foreigner. I hate them. I wish to God they weren't on the road and then they're probably going to make up stuff and post it on Facebook and make everybody else look stupid, make all the white guy, all the brown guys and the black guys hate the white guys or vice versa. It's stupid and we all know it's stupid.
Speaker 2:
And racism is an example of a very few amount of people in the world who want to live around their own color, who want to. You know I talked to a black woman not too long ago about her experiences with truck drivers because she never drove a truck and she was asking me if she got into the. You know she just asked me a bunch of questions and she said I have been in communities where I'm not black enough and they shunned me. I have been in communities where I'm not white enough and they shunned me. And she happens to be a black woman married to a white man and they have wonderful children together. And the whole thing is, yeah, there is racism out there. There's people that hate on people because they don't mow their lawn the right death. You know HOA people. You know what I'm saying? People that live in a community where other people get to tell you how to have your house.
Speaker 2:
Ladies and gentlemen, it happens all over the place, but you can't use a racism card because 99.9% of the time, it has nothing to do with your color. It has everything to do with your culture, your attitude, the way you do things. People don't like it, people do like it, vice versa. Same thing with driving, with driving truck. Now I would recommend that when foreigners do come in from a different country and they are licensed to drive in america whether they're going to stay for a long time or they're just on a work permit to help us out, whatever that they should be confronted with this and get rid of the woke bs and just say look, we have a different culture here. There's going to be people that are going to say things that may or may not upset you, but this is the way we do things here and you have to do it this way. They need to reiterate that, they need to explain to them. This is the way we do things.
Speaker 2:
We don't poop in the parking lot. You don't sit on the fuel island for 30, 40, 50 minutes. You don't do a lot of things that they do out there on the road. That makes it dangerous from everybody and you know they have a culture of blocking people when they go to pass them. You know you'll come up on a slow truck and they'll shoot over in the left lane just before you're about to pass. That must be something in another country that you know. They must hate each other to do something like that. We don't do that in America. No, we see a truck coming up, even if we're coming up on another truck, we back it down a little bit because the timing was just off on our part and we wait because we know we're slower than that truck. We wait, we let him fly by, we scoot over and we pass that other truck or vehicle, whichever one, you're stuck behind.
Speaker 2:
The whole point I'm trying to get across here. All you drivers need to take racism out of the mix, because this day and age, it's not about color anymore, it's about perspective. It's about people being angry because their taxes are too high. It's about people being angry because they got locked into a lease deal with a company and got screwed royally, which I'm going to do a story on, probably within the next few podcasts. There's a lot of reason why drivers are unhappy out there, and a lot of it has to do with the mentality. They're out on the road, they're being stuck at shippers and receivers, they're having trouble with the company they work for. They're just not happy people. And then everybody calls it racism. It's just pure stupidity. Foreign drivers, listen to me. This is America.
Speaker 2:
We've been doing things in the trucking business for a long time. We've been doing things the right way for the most part, and we're trying to even make things better today, and that's what we do every single day. We strive to make things easier and better, whether it's shipping, receiving, everything that happens in between, with the fueling, with the driving, with the being stable on the road, making sure you make point A to point B and stay alive doing it. Keep your truck in one piece, keep your trailer in one piece, keep your job, be happy with yourself while you're away from your family. That's the whole point. Doesn't matter if you're a foreigner or not when it comes to that kind of stuff. We can all learn together and we can all realize that if we communicate and here I go again, get yourself a damn CB If we communicate on a authentic and professional level, we would have more information than we ever knew what to do with and we would be a lot happier as a people, as a commercial truck driver.
Speaker 2:
Truck driving is the largest industry in the world. As I say a million times, let's start acting like it. There's going to be culture differences, no matter what we do or where we go, because there's always going to be different people. The thing of it is driving needs to be identical, that driving habits need to be identical, and we need to realize that Safety is number one. Number two is your happiness and being out there on the road because you are being pulled away from your family to do a job that you love.
Speaker 2:
We have a guilt factor. I'm out here, away from my family and they're having to do things on their own and I'm out here on the road for a week or two weeks or three weeks at a time. That's a big factor. We're going to do things on their own and I'm out here on the road for a week or two weeks or three weeks at a time. That's a big factor. We're going to do a podcast on being away from your kids too, and what happens to certain kids when they grow up having that distance away from their father or their mother or both, and that's very important too. You know, it's like raising a child and having to work two jobs, or both parents having to work and the kids having to go to daycare. You know, you don't know which daycare you can trust. There's a lot of good ones out there. Most of them are excellent, but you have the few that are going to ruin your children and it's going to ruin your life, especially when they become adults, because they're going to distance themselves from you.
Speaker 2:
But as far as foreign drivers go, we've got this. We have compassion, we have understanding, we have the freedom, we have the tools to understand what we can do, to work together. We have the tools to be a very professional industry and we can all be rose up by four-wheelers once again. If we just act professional and they will look up to us again, we will be rose up and we will be the greatest thing in the world. It's sliced bread like we were back in the 70s, 80s and part of the 90s. Truck drivers were revered. We're still pulling 40 tons down the road. We're still responsible to keep people safe. We're still responsible to do the right thing. And just because we put foreigners in the mix which they've been in the mix since the beginning of time, it's just all of a sudden we have a few more karens out there than we did in the past.
Speaker 2:
Foreigners understand what we do. Get on the ball, conform to what we do in america. A lot more people will be happy. All you drivers out there that aren't foreigners realize that they need to be taught. We need to be taught. We all can learn together and instead of throwing all out all this vile stuff, let's just work together. Okay, you guys, don't do not forget to comment the word goat. In a couple of weeks I'm going to pick out a winner and I'm going to mail somebody a 1979 waylon jennings greatest hits album. You're going to be very happy, as always. God bless safe and keep it between the lines. Driver.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Please visit my website at mediaiowacom or the podcast page at roland18podcastcom.