You're driving along the motorway, or more precisely, in one of the road-works. You are of course, also in a hurry, so you use the left lane (in the UK the right lane). As usual, you don't feel very comfortable because the left lane is only approx. 2,35 meters wide. You'll want to quickly nip past the truck, hoping that the driver ahead of you has the same amount of confidence and does not block the lane.

What you're presumably not thinking about, is the truck which is alongside on the right. Because you are accustomed to always being able to stay in your lane, you assume that the truck driver will do the same, even though the ratio of road- to truck width is by no means more generous and, the driver is also sitting further away from what's happening down below. In addition, unlike the motor car driver, he also has no alternative.

This throws only a little light on an occupation, which some simple-minded contemporaries call 'Truckers'. They see only the tattooed, muscle-bound men in gigantic 'long-noses' thundering down a lonely Route 66, living only for freedom and adventure. We would like to attempt to get a bit closer to the real-life situation of truck drivers, at least of those in Europe.

Admittedly, they do have a glorified past, after the war they filled the shelves with groceries and in the event of a breakdown, they repaired their vehicles themselves, sometimes under very difficult conditions. The problems were in fact, mostly punctures and the low power-output of the engines (sometimes even less than 150 hp), which served to add to the romantic aura, but which didn't help them to carry out a swift working routine.

There probably was an interim period, where they really had a fairly good life. There was neither GPS nor telematics or other watchdog systems, perhaps just a bit of CB-radio, to entertain them and to warn each other when the 'money-grubbing' traffic police were on the prowl. Perhaps the wages were still satisfactory and the Iron-Curtain still kept the competition from the east at bay.

Indeed, even at that time, threats were already looming. E.g., the railways, from whom a great number of motorists were expecting, that they would soon take over cargoes from the truck sector and that the strain on the motorways would be noticeably reduced. It worked out however, more the other way around, in fact, the trucks were still carrying 75% of the goods. At times, the road-transport was even considered to be competition for the railways in the field of environmental protection.

Then the haulage industry was indeed caught out. After a number of unsuccessful attempts had been made, the toll on trucks using the motorways, and in the meantime, also the four-lane Bundesstraßen (motorway- like roads), was introduced. Now, apart from the high fuel prices, there were also other expenses per kilometer. Just at the time when the manufacturers had trimmed the prices for new trucks down to a tolerable level. Also the vehicles themselves have become considerably more reliable, excepting the electronics.

In the meantime, the younger people have also discovered that the romantic image doesn't exist. The result is, a clearly sinking acceptance of truck-driving as an occupation, this of course is also corelates with the low birth rates. According to the trade unions, the wages are too low, the companies however, maintain that the competition in the freight transport sector is responsible for this dilemma.

What's left then, are the women, unfortunately, too often seen only as a 'stop-gap' solution for positions that can no longer be filled. After all, todays trucks can be operated almost the same as a motor car, if one disregards the above described motorway road works and certain shunting quirks. Loading and unloading by hand is at most, only required in local transporting. In any event, the number of women who drive trucks is slowly increasing.

Only the accessibility and the checking of the truck drivers will remain, indeed it will, more than likely, be increased. This however, is the general opinion of a great number of employees, who even take the company's worries and problems with them when they go on leave. After all, having the resonsibility for a vehicle which can bring a weight of up to 40 tons onto the scales, can clearly be seen. Perhaps one could convince more young people by inviting them, every now and then, to accompany the driver on his rounds … 08/12