Editorial: Appreciating Our Unsung Heroes Behind the Wheel

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hile most of the globe’s denizens hail the victors in the arenas of Athens this week, those who read this page are also mindful of heroes of another sort — those who ply their skills and abilities on the quieter stage of daily commerce.

Last week’s driving championships honored those who tested their trucking skills against others who are the best in the nation, drivers whose ability makes our highways safer and keeps our commerce moving.

Not enough medals, not enough recognition, not enough rewards are granted to the American truck driver.

Hauling freight is a far more anonymous pursuit than heaving balls through a hoop, balancing on a beam, aiming a thrust or tearing through wind or water. The job we speak of tends to be a solitary pursuit — far from a limelight, far from huzzahs — and that’s the way most of those who post themselves behind the wheel would prefer it.

There is poetry in driving long haul as a way of life. Yes, truck driving is a business, but the lure of the open road does not fade. And the opportunities to be someone’s hero in a big rig remain boundless.

A driver plays a far greater stake in the lives of others on any day than the storied athlete in a moment of triumph. To the triumphant in Olympic games come glory and riches. But how does the athlete’s finest action save a life when the chips are down? What about reverence for the wisdom it takes to prevent an accident when those about you are careless of maneuver, thoughtless of consequences?

What about recognizing in the public arena those who save a life at the side of the road, or those who simply rescue the less fortunate?

What about honoring those who bring valuable loads home on time despite hardship and setback? Why in the absence of glory is the driver too often overlooked with regard to the simple dignities due a professional, let alone a hero?

Quiet deeds merit their own rewards, felt in the heart. No stadium roar is necessary. But honor should always be met with honor.

We know who our heroes are.

And we glimpse poetry behind the wheel. Sunrise on the Great Plains of Kansas, a perfect fall afternoon in the Adirondacks, dusk on the Sonoran desert, the bayous of Louisiana’s Houma peninsula, the Aurora Borealis outside Calgary, the lights of Manhattan from the George Washington Bridge are a kind of payoff that few out of millions will savor in a lifetime.

There is reason to drive on.

This story appeared in the Aug. 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.