COVID-19: One Driver’s Tale of Caution

By Al Muskewitz
 
Buddy White was on his way to the Pacific Northwest earlier this week with his usual load of meat for a major food processor and he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

It had nothing to do with his truck, which as an owner-operator is always in pristine condition, or the timetable for the delivery. It was all about those no-see-ems that is on everyone’s minds these days – the COVID-19 coronavirus.
 
As one of the two million professional truck drivers crisscrossing the country bringing the goods and raw materials Americans use every day, White gets into more places in the country than most. And that means more opportunity for exposure to the bug that has the entire world on edge.
 
The route he runs as an independent contractor for TLD Logistics Services takes him into two of the most affected cities in the country – Omaha, his home base, and Seattle. A long-term care center in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland is considered the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak and 31 deaths attributed to the virus have occurred in the state. Stricken passengers from the ill-fated Diamond Princess cruise ship were evacuated to Omaha.
 
Since then, cases of the virus have been reported in almost every state in the county, prompting a wave of school and event cancelations and impacting virtually every aspect of American life.
 
As White makes his way around the country call him cautious, but prepared for the worse. He conceded he wouldn’t have been as “hyper-vigilant” had he not been going to the Seattle area. The day he was pulling into town he posted this message on his Facebook page: I am delivering in Seattle today. Say a prayer for me.
 
“The government has no idea how many people have the virus because the testing is not available to anybody who wants it,” White said as he continued on his route towards Portland, Ore. “It’s only available to people they are almost absolutely sure have it and then they test them. Well, that’s no way to stop the disease, so if you get into an area where there’s a known outbreak, a significant outbreak, like Omaha or Seattle, you’ve got to assume everything you touch is going to make you sick if you’re not careful; that’s the way I look at.”
 
White has seen the fallout of the virus firsthand. Normally he drives into Seattle, a city with one of the top 50 truck bottlenecks in the country, crawling at 15 mph in bumper-to-bumper traffic. On this day, he was breezing through at 60 during the morning rush hour. “There’s a significant difference in the traffic up here, or at least there was at 7:30 this morning,” he said.
 
Despite the warnings and guidance from health professionals White, 63 with some risk factors, he has been surprised at the number of people he’s encountered who remain skeptical in the face of the crises. He never did buy the idea COVID-19 wasn’t something to worry about.
 
Two weeks ago he suggested to his wife it might be a good idea to start preparing in the event they’d get stuck at their Arkansas house for an extended period of time. To that end he has started putting put items in the truck he never used to carry – unless they were part of his load – four bottles of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, baby wipes and latex gloves.
 
“I’m not a germophobe, but I don’t want to die,” he said. “I can’t afford to take the chance of getting this virus.”
 
He’s developing a bunch of new habits. He uses hand sanitizer each time he gets back in the truck or handles money. He regularly wipes down the surfaces in the cab. He carries about 20 pens in a sandwich bag for all the places that require a signature upon arrival and stockpiles about 20 pre-prepared meals to avoid food service lines.
 
One of the recommendations is to avoid touching your face, which he admits can be a challenge, especially for a man with a considerable beard.

In an effort to curb the spread of the virus, schools and businesses across the country have been closed. Professional sports leagues and major sporting events such as the Masters and the NCAA Tournament have suspended, postponed or canceled altogether. Just recently a player from the NBA Detroit Pistons tested positive for the virus a week after playing against the Utah Jazz that had two players test positive.
 
The impact on American sports has gotten the country’s attention, particularly as it takes place at the conjunction of so many major events.
 
“I’m an Arkansas Razorbacks fan and for the first year in many years we had a shot at the tournament,” said White, a sports broadcaster in a previous professional life. “On the upside we feel we won the (Southeastern Conference) because we played the last game (before the tournament was canceled) and we won it (beating Vanderbilt 86-73). We’re the champions of the SEC.
 
“But on the other hand it is a contact sport. You are going to touch other people. If one of those kids is sick, he could infect who knows how many people. It’s not worth a human life; it’s just not. And even if none of the kids die from it, they’ll infect their parents and their grandparents and everybody else. It makes common sense to me (to cancel).”
 
White wouldn’t speculate on the long-term impact the virus could have on the trucking business, but he doesn’t see it completely shutting down interstate commerce. He hasn’t heard of any drivers who’ve pulled off the road until the virus passes, but he is prepared for that possibility in the event he has to take time off. Luckily, as an owner-operator, he decides where the truck goes so he can minimize his risk, but company drivers don’t have that option.
 
“I think if it got to that point I don’t know if I’d keep driving,” he said. “If it’s to a point I’m afraid to go somewhere I might as well stay home.
 
“The first thing they tell you is not to travel, but you can’t make a living if you don’t do that. You’ve got to decide whether or not you feel comfort doing that; it’s everyone’s choice. I think there is a risk involved. If I’m careful maybe I can avoid it, but I am certain I will come across somebody in my travels who has it. I just have to be prepared when I meet them.
 
“If we get to a point where it’s that bad, I will stop driving. As it is now, I’m going to keep driving and take precautions and see if we can wait it out. I’m prepared for the worse, but I’m optimistic.”

Cover photo: The view through Buddy White’s windshield as he heads into Seattle during the morning rush hour. The impact of COVID-19 in the region has reduced traffic at the busiest of times. (Photo courtesy of Buddy White)

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com