{"id":722,"date":"2020-03-15T17:45:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T17:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/?p=722"},"modified":"2020-03-15T22:50:45","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T22:50:45","slug":"covid-19-one-drivers-tale-of-caution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hiremaster.com\/trucking-news\/health\/2020\/03\/15\/covid-19-one-drivers-tale-of-caution\/722\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: One Driver’s Tale of Caution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Al Muskewitz
<\/strong> 
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\u2019t help feeling uneasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHITE<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s minds these days \u2013 the COVID-19 coronavirus.
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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.
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The route he runs as an independent contractor for TLD Logistics Services takes him into two of the most affected cities in the country \u2013 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.
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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.
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As White makes his way around the country call him cautious, but prepared for the worse. He conceded he wouldn\u2019t have been as \u201chyper-vigilant\u201d had he not been going to the Seattle area. The day he was pulling into town he posted this message on his Facebook page:\u00a0I am delivering in Seattle today. Say a prayer for me.<\/em>
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\u201cThe government has no idea how many people have the virus because the testing is not available to anybody who wants it,\u201d White said as he continued on his route towards Portland, Ore. \u201cIt\u2019s only available to people they are almost absolutely sure have it and then they test them. Well, that\u2019s no way to stop the disease, so if you get into an area where there\u2019s a known outbreak, a significant outbreak, like Omaha or Seattle, you\u2019ve got to assume everything you touch is going to make you sick if you\u2019re not careful; that\u2019s the way I look at.\u201d
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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. \u201cThere\u2019s a significant difference in the traffic up here, or at least there was at 7:30 this morning,\u201d he said.
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Despite the warnings and guidance from health professionals White, 63 with some risk factors, he has been surprised at the number of people he\u2019s encountered who remain skeptical in the face of the crises.\u00a0He never did buy the idea COVID-19 wasn\u2019t something to worry about.
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Two weeks ago he suggested to his wife it might be a good idea to start preparing in the event they\u2019d 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 \u2013 unless they were part of his load \u2013 four bottles of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, baby wipes and latex gloves.
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\u201cI\u2019m not a germophobe, but I don\u2019t want to die,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t afford to take the chance of getting this virus.\u201d
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He\u2019s 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.
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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.
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The impact on American sports has gotten the country’s attention, particularly as it takes place at the conjunction of so many major events.
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\u201cI\u2019m an Arkansas Razorbacks fan and for the first year in many years we had a shot at the tournament,\u201d said White, a sports broadcaster in a previous professional life. \u201cOn 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\u2019re the champions of the SEC.
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\u201cBut 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\u2019s not worth a human life; it\u2019s just not. And even if none of the kids die from it, they\u2019ll infect their parents and their grandparents and everybody else. It makes common sense to me (to cancel).\u201d
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White wouldn\u2019t speculate on the long-term impact the virus could have on the trucking business, but he doesn\u2019t see it completely shutting down interstate commerce. He hasn\u2019t heard of any drivers who\u2019ve 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\u2019t have that option.
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\u201cI think if it got to that point I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d keep driving,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it\u2019s to a point I\u2019m afraid to go somewhere I might as well stay home.
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\u201cThe first thing they tell you is not to travel, but you can\u2019t make a living if you don\u2019t do that. You\u2019ve got to decide whether or not you feel comfort doing that; it\u2019s everyone\u2019s choice. I think there is a risk involved. If I\u2019m 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.
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\u201cIf we get to a point where it\u2019s that bad, I will stop driving. As it is now, I\u2019m going to keep driving and take precautions and see if we can wait it out. I\u2019m prepared for the worse, but I\u2019m optimistic.\u201d

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)<\/em>

Al Muskewitz is Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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