08/11/2026
I missed my delivery by 47 minutes.
After 28 years of trucking, that was apparently enough for my company to tell me I had a “performance problem.”
My name is Raymond. I’m 61, and I’ve spent nearly three decades hauling freight across the country.
That morning, I had been driving since before sunrise. Traffic had already cost me almost an hour, and when I finally found a truck stop, I had a decision to make.
Keep moving and make the appointment—or stop for a shower and something decent to eat.
I hadn’t showered in five days.
I hadn’t eaten anything except crackers and gas-station coffee since the night before.
So I stopped.
Twenty minutes for a shower. Ten minutes to grab some food. Then I got straight back on the highway.
By the time I reached the receiver, I was 47 minutes late.
Before I even backed into the dock, dispatch was calling.
They wanted to know why I had stopped when they could see I was already behind schedule.
I told them the truth.
“I needed to eat, and I needed a shower.”
There was silence for a few seconds.
Then the dispatcher said something I’ll never forget:
“You could’ve done that after delivery.”
That sentence told me everything I needed to know.
Some people see a truck moving down the interstate and think the driver is just sitting there listening to music and watching the country go by.
They don’t see the missed meals.
They don’t see you searching for parking at midnight.
They don’t see the days without a proper shower or the pressure of watching a delivery clock while traffic isn’t moving.
I eventually left that company.
I still drive, but now I work somewhere that understands something my old company apparently forgot:
There’s a human being behind that steering wheel.
A load can be rescheduled.
Your health and safety aren’t as easy to replace.
