Dare to Ask: Southern kings of the road

By PHILLIP MILANO, The Times-Union

Question

Why are the vast majority of over-the-road truckers from the South? Is there anything in particular about this occupation that appeals to Southerners?

Dave, Las Cruces, N.M.

Replies

The Southern ports of Houston, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Savannah and Tampa account for well over 50 percent of the marine container imports and exports in the United States. Container shipment drives the trucking market, so having Southern bases of operations for the long haul trucking industry is an advantage.

Steve, 44, corporate cubicle guy, Houston

Not just the ports, in southern Louisiana we have bountiful oil in the Gulf. My husband makes his living hauling this oil field equipment, sometimes across the country. In addition, because trucking jobs are relatively plentiful and require little education, it's easy to be a truck driver. The South is not known for its educational system, especially Louisiana. The really ambitious ones don't work for someone else - they own their own truck(s) and become business owners as well, as is the case with our family.

Ruth, 34, New Orleans

Expert says

That's a big affirmative: The South rules when it comes to drivers of Big Rigs, and we ain't whistlin' Dixie. We got the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to back us up, nodamene?

Of America's 1.7 million "Heavy and Tractor-Trailer" truck drivers, a full third come from Southern states. The next-closest region is the Midwest, which accounts for about a fourth of all trucker dudes and dudettes hittin' the hammer lane.

Those non-18-wheeler-driving wimps in the Northeast? Ha! Only 19 percent of all truckers come from that long-hauler-deficient region of our great country.

Truckers make an average of about 37,600 green stamps a year, though that amount can vary widely depending on how much they drive.

The prospect of decent money amid fewer job opportunities is a big lure for Southerners when it comes to trucking, said Demos Gallender, who's interviewed hundreds of truckers for his upcoming CD and book Trucker Yarns (www.truckeryarns.com), which will chronicle driver tales under the pen name Diesel R. Wheeler.

"In my opinion, it's based on options - the more options you have, the less you go into trucking. And many Southern communities, in rural areas, have more limited job options," he said. "Psychologically, it's an instant reward . . . they can go into a training school and sometimes within a month you're getting a paycheck."

Once they're in it, they often stay in it, either because they get in debt and "get stuck," or because they simply like the independence, Gallender said.

"They call their own shots, make good money, and, let's face it, they're the biggest thing on the road, so there's a sense of power and authority. With some truckers, there can be a mentality of 'me against them,' '18-wheeler against 4-wheeler.' So it's something to jangle your chain . . . that's just my opinion."

And we preeshaydit, good neighbor.

Phillip Milano, author of I Can't Believe You Asked That! (Perigee), moderates cross-cultural dialogue at Y? The National Forum on People's Differences. Visit www.yforum.com to submit questions and answers. Send general column comments to phillip.milano@jacksonville.com. You can also hear his podcasts or watch his TV spots.