A trucker who hauls horses recently took to Facebook to warn other drivers about lining up behind a horse trailer stopped at the fuel island.
“Public Service message: These are horse transport trailers,” trucker Dean wrote on the Facebook page Trucker Feed. “If you see one at the fuel island, and if you have a choice, don’t line up behind one. We do more than just fuel, and go. Often we have to water, and feed along the way.”
“The fuel island is usually the only place to find water on the road,” he continued. “So 10 buckets means drag out our hose, open all the doors, and do what you have to do. I often feel bad for the driver behind me who had the misfortune of not knowing what my job entails. Usually it’s not a problem, but fore knowledge is better than hind sight especially if you’re in a hurry.”
Drivers then took to the comments to either thank the poster for his tip, criticize him for his strategy, or even debate whether horses should drink the water from the fuel island.
“Facts!! Appreciate the post driver,” wrote one commenter.
“I used to haul a lot of horses and this is wrong. You go find parking, you don’t block the fuel island,” wrote a second.
“We’re good with what you’re doing, of course, carry on driver!But hope you pick it up a step when it’s a busy place. We all got places to be people to see. It’s a fuel island, not a 4H club stop,” added a third.
“Wow this little experiment has been fun,” Dean commented after the debate had died down. “Truth be known, although we all avoid the busier places not wanting to waste our time either, we are faster than most teams switching drivers while fueling the truck. How often have you done that. What about that guy that you think is done just to have him pull up 10 ft to fuel his reefer tank? It happens, and thats trucking, right? Don’t get me started on those that take their 30 min break on the fuel island.”
“I’ve been at this for 40+ years, and its a shame most of you never knew the days when trucking was fun because we all respected each other, and had a work ethic that was worthy of that respect. May we see those days again.”