Truckers keep rigs rolling during pandemic
Those carrying the necessities to keep the country going during the coronavirus pandemic want to assure the public they are doing their best in tough circumstances and advise all to follow protocol to keep everyone safe from COVID-19.
John Fleeger, a Center Township native and 1978 Butler Area High School graduate, moved to Phoenix three years ago with his wife, Elaine Lepley Fleeger.
Fleeger, a truck driver for the past 39 years, works for Eagle Express Lines, based in Holland, Ill.
He has a set route of hauling a tractor-trailer load of mail from Tucson, Ariz., to Los Angeles, then he travels to nearby Van Nuys to pick up a load from Anheuser-Busch to bring back to Phoenix.
Fleeger has noticed some differences in his route that have astounded him, like the sudden availability of parking at rest areas and truck stops because the industry has slowed down during the pandemic.
He also marvels at the complete disappearance of Los Angeles' infamous rush-hour freeway traffic since the coronavirus hit.
The first time he drove through Hollywood without any hindrance from traffic was unbelievable, Fleeger said. The lack of tourists and local traffic saved him an hour on his route.
“It was like the 'Twilight Zone,'” he said. “I thought, 'What the hell is happening?'”
Fleeger feels safe at work because he simply switches out trailers at both the Los Angeles postal facility and Anheuser-Busch, so no contact with their employees is required.He does feel a bit nervous while gassing up or stopping for a bite to eat.“I wear rubber gloves when I'm pumping gas and I share my truck with another guy, so I wipe everything down with bleach wipes when I get in,” Fleeger said.His unique perspective out West brought him to a realization that consumers may not have considered, which is the shipments coming into ports in California from all over the world are greatly slowed down due to coronavirus protocol. That means goods are not hitting the trucks that distribute them across the United States as quickly as in normal times.“We're doing the absolute best we can to fulfill everyone's needs, Fleeger said. “That's what we've always done and we are still doing it.”Paul Schaffer of Center Township has driven for YRC Freight of McKees Rocks for 14 years.Schaffer drives anything and everything that needs to be hauled on his routes, which are within 50 miles of the terminal.He has seen a slowdown at his company because many customers have temporarily or permanently closed down due to the regulations associated with the coronavirus.“Traffic is very light. It's nice,” Schaffer said. “I wish it was like this all the time.”He said instead of exiting his truck, opening the back doors and unloading his shipments, he now remains inside the truck, which is unloaded by personnel at his destination.The paperwork is handed to him through the window and handed back after he signs it.“It's getting kind of weird,” Schaffer said.
He encountered an issue on a recent trip when he tried to get some breakfast at a McDonald's along his route. Only the drive-thru was open to protect workers and customers from the coronavirus.“She said 'No, you've got to be in a car,'” Schaffer said. “I was like 'What?', but she said 'Sorry, you have to be in a car.'”Schaffer instead ate a sandwich from the lunch he had packed.He also uses the antibacterial wipes in his truck and washes his hands more frequently now.“Everybody is kind of uptight and paranoid,” he said of the fellow truckers he chats with.Bob Geer of Butler is a long-haul trucker for W.E.L. Companies of Wisconsin.He hauls mainly food in a refrigerated truck.Geer has been a trucker for five years.He delivers shipments of food to the distribution centers where grocery stores get their stock.On Thursday, Geer was in Elkton, Va., and looking forward to getting home for the weekend for a much-needed break.Geer said he feels the appreciation people suddenly have for his line of work.“I've noticed more signs up thanking truck drivers for doing what they're doing,” Geer said. “Also, a lot of shippers, when you go to get their product, will give you a couple sandwiches or other food.”He hopes the goodwill toward the drivers who keep America stocked will continue.“The outpouring for truck drivers, it's nice to get recognition, but that is the profession we chose,” Geer said. “We are the same truck drivers who are usually getting a bad rap.”
Geer said he is now working 20 to 50 extra hours per week to get his life-sustaining freight to its destination.He explained that because of the needs associated with the coronavirus, he is allowed to drive additional hours each day due to an exemption in federal regulations that limit truckers' work hours.“You have to be realistic and intelligent. The exemption does not mean you go pedal-down and pushing it,” Geer said. “You've got to be smart about it.”He said when he gets tired, he pulls over.“The exemption just gives you little extra cushion, but not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Geer said.He said his company is hiring more truck drivers every week plus adding to the office staff in Wisconsin in order to keep food moving across the country.“We had controlled growth before the virus, but then it was like somebody set off a powder keg,” Geer said. “It went from controlled to insane.”Geer and his traveling companion, wife Lisa, are on the road for three to five weeks at a time and live in the truck, which is outfitted with the essential comforts like a bed, microwave and coffee machine.The couple eats most meals in their truck, especially during the pandemic.“It's the most self-sufficient studio apartment on wheels that you could possibly find,” Geer said.He and Lisa wash their hands and use sanitizer often and wipe everything down with a bleach wipe after hurrying in and out of the few stores or restaurants where they stop.
Geer's advice for anyone interested in protecting truck drivers so they can continue their vital work is to follow the government's regulations during the coronavirus.“Just like everyone else has said, if you do not need to be out, please for the love of God stay home,” he said.Geer worries about carriers who are not yet experiencing coronavirus symptoms and running around town.“It's like dominoes and once you tap that first one, the rest of them go like wildfire,” Geer said. “Please adhere to what the governing officials are saying.”He rolls his eyes at the chatter on the CB radio between truckers who feel the coronavirus is part of some government conspiracy and need not be taken seriously.“No, no, no it's not,” Geer said. “If people don't take this seriously and the cases keep coming and the death rate keeps going up, they are going to force the government eventually to shut down everything in the U.S. for two weeks.”Geer said he is pleading with all Americans to stay at home as much as possible and to keep their children at home.“Do what the governing bodies are telling you to do and we should be able to get through this relatively quickly,” he said.
