Video: National Truck Drivers Appreciation Week Recognized in West Point

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WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – You see them on highways across America, delivering the products you use everyday. It’s National Truck Driver Appreciation Week.

This week over three million truckers will be recognized for their contributions that keep America’s economy moving. These men and women take extensive training to keep themselves and other motorists safe while on the road. Joe and Marie Babb of Royal Trucking in West Point are a husband and wife truck driving team. Marie started in 1995. Joe has been driving for 34 years.

“It’s a really fun job. It’s kind of like I saw on a Western one time. You can go to Canada, you can go to California, down to Texas, come home and get paid to do it,” says Babb.

Though Babb has enjoyed his long driving career, he still encounters dangerous situations while traveling the highways.

“Normally, the worst danger is in the winter time. It’s the adverse weather conditions. People that don’t know how to drive in it, taking unnecessary chances,” says Babb.

Babb says close encounters with other motorists have given truck drivers a bad rap. Those in the trucking industry say they know having a large truck on the road can be inconvenient.

“Keep in mind that they’re sharing the road, they have a very large vehicle. Sometimes we get in the way of the smaller vehicles, that irritates everyone,” says Carl Henson, Director of Compliance at Royal Trucking.

Still, truck drivers are vital to the American economy. The U-S Department of Transportation says the trucking industry moved an estimated ten and a half billion dollars in goods in 2011. Director of Compliance Carl Henson says their drivers are trained to make safety their #1 priority.

“On a daily basis, 99.9% of our truckers are very safe conscientious and they want to share the highway with the motoring public in a safe, efficient manner,” says Henson.

Royal Trucking in West Point employs 200 truck drivers. National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is held from September 14 to September 20th each year.