Being a driver is one of those jobs that often goes unnoticed until something goes wrong. Whether it be something as simple as the mail we receive six days a week, packages received from Amazon, or the goods we need from our local grocery store. We rarely consider all the moving pieces that must go right for these items to reach their destination correctly.

For our Driver Team at HTrans this can be the same reality.

 With National Driver Appreciation Week this month (September 11-17), this is a good opportunity to communicate some of the things our drivers experience to help everyone notice, understand, and appreciate the hard work our Driver Team put in to make deliveries happen, as an essential part of Houston’s.

For most HTrans routes, drivers are out on the road multiple nights each week. Drivers are up and rolling before sunrise to ensure stops are coordinated as early as possible to meet customer requirements and to help our Merchandisers complete their work before heavy customer traffic hits their store locations.

Drivers will often use their legally allowed 11 hours per day as drive time, to cover the necessary ground required to maintain scheduling for our customers. It is common for the members of our Driver Team to cover 400 or 500 miles a day to make this happen.

This is when all things go right; add a small issue or delay – often completely out of anyone’s control – and our driver may be facing a situation that causes a chain reaction that may affect multiple customers.

Here are some examples of how these things affect our drivers.

A relatively small maintenance issue could be discovered during a pre-trip inspection or inspection at a weigh station. This can delay a driver for multiple hours and push back delivery times. Drivers are occasionally able to make up for delays and minimize the effect on customers. Working with the HTrans Team, drivers can change the order of deliveries or delivery days, to help ensure customer orders reach their destination. In these situations, the driver’s return home may be delayed.

When there are major mechanical issues, a driver could end up at motel for a couple of days while their truck is being worked on or the shop is waiting for a part to arrive. In these circumstances, HTrans staff is coordinating with the driver, the truck maintenance shop, Houston’s Inside & Outside Sales Teams, and Merchandising on solutions to getting our customers taken care of, while also making sure our driver gets home in a reasonable time.

Additionally, when a driver makes it home after enduring a delay, they have a legally mandated “reset time.” Delays can push a driver’s reset into the following week, which could affect our ability to service the route within our normal pool truck schedule.

 Drivers face mechanical issues, inclement weather, traffic delays, and other unforeseen events that add stress and anxiety to an already difficult job. Our drivers take these very large pieces of equipment into extremely tight spaces and over difficult stretches of roads and terrain. Our drivers successfully navigate adverse conditions and difficult deliveries so frequently they make it seem easy.

Due to their frequency of success, sometimes their extra efforts often get overlooked. I would like to encourage everyone this Driver Appreciation Week, to take the time to recognize our Driver Team for their continued invaluable contributions.

Thank you to all our drivers, we appreciate what you do!

Read more about our valued team members on the Houston’s Blog.

This article was written by Transportation Supervisor Brandon Raymond.