When the going gets tough, the tough get trucking. I made that up, but you get my point. Operating a 72-foot-long behemoth that hauls tens of thousands of pounds of freight is not for the faint-hearted.

These men and women do it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When you sit at a desk in front of your laptop or desktop, your decisions most likely are not life or death. For a trucker, they are.

A recent visit to St. John’s, Nfld., put things into perspective. Imagine having to make a decision to make a run for it through The Wreckhouse on the Trans-Canada Highway, where sometimes wind gusts have been measured at well over 100 km/h. Winds flipping tractor trailers on their sides along that stretch of highway is a common occurrence.

Or hauling freight on a winter night to find piles of snow that have not been cleared and jamming on the brakes and hanging on to the wheel for dear life to stop in time. White-knuckle moments are part and parcel of the job.

How about making a left turn into a weigh station while trying to not to come into contact with oncoming four-wheelers cruising at highway speeds?

Truck drivers are brave people who make sure you get your coffee, milk and cereal in the morning and gas to power your vehicle to go shop for things you take for granted. And those things you buy online, yes, a trucker hauled them as well.

Parking woes

After a long, lonely shift behind the wheel – you can drive for 13 hours in Canada and work for 16 hours – drivers look forward to a safe place to park, where they can shower, get hot food and rest.

That’s but a dream for most. Before they set out, most drivers research parking options, and hope to find a spot. Hot showers, washrooms and food would be nice too, but those may or may not be available.

Embarrassing is the word drivers use when they talk to me about washrooms at rest areas in Canada. We have one highway that runs across the country – the Trans-Canada Highway. And it is pathetic in many areas.

Some rest areas may look nice and clean, but there’s no running water inside, or they just have cold water. Some have prison-style toilets that stink as no one cleans them regularly. Others lack toilet paper. They are disgusting but there is no choice but to use them.

And then there are shippers and receivers who don’t treat drivers nicely. They may not allow use of washrooms or point them toward a portable washroom at the corner of the yard that would make you throw up. I’ve encountered some, and the sights and smells and memories still haunt me. Drivers must be suffering from washroom nightmares.

Scarcity of showers and healthy food

Women drivers have said they carry portable toilets in their trucks to avoid these situations. They don’t step out of their trucks at night due to safety concerns as some parking spots don’t have adequate lighting.

Many places where truckers stop to refuel are just cardlocks, focused on selling fuel and some may have a convenience store and little else.

At truck stops, if you can find them, the food choices are not the best. And if fresh food is available, it’s expensive. There are long line-ups for showers. Sometimes, truckers go for days without showering, using wipes and washcloths in their cabs.

Truckers disillusioned

Some of the comments I’ve heard – “They don’t care about truckers,” “We aren’t appreciated anymore,” and “A decent reasonable shower, food and parked space are next to impossible to find or afford.”

These drivers are someone’s mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, aunt or uncle. Would you dream of treating family like this? These guys brave the elements, spend days and weeks away from their loved ones and are left to fend for themselves on the road.

If you don’t see it, encounter it or experience it, it must be okay. It is not okay!

Embarrassing is the word I will also use for the way truck drivers are treated. The trucking industry should be embarrassed. The government should be embarrassed. Society should be embarrassed.