Evening star., 1952-12-27
Truck Drivers
Ride in Fear
Of Speeders
ID Tons Of Freight
Could Crush Cab if in
Collision Emergency
By Huqh Humphrey

By Hugh Humphrey
Ever wonder what cross
country truck driver thinks about
Or what kind of a guy is sit
ting there in the cab, trying t,
control all that power that come
a-hurtling toward you on tn,
highway?
T. C. Chambers. 1889 A stree
Sc, veteran with the w. T
Cowan Motor Freight Co. here
can tell you. A big fellow-6-feet.
3 and weighing 235 pounds
he's been in freight truck service
for Is years. with time out fol
World War II.
Mr.. Chambers reports at the
Cowan terminal on New York ave
nue. NE. five nights each week
Amid the confusion of warehouse
roustabouts loading the huge trail.
ers. he receives his orders for
the night, along with the number
OF the tractor and trailer he'll
drive.
Usually, his trailer is loaded
when he arrives. It's cargo may
consist Of anything from aspirin
tablets and model airplanes to ex-
plosives and heavy machinery,
His first job is to get his tractor
from the line and couple it to
the trailer. He inspects his lights.
brakes, windshield wipers and
heater as he warns up the tractor
engine.
Boy" he says. when I started
driving trucks, we didn't know
what a heater was. We lust
plowed along through snow and
ice, freezing most of the time and
hoping we wouldn't break down
on deserted road.
Thought He'd Freeze.
II remember a run to New York
in 1912 during a heavy Snowstorm
Took me 26 hours to make it from
Washington to Jersey City, and !
had to carry an extra battery be-
cause the long waits in traffic
jams would run my regular bat
terry down. Thought I'd freeze to
DEATH"
Mr.. Chambers doesn't make the
long haulS now. He drives the
shuttle run from the Cowan
terminal here to the main ware
house in Baltimore. He makes
the run twice a night, usually
finishing about dawn.
AS his truck roars along Balti-
more boulevard, an approaching
car veers across the center stripe
OF the highway. Mr.. Chambers
touches his brakes and cautiously
pulls tight against the right side
OF the road. He never takes his
eyes from the other cars lights.
I'm scared of those guys" ne
muses.. They stop in a tavern
and then discover they're going
to be late getting home. They
step on it, weaving from lane to
lane on the highway. I can't
handle this thing the way they
can whip a passenger car around.
If one of them heads into me, I
just have to hit the ditch.
"And you can't stop this big
baby on a dime. either. That
trailer is loaded with about 5000
pounds of freight and it's hooked
to my tractor by a small steel rod.
If I slam on the brakes the whole
thing might tear loose and come
in here on top of me-"
Cuts Speed to 30 Miles.
Mr.. Chambers approaches a
curving stretch of hills just north
of Laurel. Md. He eases off his
speed to about 80 miles an hour.
This is the toughest stretch
OF road between Washington and
Baltimore" he says. Don't know
why, but people seem to lose
control when they hit these curves
and hills together. You just got
to watch the other guy"
In about an hour, Mr.. Chambers
pulls into the Baltimore terminal.
He's been hauling a straight
through load of freight for New
York. so his trailer is hooked
Immediately to new diesel trac-
tor for the long run.
A Baltimore driver. L. H. Stitz
of Dundalk, Md, climbs into the
diesel's cab after inspecting his
truck. It's cold night and he's
been having heater trouble. Eas-
ing the truck through Baltimore's
narrow streets, he finally hits
Route 40 north and picks up speed.
He points to a green Illuminated
dial on a dashboard instrument.
That's the spy" he explains.
That gadget's got recording disc
hooked up to the speedometer dial
and a clock. The bosses at the
terminal keep the key, and they
can check that paper disc and
tell exactly how fast I ran at any
time. how many stops I made and
how long for each. You can't beat
it,
Some Run Too Fast.
cts a good idea. at that. I
know a lot of truckers run too fast
on these wide fiat roads, but it's
not safe"
At this point, Mr.. Stitz echoes
Mr.. Chambers sentiment. "You
just don't know what the other
guy is going to do. If we're bar
reling along at go or 10, it's pretty
hard to stop or even make a quick
turn. I'm not anxious to wind up
with IA tons of freight piled up
on top of me-"
While Mr.. Stitz reminisces about
his family of three youngsters and
his wife and his plans for week.
end hunting trip, he's constantly
jockeying his heavy cargo through
the little towns and villages on
Route 40. He finally pulls the
gear shift lever into a new posi-
ton and leans back against the
seat.
High gear at last" he grins.
eGrThic inh hoe F@u,~n,.J