Without being too repetitive in my previous writings for Associated Content, one of the most useful information that a driver needs to exercise and depend upon is the weather reports, second to the Driver’s Map. Everything we do needs accurate and timely completion. For driver’s and estimated time of delivery is crucial, especially when the receiving customer depends on the load arriving, to continue the craft, production, or timely distribution of materials. With technology in the Corporate Business leading to communication with a Driver through the use of Satellite communication, a driver keeps in touch with the company about every aspects of the load, from pickup, in transit, and throughout the arrival to the delivery point.

            Driver’s are restricted, by law, of how long the can drive, so the longer the destination, the more periods of breaks needed makes the delivery done in segments. Besides construction, accidents, and unknown local activities and Town events, the one important piece of information that can delay a timely arrival is the weather. There are some predictability to the driver of what to expect, as the driver develops more experience out on the highways. Through time, they can associate the Months with what to expect in delays, for example, from September to June, school is in session, which means buses stopping in local areas between the hours of 6:00-9:00 AM and 2:30-6:00 PM (Driver’s opinions may vary). This sounds very obvious, but it is typically a “second thought” to the automobile driver. The truck driver finds this useful in planning how and when traveling and the need to monitor the time and duration of the trip.

            Without developing the need for information, a driver can get delayed by Sporting and Racing Events, Town Gatherings, and Show tours. But the driver can get some of this through radio stations prior to arriving through cities and suburban towns. Getting back to the “tools of the Trade”, and still repeating myself, besides the Map, the next useful tools the driver gains interest in is the weather and road construction. Construction is typically scheduled in advance, and information of appending construction can be obtained through newspaper, media, and online. It will slow the travel time, but it rarely is the time constraining cause for delay. But the weather, well, besides tornados, and flash flooding, the driver is finding fewer reasons not to be able to predict delay in travel based on the weather, and still needs to check the weather for constant changes as they approach different regions of the highway.

            Two most recent events have caused delays in travel for a mass amount of traffic, due to snow fall. The Valentine Snowfall of 2007, in North East Pennsylvania, holding drivers hostage for days on the interstate, and The 2010 December Snowfall in Buffalo, NY, not as bad, if you are stocked up to be comfortable on the Thruway…for up to twenty hours. Truly, we take the weather for granted, and rarely consider the weather for causing such delays.

            Getting weather predictions is not restricted to anyone who planning long travels, but it is the least found item on their “checklist” when planning a trip. Knowing the weather in advance can avoid being stuck somewhere, and depending on the size of some storms, it helps to seek an alternate direction to work around the approaching weather. It is also not thought of to use break periods for restrooms and meals, to include the weather report as part of that need for a break.

            Many lessons can be learned from the professional driver, who consumes seventy feet of space on that highway. One of those is what’s in his “Toolbox” to get the job done. Depending on the experience of the driver, don’t be surprised if they mentions the Weather report as one of the most used tool of the trade.