Denver FedEx freight driver Brian Walton has spent nearly 30 years on the clock, behind the wheel – experience that paid off last summer when the affable man tied for the national title as champion of the Flatbed class (Straight Truck division) at the American Trucking Association’s annual driving competition.
Q: Do you use your cellphone when you’re driving?
A: Well, I want to talk on the cell when I’m driving, too. It’d be convenient. But I don’t do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hands-free or if you’re holding the phone. The problem is, you’re emotionally involved in the conversation, and it takes a lot of your attention away from the road and what’s going on around you. I say, hey, wait till you get where you’re going to make a call.
Q: What about other drivers?
A: All our drivers have a cellphone, and a hand- held map device and paperwork. We train them not to look at those things when they’re driving, but to pull over and then look at stuff. So many drivers on the road are distracted. You see people eating, cellphone users, parents distracted by kids in the car. That’s a big problem. We tell our drivers to make sure that other drivers see you.
Q: My personal strategy for that is using the turn signal. I know drivers notice me, because they nearly always speed up to make sure I don’t switch lanes.
A: As a professional driver, I’ve found that some people will speed up when you put on the blinker, but if they see that you really want to come over, they’ll back off. Drivers who want to move need to give the other person the opportunity to let them pull over. Make eye contact. Then wave at the driver to acknowledge the courtesy. Most people want to do the right thing and be nice to others. It can be contagious – that person in turn will do something nice for the next person. I feel good about human nature.
Q: How do professional drivers feel about driving?
A: Driving is one of the most stressful things anyone ever does. It takes a lot of skills, and often people take that for granted. So many things are pulling for your attention. We train our drivers to identify the important safety issues around them and focus on those. Don’t get sucked into looking at things that aren’t crucial.
Q: Are there different safety issues in different parts of Colorado?
A: Sure. If you’re in Boulder, you have so many things to pay attention to – bicycles, lights, joggers, pedestrians, animals. Going to Colorado Springs from Denver, almost any time you go over Monument Pass, with so much traffic. In cities, any major interchanges. In Denver, the Mousetrap area can be very dangerous, and anywhere there’s a lot of merging traffic.
Q: What do you like most about your career?
A: Driving is a great career. It pays good, and you get to see a lot of cool stuff, things most people never get to see. If someone came to me and asked, ‘Should I pursue driving as a career?’ then I would say ‘Absolutely.’ A lot of people think they want to be doctors or lawyers, but the reality is lots of those people spend lots of time in front of the computer and doing paperwork. I’m not a sit-behind-the-desk guy. I like to be driving out in rural areas, out in the country. I like the physical part of my job a lot.
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com
