The trucking profession demands tons of skill to be a safe and efficient driver. Quick decision making, proper planning and forethought, and nerves of steel, are all attributes of a good professional driver. But, we also must be great at math. There are many numbers that are common to our industry, that we must file in our memory, and know when to apply them. Gross weights, tare weights, net weights, heights, lengths, widths, distances, hours-of-service, costs-per-mile, psi, temperatures, case counts, and so on… it can be quite confusing to juggle so many numbers in your mind. But, I’m here to offer a suggestion. Try using rhymes to remember important things, or use an acronym to spell out a key word or phrase to help recall those things. Sometimes, you may see an interesting article, advertisement or a cool picture and, later, you forget where you’ve seen it. So, I’ve come up with a very simple way to combine some common numbers we repeat in our profession, (ie: 80,000… 18 wheels… 48 states… etc.) with a poem to help you remember where you likely saw such great pictures and articles. If that doesn’t help, this poem is also written as an acronym down the left side, using the first letter of each line – it’s pretty simple stuff! So, I hope this simple poetic equation helps you remember where to go to find the best info for today’s trucker.
A ‘SIMPLE’ EQUATION
By Trevor Hardwick
First, you take your 18 wheels,
On tires that are black.
Remove the number 2, for now,
To represent twin stacks.
Once you figure that one out,
Divide by forty-eight.
Add another 80-grand, but don’t be overweight!
You’re squarely rooted in this, now,
So “square-root” what you show.
That should equal 2-8-2, point 8-4-3-3-Oh.
Round that number down, to 2-8-2, point 8,
Unless you’ve given up, divide by 2 and wait.
Can you see, we’re almost done, just a little more,
Keep in mind, you should have 1-4-1, point 4.
Eliminate the Roman numeral, CXXXI…
Resulting in the magazine, before your very eyes!