Clark Reed, an over-the-road, professional truck driver and trainer for Nussbaum Transportation, spent a lot of time trying to find his way.
“Well into being an adult, I was a district manager for a Fortune 500 company doing inventory stuff. I worked for FedEx supply chain services in their third-party logistics, and I did the office lifestyle,” Reed explained. “As time went on, I realized that I needed to make a change. My youngest son was on the way, and I always loved driving. So I thought I could combine my love of driving and get some on-the-road driving experience out of my system. The original plan was only going to be for five years max, but I just fell in love with it.”
Long haul is where Reed found his passion in trucking. “I've done some local stuff and some regional routes, and to be honest, that just drives me batty. With long-haul driving, I like not knowing where I'm going next,” he said.
According to Reed, aside from dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges for truck drivers is parking.
“Parking is always an issue, although it’s becoming more and more talked about as the years go on,” Reed explained. “Fortunately, Nussbaum pays for driver parking; they reimburse us. But for so many others, it could be a problem if you don't plan it out enough.
“Another challenge is the lack of everybody getting along,” Reed added. “On the road, I see the old drivers picking on new drivers, new drivers having no respect for the old drivers, and nobody wanting to help each other. While there are a lot of folks helping each other out here, too, we just need more of it. There’s just so much of that petty stuff out here.”
Reed found similar attitudes on social media when he first went online. After time, he found that there was a lot of pettiness on Facebook and MySpace. In the spirit of expelling drama from his day-to-day life, Reed took to LinkedIn to document his time on the road and share his fuel economy journey and most recently has joined TikTok as @nodramadriver.
“LinkedIn has the most professional approach, and that’s the kind of interaction I get from my followers,” Reed explained. “The people that do follow my account actually want to know what's happening on the road, the good and the bad. If I’m not having a good mpg day, they are interested in hearing about why, talking about ways to improve, or just sharing that they’re experiencing something similar.”
Reed also is a pro for Freightliner’s Team Run Smart, a resource for truck drivers and owner-operators that focuses on four pillars of trucking: the truck, the business, the lifestyle, and the career on the road.
“Being a pro for Team Run Smart has given me another platform to share the message of ‘Here's how it is being a truck driver,’” Reed explained. “Some people on the road just aren't honest about it, so this resource allows me to share tips and tricks with others on how to succeed based on real-life issues.”
Reed has received full support from Nussbaum as he continues to share his experiences online.
“It's a symbiotic relationship because I, in turn, am sharing how much I love the company I work for. Some companies don’t want their drivers mentioning them at all, but Nussbaum has always been very supportive of that. In fact, they're the ones that put my name forward as the driver for the first Run on Less in 2017. They saw something in me, and I’m thankful they let me do what I do.”
Brent Nussbaum, CEO of Nussbaum, once told Reed that some people treat fuel economy like it’s a trade secret, but it’s not. “If we can make this industry better, if we can keep this planet a little bit greener, if we can have companies use less resources and make it better for everybody else, I don’t see it as a companywide advantage over others,” Reed stated.
As Reed continues through his career, he hopes he can keep making a difference in the fuel economy space. “As long as my body allows, I’ll be on the road,” Reed stated. “Other than that, I’d love to stay on the educational side of the industry as a trainer, as a writer, as a speaker. If I can help improve the industry from the driver's seat, that's really what I want to do.”
