A week to show truck drivers some appreciation for getting goods around New Zealand no matter what is now underway.
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week runs from February 22 to 28 with the theme: ‘truck drivers deliver’.
The event is being organised and promoted by NZ Truck & Driver magazine with a schedule of events around the country.
The Road Transport Forum and association partners including National Road Carriers Association (NRC) are also behind the initiative.
Industry representatives and organisations will be out during the week giving out gift bags to truck drivers to show their support.
“We have events around the country where we’ll be handing out appreciative gift bags to as many drivers as possible,” says organiser Olivia Beauchamp from NZ Truck & Driver.
Representatives from the New Zealand Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team will also be helping to give out the goodie bags at some of the locations as a positive gesture and to show their appreciation of safety conscious and law-abiding truck drivers.
National Road Carriers Association chief executive David Aitken says the organisation will be on board supporting its members and drivers by way of coffee and barbecue events and helping give away goodie bags.
“Some of our association members are also planning activities of their own to appreciate their driver employees. If you are out and about this week, give a truck driver a wave of appreciation,” Aitken says.
New Zealand’s road freight transport industry employs around 32,868 people (2% of the workforce), has a gross annual turnover of $6 billion, and transports 93% of the total tonnes of freight moved in New Zealand.
Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett says with recent events “we have seen once again, the contribution truck drivers make to New Zealand as they navigated Auckland’s Alert Level 3 closure”.
“Through natural disasters, pandemics, COVID-19 level changes and lockdowns, and all weathers, truck drivers keep delivering the essentials New Zealanders need to live on a daily basis.
“Road freight transport plays a critical role in the New Zealand economy, with 93% of all freight carried on the backs of trucks.
“Most truck drivers love what they do, but they can work long hours, be away from home for long periods, and shoulder tremendous responsibility with sensitive, critical, or dangerous loads.
“Everyone wants their goods yesterday, so there are time pressures as well. But most truck drivers will be the first to help out if anything bad happens on the road and always have a ready smile and bit of banter.
“Our economy is driven by exports and imports – goods that need to get where they are going as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, given our disadvantage of being so far away from the rest of the world. This is a well-oiled, logistics-driven machine and people in the trucking industry deserve credit for the role they play.
“Of course we think that credit should be all the time, but in particular this week I would urge people to say thank you to truck drivers for all the things they’ve delivered for them. Pretty much everything spends some time on the back of a truck. A friendly smile and a wave can mean so much,” Leggett says.
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