LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB) -- As businesses continue to temporarily close due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, truck drivers are working around the clock to get supplies to stores and medical facilities.
“It’s been really really hard for me,” driver Candy Red said.
Red said it is already hard enough to be away from family most days of the week, but she also is struggling to find items at truck stops, because people are taking almost all of the items that are essential for truckers.
“They’re coming in these truck stops and they’re taking everything. The bottled water. The toilet paper. Everything that all the stores are out of anyway. They’re taking it from us,” Red said.
“We depend on the truck stops for our needs,” she said.
Candy Red
Red said people are taking supplies she needs for her home away from home: her truck, where she eats and sleeps.
“No sanitizer. ... we don’t have running water in these trucks. So we have to use bottled water,” Red said.
Safety is another concern. One driver told WDRB he got a memo from his company telling drivers to stay vigilant and aware of people who may be looking to steal from their trucks. He said he recently went from working five days a week to six to get deliveries to grocery stores.
Kentucky Trucking Association President/CEO Rick Taylor said trucks and their drivers are vital to America's economy.
“They really are the economic engine of Kentucky and America moving all of our goods and services," he said. "In Kentucky 89.4% of all communities depend on trucks to deliver their goods."
Taylor said the association is working to keep drivers and their companies abreast of rapid changes at state and federal levels.
The association encourages motorists to help drivers during this challenging time by being patient and kind, by telling them, “Thank you.”
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