Life on the Heavy Haul
Steffen puts a lot of value in the sense of solidarity the club keeps up amongst drivers. “Life on the road used to be more like a community, it was less tightly paced,” says the 48-year-old from Hildesheim, Lower Saxony. “We used to meet up with other drivers at the truck stop and spend our rest periods together. We looked out for each other back then. Most truck drivers were on the same wavelength. Many of us got our HGV licences while on military service and slid into haulage that way.”
The profession has become more diverse since then. Freight volumes and pressure from deadlines have seen a dramatic increase. There aren’t enough truck stops or overnight facilities. We’ve seen a lot of competition taking over from community spirit on the road. “So I’m happy to see the support that Trucker’s World has been giving to our profession. Truck drivers have earned more kindness, respect, and awareness from the public. A smile and a bit of empathy never cost anyone anything,” Steffen insists.
As a heavy haulage specialist with MAN, Steffen is one of an elite group of drivers. Not that many experts in Germany have this much practical experience and expertise in heavy haulage. Steffen gives driver and technical vehicle training as well as frequent assistance in customer deployments. He drives an MAN TGX 41.640 8X4/4 BLBB for shipments of up to 250 tonnes, sometimes even more in push-pull convoys. His son will tell you that the truck looks like a blackberry with its Harley-Davidson paint job in Black Cherry Pearl. The nickname Brombeere – German for blackberry – stuck.
For Steffen, his heavy-duty tractor unit is, professionally speaking, the love of his life. “She’s not just a hunk of sheet metal. I identify with her.” He’s worked on all the vehicle’s details down to the last touch, including a unique wireless remote control he uses to operate the rig and its hydraulics.
His son also joined the club
Steffen has plenty of exciting stories to tell from his work. In 1994, he began training as a vehicle mechanic at the MAN service centre in Uelzen. After a few years at MAN, Steffen joined the German army. He embarked on a military career as an NCO working on ARVs and AEVs. He was deployed in Kosovo. After that, he went back driving trucks and working in the MAN service department.
Life took the self-confessed “drifter” to the Middle East and Africa, where he worked in civil engineering and as a country officer for MAN. These were all formative experiences where Steffen gained technical knowledge, improvisational skills, composure, and self-confidence – factors that greatly benefit him today behind the wheel in his Brombeere pulling hundreds of tonnes along the roads, together with fellow drivers from his customers. Steffen returned to Germany and rejoined the pride in 2012. “MAN is kind of like our mother, there’s no getting away from her,” he says. His son Lukas, aged 15, is currently in vehicle training at MAN – and has also joined Trucker’s World; the driver and truck enthusiast community really is a big family.
That's why I'm glad that Trucker's World is committed to promoting the driver's profession. Truck drivers deserve more kindness, respect, and attention from society. What does it cost to offer a little empathy and a smile? “
