Just a Few Seconds

I came across a short video on social media this week, and I have not stopped thinking about it.

"Dad..." Why a little girl climbed up to the overpass

A short video with Korean captions

Watch the video on Facebook →

Video shared on Facebook by Mohari. We do not know the family and have no connection to them.

What the video shows

A little girl stands on a highway overpass, smiling and excited. Her father is a long-distance truck driver, and his route passes under that bridge today. She waits. When his truck finally comes into view, she waves with both arms. He answers with his horn: honk, honk, honk.

The Korean captions say what the moment means. He has been away for days. She could not hug him, and he could not stop. They saw each other for only a few seconds. And the caption ends this way: with that short moment, the father finds the strength to keep going for a few more days.

Why it stayed with me

I have spent more than fifteen years in trucking operations, and I have met many drivers like that father. They are away from home for days at a time, and they do it for the people waiting for them.

That is why I believe safety is never only about rules. Every driver on the road has someone waiting for a few seconds at an overpass, a kitchen table, or a front door. Driving rested, driving calm, and keeping the phone down are not just company policy. They are how a driver keeps a promise to come home.

It is also why I invite drivers' families to the safety trainings I run. I wrote about that in Why Truck Safety Starts at Home.

A few seconds

I keep coming back to that father. He could not stop, and she could not reach him. Yet those few seconds were enough to carry him through the next few days. I think every driver knows that feeling, and every family that waits knows it too.

More true stories of the road: follow the 18whings Foundation podcast on Spotify.

FLY YOUR WHEELS!

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