Instructor Steers Drivers Toward Safer Highways

He was recently honored as that group's 2006 Defensive Driving Courses Professional Truck Driver Instructor of the Year.

The horrific stories in his copies of The Star Press, including ones about last year's crash that killed four Taylor University students and a staff member, are reminders of an equally horrific fact.

The average number of fatalities on America's roads is 46,200 a year, which the safety instructor said amounts to 127 deaths a day. He can't help but wonder what the reaction would be if that many people died daily in air crashes.

"How long would the planes be in the air?" he asked.

Sandy-haired and fit-looking at 51, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native graduated from Coe College and later earned a master of business administration degree from Ball State University. His wife, Carol, is a special-needs teacher at Cowan Elementary School.

Pinckney grew up in the trucking business after his father, a fruits and vegetables wholesaler, decided to haul his own produce and bought some trucks. His son was soon driving them, working his way up to the semis, as well as learning the dirty side of the business.

"The first time I changed the oil in a truck, I found out there weren't five quarts of oil, there were five gallons, and I put my body where the bucket should have been," he recalled with a laugh.

Later, he worked as a safety director for several large trucking companies before striking out on his own as a consultant. Hired by insurance companies, tire manufacturers and other firms, his job takes him across the United States. He has also helped train drivers from Mexico and Canada.

The crux of his message, whether to professional truckers or kids who were sent to him by court order, is simple: Avoid at-risk driving.

"I try to tap into the attitude of why I chose to drive with enough risk to receive a ticket," said the instructor. "Why do I feel like I have to tailgate? Why didn't I let that person merge coming down the highway ramp? Why am I speeding up? It's all about the choices we make."

Obviously, it's a matter of behavior, but it's not always easy to convince his clients of that.

"In 30 years," he said, "I've never had a driver come up to me and say, 'I'm a bad driver.'"

Pinckney has encountered some pretty scary ones, however.

He recalled one student who sat through class, displaying the mannerisms of a methamphetamine addict. When asked, once the session was finished, for a written response to the class, he wrote, "Let the fools die."

Then there was the teenage girl who matter-of-factly explained that she was a habitual driving violator, confessing that when another driver turned in front of her, she intentionally hit his car, forcing it into a tree and killing the two people inside.

That teenager figures into his discussions about road retaliation. Is it a wise idea?

"Heck no!" he said. "That might be her. Got her license back."

One message he brings to truckers is relevant to all drivers.

"They have to understand that if they are cut off, yes, it can be upsetting, but don't personalize it," explained Pinckney. "Maybe it's a good thing that they shared the road with you, because you were watching out for them and you just saved a life."

The stakes are so high.

Pinckney recalled a crash involving one of his truck drivers who, dead tired behind the wheel, pulled into the oncoming lane to pass someone and hit a car coming head on. The first person to come upon the crash was an EMT who found his family dead inside the crumpled car, including his two daughters, age 5 and 3.