How's my Driving???

I drove back to Jamestown, ND today from my parent's home in Plentywood, MT. Anyone who's driven eastern Montana and western North Dakota knows that there is a lot of wide open spaces. Perfect for letting your mind wander so you can come up with offbeat ideas as you drive. Today was no different.

As I was on US Highway 2 between Culbertson, MT and Williston, ND, I was following a semi-truck from Saskatchewan that sported one of those "How's my driving? Call 1-800 yadda yadda" stickers. Well the guy wasn't driving erratically or anything. But I got the idea to call the number anyway, just to see what would happen.

Like I thought, my call went to a call center in some far off place. At least it was somewhere in the US or Canada though, judging from the accent of the operator. When she asked what I had to report, I gave her the code number on the back of the truck and said "I just wanted to tell you that this driver is doing a wonderful job today!" She said "What was that?" And I repeated "He's driving in a responsible manner and I thought you should know that."

That seemed to shock her a bit, so I continued, "The sign on the back of the truck doesn't say 'If my driving sucks call, it says How's my driving' and I figured you and the driver could use some good news once in a while."

That caused her to start laughing and seemed to really brighten her day, which in turn helped with my mood.

Try it next time you're on the road and are behind a semi with one of those stickers, call it and tell the operator you want to report a good driver. I'd love to hear the reaction you get. If you're in radio, this could make a funny prank phone bit. I know I'll be using it at my next on-air job.