The Trucker Obsession of the 1970s

For reasons we may never fully understand, during the 1970s the United States became briefly, but deeply, infatuated with the profession of truck driving. “Keep on Truckin’ ” became a national motto, the radio was filled with truck driver ballads, C.B. radio became a common pastime and Hollywood, never one to let a good fad go unexploited, followed suit with a number of truck driving films. Being in logistic services and knowing a thing or two about local trucking, here’s a couple of our favorites.

•  Smokey and the Bandit (1977): In one of the most ridiculous film plots ever conceived, Burt Reynolds plays Bo “Bandit” Darville, a trucker who must transport a truck full of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas to Birmingham, Alabama (where it was banned for not being pasteurized) in less than 28 hours. Leading the way in a black Pontiac Trans-Am, Bandit draws attention away from the 18-wheeler full of contraband Coors following close behind in the feature-length police chase that follows.
•  Over the Top (1987): Few films live up to their titles quite like Sly Stallone’s truck driving, arm wrestling epic Over the Top. The Italian Stallion himself plays a long haul trucker trying to make enough money to start his own trucking company and win back his son the only logical way one would: winning an international arm wrestling championship. In between the vein-popping arm wrestling scenes, also listen for the soundtrack by synth pioneer Giorgio Moroder.