How much? No, we are not talking about the rolls of toilet paper mentioned in the “Truck Stop Statistics” infographic. In that, it is mentioned that one truck stop in Iowa has to purchase at least 775 rolls of toilet paper each month. We hope that they have large profit margins for their coffee and meals in order to afford the 55 miles of toilet paper that this represents.
We are talking about, however, the number of miles that the average truck driver drives each year. It is stated that they drive 150,000 miles per year, or the equivalent of 6 times around the Earth. The equivalency is correct, but we greatly suspect that the 150k miles is the far-upper limit, not an average. If this were done then the drivers would drive 411 miles per day.
This could be a realistic figure, for the short term. Drivers, in theory, could drive much more but there are restrictive regulations that limit the hours that drivers can drive each day. Moreover, drivers have to take time to eat (as evidenced by the truck stop that purchases 775 rolls of toilet paper each month).
There could be times when drivers drive for an entire week. After all, if he has to drive from Bangor, Maine to San Diego, California then that is a lot of days of drive 411 miles. However, it is unlikely that drivers have the resources to always be driving. Just like airline pilots, drivers have to rest after a long haul, and there may not always be jobs or assignments for them. Thus, we suspect that 150k miles are an upper limit, not an average.
Likes: All the listed facts are certainly interesting and noteworthy.
Dislikes: The comparison of fuel to water is ambiguous.