Just a Girl in Love with a Truck Driver Shirt

In 1839, American Charles Goodyear was accredited with the vulcanization process for tires, a treatment for rubber heated with sulfur, transforming sticky rubber into a material perfect for tires. Following the vulcanization process, the first semis, big rigs, or transport trucks as they’re known in Canada, featured solid rubber wheels, making the expansive network of dirt and unpaved roads in North America a treacherous, uncomfortable, and slow prospect for drivers. It wasn’t until 1846 that Scottish inventor, Robert Thomson filed the first patent for the pneumatic tire. The idea was later developed by Belfast’s John Boyd Dunlop, and synthetic rubbers were invented in the 1920’s helping to smooth and speed up the ride of big rigs.
THE MOTOR CARRIER ACTThe biggest boom in commercial trucking happened in the 1920’s in the USA. Trucking companies began to emerge thanks to increased demand, and steadily improving roads. At this time, Philly to New York was considered a lengthy trip, and the Great Depression threw a wrench in the gear of many manufacturers and operators. In 1935, US Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, authorizing states to regulate the trucking industry via the Interstate Commerce Commission, as part of the Interstate Commerce Act, put into effect in 1887.

Just a Girl in Love with a Truck Driver Shirt

The Act established regulations for freight-hauling and limited the number of hours truckers were allowed to drive at one time. It also restricted and oversaw the types of cargo trucks could carry – at first, truckers thought these restrictions would impede progress of the entire trucking industry, as the Motor Carrier Act appeared to place trucking in the same categories as railway transport. The Act gave unprecedented authority to the ICC until deregulation of the US began to take hold in the mid 1970’s. The Motor Carrier Act was amended in 1980 and deregulated the trucking industry along with the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act in 1976, signed into effect by President Jimmy Carter.THE BRANDS WE KNOW TODAYThe big rig industry is well known for its grunt and power, as well as its big brands. Today, there are dozens upon dozens ofsemi manufacturers, but it’s the oldies that spark our imagination with visions of glorious open road freedom, capability, and reliability.