Why Truckers Wear Hats (And Other Trucker Curiosities Explained!)
The classic trucker look typically involves a t-shirt or flannel shirt (depending on the time of year), driving gloves, jeans, and a classic trucker hat. If you have ever wondered why truckers dress a certain way, or why they wear hats while driving a truck, you may need an inside look into the trucker's lifestyle. Here are all the trucker curiosities you ever wondered about explained in detail.
The Hat
Truckers typically wear a classic baseball cap. These caps are adjustable, and therefore will fit any trucker's head. They come in all colors, all sports teams, all logos, and all sayings to amuse truckers and other non-truckers alike. That is just the start of why truckers wear these the hats.
The real reason is that a brimmed hat of this sort helps keep the sunlight out of the trucker's eyes when he/she is driving. Sitting up high in the cab of a truck with these giant front windows on the truck allows for a lot of light to shine through, and it is not as though the visors in the truck can sufficiently block out excess sunlight. Hence, the truckers use their hats like wearable vehicle visors so that they can see better when driving into the path of the sunlight.
Jeans
Driving truck can be sweaty, dirty work. It is not the type of job you show up for wearing dress pants, shorts, or khakis. Jeans provide reasonable comfort, freedom of movement, and if you get them dirty, it is not a big deal.
T-Shirts and Flannel Shirts
T-shirts are ideal for truckers because they are a simple garment that can get dirty and still stay comfortable in all kinds of temperatures. They can be layered under flannel shirts when the trucker moves from hot temperatures to colder temperatures, and back again. Flannel shirts are cheap and affordable, and they generally are comfortable enough and warm enough to wear as a second clothing layer that can be removed if the trucker gets too warm.
Driving Gloves (Fingerless)
Fingerless driving gloves help truckers maintain an excellent grip on the shift stick and the steering wheel. If you ever climbed up into the front seat of a truck, you would see just how massive the wheel is, and how easy it would be for wet, sweaty, or greasy hands to lose control of the large wheel. Better grip is needed for both the steering wheel and the shift stick.