Central Point, Ore.- As thousands head to the roads in Oregon, on their way north to get the best view of the eclipse, many semi truck drivers have to budget extra time into their routes and prepare for an increase in accidents.
But for one semi truck driver the eclipse isn’t changing anything.
Semi truck driver Tom Thomas isn’t concerned. He doesn’t think traffic will be all that bad.
Thomas has stopped until Sunday night in Central Point. Then he’s headed straight through to his delivery point just outside of Seattle. He’s slated to arrive there at 1 am.
His trek to Washington started in SoCal. Thomas told NBC5 News that traffic was worse on his way out of Los Angeles than it has been during his time on I-5 in Oregon so far.
He thinks the traffic is people in search of a good view for the eclipse.
“It must be people heading up here into Oregon,” Thomas says.
Tom Thomas doesn’t anticipate traffic being too bad as he heads up to Washington and he wasn’t told by his employer to change his route because of the eclipse.
Since his drive back into Oregon will be on Monday morning he plans to join the millions watching the historic event.
But he won’t be alone. Thomas and his truck dog Ebony are making the entire journey together.
“She protects me, I protect her, we’re just best friends ya know?”
With a forty year career on the road under his belt Thomas says he’s prepared for unsafe drivers during the eclipse. He says that he’s a defensive driver.
And the reason hes keeping an eye out isn’t because he’s concerned about keeping himself safe.
“My dog is more important to me than anything in the world. If I get hurt no big deal. I just don’t want anything to happen to my dog,” Thomas says.
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