Under water: Dieter Sobik and his Actros 1851

“Only I drive it,” says Dieter Sobik as he gently taps the steering wheel of his Actros 1851 with the palm of his hand. He puts his coffee cup to one side with his right hand and steers the truck out of the yard at the logistics centre in Hamburg. It is already morning and he was just able to unload his truck, finally. Yesterday, the A1 was fuller than expected yet again. He didn't manage to get all the way to Hamburg as there just wouldn't have been enough time. “I knocked off in Bremen,” says the 56-year-old. “It's one of my favourite overnight parking places. The people there know me already.” He drove the last 120 kilometres to Hamburg this morning.

Recognised everywhere.

Dieter gets recognised everywhere when he's on the road, although it doesn't just have to do with himself. His truck and his semitrailer have recognition value. A giant airbrush painting with deep-sea images covers the trailer and the tractor unit. Sharks, brightly coloured fish, mermaids and even a shipwreck give the vehicle an unmistakable look. Anyone who is on the motorway a lot or visits a trucker festival every now and again has a good chance of seeing the truck in person.

Nearly every vehicle in the port is a truck. Almost as if in time to a beat, Dieter raises his index finger from the steering wheel to acknowledge his trucker colleagues greeting him as they drive past. “The truck attracts attention. People remember it. And I have probably talked to a few of my colleagues here sometime. I regularly attend a trucker meeting about 50 kilometres north of here.”

When you look at the airbrush picture, you of course ask yourself how long Dieter wants to keep the Actros. “Well I don't want to swap. And I can't imagine that it will be replaced soon,” says Dieter. Especially as they have just ordered a locker for the cab. In any case, Dieter wants to carry on driving it for a while yet. “I have been doing this for 38 years. Trucking used to mean more freedom. But on the other hand, today I usually know when I will get home.” His wife, daughter and son are waiting for him at home. So Fridays at the latest, he should be on his way home.

And what does he do for the work-life balance? Cycling.

And where does Dieter Sobik like to travel best after 38 years on the road? “Up here in the north, preferably close to the sea. I look for a nice place to stop and ride my bike for a bit.” And Dieter does indeed take his bike out of the trailer. “If I'm going to be on the road, then I want to see something of the area. And you can do that best on a bike.”

Two colleagues pass by. One waves to him whilst the other gives a thumbs-up. Someone Dieter knows? He grins: “Never seen them before, but they probably recognise my truck. That's usually the case.”

Photos: Nico Krauss