America’s Road Team Captains to Spread Trucking’s Safety Message
John Sommers II for TT
By Michael G. Malloy, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the Jan. 19 print edition of Transport Topics.
American Trucking Associations last week named 19 truck drivers to represent the industry as the 2015-2016 America’s Road Team.
The drivers, who will serve as Road Team captains for two years, were selected from 31 finalists.
The new captains have 453 combined years of experience and have logged more than 30 million accident-free miles.
They competed before a panel of judges near ATA’s Arlington, Virginia, headquarters. The competition tested drivers’ knowledge of the trucking industry, communication skills, and reviewed their community service and safety records.
During their terms, the captains will represent the trucking industry at events nationwide.
“America’s Road Team represents the best of what trucking can be: dedication to safety, professionalism and pride in an industry that delivers life’s essentials every day,” ATA President Bill Graves said.
“These 19 outstanding professionals join a select fraternity,” he added. “America’s Road Team has delivered the message of safety to millions, and I’m proud that these individuals will now be representing our industry.”
At a Jan. 14 presentation ceremony, ATA Chairman Duane Long called the incoming class “ambassadors for life,” and asked them to be role models to bring more young people into the trucking business.
“Safety will be the biggest topic you talk about, but I hope that when you meet young people, you will think about how to inspire them to come into this great industry,” said Long, who also is chairman of Raleigh, North Carolina-based Longistics.
Some of the younger new captains said they hope to get out a message that driving a truck is a stable and professional job for young people to consider.
“A lot of old stereotypes are what people still think of trucking,” said Tim Vogt, 36, who started driving for Con-way Freight at 21. Young people “might want to get into a corporate job, but this is a corporate job. It has all the benefits and all the opportunities.”
UPS Freight’s Henry Bruster, 38, began driving trucks in the Army at 18 and started driving professionally at 22 after taking a CDL class.
“When I started, some of the older drivers were my role models,” said Bruster, who been driving for UPS for 15 years. “Now the younger drivers look up to me.”
Bill Minor, 40, also with Con-way Freight, is a fourth-generation truck driver and said his 7-year-old son already has expressed interest in becoming a trucker.
“You’ll always be in demand” as a driver, he added. “If something happens with your company, you go next door and say ‘I have a CDL and a good driving record,’ and they’ll put you to work.” He also started driving at 21.
“We’re the new face of the trucking industry,” added Ricardo Buitrago, a driver with Con-way Freight in Kissimmee, Florida. “Our goal is to come home every night safely along with those who share the road with us.”
America’s Road Team, which began in 1986, has been sponsored by Volvo Trucks since 2002.
“We are proud to congratulate and support the top-notch professional drivers who have been selected as captains of the 2015-2016 America’s Road Team,” said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks’ North American sales and marketing.
Volvo was scheduled to present the team with a new 2016 VNL 780 truck late last week at its New River Valley manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia.
Road Team captains will take turns traveling around the country with the truck for the next two years, talking about safety at community events and schools, and to the news media, public officials and fellow truck drivers. Captains’ fleet employers pay their salaries while they are on the road.
David Green is among the new Road Team members to benefit. As a driver for truckload carrier Werner Enterprises, he “embodies everything that’s positive within the industry,” said Jaime Maus, Werner’s vice president of safety and compliance.
“They’re great ambassadors for the industry,” said less-than-truckload carrier Holland Inc.’s Stephen Blubaugh, vice president of human resources. Holland driver Russell Simpson is a new captain.
“They’re professional in every way, and as an industry we need people to understand what a truck driver is,” Blubaugh added.
The 2015-2016 America’s Road Team captains are:
• Henry Bruster, UPS Freight, Woodville, Miss.
• Ricardo Buitrago, Con-way Freight, Kissimmee, Fla.
• Charles Demchock II, Wal-Mart Transportation, Cocoa, Fla.
• Eric Flick, FedEx Freight, Dayton, Nev.
• David Green, Werner Enterprises, Hot Springs, Ark.
• Neil Kirk, Penske Logistics, Middletown, N.Y.
• Randall Luschen, Weinrich Truck Line Inc., Merrill, Iowa
• John McKown, UPS Freight, East Berlin, Pa.
• Chad Miller, ABF Freight System Inc., Crown Point, Ind.
• Bill Minor, Con-way Freight, West Milwaukee, Wis.
• Eric Ramsdell, Wal-Mart Transportation, Wittmann, Ariz.
• Paul Savill, UPS Freight, Hamilton, Ohio
• Russell Simpson, Holland Inc., South Vienna, Ohio
• Danny Smith, Big G Express Inc., Shelbyville, Tenn.
• Tim Vogt, Con-way Freight, Loganville, Ga.
• Kirk Weis, ABF Freight System Inc., Rio Rancho, N.M.
• William West, ABF Freight System Inc., Roopville, Ga.
• Derrick Whittle, Cargo Transporters Inc., Fieldale, Va.
• Scott Woodrome, FedEx Freight, Middletown, Ohio
