Editorial: Salute 20 Ambassadors of Trucking
This Editorial appears in the Jan. 16 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Please take a moment to note and appreciate something that doesn’t happen nearly often enough. Twenty of our fellow citizens are being lauded with national attention for devotion to their industry, working hard and carefully on a consistent basis over time, in a way that helps to make for a smoothly running society.
We refer, of course, to the 2017-2018 captains of America’s Road Team, announced Jan. 10 by American Trucking Associations.
The new captains, from a variety of trucking companies throughout the nation, are now ambassadors for the industry. They will visit schools, state legislatures and civic events and do media interviews, as part of a program that began in 1986.
They will talk about highway safety and the importance of trucking as an essential part of the U.S. economy but also keep moving loads for their respective companies in the truckload, less-than-truckload, private fleet, tank truck and other sectors.
“Having hosted and worked alongside America’s Road Team many times at my Jet Express terminal and at industry events, I can confidently say that these are some of the finest drivers and representatives in our industry,” ATA Chairman Kevin Burch said.
The captains wear the team’s traditional blue blazers and travel the roads in ATA’s Interstate One Image Truck, but getting to this point was a lot of work, rising through a competitive process. When drivers were named for the finalist stage, the average competitor had 27 years of experience behind a wheel and 2.35 million miles of accident-free driving.
“There are 3.5 million safe, professional truck drivers on our nation’s roads, and every single one of them has a valuable story to tell,” ATA President Chris Spear said. “Their companies, friends and families should all be incredibly proud of these drivers for dedicating themselves to spreading a positive message about trucking.”
“America’s Road Team is one of the most visible groups of professional truck drivers in the country, and we believe their hard work and dedication pays dividends for our industry,” said Volvo Trucks North America President Göran Nyberg, whose company supplies Interstate One.
We are happy to add our voice in saluting these drivers, whose quiet, professional diligence over many years, lacking in drama but replete with impact, betters the lives of Americans from coast to coast by delivering food, medicines, cherished gifts, stuff in general and materials necessary for keeping others at work.
Well done, captains.
