Page 34 - ATR 4 2015 web

“There’s goiNg To Be a wiNNer aNd There’s
goiNg To Be a guy iN lasT place. BuT you’re
here, aNd There’s loTs of oThers who
didN’T come. so eveN if you doN’T place,
ThaT meaNs someThiNg.”

–aaroN marTiN,
Truck ceNTers of arkaNsas

From changes in legislation and have a pretty intense safety culture
regulations, to fuel-efficiency and tech- which helped prepare me [for TDC],”
nology; trucking companies are fighting J.B. Hunt Transport driver Darren Tyler
daily to stay ahead and stay compliant. said. “We get weekly safety updates; we
And in arming their employees with have to do online safety protocol tests
the knowledge and training needed and routine truck inspections.” Martin
to execute those changes, they are— So when deciding who to send to
incidentally—providing them with a the competition, Brust and Gillen agree: kiLLing cOMpLacency
competitive edge at the trucking cham- They want someone who will reflect All five men interviewed for this
pionship. their corporate culture. article strongly agreed on two things
“To have a CDL, to be behind the “We try to find someone who will about TDC: First, it provides a unique
wheel—that doesn’t make you a profes- represent our company well and who opportunity to learn from peers and
sional driver,” Tyler said. “There are will enjoy it,” Gillen said. And that competitors; and second, it makes them
elements that separate a professional decision isn’t lost on the competitors. better at their jobs.
from a non-professional. A lot of that “What made me proud about being “For about two weeks before my
has to do with overall safety conscious- selected,” Tyler said, “was that it showed first championship, the guys who’d been
ness: Knowing that you take the time that my company feels I can represent before would talk to me and tell me this
to properly pre-trip your truck, being the image they want and their belief in is what you need to do, what to look for.
courteous and patient on the roadways. my skills as a driver. So my primary goal Safety, safety, safety—that’s what they
A lot of those things carry over into the was to do well, to make them happy hammered,” Martin said.
competition and make some a naturally with the choice they made.” That information sharing is exactly
better competitor.” Knowing that they’ve made their what safety supervisors like Brust hope
J.B. Hunt, ABF Freight, Truck companies proud is one of the reasons will happen. “If they learn something
Centers of Arkansas and the other com- they compete. new—different ways of inspecting a
panies represented at TDC have set high “ATA and the companies, they real- tractor or driving a tractor—maybe they
standards and established a corporate ly show how much they appreciate the can share it with other drivers. Pass
culture dedicated to safety. They have drivers,” Hall said. “It’s a good feeling; along that knowledge and get others
to—lives are on the line. I’m not going to lie.” interested in being involved and com-
“We’re constantly doing testing “I won Driver of the Month after I peting.”
and certification,” Martin said. “I do won Rookie of the Year at TDC,” Tyler That’s certainly how Darren Tyler
online tests almost every week because said. “You get recognized further up got hooked—through the relation-
something’s changed, something’s new, the ladder, more than you ever would. ships instantaneously formed with his
something’s expired. It’s a constant Getting congratulatory calls from cohorts.
battle to keep up with it.” regional managers—it’s kind of nice.” A rookie this year, Tyler had been
The same goes for drivers. “We a professional truck driver for over two

34 arkansas Trucking repOrT | issue 4 2015