Trimac Transportation Truck Driver Named to Prestigious 2007-2008 OTA Road Knights Team

(March 13, 2007) – Rob Harding, an owner-operator with Trimac Transportation Services Inc. in Oakville, Ont., has been named a member of the 2007-2008 Ontario Trucking Association Road Knights Team – a select group of professional drivers who are dedicated to raising awareness of how all road users can safely share the road. Harding competed with truck drivers from all across the province for a spot on the team and for the right to wear the coveted Road Knights coat of arms.

The 10 members of the team are all employed as full-time transport drivers or owner-operators and step out of the cab several days each month to meet with the public.

During their two-year terms, Road Knights meet with community groups, business associations, driving schools, seniors organizations and service clubs to help improve highway safety and increase awareness of the trucking industry’s contribution to the provincial economy. The free community outreach service is offered by the Ontario Trucking Association.

Harding, who hauls specialized loads throughout North America, has logged over 3.7 million kilometers in his 23 years on the road. He has earned numerous safe driving awards and taught safety and compliance classes for other truck drivers. Harding operates tank trailers which carry specialized commodities requiring exceptional handling skill.

Harding got his start in the trucking industry when he was five years old – he rode with his father who was a professional truck driver. Later, when Harding earned his own commercial drivers licence, father (Ray) and son worked for the same company and often traveled the same routes. “It made for great conversation around the supper table at the end of the day,” says Harding.

Truck driving is still a family-affair in the Harding household, both Rob and his wife Christine, are licensed commercial transport drivers. The couple resides in Vittoria, Ont. and has three children, Jason, Tara and Brandon.

“The Road Knights are first-class drivers who represent their peers – Ontario transport drivers who are dedicated to safety and professionalism in the industry,” says David Bradley, president of the Ontario Trucking Association. “They are highly qualified to spread the message of road safety because they travel our roadways everyday, and have faced every type of traffic and weather condition imaginable.”

According to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, tractor-trailers are involved in less than three per cent of all road collisions, making professional truck drivers the safest users of the province’s roads.

The Ontario Trucking Association’s Road Knights team is selected by a panel of judges including representatives from the Ontario Provincial Police, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, 680News radio, the Transportation Health and Safety Association of Ontario, Today’s Trucking magazine (an industry journal), a truck driver from the previous Road Knights team, and OTA staff.

More than 70 drivers applied to participate in the program, while a short list of candidates prepared a speech and essay for the panel of judges. Each candidate on the short list was also subjected to a personal interview.

Prospective Road Knights must possess first-class driving records. To participate in the program, candidates must also be nominated by an Ontario Trucking Association member company in good standing.

In addition to educating community organizations about road safety, Road Knights take their trucks to local schools to introduce young people to career opportunities in the trucking industry. Recognized as leaders within their industry, the Road Knights also meet with students at truck driving schools to emphasize the importance of safety, professionalism and courtesy.

This is the seventh team that has been assembled since the program was formed in 1995. Over 75 drivers have participated in the program.

The Road Knights program earned a National Transportation Week Award of Excellence in 1996. In 1995 the program earned the coveted ‘Trailmobile Service to Industry’ award which is presented for vision, leadership and making an outstanding contribution to the truck transportation industry

Free presentations by a member of the team include an oral presentation, a video and pamphlets promoting road safety. Trucks can also be provided for road safety demonstrations.

For more information about the Road Knights, or to arrange for a presentation, contact the OTA’s communications department at 416-249-7401, ext. 224 or www.ontruck.org.

The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) is a business association representing motor carriers operating into, out of and within Ontario. The trucking industry is one of Ontario’s largest employers. Trucks haul 90% of all consumer products and foodstuffs produced and consumed in the province and 80% of Ontario’s trade with the United States. Founded in 1926, the association’s membership comprises trucking companies of all sizes, shipping all types of commodities, from all regions of North America. OTA is a member of the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

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