Maine Motor Transport Association

Transcription

1 Motor Carrier Review Board Volume XX, No. 13 Committed to Safety, Courtesy, and Professionalism September Team Champions Clifford W. Perham, Inc. (Shaw s Supermarkets) Pre-Trip Inspection Richard Hill Walmart Transportation Grand Champion Hayri Berberoglu Sysco of No. New England Rookie of the Year James Coburn Cumberland Farms Knowledge Test Award Winner James Shunk Nestle Waters NA/ Poland Spring This issue of Behind the Wheel is sponsored by: Maine Motor Transport Association -

2 Congratulations to the Maine State Champions from the Maine Motor Transport Association Grand Champion Hayri Berberoglu Sysco of No. New England Team Champion Clifford W. Perham / Shaw s Rookie of the Year James Coburn Cumberland Farms Knowledge Test Award Winner James Shunk Nestle Waters NA/ Poland Spring Pre-Trip Inspection Winner Richard Hill Walmart Transportation Step Van Champion Brad Bartlett, Jr. FedEx Ground Straight Truck Champion Dennis Rickett Clifford W. Perham / Shaw s Three Axle Van Champion Glendon Buzzel Hannaford Trucking Four Axle Van Champion Denis Litalien Clifford W. Perham / Shaw s Five Axle Van Champion Ron Round Pottle s Transportation Five Axle Flatbed Champion Rob Balfour Balfour Motor Express Five Axle Tank Champion Harry Hamlin Irving Oil Five Axle Sleeper Champion Richard Hill Walmart Transportation Twin Trailers Champion Hayri Berberoglu Sysco of No. New England Maine Motor Transport Association 142 Whitten Road, Augusta, ME Phone: (207)

3 Maine State Truck Driving Championship Results Twin Trailers 406 Hayri Berberoglu (*1) Sysco of Northern NE 342 John Ellingwood FedEx Freight 321 Greg Deterding UPS Freight Don Fortin Hannaford Trucking Co. Ray Rogers FedEx Freight Matt Richardson FedEx Ground Straight Truck 319 Dennis Rickett Clifford W. Perham/Shaw s (*5) 298 Edward Abbott Downeast Energy 289 Joseph Buckley Dennis K. Burke, Inc. David Roberts Con-Way Freight George George Dysart s Transportation John Ayer Dysart s Transportation Three Axle Van 362 Glendon Buzzell Hannaford Trucking Co. 340 William G. Butland Sysco of Northern NE 328 Andy Dupont Walmart Transportation John Dionne Sysco of Northern NE Ray Peavey FedEx Freight Adrien Doyon Sysco of Northern NE Mike Brown Con-Way Freight Five Axle Tank 350 Harry Hamlin Irving Oil Terminals, Inc. 341 James Coburn (*4) Cumberland Farms 332 James Shunk (*3) Nestle/Poland Spring Guy Currier Webber Oil Co. David Gagne Clifford W. Perham/Shaw s (*5) James Jewell Webber Oil Co. Frank Betts II Walmart Transportation Fred Ayer Walmart Transportation Anthony Swackley Irving Oil Terminals, Inc. Timothy Reynolds Nestle/Poland Spring Ray Crockett Bill McPherson Trucking Clarence Towle Dennis K. Burke Five Axle Sleeper 389 Richard Hill (*2) Walmart Transportation 322 Craig Carver Pottle s Transportation 312 Brian McDuffie Pottle s Transportation Michael Jodoin Dysart s Transportation Tom Pooler Hannaford Trucking Co. Brian Green Pottle s Transportation Randy McCaw Central Maine Transport Quentin Hardy Central Maine Transport James Hannigan Pottle s Transportation Jessie Fournier White Rock Distilleries Four Axle Van 293 Denis Litalien Clifford W. Perham/Shaw s (*5) 268 Bob Danforth Walmart Transportation 262 Larry Menter YRC Vincent Cote Hannaford Trucking Co. Eric Schroeder Sysco of Northern NE Paul Paradis Con-Way Freight Michael Swallow UPS Freight Shawn Brown Dennis Paper & Food Service Scott Nickerson FedEx Freight Five Axle Van 340 Ronald Round Pottle s Transportation 330 Kevin Duran Hannaford Trucking Co. 320 Eric Foster Land Air Express of NE Philip Patry Clifford W. Perham/Shaw s (*5) Jon Brockway Walmart Transportation Scott Carter FedEx Freight Five Axle Flatbed 340 Robert Balfour II Balfour Motor Express 331 Robert Magnuson Hannaford Trucking Co. 287 Alex Creighton Pottle s Transportation Kraigh Cramer Central Maine Transport Dave Crockett Currier Trucking John Lieberman Walmart Transportation Roger Scott Dysart s Transportation Ken Lewis Central Maine Transport Brian York Dysart s Transportation Step Van 379 Bradley Bartlett, Jr. FedEx Ground/CB Daigle 321 Nicholas Parent FedEx Express 306 Russell Broad FedEx Ground/CM Doughty Dean Flye, Jr. FedEx Express Eric Barden FedEx Ground/CM Doughty Jason Brooks FedEx Ground/CM Doughty Derrick DiPaulo Maine Uniform *1 Grand Champion *2 Pre-trip Inspection Award Winner *3 Written Test Award Winner *4 Rookie of the Year *5 Team Award Bolded names are members of the Maine Professional Drivers Association. Note: All contestants are listed in order of finish. Anyone wanting their individual scores should contact Cliff Gray or Denis Litalien. - 3

4 HEEL Championships The Maine State Truck Driving Championships were again held at Dysart s Truck Terminal in Hermon. The folks at Dysart s have been gracious to us over the past 17 years in allowing us to bring the competition to the greater Bangor area by using their facility for the driving and pre-trip inspection portions of the statewide competition. The Maine Motor Transport Assn. conducts the Maine State Truck Driving Championships with assistance from the Maine Professional Drivers Assn. Thanks to all the members who showed up in Bangor for the State Truck Driving Championships. As in the past, the Maine Professional Drivers Association was involved with this event in a big way. We had members setting up and judging on the course, hosting a hospitality room, running the food booth, supplying course equipment and tearing down the site. This is the biggest event of the year for us as it is the showcase of our industry and it is our biggest fundraiser for the Association with the food booth. Hannaford and Sysco graciously donated food items for the food booth, run by Roger and Wanda Wilcox with help from Dick Brown and a number of volunteers. This year, our old friend and renowned trucker, Ron Hutchins, generously agreed to sponsor the hospitality room for us. Thanks, Ron! While Ron couldn t be there this year, he sends his best to everyone. We thank all the members who judged and helped out in a number of ways and especially to the following who handled key parts of the competition: Cliff Gray & Randy DeVault All aspects of the competition, judges, scoring, etc. John Waisanen & Alan Paradis Course set up George Colby, Denis Litalien & Mike Frith MPDA Trailers & Course Equipment Pete Mortensen Information and Sales Booth Denis Litalien - Hospitality Room Dave Littlefield Pre-Trip Inspection Nate Lewis Driving Equipment Dick Brown - Raffle Thanks also to all the companies who were involved this year by providing equipment and personnel to make sure this competition went off without a hitch. And what a success it was! While space limits us from thanking all those who helped put this event together, we want them to know that we appreciate the efforts that each and every one of them put out to make this happen. Seventy-two drivers competed for the title of Maine State Grand Champion and to be the State Champion in each of eight different classes of trucks. Hayri Berberoglu of Sysco of Northern New England took home the Grand Champion title and went to Columbus in August to represent Maine in the Twin Trailer class at the ATA National Truck Driving Championships. Jim Coburn of Cumberland Farms was the Rookie of the Year. Other winners are listed elsewhere in this edition of the newsletter. A terrific time was had by all that converged on the city of Bangor and surrounding areas to participate. Activities started on Friday, May 14 th, as company officials, MMTA staff and MPDA members set up the driving course at Dysart s. On Friday evening Denis Litalien and other MPDA members hosted a hospitality room at the Bangor Motor Inn to welcome all the participants to the event. Saturday saw the contestants start their day with the written test portion at the Bangor Motor Inn and the pre-trip inspection test at Dysart s before going on to the actual driving competition. The weekend was capped off with a huge awards banquet held at the Bangor Motor Inn on Saturday evening. Many families stayed over into Sunday to enjoy the area and to return home at their leisure. The banquet featured Ron Hawkins, a member of America s Road team as the announcer and guest speaker. Along with his invocation, Rev. Walker did a short tribute to Everett Macmaster, who recently passed away, and spoke about how he missed Bill and Barb Pooler being there this year, who were absent for health reasons. N e w Y o r k C o n v o y The second annual Convoy for the Kids took place in July at Lake George, New York this year. It featured Nashville talent, fireworks, Super Rigs Calendar trucks among other attractions. For more i n f o, c h e c k o u t t h e i r w e b s i t e a t - 4

5 Championship Notes Championships Scoring Notes Top Pre-Trip Scores (Sponsored by United Insurance Group) (Out of possible 100) Richard Hill Ron Round - 90 Eric Foster - 87 Craig Carver - 82 Dean Flye, Jr Brad Bartlett, Jr Top Written Test Scores (Sponsored by Maine Professional Drivers Assn.) (Out of possible 80) Jim Shunk 78 Glendon Buzzell 76 Jon Brockway 76 Rick Magnuson - 76 Richard Hill 74 Kevin Duran 74 Four drivers scored 72 Top Rookie of the Year Scores (Sponsored by Maine Commercial Tire, Inc.) Jim Coburn Nick Parent Russell Broad Dean Flye, Jr Joe Buckley Grand Champion Scores (Sponsored by Hartt Transportation, Inc.) Hayri Berberoglu II Richard Hill Brad Bartlett, Jr. 379 Harry Hamlin James Coburn * There were 18 past State Champions in this year's Maine competition. Six out of the nine State Champions this year are repeat winners while Ron Round, Dennis Rickett and Harry Hamlin won their first State Championships. Out of this year's Champions, Glendon Buzzell, Hayri Berberoglu, Rob Balfour, Brad Bartlett, Richard Hill, and Denis Litalien are past Champions. Fun Championship Facts Past State Champions Competing This Year Denis Litalien - (NH- 81, 82, ME- 84, 87, 88, 94, 95, 00, 01, 04) Rick Magnuson ( 89, 98, 02, 05, 09) David Gagne ( 89, 93, 00, 04) Hayri Berberoglu II - ( 97, 03, 06, 07) Eric Foster - ( 06, 07, 09) Kevin Duran ( 82, 90) Richard Hill - ( 06, 09) Brad Bartlett - ( 08, 09) Jason Brooks - ( 08, 09) Glendon Buzzell - ( 83) Tony Swackey (RI- 97) Roger Scott ( 04) Guy Currier - ( 05) Rob Balfour - ( 07) Scott Carter ( 07) Bill Butland - ( 08) Vince Cote - ( 09) Matt Richardson ( 09) * With this year s win, Denis Litalien leads all Maine drivers with 11 wins. Randy DeVault and Charlie Nadeau have done it 10 times. (Randy no longer competes as he runs the training unit for MMTA and Charlie is retired. Following close behind are Fern Richard with 9 wins (retired) and Warren Lewis with 8 wins (did not compete this year). * Maine has five past National Champions. Mark Corriveau of Hannaford Trucking Co. (2-time National Champion) has retired from competition; Warren Lewis of Hannaford Trucking, Everett Macmaster, (deceased) and Randy DeVault are past Champions at the ATA National Truck Driving Championships. Also, Warren and Rick Magnuson, both of Hannaford Trucking and Everett are past National Champions at the U.S. Professional Truck Driving Championships. - 5

6 National Champions Carl Krites, a Con-way Freight professional truck driver based in Wapakoneta, Ohio was named the National Truck Driving Grand Champion. Carl's driving skills and knowledge of transportation and truck safety information topped those of 415 other professional drivers from all across the United States in the National Truck Driving Championships, held in Columbus, Ohio. The 73rd annual "Super Bowl of Safety" is sponsored by the American Trucking Associations. The National Truck Championships were even on Twitter and Facebook this year so everyone could keep up. The contestants were the state champions in nine truck types from all 50 states. Collectively, they have driven 581,001,783 accident-free miles. Carl also won the individual tank truck driving competition. Joining Carl as champions in their respective classes: Straight Truck: Scott Watts FedEx Express (Anchorage, Alaska) Three-Axle: Heladio Fernandez FedEx Freight (Portland, Ore.) Four-Axle: Jason Matte FedEx Freight (Richland, Miss.) Five-Axle: Steve Elliston Walmart Transportation (Sparta, Mich.) Sleeper Berth Class: Bruce Quaal YRC Freight (Farmington, Minn.) Twins: Don Logan FedEx Freight (Eskridge, Kan.) Flatbed Class: John Smith, Jr. FedEx Ground (Mooreville, Miss.) Tank Truck Class: Carl Krites Con-way Freight (Wapakoneta, Ohio) Step Van: Sean Saxon FedEx Ground (Mesa, Ariz.) Carl Krites succeeds Dale Duncan, a professional truck driver with Con-way Freight, as the National Grand Champion. Joseph Hicks, a driver for Con-way Freight from Johnston, Rhode Island, was named Rookie of the Year after competing in the Three- Axle division. William Chavrala of New Penn Motor Express of Whitehall, Pennsylvania was presented with the Vehicle Condition Award while Dennis Day of Con-way Freight of Lawrenceville, Georgia received the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award and Dave Knobloch of LaCrosse, Wisconsin was presented with the Life-Time Volunteer Award. He was the 4-Axle Class Den Mother this year. The Oregon state truck driving championship team won honors as the highest scoring state team. On a local note, FedEx Express established an annual award to be presented to one of their drivers each year at the Nationals. Scott Watts of Arizona was the first recipient of the Everett S. Macmaster Award. Everett s two sons, Scott and Sean, were flown out to Columbus to be part of the presentation. For more information, visit the National Truck Driving Championships website: NTDC/Pages/Default.aspx Trucker Buddy For all the latest on the Trucker Buddy Program go to Truckerbuddy.org. This program partners truck drivers with classroom around the country to help educate students on the trucking industry. Drivers visit schools and send postcards from various locations. Championships Preparation Part of what MPDA does is encouraging drivers to get involved in the Championships, whether it be at the company, State or National levels. This year, the Association hosted a number of practices for the contestants who wanted to sharpen up their skills. MPDA also provided equipment and personnel to companies wanting to host their own competitions. Special thanks to Warren & Claudette Lewis, Don and Sandy Mitsmenn, Alan Paradis, and Cliff Gray for all their help in putting this together. Warren was especially thorough in putting together a simulated pre-trip inspection demo. Also, special thanks to Emery-Waterhouse for the use of their parking lot in Portland for all the practice sessions If your company would like to set up a competition, contact Alan Paradis at or aatkg@maine.rr.com to get on the calendar and reserve the equipment - 6

7 National Truck Driving Championships The ATA National Truck Driving Championships were held August 3rd through the 7th in Columbus, Ohio. Maine contestants finished as follows: Straight Truck Class Dennis Rickett Clifford W. Perham / Shaw s 32nd Step Van Class Brad Bartlett, Jr. FedEx Ground 10th Tank Class Harry Hamlin Irving Oil 21st Sleeper Class Richard Hill Walmart 26th Twin Trailer Class Hayri Berberoglu Sysco of No. New England 45th 3-Axle Van Class Glendon Buzzel Hannaford Trucking 29th 4-Axle Van Class Denis Litalien Clifford W. Perham / Shaw s 11th 5-Axle Van Class Ron Round Pottle s Transportation 4th Flatbed Class Rob Balfour Balfour Motor Express 26th Job Shadow Day By: Matt Spearin For Job Shadow Day I chose to job shadow my Grandfather who works for Hannaford Trucking. He delivers goods to the different stores all over the state. The day that I went with him we had to wake up at 2:00 A.M. When we got in his pickup it was freezing in there as trucks normally are. He said it was about 20* outside (he lives on Sebago Lake so it is always a little colder there!!! We made it into Scarborough by Sam s Club and we got stuck in a red light. They are really stupid. They turn green on all the lights except if you are turning left then they go back to red then to green and you can proceed on!! We got to the yard and got truck 338 and drove over to the main office. I met Chad at the desk. He was really nice. My Grandfather clocked in and got his information. He checked his mail box. There wasn t any but I grabbed a cup of hot cocoa. It was really good! When we got back outside we picked up trailer 6513 (I ve memorized all this.) He then checked the sheet that had all the information on it. We had about half a load that we had to haul then we had to go pick up 5 cases of RX way out back all by itself in a cage!! I found out that if there s a problem with the truck/ trailer and you find it before you leave the gates it s their fault, but once you leave the gates it s your problem during the trip. I realized why Snowman (in Smokey and the Bandit- FAVORITE MOVIE EVER) loves his job! Once we got up to Plymouth, N.H., we were about 45 minutes early so we had to wait a little but not long. The people there seemed to get along and were very nice to us. The guy who unloaded us was EXTREMELY nice. I don t know his name but he was a bigger guy and had shorter hair! On the way back when it was light out I could see that N.H. was highly watched by police, State Troopers, D.O.T., etc. My Grandfather also told me that during the week he makes stops to different stores in a night but on weekends it s only 1 or 2. Mostly 1 though!! And that s my report!!! I d like to thank: Ron La Flemme, Chad, my Grandfather (Rickard Dumbrocyo) and all the Hannaford Bros. Crew for being extremely kind and understanding. - 7

8 Message from the President Let me give everyone a reminder of some upcoming events. On Sept 12 th you can participate in the 11th Annual Northeast Professional Truck Drivers Charity Challenge at Sherman Square, Devens, Mass. Donations can be made online and go to St. Jude s Children s Hospital. On Sept. 26 is our Annual Maine Trucking 4 Kids Convoy. Donations can also be made online and it all goes to Camp Sunshine and DARE. We need to give Nate Lewis, the Safety Director at Walmart for the donation to MPDA of a 53 trailer. Thank you Nate for your hard work and Thank You Walmart for your generous donation. Coming soon, at the end of November, is the full blown activation of CSA. Are all you drivers ready? You can check it out at csa.fmcsa.dot.gov. This is going to be a big change for the driver. The driver is going to be responsible for much more than in the past. Forewarned is forearmed. George Colby Charity Challenge The Northeast Professional Truck Drivers Charity Challenge is coming up on September 12. If you have never participated in this event and truck driving competitions interest you, this is an event you will not want to miss. It consists of a well laid out driving competition consisting of 11 obstacles that drivers have to maneuver to score. Awards are presented for the top 3 drivers in each of 10 classes of vehicles. A Grand Champion Award is also given out as well as 3 places for the optional pre-trip inspection test and rules and regulations test. To enter a driver must raise at least $75.00 and must turn in the money at registration or make the donation online. Drivers may register online as forms should be available in August. Much information is available on the website for the event including sponsoring various parts of the event by companies, local hotels to stay for the weekend, etc. Check it out at New Hampshire State Champions Straight Truck - Neil Nogues, YRC Three Axle - David Dapp FedEx National LTL Four Axle- Rick Wickman, YRC Five Axle - Wayne Barss True Value Company Sleeper - Mike Cloutier, Walmart Flatbed - Randy Cowles True Value Company Tank - Robert Heald Walmart Twins Mickey Rafeal, YRC Step Van - Charles Putnam, FedEx Express Massachusetts State Champions Straight Truck - Ricky Sly - A. Duie Pyle Three Axle - Brain Singelais - A. Duie Pyle Four Axle - John Forgione - A. Duie Pyle Five Axle - Michael Chaplin - Clifford W. Pelham, Inc. Flatbed - Karen Tierney - FedEx Express Sleeper - Nick Treadwell Con-Way Freight Step Van - Bob Ledoux - FedEx Express (Step Van Rookie of Yr. and Best Pre-Trip) Tank - William Coolidge - Clifford W. Pelham, Inc. Twins - Richard Sweeney Con-Way Freight Best Pre-Trip (tie) - Karen Tierney - FedEx Express Best Pre-Trip (tie) Bob Ledoux FedEx Express Best Written Test - Daniel Kellerman Con-Way Freight Step Van Rookie of the Year Bob Ledoux - FedEx Express Team Trophy - Con-Way Freight Rookie of Year - Steve Pelletier Con-Way Freight Grand Champion - Brain Singelais A. Duie Pyle Brad Rayworth Award - Roland Bolduc - FedEx Express Trucking for Kids Convoy While the Maine Trucking for Kids convoy doesn t happen until September but meetings are held every month by the Convoy Committee to organize all aspects of this fun event. This year Irving Oil is getting on board with giveaways and on site promotions to help promote the event. Come to the next meeting in August and see what s going on. Editor s note Updated Convoy information is available on the MPDA website including a new feature to make online donations to the event. We are also still looking for volunteers from the MPDA side to handle the trucking part of the event. Also, please don t forget that the Old Country Buffet Restaurant at the Maine Mall, a long time Convoy supporter, always gives anyone attending our meetings half-price meals. Visit our website: - 8

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11 Splitshifting by Denis Litalien Congratulations to Hayri Berberoglu for his winning the Grand Champion Award at the State Truck Driving Championships this year. Hayri, Champion in the Twins Class, along with the eight other State Champions, travelled to Columbus in August to attempt to become National Champions and bring back the Team Award at the National Truck Driving Championships. While the drivers who participated get all the attention, we should remember and thank all who lent a helping hand at the Championships. Many of our members spent the day at the food booth, on the course as judges, scoring drivers for the pre-trip inspection; staging equipment, selling raffle tickets, hats and t-shirts and doing all those little things that make the event an annual success. Splitting gears here, we attended this year s competition with a heavy heart as we mourn the loss of good friend Everett Macmaster. His absence was very obvious throughout the Championship weekend in Bangor. Thanks to his son, Shawn, who sent us a giant poster of Everett, we felt as if he was with us in the hospitality room. As a past National Champion and a 5 time State Champion he was well known by everyone. And not only for his accomplishments, but for his personality and his sense of humor. And since we started putting together this newsletter, we also lost another dear friend, Bill Pooler. We all remember him showing up at all the driving competitions with his golf carts. And some of us even remember when he was a volunteer at the Nationals and when he drove a car carrier for Anchor Motor Freight under the CB handle of Town Crier. We miss you guys! Shifting gears again, I want to thank the drivers who volunteered their time for the Bike Trek of Maine on June 16, 17 and 20. Thanks to your efforts and that of many others, the Lung Association raised over $1.5 million to help us all breathe easier. Over 1900 bicyclists were able to ride from Sunday River to the Belfast waterfront. We were able to have a safe event thanks in great part to the professionalism of our drivers. Those members who helped were Pete Mortensen, Dick Brown, Cliff Gray, Dale Rowe, George Colby, Dale Rowe, Rob Fernald, Jim Shunk and Mike Conroy. Also, special thanks to Emery-Waterhouse for the use of their parking lot for the trucks. And let s not forget the Trucking for Kids Convoy coming up at the end of September. This is the best opportunity for us to showcase the good things we do in the community. Thanks to Irving Oil, who is promoting this event at all their gas stations this year, for their stepped up support this year. The event is a lot of fun, raises some money for the kids and generates some great publicity! In the meantime, keep on truckin.safely! Denis MPDA Officers To contact the officers of the Maine Professional Drivers Association, you can write, call or the following: President - George Colby 44 Shaw Rd. New Gloucester ME gcolby@maine.rr.com Cell Vice President - Michael Coulombe 97 Quaker Rd. Sidney ME oldgranite@yahoo.com TDC Officer - Clifford Gray c/o MMTA P.O. Box 857 Augusta ME grayc@mmta.com Legislative Officer - David Littlefield 76 Ash Swamp Rd. Scarborough ME scooby@maine.rr.com Membership Officer - Peter Mortensen 25 Chicopee Lane Unit #5. Biddeford ME morty@maine.rr.com Treasurer - Alan Paradis 27 W. Beech Ridge Rd. Scarborough ME aatkg@maine.rr.com Cell Publicity Officer - Roger Wilcox 28 N. Dyer Neck RD. Newcastle ME rwwilcox@tidewater.net Cell Interim Secretary - Denis Litalien 9 Lynn AVE, Biddeford, ME dentruck@hotmail.com Cell - 11

12 Member News Our former Legislative Officer is now running for office. Dan Schweitzer is running as an Independent candidate for the Maine Senate District 20. Anyone wanting to check out his website can go to Good luck, Dan! National Champion Everett Macmaster recently passed away. A huge memorial service was held at the Woodford s Club in Portland. Attendees came from far and wide with a big contingent from the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Drivers Associations present. Many members got up and related some funny stories about Everett and his wonderful sense of humor. FedEx had a tractor-trailer parked outside which will be used to host driving competitions around the company s facilities. It is now named The Everett in honor of his accomplishment over the years. Everett was known far and wide for his driving history, having won the State Truck Championships five times and winning the National Championship. He was also well known by MPDA members for always being around to help with any event that needed help, whether it was company driving competitions, the Trucking for Kids Convoy, the annual Bike Trek event, among many other things. He was always on hand to help the new guys with practicing for the State and National competitions when he wasn t already in the competition himself. He will be missed! Bill Pooler, 79, died July 24,, at his home in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Bill lived part time in Hooksett, New Hampshire and Florida. Bill was a retired Teamster since He was a member of the antique truck club and an active member of the New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts Professional Drivers Associations. He logged more than 4 million accident-free miles on America's roadways. Funeral services took place Aug. 20, which would have been Bill's 80th birthday, at the Boscawen Veteran Cemetery in Boscawen, New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Angels Unaware, Inc., P.O. Box , Tampa, FL Condolences may be sent to his wife Barbara at: Barbra Pooler Coddle Court Wesley Chapel, Fla c@gmail.com phone Roadcheck Figures Show High Compliance Levels The Maine Department of Public Safety Roadcheck News reports that only 4.4% of drivers stopped for inspections in this year s Roadcheck event held last month were placed out service the same percentage as last year when driver compliance hit an all-time high for the annual safety inspection event held across North America. Results from the June 8-10 event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance show that the commercial motor vehicle industry hovering close to the record low out-of-service rates set during Figures show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80%, down slightly from 80.4% last year, with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6%, which is unchanged from last year, according to American Trucking Associations. This year s Roadcheck results provide further evidence of the trucking industry s steadfast commitment to safety, said American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves. In the hazmat driver category, 2.5% of the drivers stopped were placed out of service, down from 3% in Because of inspector layoffs due to the poor economy, the number of inspections conducted this year, 65,327, was down 10% from last year. The results showed that despite the recession s impact on both trucking and commercial vehicle safety inspectors at the local government level, safety benchmarks are holding, said Stephen Keppler, CVSA s interim executive director. Other Roadcheck sponsors were the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Transport Canada, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and Mexico s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation. - 12

13 MPDA Website Usage Hits Files Pages Visits Sites Kbytes Visits Pages Files Hits April, May, June, July, August, September Membership Anniversaries 15 Years William Phipps, Associated Grocers of Maine, Cross Insurance Jones-Hoxie Division, Emery Waterhouse Co., Performance Food Group-NorthCenter, Yarmouth Lumber Co. 10 Years Christopher A. Libby, Clarence Thompson, James L. Coburn, Krisway Truck Leasing Co. 5 Years Alan C. Henriksen Website Update MPDA continues to make our organization more productive and efficient. Members can now pay dues online, make donations to MPDA or Trucking 4 Kids convoy, and purchase membership items through our members only page on the website. Check out our items for sale hats, shirts, fleece vests and jackets as well as pins, decals, and patches. Pete Mortensen Webmaster Upcoming Meetings October 17 MPDA Meeting (Includes Budget Committee Meeting), MMTA Office, Augusta - contact George Colby at gcolby@maine.rr.com or ( ) January MPDA Meeting, Location TBA - contact George Colby at gcolby@maine.rr.com or ( ) March MPDA Meeting, Location TBA - contact George Colby at gcolby@maine.rr.com or ( ) MPDA Board of Directors President George Colby Vice President Michael Coulombe Treasurer Alan Paradis Secretary (Interim) Denis Litalien Membership Officer Pete Mortensen T.D.C. Officer Cliff Gray Legislative Officer David Littlefield Publicity Officer Roger Wilcox All Active Past Presidents Past Presidents Dave Stuart, Dick Brown, Fred Thompson, Doug Pickard, Ron Hutchins (2 Terms), John Waisanen, Alan Paradis, Denis Litalien MPDA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting courtesy, safety and professionalism in the field of commercial driving. MPDA Newsletter Staff Editor: Denis Litalien Layout, Design, & Distribution: Pete Mortensen Contributors: Dave Littlefield, Matt Spearin, Dick Brown, George Colby Webmaster: Pete Mortensen Behind the Wheel Our newsletter is published quarterly for our members and advertisers. Articles of interest to members, advertising copy, inquires, payments, change of address, comments, and newsletter submissions should be mailed to: Maine Professional Drivers Association P.O. Box 5672 / Augusta, Maine / Tel (207) / mpdainfo@mainepda.org

14 Maine Professional Drivers Association PO Box 5672 Augusta ME