Missed Opportunities And A Shout-Out To Motor

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This summer I hosted a family barbecue as a send-off to my brother-in- law who was headed to glorious far-off lands in search of fame and fortune. Alright, the glorious far-off land is Sault Ste. Marie and he’s unlikely to find either fame or fortune awaiting him there -but it sounded good, no?

The part about the barbecue is true, and over a few beverages talk eventually turned to the environment.

I told the assembled members of my family that in 2010, heavy-duty truck engines will be essentially smog-free and that in some cases they may actually churn out cleaner air than they suck in. This was met initially with disbelief, which soon gave way to amazement.

My father, incidentally, is a small-time shipper but a shipper nonetheless, and this was the very first he had heard about the trucking industry’s progress towards eliminating its on-road emissions. I’ve said it before -we’re missing a huge opportunity here folks, by failing to inform the non-trucking public and shipper customers alike about our accomplishments as an industry.

I also told them about the cost the industry will endure to achieve this -up to $10,000 more per engine purchased in 2010 and beyond. To this, the response was “Where is the government?”

Even as non-truckers, they were of the opinion that the trucking industry deserves a hand in the form of grants and incentives.

At any rate, it’s always interesting to take a step outside our bubble and see how we’re perceived by people from outside the industry.

On another note, I want to give a huge shout-out to 2009 Truck News Owner/Operator of the Year Michael ‘Motor’ Rosenau, and his family. If you’ve driven out west, you’ve likely seen the Rosenau name on the side of a tractor or trailer.

The Rosenaus are a true trucking family, and it showed in the support Motor received upon winning the award.

Making the trek from Alberta to attend the presentation at the Fergus Truck Show were his wife Dana, father Len and mother Jen. His aunt Val and uncle Gord also made the trip.

They weren’t given a lot of notice, but they didn’t think twice about making the trip to Fergus. You can read about Motor in this issue and you can hear him in his own words on our WebTV show Transportation Matters at Trucknews.com.

Last month, I turned this space over to an O/O of the Year finalist who respectfully withdrew from the selection process citing concerns with the industry.

He raised some valid points and I received a handful of calls from other owner/operators (and even a former pilot) who expressed similar sentiments.

Motor, however, acknowledges the industry has some challenges, yet it hasn’t dampened his passion or enthusiasm one bit.

He says he’s “living the dream” and he couldn’t be happier doing anything else for a living.

Amid all the negativity surrounding this business at times, it sure was refreshing to spend some time with an owner/operator who still loves what he does.

-James Menzies can be reached by phone at (416) 510-6896 or by e-mail at jmenzies@trucknews.com.You can also follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/JamesMenzies.

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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