The Ontario Truck Driving Championships (OTDC) have been an integral part of our industry since 1947. 

We are proud to announce that Truck News is now going to be an integral part of OTDC, as official media sponsor.

Industry is no different than sport; top performers are always keen to see just how good they are and at the OTDC they get the opportunity to do so. 

For almost seven decades the Ontario Truck Driving Championships have been providing a forum for professional truck drivers to display their skill and encourage drivers and their employers to take an active interest in the safety, skill and courtesy needed to conduct a responsible business on our streets and highways. 

They are designed to create greater public awareness that truck driving is an important and necessary profession.  

They also provide a forum for the industry’s best to rub shoulders in a family setting and celebrate their profession.

Through a series of difficult, competitive tests that measure the level of driver expertise, the contestant’s knowledge of rules of the road, safety, courtesy and efficiency in vehicle handling are evaluated. Classes are divided into straight truck, single-single, single-tandem, tandem-tandem and trains. 

The courses are overseen by volunteer marshals, as well as several MTO officers, helping out with the pre-trips. The spirit of volunteerism is robust at the OTDC. 

No one gets paid, but as our on-road editor Harry Rudolfs who participated in the OTDC last year quickly noticed, the volunteers as well as the committee members work tirelessly and return year after year. 

Regional, private and company championships are held annually throughout Ontario leading to the Ontario Truck Driving Championships.  We at Truck News believe that the OTDC sends a positive message about our industry and the people who, literally, drive it that needs to be told louder, bolder and more frequently. 

As the official media sponsor we have committed to providing exciting coverage of the final championships and the competitions leading up to it like you’ve never seen before. 

We will do what we are best at to bring out the best of the OTDC: We will engage all our media platforms – print, online, social media, WebTV – to highlight the skills, knowledge and personalities behind this year’s contestants.

We begin with a major feature on the OTDC in this issue of Truck News.

Regional qualifiers are running June 14. Driver registrations opened May 1. Hundreds are expected for the final event in Barrie and Transportation Media will be there with its camera crew to record the exciting competition. 

Stay tuned to www.trucknews.com, Truck News magazine and our Twitter feeds over the coming weeks for coverage of the OTDC like you’ve never seen before.