“Hi all, my name is Peter Wallace. I’m a truck driver of nearly 34 years, originally from Montreal but now living in Mississauga. I’m a former owner/operator who now hauls general freight out of Interport in Mississauga.

I like playing my Nintendo Game Cube or Gameboy in my spare time or watching movies on my portable DVD player when I’m waiting to pick up a load.

I’m an avid reader of Truck News who always makes sure to pick up extra copies for my buddies whenever I’m at a truck stop. I think the publication offers a lot of good information on what’s happening in trucking. I like the personal stories about different people in the industry. I actually read three different magazines from the Transportation Media Group, including Motortruck. My favourite column in your book is your fiction stories about Mark Dalton: O/O. It keeps me on the edge of my seat every month!

I’d like to see more stories about how drivers should treat their engines. There are a lot of drivers on the road who don’t know how to properly care for their engines. I’ll use idling as an example. If you’re going to be idling, do it at a fast idle, not a slow idle.

If you do it slow, you lose power. A fast idle is better for the engine. It burns less fuel and it’s better for the environment. A lot of young truck drivers don’t know that. I went to truck driving school in 1970 and I drove a ’59 Mack, double stick with no power steering and no suspension seat. These new drivers didn’t go through what I went through – so let’s teach them.”