Richard Munkittrick says trucking has never stopped feeling natural, even after 42 years behind the wheel.

The 60-year-old Bushell Transport driver was named Alberta Motor Transport Association Driver of the Year after a career he estimates has covered between 3-4 million miles, much of it in specialized and oversized freight.

“I’ve never sat down and counted,” he said of the miles.

Munkittrick has worked with Bushell Transport for nine years, hauling step deck, double drop and specialized loads, often into the United States. Many of the loads involve six- to 12-axle configurations, and he also operates the machines that are loaded on and off the trailer.

He says he has driven for close to 40 years without an accident.

Munkittrick was born in Sherbrooke, Que., and grew up around trucks. His father owned a company that spread lime for farmers using 10-wheel trucks equipped with lime spreaders. Munkittrick and his siblings began learning to drive equipment when they were between 10 and 12 years old.

Operating a family business

He began driving legally at 18, hauling freight to paper mills and into the United States. He later owned and operated Munkittrick Transport with his father, two brothers and a sister. The family business had 25 trucks and 60 trailers, running flat deck, step deck and specialized freight before it shut down in 2009.

After a couple of years in Quebec, a relative in Red Deer, Alta., encouraged him to move west. Until then, despite years of U.S. freight work, he had not driven past Ontario.

“It was kind of a shock to come here,” he said.

He moved to Alberta in 2013 and began working right away, first with dump trucks and a couple of other companies before joining Bushell Transport in 2017. Munkittrick says trucking remains part of his identity.

“Trucking is in my blood,” he said. “That’s what I do.”

Patience and courtesy

For Munkittrick, safe driving begins with patience and courtesy. Experience helps, but he says the foundation is caution and professionalism.

“You just drive like it was your last day of driving,” he said.

He also believes appearance and attitude matter, especially for younger drivers entering the industry.

“You have your shoes on, safety gear, you dress like a professional,” he said. “You are a professional.”

Munkittrick says he still enjoys trucking as much as he did when he started. The work keeps him active, and the travel remains part of the appeal.

He often hauls loads into Texas and is usually away for two weeks at a time, though some trips can stretch to two months. His wife is used to the routine, he said, and keeps busy with work and their three grandchildren. The couple has two sons, both in their 30s.

Munkittrick expects to keep driving for another five to 10 years. He says the physical nature of specialized hauling helps keep him active, and decades of safe driving habits have become second nature.

Even after more than four decades on the road, he still approaches trucking with the same discipline and professionalism that first drew him into the industry as a teenager.