Kriska driver named Ontario’s best

TORONTO — Luke Langlois of Brockville, Ont. has covered a lot of miles as a trucker and collision free at that, so the driver was a good choice for Ontario’s top driver.

The driver with Kriska Transportation was named the 2008 OTA/Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of The Year and in a career spanning 20 years, he’s logged two million collision free miles.

"Truck driving is not a job; it’s a lifestyle,” says Ontario’s newly minted truck driver of the year. "Truck driving has provided me with a great life. It is an honor to encourage highway safety and treat people the way I would like to be treated. For me it’s about being happy, enjoying the journey and being the best you can be."

Each year the award goes to a professional transport driver who has a collision free driving record and is an exemplary driver both on and off the road. Langlois was presented with his award during a luncheon at the Ontario Trucking Association’s 82nd annual convention.

"Luke Langlois exemplifies qualities of a professional truck driver both on and off the road," says OTA president David Bradley. "It is a great honor to present him with this prestigious award in recognition of his achievement."

He has been recognized for his collision free driving record many times and has repeatedly been the first to lend assistance and comfort at an accident scene.

While Langlois is too modest to willingly admit it, his road stories include an act of heroism in January of 2008.

While traveling north on the Johnstown, Ont./Ogdensburg, N.Y. International Bridge during a wind storm, he witnessed a transport truck flipped on its side causing the guardrail and lamp post to tumble into the St. Lawrence Seaway. Langlois brought his truck to a safe stop and with the help of another driver he secured the scene and removed the trapped driver from the overturned truck.

With the use of a steel bar Langlois was able to remove the windshield and evacuate the driver to another truck, which transported him to Canada Customs for medical attention. Langlois remained at the scene to advise emergency personnel of the circumstances.
 


Have your say


This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.

*