ROAD SCHOLAR: If anybody can make a case for long-haul trucking, it would be veteran Penner driver David Henry.

By Nigel Simms

The two realities collided head on. There is a chronic shortage of professional truck drivers in this country. And I am currently looking for work.

Apparently, I’m an ideal candidate. I’ve had a lengthy, some might say successful, career in another field. At 58, I’m mature enough to know how the world works, young enough to still want to be part of it. I’m told companies are targeting people like me. Trouble is… I don’t know squat about truck driving.

David Henry does. I’m pretty sure the 45-year-old owner­operator from Landmark, MB., has little trucks running in his veins. He started driving farm vehicles at 14 and has never looked back. He currently drives for Penner International, mostly running turnpikes to Alberta. Henry would introduce me to life on the road.

We met at the 2013 Manitoba Truck Driving Competition, where he proudly finished second in the Super B category. His wife, mother, two of his eight children and one grandson were there to share it.

“This is definitely more than a paycheck,” he says. “There’s pride in being able to haul a big rig around without hitting anybody.”

An articulate, funny truck driver. It promised to be an interesting trip.

The next afternoon we picked up more than 22,000 kilos of black carbon destined for the Goodyear plant in Kingston, ON. As we pulled out of the Penner yard in Steinbach, MB., we settled into an easy conversation. It would continue, pretty much non-stop, for the next 48 hours.

In that time I learned about rigs, old characters, close calls, being out of compliance and family. I got a taste of what it takes to drive a truck for a living. And I learned how much better the driving experience is today than it used to be. (Henry actually penned an article an article by that name last year.)

Henry’s 2013 Freightliner is quiet and comfortable, a small home on wheels. And as any long haul trucker knows, it’s also an office.

The amount of paperwork was one of the biggest surprises for me. I understand the importance of proper record keeping, but incessantly filling out paper reports in this age of electronics seems oddly out of place. I heard that some companies were looking for retired teachers to drive. I suspect the endless paperwork has something to do with it.

I also learned that life on the road is very much influenced by the company you work for. Henry enjoys driving for Penner, a family-owned operation started in 1923.

“Companies these days focus more on the driver,” says Henry. “It’s so different today in that respect. The company owners concentrate more and more on shorter runs — getting their drivers home more at the times they want.”

That companies are paying more attention to the needs of drivers is encouraging. For anyone coming from a world of 9:00 to 5:00, life on the road would be a colossal adjustment. I was exhausted by the time we hit southern Ontario, and all I did was ride shotgun and talk.

It boggles the mind that Henry has driven a truck for more than three decades and somehow managed to raise a large family. He immediately credits his wife Alta for making it all work.

“Whether the driver is male or female, the partner has to be a strong, independent type of person as well. Because when I’m out on the road, the partner has to run everything. So it’s tough. You don’t get to see your kids as often. You miss out on things, but somebody has to do it. It’s what I enjoy doing and I do it well.”

He certainly does. Henry loves his truck and the life style. It’s the complete package. And that seems to be the most important thing about embracing life on the road. A six-week course will teach you how to shift gears. It will not help you understand the rhythm of the road. For that you have to spend some time with a driver like Henry.

Driving a truck would be a huge adjustment for someone like me. Sitting, essentially for days on end, is tough on the joints. It’s no accident that Henry had chiropractors waiting for him at both ends of our journey. Anything done to improve the physical comfort of drivers would be important.

But the biggest concern, a potential deal-breaker, is the stress that trucking puts on your social life. As you get older, family and friends become very important. The smart trucking company will recognize that during their recruitment efforts. And it’s something I would think long and hard about because I spent more than enough time away from my family in my previous job.

On the other hand, not supporting your family is probably a lot more demoralizing than being away for stretches at a time. Depending on how things work out for me personally, my next career step could very well be searching out the best truck driving school in Winnipeg.