Say What?

Question: What’s your definition of a true professional driver?

Charlie Chasteen, 55, Toledo, OH 
Professional driving experience: 30 years  
“Someone who thinks and cares about everybody out on the road, including the people in the cars and treats them all—and their driving job—with respect at all times.”

Edward Bosket, 56, Lake City, FL 
Professional driving experience: 35 years 
“A true professional is someone who tries to be as safe as he can possibly be at all times. A true professional looks presentable at all times and tries to help the general motoring public in any way he can.”

Leonard Martin, 41, San Antonio, TX 
Professional driving experience: 20 years    
“I don’t know. I haven’t reached that point yet. I’ve been out here 20 years, and I’m not close to knowing all the things I need to know about trucking. When I was first trained by an older fella, he told me that the day you think you know it all, put your keys up because you’re going to hurt someone. The day I quit learning is the day I quit driving.”

Woody Miller, 64, Speedwell, TN  
Professional driving experience: 40 years 
“Someone who really likes trucking and takes their job seriously. They respect it, they don’t abuse it and they don’t give truckers a bad name, for example, by throwing trash out along the roads and in the parking lots.” 

Milton Smith, 45, Jackson Center, OH  
Professional driving experience: 17 years  
“Well, our schedule is completely different than any other occupation you can think of. As a true professional, you’ve got to be able to adapt to it. I came out of a shop where I put in 10 hours a day, went home and did whatever I wanted to do. Driving a truck, you can put in 10 or 11 hours and find yourself in the middle of Timbuktu, looking for a place to park. It takes a real professional to handle that every day.”