Veteran truck driver wins Rookie of the Year

Wetaskiwin Times — 7/13/16

By John Hopkins-Hill
Wetaskiwin Times

The 2016 Provincial Truck Driving Championships were held June 25 at Westerner Park in Red Deer and the Rookie of the Year was anything but a rookie.

Terry Saitz, a driver for the Home Hardware Wetaskiwin Distribution Centre, took home the award for the best first time participant and placed third in the B-train (a tractor with two trailers) category.

A total of 57 drivers from across the province took part in the event, and 27 of those were competing for the first time.

Saitz, a Millet resident and Alberta native, has been a driver for 30 years but wasn’t aware of the competition before this year.

“I got my Class 1 license in 1985 and I never knew about this competition at all. I didn’t even know it existed until Home Hardware got involved.”

This year marked the first time Home Hardware competed in the event hosted by the Alberta Motor Transport Association. Other distribution centres within the company have previously competed in the Ontario and Nova Scotia driving championships, and this year the company decided to offer the same opportunity to drivers in Alberta.

The competition includes a written test, a truck inspection and a driving portion. It all kicked off with a walkthrough of the course at 7 a.m.

“They made it challenging. Guys are coming year after year so they make it tough for them so they don’t just win every year. It makes it more challenging for the person who’s just competing for the first time.”

Drivers had to drive their trucks through an alley that got progressively narrowly, stop on a bull’s-eye, drive around a series of barrels, back into an alley and demonstrate a variety of skills. Scores are based on accuracy and time.

Saitz said the competition is all real-life skills, just harder.

“You run into tight stuff in back alleys a lot and you have to move your trailers around. So it’s a lot like everyday driving.”

The competition includes a total of five categories for drivers that include straight trucks, tractor and trailer setups with a total of three different axle configurations and the largest of them all, the B-train.

“To get Rookie of the Year with a B-train is quite an accomplishment because you’re beating all the other rookies, even the ones in straight trucks,” said Saitz.

Saitz first became involved in trucking while working for an inspection company headquartered in Houston. His boss told him it was too bad he didn’t have a Class 1 because the company was looking to transport a retired truck from Edmonton to Houston before the annual summer seminar in Texas.

“Why can’t I just go get one?” was his response.

Saitz bought a book on Friday, wrote the written test on Monday, took his driving test on Thursday and left for Houston the next Friday. He’s been a driver ever since.

His first drive went smoothly but it was far removed from the comfortable, modern trucks of today. Montana’s highways were made almost entirely of concrete slabs, something the suspension couldn’t quite handle.

“It was an old 1974 Louisville with no air suspension. I remember just holding on and thinking ‘I’ll never make it.’”

Eventually, Saitz took a job with Dairyland initially shunting trailers around the yard. He worked at that job until he transferred to the tanker division and began hauling raw milk from farms in the area.

Later he purchased a milk truck and delivered milk for a few years. It was delivering milk to Home Hardware that gave him the idea to try to work for them. He’s been with that company for 12 years and couldn’t be happier.

“They’re recognizing their drivers and a lot of companies don’t do that.”

Home Hardware asked their 35 drivers in Wetaskiwin if any of them wanted to compete this year and a total of four volunteered.

Next year, the goal is to win the B-train category and hopefully quality for a trip to the national finals in Toronto.

“I wasn’t very far with the points system from winning first overall,” said Saitz.

He may have been a rookie, but his performance wasn’t beginner’s luck.