Bryan Smith is one of three finalists for the 2020 Owner-Operator of the Year award, produced by the Truckload Carriers Association and Overdrive. The winner, who will receive a $25,000 cash prize, will be announced in September at TCA’s annual convention in Las Vegas. The sponsors of the Driver of the Year contests are Love’s Travel Stops and Cummins. The other two finalists are Glen Horack and Doug Schildgen.
–
Bryan Smith, 51, of Asbury, Iowa, has been driving in some form or fashion for Tucker Freight Lines (formerly Art Pape Transfer) for nearly 28 of his 30 years in trucking. He got his first trucking job with Schneider when he left the United States Marine Corps in 1991, then joined Art Pape in 1993.
He became an owner-operator leased to the company in 1994, and he has now been named a finalist for the Owner-Operator of the Year award for the fifth time in his relatively young driving career. While not being named a winner the first four times (the most recent was for the 2017 award), Smith is honored to have his name in the mix so many times.
“That’s always a feather in your cap,” he said. “It feels good to be appreciated. Guys who have won in the past, [the judges] made the right choice. I’m younger, so I don’t have a problem with that. I would say that even being considered among people that have been at it 50 years already feels good.”
Throughout his nearly 30-year trucking career, Smith has amassed more than 3 million safe driving miles, a milestone that he surpassed in 2019. He’s done so pulling a step-deck/RGN, hauling a variety of freight, including machinery, steel, stone, brick and lumber. A lot of the machinery he hauls, he said, is oversized, so he has to be mindful of the restrictions that come with that.
“I think I’ve stayed accident-free by the grace of God,” Smith said. “Anyone can go out there and crash at any time. Following distance is my biggest thing. If someone has to slam the brakes or loses control up ahead, I still have time to get stopped. And you have to make sure what kind of surface you’re on in the winter. Step on the gas occasionally to see if your rear wheels break free.”
