For 16 years Shawn Matheson has been driving a truck professionally. He says it’s the only job he’s ever wanted.
“My grandpa did it, my dad does it, my uncles do it,” he says. “I rode around with my dad when I was old enough to go in the truck with him.”
The family profession has come so naturally to the 34-year-old Listowel resident that he’s been able to use his skills on a competitive level. In the 10 years that Matheson has been competing, he’s been crowned Ontario champion in the tandem-tandem class five times.
“Sometimes you just feel you get lucky and you have a good day right, everything clicks for you,” says Matheson, who also drives trucks in his day job at Home Hardware.
But it’s not just luck. Of those five times he’s won the provincial title and gone on to the national level, he’s won one gold, and been crowned Grand Champion.
To win at that level, you need do well in all the events, which include re-writing your license, an inspection with MTO officers, finding defects on vehicles, and obstacle courses, including the alley dock.
“What that is basically a driver has to jackknife into an alley dock. He only has so much room, I believe it’s only about four inches on either side of the trailer before he starts to come in contact with the rub rails,” says Dennis Shantz, director of fleet services at Home Hardware. “So I would say that’s a very difficult one. They practice for hours in preparation for the championships.”
“You only have the length of the vehicle in front of you, so you have to jackknife in and if you don’t get it right like the first time, it’s not going in,” says Matheson.
A big part of the competition isn’t just driving skill, but knowing the rules of the road and making sure your truck is safe to be on the road.
“I take a lot of pride in the safety, which Home Hardware backs us with, being one of the safest fleets on the highway it’s enjoyable to drive for a fleet like that,” says Matheson.
The 2016 National Truck Driving Championships take place in Brantford in September, and Matheson is excited to compete for another title in his home province.
With reporting by Marc Venema