MEMBERS of the Refrigerated Division of the Truckload Carriers Association and Carrier Transicold spent July 9 to 11, 2000, raising money to support the Professional Truck Drivers Institute. On July 9, 47 participants in the second annual Riders for Drivers Motorcycle Rally left Coquitlam, British Columbia, a small town on the eastern outskirts of Vancouver. At a reception dinner on the evening of July 11, Carrier Transicold presented a check benefiting PTDI to TCA Chairman Bob Hansen.
Participants in the ride pledged donations to PTDI. These pledges were matched by Carrier Transicold, sponsor of the event. This year, the rally raised $13,800 for the driver training institute. The amount of money raised and the number of riders participating was more than double the 22 riders that raised $5,000 during the first ride from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Vail, Colorado, in the US Rockies in July 1999. Riders were drawn from truckload carriers, Carrier Transicold dealers, and Carrier Transicold employees.
The motorcycle rally was organized to benefit PTDI, an organization managed by the Truckload Carriers Association. PTDI was formed by the trucking industry in 1986 to advocate standardized training for entry-level truck drivers and to certify that participating truck driving schools meet minimum curriculum standards. The institute now certifies 65 schools in 26 states and Canada. Its list of 26 primary contributors includes Freightliner Corp, International Truck and Engine, Mack Trucks, Caterpillar, a number of insurance companies, ATA, TCA, and 10 large motor carriers.
Carrier Transicold is a PTDI sponsor. Seeing driver recruitment and retention as a major challenge to the fleets that are its customers, Carrier Transicold saw an opportunity to combine support for a good cause with the hobby shared by its customers and dealers. The Riders for Drivers event was organized by Travis Smith, Carrier Transicold's manager of dealer development.
"We started this event in 1999 because many of our customers and their spouses are avid motorcyclists," Smith says. "No one in the transportation industry was doing anything like it. Linking the ride to a good cause was important to us. The severity of the driver shortage facing our clients makes PTDI a natural fit for the two goals of fun and good works. In just two years, the enthusiasm of the riders and the financial results have greatly exceeded our expectations."
Many of the riders shipped their motorcycles to Vancouver. Some carriers loaded their bikes with freight destined for Western Canada. Others rented motorcycles for the three-day, 800-mile trip across the Continental Divide through Canada's Rocky Mountain chain of national parks. Carrier Transicold outfitted the riders in official Riders for Drivers motorcycle gear. In addition to matching pledges from the riders, Carrier Transicold provided food and lodging during the event.
