In The News

Driver got into trucking because there’s always a job there

Dustin Oakes, a company driver for TR Roberson, was a factory worker years ago but he decided to get into trucking because he felt there would always be a job available no matter what.

“There’s always a demand [for truckers],” Oakes said. “I was in a union factory. You never know when they would shut down. You can get a trucking job anywhere if you want to. I’ve only had three trucking jobs in 12 years.”

He lives in Augusta, Ark., after growing up in nearby Searcy, Ark., where he graduated from high school. He moved to Augusta for his job and because he likes its smaller size.

Oakes hauled gas locally for a long time until he rolled his tanker and was afraid to do that anymore so now he does long-haul driving where his loads consist of dry freight groceries, mostly rice out of Riceland Foods.

His route takes him typically to Wisconsin. He runs north out of Stuttgart, Ark.

“I’m home every weekend,” Oakes said. “I haul groceries both ways. Occasionally I go to Texas; sometimes I go to Jackson, Tenn. I am staying busy. The economy has not slowed us down at all. Actually I’m doing better now than I’ve ever done in my life. Our company is growing. We’re adding trucks and drivers.”

Oakes was asked where he likes to drive the most.

“I enjoy northern Wisconsin to look at the sites and stuff,” he said. “It’s really pretty. I love Arkansas. There’s no place like home. There’s nothing any prettier than northern Arkansas in the fall.”

Oakes has a wife, Tammy, who is a licensed practical nurse and daughters, Brooke, Carmen, and Kellie.

His children sometimes ride along in the summertime when school is out and if they want to.

“My dog rides with me all the time,” he said, speaking of his half-lab, half-chesapeake bay retriever named Sunny. “She used to be my duck dog. She’s old and retired and now she just rides. She trout fishes too.”

When Oakes gets home he likes to duck hunt and trout fish.

“I just like to fish, go to church and spend time with my kids and wife,” he said. “We go to church and I spend the rest of the day with my family until it’s time to go to work.”

Oakes said his children like to fish with him and he does things they like to do.

“We just do what they like,” he said. “My middle daughter loves to skate so we do that a lot. I don’t skate! I watch. I’m 300 pounds and clumsy. I have to drive. I can’t afford to break anything.”

Oakes attends The Church of God, which he said is a Pentecostal church. He was raised Catholic, but offered reasons for leaving it.

“Nobody carries a Bible to Catholic Church,” he explained, “they read to you. I do better if I read it for myself.”

In his 12 years of driving, Oakes has noticed a change in truckers.

“Drivers have less and less respect for themselves every day,” he said. “They throw out urine bottles and then we can’t park. They give all drivers a bad name. It’s a job but we can make the best of it that we want to. You gotta respect yourself before anybody else can respect you. We as truckers can gain respect, but we have to respect ourselves first.

Oakes still keeps his hazmat license up to date even though he’s not hauling those loads anymore.

The Trucker asked if he expected to be a driver for life.

“I figure so,” he replied. “I don’t think I’d mind dispatching. But I work for a very good man. If my vehicle broke down he’d have me a truck. If I was too sick to drive, he’d take care of me. He’s a top shelf person.”

His boss, T.R. Robertson, currently has 35 trucks and has been in business for 13 years. He’s buying more trucks as fast as he can, according to Oakes.

As mentioned earlier, Oakes left hazmat hauling after rolling his tanker. It happened on Interstate 440 at exit 10.

“I rolled off the get-on ramp onto the Interstate,” he said. “I had a broken tire rod end. It rolled but it didn’t burn. I was pinned in it. I got two herniated disks in my neck, tore my rotator cuff, tore tendons and ligaments in my wrist and had to have two pins put in it.

“I was pinned in about 25 to 30 minutes. A little Mexican guy who couldn’t speak English got me out. People I drove with for years didn’t even come help. They were standing across the road watching. He crawled through the gas from the busted tank and got me out. I thought it could blow any minute. I was praying. That will get you religious in a hurry, even though I already was.”

That’s the only wreck he’s been in and Oakes has only been cited once for speeding while driving personal or commercial.

Barb Kampbell of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .