In The News

Paraplegic trucker faces tough times because of sour economy

MOSCOW, Tenn. — Let’s face it. Some folks are harder hit by hard times than others.

Take Barry Owens, for example. Readers of The Trucker have come to know and appreciate Owens’ dogged determination to succeed in trucking, despite the fact that he is a paraplegic. But he has never let it stand in the way of his doing the job to the best of his ability.

For about two years until the current economic crunch really started choking the industry, Owens was rocking along and making a decent living like most other drivers. He, like they, was even able to survive the daily ordeal concerning skyrocketing diesel prices.

Also during that two-year period, Owens invested about $230,000 in his rig.

“If I had to sell it today,” he said in an interview with The Trucker, “I’d be lucky to get $75,000 because of the way the economy has crashed. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. Instead of custom-building this truck to fit my physical requirements, I should have just bought another truck with only the bare necessities. But like everything else in life, hindsight is 20/20, I guess.”

He lost the use of his legs in a one-truck accident in 1981. He was out of trucking for a couple of years, but ultimately completed rehabilitation and learned to drive all over again.

Today, he runs his own outfit, which is online at determinationtransportation.com. His home and business phone is (901) 877-4476 and his cell number is (901) 826-8165.

At least a thousand truckers and non-truckers alike have come to admire what Owens has done with his truck, “but it’s difficult for those outside the industry to understand that, sadly, someone has to pay his bills and that someone is Owens himself.

It’s difficult, for instance, for him to pull in for what most might refer to as a “normal” fuel stop. Other truckers and motorists who’ve stopped at the same location are automatically — and understandably — drawn to Owens’ eye-catching machine. Its mere presence seems to trump that of all others within proximity.

It’s a scene with which Owens is happily familiar. He can’t say no to anyone who asks to “see what’s inside.” He’s never charged a fee or accepted donations for his time and effort, and he’s never been known to refuse anyone a personal tour. At almost every stop he gives a half-dozen curiosity seekers a first-hand look inside the cab before finally refueling and heading on down the road.

The good thing is, he’s satisfied the curiosity of a lot of people who are truly amazed at how such a physically handicapped individual can easily maneuver one of today’s mammoth machines.

But the trouble is he’s lost a lot valuable driving time, too. “I guess a lot of people have admired what I have done with my truck, but it’s difficult for them to understand and, sadly, admiration doesn’t pay the bills.”

At least 1,000 people have gone through this truck since the first day I took it out on the road. I guess I’ve not gotten the right person to see it and listen to me and what I am capable of doing.”

Owens said that the ideal situation for him at this point “would be to hook up with a sponsoring truck line or other industry-related organization that can see the benefits of such a project, which proves that a person can do what he or she sets out to do if only they will set and maintain the proper course.”

Owens said he would be at ease whether teaching other handicapped individuals to drive or giving safe-driving presentations to individual groups. “I would like to get together with a sponsor who could keep me on as driver, too. I know in my heart that I can provide a service that would prove to be a win-win for everyone concerned. I always give 110 percent in whatever I do.

“I have never had anyone say outright he couldn’t use me because I am handicapped. I’ve never been out of the top 10 percent producers with any company I’ve worked for. I have never had anyone call and say ‘don’t send that handicapped guy back’. A lot of customers over the years have repeatedly asked for me specifically to make their deliveries.

 â€œIf I had to get rid of my truck right now,” Owens said, “I think it would kill me. I’d not only lose the truck, but we’d lose our home, too. I’m not a whiner; not by a long-shot. But ask any trucker and he or she will tell you that there’s just something special about a rig that’s become such a major part of who and what you are. I’ve never been one to try and skate by and use being handicapped as an excuse for others to do my work for me.”

Owens said the “worst case scenario as it appears today would be for my wife Kathy and me to have to go to government-subsidized living. I hate the sound of that. Unless an opportunity presents itself, I will run it until the insurance expires March 25. The tags expire in April. My Insurance is $6,000 and the tags are around $2,100.”

Owens told The Trucker during an interview Jan. 21 that he “made just $800 clear this week. I can’t afford to make a long run somewhere and wind up having to wait a week with no pay while searching for a return load. I don’t know many truckers who can.”

Jerry Breeden of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected].