OOIDA life member honored for four decades of safe driving

A life member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is being recognized for her career-long commitment to safety.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance recently named Ruth McDonough the recipient of the 2022 International Driver Excellence Award. A 43-year veteran of the trucking industry, McDonough has spent the past 10 years as a driver for Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Hittman Transport Services.

According to CVSA’s website, the annual award, “recognizes individuals who go above and

beyond the performance of their duties as a commercial vehicle driver, distinguishing themselves conspicuously and beyond the call of duty through the achievement of safe operation and compliance carried out with evident distinction for an extended period of time.”

Safety is paramount for all drivers, but takes on a new level of pressure in McDonough’s truck. As one of the few women working in nuclear transport, she is responsible for hauling radioactive and nuclear loads. With over four decades behind the wheel, she has traveled around 4 million safe and incident-free miles. Despite her track record, McDonough said she was “pleasantly shocked” to win the award.

“I was overly shocked about it,” McDonough told Land Line Now. “It was just totally dumbfounding to me. I was happy. Tears in my eyes. I was crying. I’ll admit, it was a total shock to me.”

CVSA sets the bar high when it comes to the award.

McDonough, a veteran of the U.S. Army, is no stranger to recognition. While stationed in Germany, she earned the Army Achievement Medal for her work delivering armored personnel carriers, ammunition and general supplies. She also received the Driver of the Year Award as part of the 839th Transportation Company stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. McDonough says this award is special.

“I’ve been awarded mileage awards and certificates of appreciation, different things like that,” she said. “But as far as something like this, this is just totally awesome.”

McDonough credits her nearly 4 million incident-free miles to her faith, listening to her gut, and trusting her instincts. She says her dedication to being hyper-observant while behind the wheel has served her well in her career.

“Just being very observant … I’ll be honest with you, I just don’t care to have blue lights behind me! But I think looking forward, looking as far as you can, that’s my biggest thing,” McDonough said. “Looking way up front, seeing what’s going on. And then if you start seeing there’s something going on, you could start backing out a lot earlier instead of having to come up on it and slam on your brakes.”

As of press time, McDonough was scheduled to be presented with a crystal trophy and a check for $2,500 at the CVSA annual conference and exhibition on Sept. 21 in Rapid City, S.D.

“I just really appreciate CVSA and all the people that have supported this award deal,” she said. “It’s been a whole different world. The media world is something us truck drivers don’t really get too much attention with. So it’s just really great to have an opportunity like this.” LL