Trucking History – December 2025/January 2026
Jan. 1, 1974
This date marked the beginning of a working staff for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
The establishment of OOIDA was the direct result of its founding members realizing they needed to be better informed, funded and unified to influence change at the federal level.
Some five decades later, OOIDA maintains a Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C., in addition to daily operations at its headquarters in Grain Valley, Mo.
Jan. 12, 2000
The television series “18 Wheels of Justice” premiered. After testifying against a crime boss, an undercover agent’s family is killed. The agent is forced to adopt a new identity as a truck driver named Chance to evade attempts on his life. G. Gordon Liddy, Lisa Thornhill and Billy Dee Williams were among the cast of this series created by Richard C. Okie that spanned two seasons and 44 episodes.
Jan. 21, 2019
OOIDA instituted a new Compliance Connection program. The user-friendly system offers 24/7 access for OOIDA members to their driver files, vehicle maintenance and other record-keeping programs. Additionally, reminders are built into the system, and cost per mile can be tracked. Drug- and alcohol-testing information can also be stored. Compliance Connection literally goes through each and every form to make sure they all are completed correctly. Think of it as an online personal assistant.
Dec. 6, 2024
Truckers For Troops, OOIDA’s fundraising effort to aid military personnel and veterans, presented the Veterans Community Project in Kansas City, Mo., with a $10,000 donation along with a truckload of household supplies for residents of the VCP’s tiny house community.
Truckers For Troops has made annual donations to this local VCP since 2020. In 2024, the generosity extended to VCP locations in St. Louis and Sioux Falls, S.D., then to the Longmont, Colo., location in 2025.
“It is always such a wonderful experience to visit any VCP location,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh said. “The staff is always so happy and excited to receive us and are so dedicated to the mission. I wish everyone could see and experience what the VCP really does.”
Over $800,000 has been raised through Truckers For Troops since the campaign began in 2007. LL