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Harnessing the wisdom of experience: A hallmark of the best among owner-ops

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Updated Mar 13, 2024

In this week's edition of Overdrive Radio highlighting February Trucker of the Month Doug Viaille, listeners get a clear sense for the owner-operator's understated, homespun sense of humor. Today hauling as Goat’s Transport, Viaille’s been in business for himself as an owner-operator for most of his 30-plus years in trucking thus far, and was nominated for the Trucker of the Year award by a fellow owner who calls him "Mr. Overdrive," in fact, after we called on Viaille’s experience in years past in a couple of different features.

Howes logoOverdrive Radio's sponsor is Viaille’s seen success these last years leased to Oakley Trucking -- that’d be the Bruce Oakley, Inc., bulk hauler based in Arkansas, where Viaille pulls a company hopper on a back-and-forth dedicated run loaded with industrial product, for healthy profits.

He's banked plenty in the way of wisdom, too, enough to recognize his own shortcomings and lean into the areas where he’s top-notch, as was illustrated to an extent in the feature about him published a couple weeks back.

[Related: 'Expensive wisdom' from decades trucking: Trucker of the Month Doug Viaille]

It can be "expensive wisdom," learning from mistakes made, as he notes, yet it's a hallmark of the best among owner-operators. Doug’s bounced back and learned plenty from more than a few, yet always with that dry sense of humor at the ready. Join us for this run through Viaille’s history going back to his pre-CDL Texas commercial license test in the late 1970s/early 1980s behind the wheel of a one-ton Chevrolet. Take a listen: