Rearview: From risqué to recognition

Overdrive‘s Rearview series is a new recurring monthly feature taking a historical look at the trucking industry through the lens of archived editions of Overdrive.

The April 1977 issue of Overdrive

The May 1981 issue of Overdrive | Click for a larger version

In the 1960s and ’70s, Overdrive embodied the independent trucker that made up its readership and the on-highway debauchery that gave the business of hauling the iconic free-spirited image that was so common in pop culture at the time.

Despite the fact that each issue featured hard-charging long-form articles and opinion pieces organizing trucker strikes and taking on powerful lobbyists and unions, many covers in Overdrive’s first two decades sported a softer subject: the monthly Overdrive’s Date Master.

The Date Master profiles spotlighted a lucky reader’s tractor along with a few photos – in many cases, awkward photos by modern standards – of the month’s Date Master posing in and around the rig.

The Date Master series faded in the early 1980s when Overdrive ownership changed hands and the magazine switched gears from being primarily an advocacy publication for independent truckers and became focused more on the owner-operator business.

In recent years, Overdrive has translated its former monthly series into a more modern take on women and trucking. Since 2013, Overdrive’s Most Beautiful contest has recognized a hard-working female truck operator for positively promoting the industry’s image. Voting in the first round of the 2016 contest is open until April 6. Click here to cast your vote. 

Emily Weymouth won the 2014 Overdrive’s Most Beautiful contest.

Joanne Fatta won the 2015 OMB contest.

Owner-operator Maggie Stone won the inaugural Overdrive’s Most Beautiful contest in 2013.