WINDSOR, Conn. — When Roland Bolduc, 60, of East Longmeadow pulls into the parking lot of the FedEx Ship Center in Windsor — his headlights bobbing in the 4 a.m. darkness — he’ll trade his diminutive four-wheel vehicle for a 70-foot long, 80,000-pound tractor trailer.
Once Bolduc leaves the center and heads to Bradley International Airport to pick up cargo that has arrived by plane, it’s a safe bet he won’t be getting into any accidents. After driving 2.6 million miles over his nearly four-decade driving career, he has a perfect record of safety. He’s never been in an accident.
These days, the East Longmeadow trucker is wearing a new badge of honor: He is now an American Trucking Association national champion, having recently won the sleeper berth competition in Columbus, Ohio where he went up against nearly 50 other champion drivers from across the country.
“I was holding my breath when they started announcing the winners. I wasn’t called on stage for third place or second place. It was a very tense moment,” he said. “Then they called my name as the first-place winner. That’s when the relief and excitement set in. There were quite a few emotions when I got up on stage and hoisted the trophy into the air,” he said.
The event in mid-August was the fifth time Bolduc had won the national championship.
It was no easy trick to win this truck competition — a triathlon that involved taking a written test, finding staged problems during a nine-minute safety inspection of a big rig, and driving with precision around challenges and obstacles on a course that included dodging a duck.
“There’s six problems and you have 10 minutes in a tractor-trailer to do this course. You have to get as close as you can to certain things and avoid others, like our mascot the duck. There’s a rubber duck and you have to avoid hitting it,” explained Bolduc.
Delivering safety and patience
After his early morning run to and from the airport, Bolduc regroups, taking the wheel of a smaller truck and starts making deliveries to businesses and homes in parts of Connecticut and western Massachusetts.
He’s spun the odometer full cycle so many times, that his experiences on the road are stacking up like packages in the back of his truck.
“A lot of times I see one car trying to get in front of another one, and that other car is not letting them in. We all have to get along on the highway, and if you let that person in, how much is it going to slow down your day? A millisecond? Patience and respect for those on the road is so important,” he said.
In information released in April 2023, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated about 42,795 people died in vehicle collisions in 2022. This included an estimated 3.8% increase in fatalities in Massachusetts from 417 deaths in 2021 to 433 fatalities in 2022.
While the administration notes its estimate finds a slight decline in nationwide deaths, AAA came out with a survey in December 2022 finding that an increasing number of drivers are engaging in risky behaviors behind the wheel, such as using a cellphone, rolling through red lights, following other vehicles closely or driving after consuming alcohol despite suspecting they were over the legal limit.
Bolduc says every morning, FedEx truckers are issued the same advisory before they hit the road: “We’re told as we’re leaving the building, safety comes first. There isn’t a delivery here that you should be jeopardizing safety over,” he said.
Center of congestion
One of America’s greatest population centers is the northeast — lots of people leading to crowded highways.
“That’s thing about driving in the Northeast. If you can drive safely here you’ve really accomplished something. You’ve really concentrated hard on the safety bubble that we keep around our trucks,” said Bolduc, who checks his sideview mirrors every five to eight seconds and leaves plenty of distance between his truck and the vehicle in front of him.
Even as Bolduc is a national champion, he never stops honing his skills, especially backing up his truck — which is akin to threading a needle.
“When I back up to a loading dock, I inch back little by little to see how close I can get to the dock,” he said.
Bolduc has a calm, relaxed demeanor — important characteristics for someone cruising down the highway with tons of cargo in tow. The clock is always running; he and the other drivers are constantly being tracked to make sure they fulfill the company’s promise of on-time delivery.
Even though there are surprises and accidents that jam his schedule, he said there are no shortcuts to safety along the way.
“Shortcuts don’t work. There’s always going to be stop lights, low bridges and traffic back-ups, but it all boils down to being patient and getting there safely,” he said.
Bolduc is mindful of his cargo. He may be dropping off a non-descript pouch or box, but inside is something his customer is eager to receive.
“I love my customers. It’s almost like Christmas every time you bring them something. They’re so excited to get their package,” he said.
Bolduc plans to keep on truckin’ for another four or five years, edging him ever closer to the 3 million-mile mark and his goal of having a perfect lifetime safety record.
