When Richard Boehrer, one of the Truckload Carriers Association’s (TCA) five 2023 Drivers of the Year, was a youngster, he dreamed of someday becoming a truck driver.
For many years, however, it seemed that dream would remain unfulfilled. Even Boehrer’s uncle, who was a professional driver, couldn’t offer encouragement to the aspiring driver.
“Impossible,” he told his nephew when asked about the possibility of driving a truck for a living.
You see, Boehrer is deaf, and in those days, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations required that all drivers be able to hear. Eventually, those restrictions were loosened, requiring the hearing impaired to pass a “whisper test.”
Even this concession did Boehrer no good, because he is completely deaf.
So, one might ask: How did Richard Boehrer become a TCA Driver of the Year?
In 2011, Deaf Truckers United was formed, and the organization went to bat for people like Boehrer. Its argument was that the technology involved in trucking made concerns about deaf drivers immaterial. Their argument did not fall on deaf ears, so to speak.
Two years later, the FMCSA created exemptions to the hearing portion of the CDL test, paving the way for Boehrer and others to prove their skills and become commercial drivers.
Today, Deaf Truckers United has grown to an organization of over 1,000 drivers.
Communication on the job requires a small adjustment, according to Boehrer, who says his carrier, Knight-Swift Transportation, has been quick to offer assistance.
“My terminal manager and I communicate through a video relay service,” he said. “Another way we communicate is by texting.”
But what about the nuances of driving a truck that one would think would require hearing?
“I can’t hear air leaks,” Boehrer said. “I use a spray bottle to see if there’s any bubbles. If there’s a blowout, I can feel the vibration on the road.”
Boehrer explained that when there is a problem, something just feels different in the truck. That “feeling” is something many people who are deaf describe. It’s a way the body compensates for lacking the sense of hearing.
“My body can feel in a way I don’t think hearing people can,” Boehrer said. “Deaf people can feel things and know that something is wrong.”
One area the FMSCA doesn’t give deaf drivers a pass on is safety. Deaf drivers must be just as safe as any other driver on the road. Boehrer says that he, like any other driver, is expected to follow regulations and conduct thorough pre-trip checks.
“We have a lot of responsibility to take care of our trucks and to check everything and make sure everything is safe,” he said. “Safety is the most important thing.”
In addition to support from his carrier, Boehrer says he is appreciative of the community provided by other drivers, as well as the support of Deaf Truckers United.
“There are a lot of truckers with the Deaf Truckers United organization,” he said. “We’re focused on teamwork and communication and helping each other learn. Deaf Truckers United has a deaf truck show where we get together twice a year.”
Unlike his uncle, Boehrer is able to encourage deaf people to reach for their goals.
“I would like to let deaf people know that they can get involved,” he said. “They can become truck drivers. It just depends on people. You can’t discriminate against people. You have to let people do what they can do. The most important thing we need to do is work together, the deaf and the hearing. Communication is what it takes to have successful teamwork.”
Boehrer adds that everyone faces different challenges.
“There’s different kinds of challenges that hearing and deaf people who work this job have,” he said. “They can’t make any mistakes. I used to drive dry vans, but now that I drive reefers, I have more responsibility. There’s food, frozen goods, and meats. It’s a bigger responsibility to take care of the product for the customer.”
Boehrer also said that driving reefers carries him across the country.
“It keeps me going to different states,” he said. “I’ve been to 48 states and Canada. I’ve been working with Knight Transportation for 10 years.”
As for the accolades he receives for a job well done, Boehrer is especially proud of achieving one goal in particular.
“I was really happy to become a million miler,” he said. “And I’m just gonna keep going. I’m not gonna stop. I’m gonna keep going until I retire.”
Boehrer is also glad to have added TCA Driver of the Year to his resume.
“I feel really inspired to be a TCA professional driver of the year,” he said. “I’m real happy about that.”
During the 2023 TCA Driver of the Year awards ceremony, held in Orlando, Florida, last March, Boehrer drew a standing ovation from the audience, complete with thunderous applause that he undoubtedly could feel through the planks of the banquet hall stage.
“What I really enjoy is I get to go everywhere,” he said. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone who overcame the “impossible.”
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2024 edition of Truckload Authority, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association.
Since retiring from a career as an outdoor recreation professional from the State of Arkansas, Kris Rutherford has worked as a freelance writer and, with his wife, owns and publishes a small Northeast Texas newspaper, The Roxton Progress. Kris has worked as a ghostwriter and editor and has authored seven books of his own. He became interested in the trucking industry as a child in the 1970s when his family traveled the interstates twice a year between their home in Maine and their native Texas. He has been a classic country music enthusiast since the age of nine when he developed a special interest in trucking songs.
