'It’s the pinnacle'

Rathdrum resident James Self has driven between 6 and 7 million miles without any accidents, which is why Self was recently named the American Trucking Association’s national driver of the year.

When he heard he was nominated, Self thought it was a waste, that there are a lot of people as good at driving as he is.

“I try to just do the best I can with each load I haul,” Self said. “It’s just been a life that I’ve loved. I got to experience the heat of the desert at 120 degrees above, and to experience Alaska at 50 below and everything in between. It’s a nice time.”

While Self is humble about the recognition, his wife, Rebecca, is thrilled and excited about the opportunity to see the Pacific Northwest represented at a national level, especially by her own husband.

Driving has been Self’s life, and it’s what he’s always wanted to do, and now he’s recognized for being great at it.

“We nominated him for the national driver of the year,” said Duane Williams, the executive director for the Montana Trucking Association. “We thought, what are the chances? Then we hear he made the top five.”

The top five national candidates were each given five questions to answer in a YouTube video. The videos were judged by the committee that chose Self.

“When you watch his video, you just know why they chose him,” Williams said. “We’re all hopped up about it. It’s the pinnacle.”

Before being awarded the national honor, Self was also awarded the state trucker of the year for Montana in 2021, and was nominated by the Montana Trucking Association in the fall of 2022 to receive the national award.

At the award banquet in Minneapolis, where Self received a trophy, he received job offers from companies asking him to train for safety, and one man wished he could clone him to make a fleet of truck drivers with his safety record.

Self has been an independent contractor for Whitewood Transport out of Billings for 16 years, and a truck driver for 47 years. Whitewood presents Self with a safety buckle every year, a belt buckle recognizing safe driving, and awarded him driver of the month before nominating him to the Montana Trucking Association. Whitewood Transport has fully supported him through the process and hired a videographer to produce his video submission to the American Trucking Association.

As the truck driver of the year, Self will travel across the country representing his company, the state of Montana and the U.S. at regional and national conferences by the MTA and the “great big conference” put on by the ATA in Austin, Texas.

Some winners of the ATA driver of the year have gone to the White House, but Self doesn’t have much interest. He said if Trump were still in office he’d go, but not with the current administration.

Self doesn’t quite know what all the fuss is about. He drives because it’s what he loves.

“It means that we’re recognizing someone that is a great industry person,” Williams said. “He’s a person that’s safe and respectful and represents the industry well.”

Truck drivers got something of a bad wrap during COVID-19, Williams said, at a time that was particularly harsh for drivers who traveled across the country while things closed and limited access to resources or services.

“Those poor truck drivers during that time,” Williams said. “Doggonit everything shut down, and there’s no groceries, no places anywhere are open and they have to keep going on. During COVID, truck drivers were true heroes.”