Competitive drive | Bangor-based truck driver readies for national tournament
Photo/Jason P. Smith
Hayri Berberoglu II will represent Maine in a national professional truck driving competition in Ohio later this summer
Hayri Berberoglu II knows the 300-page manual for professional truck drivers nearly as well as the roads of northern Maine, where he’s been driving a rig for SYSCO food distributors for 17 years. The 1,000 miles a week he puts on his SYSCO tractor-trailer traveling to Houlton, Calais, Greenville and other destinations from his Bangor terminal gives him plenty of opportunity to practice the driving skills that earned him the title of Grand Champion at the annual Maine Professional Truck Driving Championship last month. In August, he’ll go up against state champions from around the country in the national tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
“Once you win, you get kind of hooked,” says Berberoglu of the competition and his fourth Maine Grand Champion crown in nine years.
For Berberoglu, the appeal isn’t the trophy he won or the bragging rights he can claim. It’s more the chance to compete with his peers and keep his edge in a profession he’s had for the past 25 years. “You have to remain sharp,” he says. “Truck drivers can’t afford a slump.”
Nor can they afford to rest on their laurels. The annual Maine driving competition is a day-long affair, testing drivers in various vehicle categories and with methods that change every year. The competition — sponsored by the Maine Professional Drivers Association and Maine Motor Transport — is divided into three scored segments to test the driver’s knowledge and skill, as well as the soundness of his or her truck.
The first part is a 40-question written test, based on that hefty manual covering safety, security, first aid and other elements essential to safe transportation. The test is worth 80 points in the competition, followed by a 300-point skills test.
“They set the course with six problems, and those change every year,” says Berberoglu, who was driving a twin trailer in this year’s competition. “It can be anything. Do a figure eight on a small course and don’t touch any of the barrels. Turn left, but the right front tire has to be within 18 inches of a marker on the ground. If you get it to 6 inches, you get 50 points with fewer points the farther out you go until you hit 18 inches or more and then you get zero. “One part of the course, I had to back up the doubles 38 feet in a straight line,” says Berberoglu, with a hint of pride. “I got a 50 on that one — the highest score.”
The final part of the test is the 100-point, pre-trip inspection. Tournament organizers set between 17 and 20 defects in a vehicle and give the driver six to 10 minutes to find them all. “They can range from broken mirrors and brake lights to loose lug nuts. You have to check everything,” he says.
At the end of the day, Berberoglu had the highest score in his category of twin trailer drivers, and the highest overall score out of 72 Maine drivers. It was a sweet victory, but perhaps not as sweet as the time he finally bested a driver with 30 years’ more experience who Berberoglu was afraid would retire before he could beat him.
“He had a big target on his back,” says Berberoglu with a laugh. “I finished second behind him twice and finally beat him in ’06, when I took Grand Champion. That was a thrill for me.”
At 6’3”, Berberoglu can handle the physical demands of unloading up to 20,000 pounds of freight every day (“it’s all body mechanics,” he says) and although he’ll turn 51 next month, he still takes the 60-hour work weeks in stride. He doesn’t think much about retirement or what he might do next, aside from practicing for the upcoming national competition. “I like to test myself on the road,” he says. “I think competing has made me a better driver.”
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments