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JUNE/JULY 2019 

Features 

14 

FedEx driver Rachel 

Bothwell spends time off 

hauling rodeo bulls 

staff 

General Manager: Megan Hicks 

Sales Manager: Ed Leader 

Editor-in-Chief: Lyndon Finney 

Art Director: Kelly Young 

10 

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Lyndon Finney, Editor 

JUST ABOUT EVERYONE IS IN FAVOR 

OF SAFETY, BUT OPINIONS VARY ON 

HOW TO ACHIEVE IT 

T 

here are reports aplenty that cross our desk every 

day, some good, some bad, some just plain stupid. 

The most recent, and this is one of the good 

ones, finds that American motorists “strongly support” 

a broad array of safety measures, from reducing local 

street speed limits and building more roundabout 

intersections to stricter seatbelt enforcement efforts. 

The report was based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. 

motorists conducted by NORC at the University of 

Chicago for the Road to Zero Coalition. 

The Road to Zero Coalition is managed by the 

National Safety Council and has issued a roadmap to 

end roadway deaths in the U.S. by 2050. 

There are almost 900 members of the coalition, the 

first time so many organizations have collaborated to 

put forth a plan to address motor vehicle fatalities, 

which recently increased after years of decline. 

• Increasing the use of sobriety checkpoints to 

discourage impaired driving (65%). We most often hear 

of sobriety checkpoints during the Christmas-New 

Year time frame, but here in Little Rock, the bars are 

full every weekend. 

• Deployment of more speed and red-light cameras to 

discourage reckless driving (60%). Our office window 

overlooks a stoplight at the intersection of the Interstate 

630 exit and University Avenue, one of the city’s busiest 

thoroughfares. Most of the time, when the light turns 

red for University Avenue traffic, two or three cars go 

through the red light. 

• Reducing local speed limits by 5 miles per hour 

(69%). The odds of lower speed limits slowing down 

traffic are about as good as winning the lottery. 

• Alcohol ignition locks for people who have been 

convicted of driving while intoxicated (83 %). Good 

idea, given the lack of sobriety checkpoints. 

(As a footnote, the NORC was established in 1941 as 

the National Opinion Research Center, hence the name 

NORC). 

The NORC report, titled “Underutilized Strategies in 

Traffic Safety: Results of a Nationally Representative 

Survey,” found support for a variety of motor vehicle 

safety initiatives. 

They are listed below with the percentage of survey 

respondents who named the initiative, along with some 

personal comments from yours truly: 

• Saliva screening to prevent drugged driving (74%). 

• Stricter seat belt law enforcement (82%). We think 

drivers are pretty good about buckling up. We seldom 

see anyone not wearing a seatbelt. 

• Requiring cars to have seat belt reminder chimes 

(70%). Most do, and they are quick to chime when 

someone tries to drive unbuckled. 

• Passing mandatory motorcycle helmet laws (86%). 

Cyclists riding without a helmet have much, much 

10 

Big Money Trucking 


etter odds of being severely injured 

or killed than they have of winning the 

lottery. 

• Replacing dangerous intersections 

with roundabouts (73%). We despise 

roundabouts, especially installed at an 

intersection where a stop sign would 

work just as well. Here in Little Rock, city 

fathers use roundabouts to display some 

of the most horrid metal artwork we’ve 

ever seen. 

• Installing rumble strips on more roads 

(90%). A nuisance, especially like the ones 

in Little Rock that have been installed 10 

feet from a stop sign. 

The only question on which those motorists 

polled were totally divided was lowering the blood 

alcohol limit to .05 in their state. 

Yet 56 percent of the drivers participating in the 

survey said they would support such a lower limit 

if the penalty involved fines and the suspension of 

one’s license rather than criminal charges. 

We think legislators should listen to doctors for 

advice about how low to set the limit. 

We say, the lower the better, especially since there 

are so few sobriety check points. 

The survey also found that drivers were taking 

advantage of ridesharing services to avoid drinking 

and driving as 60 percent of those who said they’d 

used a ride sharing service in the past year said they 

had done so at least once to avoid drinking and 

driving. 

“The results of this poll are clear: Safe roads are 

a priority for Americans, and they support ideas 

that encourage everyone to slow down and avoid 

impaired driving. Given the research available, this 

makes perfect sense,” said James Fell, a principal 

research scientist at NORC at the University of 

Chicago, in a statement. “Drivers are also now taking 

the extra step to do something about making our 

roads safer as evidenced by their use of ridesharing 

apps to get home safely.” 

If you want to suggest some initiatives to foster 

safer driving, write us at editor@thetrucker.com. 

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FedEx driver Rachel Bothwell spends time off 

hauling rodeo bulls; loves her career 

Dorothy Cox 

Growing up on a farm in west central Minnesota, 

Rachel Bothwell was familiar with driving trucks, 

and after graduating high school in 2001, this 

Women In Trucking’s (WIT) March Member of the Month 

got a job baling hay and trucking it to horse barns in the 

Twin Cities area. 

“I loved being out of doors,” the 36-year-old said. 

“Trucking came to me very naturally and I loved not 

having a boss looking over my shoulder, so it was 

perfect.” 

Then a good friend of hers heard that there were lots of 

jobs in Gillette, Wyoming, because of the oil boom and 

they decided to check it out. 

“I had no attachments to Minnesota so away we went,” 

she said. And while her friend got a job in construction, 

Bothwell got a job hauling explosives. 

It was in Wyoming that Bothwell met her husband 

Thad, a professional bull rider who now has his own 

construction company. When they met, he had just 

retired from 20 years in bull riding. 

She moved with Thad to his home town of Rapid City, 

South Dakota, and eight years ago came across a job 

with FedEx Freight that would get her home every night 

and every weekend. 

She goes to work quite early in the morning and 

completes her paperwork before delivering freight 

in and around Rapid City. “I drive around, deliver the 

freight and do the rehooks,” she said. It’s a city job 

where everything is in a 15-mile radius and she often 

sees the same customers over and over, which she 

likes. 

“It’s a rural community. I’m definitely on a personal basis 

as well as a business basis” with customers, she said. 

“You get to know people … see their kids in the same 

sporting events; it gives you something to talk about and 

relate to outside of work.” 

Neither of her parents were surprised that she went into 

trucking. In fact, Bothwell said, her mom drove OTR in 

the late seventies and early eighties and her dad, being 

a farmer, was also pleased at her career choice. 

“They’re both proud of where my CDL has taken me,” 

she said, “proud of what I’ve accomplished.” 

Her husband, on the other hand, was initially a little 

surprised that she was a truck driver. 

Now he’s glad, though, because he’s a “stock contractor” 

and supplies bulls for professional rodeo events in the 

region. 

That means he’s glad to turn over the livestock truck 

keys to Rachel. They haul the big animals to Nebraska, 

Wyoming, Colorado and points in between up to 12 

hours away from Rapid City. Once they’ve reached 

their destination, they unload the bulls, sort them and 

load them into the chutes. It’s her job to put the “flank 

strap” on them, which is what makes them buck. If the 

rodeo is far from home, they stay the night and bed 

the bulls down in a pen. If they’re closer to home, they 

load the animals and take them back home the same 

evening. 

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RACHEL BOTHWELL in center. 

“I’ve always had a love of rodeo and horses but this was 

a whole new level for me,” she told WIT. “Our rodeo 

company has taken several years to build and has really 

taken off. We have one of the largest benefit bull ridings 

in the state of South Dakota with over 2,000 spectators 

who come to our place each year. We are able to 

give away nearly $10,000 in scholarship money each 

year. The community support of this event has been 

absolutely amazing.” 

Thad is “quite a bit older” and has two grown children, 

also both in rodeo. “We have a fun life,” Bothwell said. 

Part of that is the fact that Bothwell loves her job with 

FedEx and is part of the FedEx Freight Road team and 

the first woman in South Dakota to be named a road 

team captain for the state. “They’re a great company to 

work for; they’ve been very good to me,” she said. 

In fact, it was FedEx that introduced Bothwell to the 

Women In Trucking organization. 

“I was honored and shocked to find out I was Member 

of the Month,” she said. 

She attended WIT’s Accelerate conference in Dallas late 

last year and was at their “Salute to Women Behind the 

Wheel” at the Mid-America Trucking Show last month 

in Louisville, Kentucky. 

“I highly encourage other women to pursue truck driving 

as a career,” she said. “I’ve done several different kinds 

of driving and FedEx is the best decision I’ve made. I’m 

home in the evenings and on the weekends I’m with my 

family. It’s a fantastic job and I encourage them to do it; 

you can do it.” 

And that’s no bull. 

Courtesy: MONTGOMERY TRANSPORT 

16 



FEATURE 

AMONG SEVERAL REVEALS, COMPANY 

CHIEF TREVOR MILTON UNVEILS THE 

NIKOLA TWO 

Nikola CEO Trevor Milton gave thousands of attendees 

at a Nikola World event here April 15 the 

first peek into a global zero-emission future. 

As is often the case at a Nikola event, there was 

glitz and glamour. 

Milton arrived on stage with the famous Budweiser 

Clydesdales, representing the company’s 

iconic client, Anheuser-Busch, that has ordered 800 

Class 8 zero-emission trucks from Nikola as part of 

its sustainability strategy. 

“We want to transform everything about the 

transportation industry,” Milton said. “With Nikola’s 

vision, the world will be cleaner, safer and healthier.” 

The first product unveiled was the autonomouscapable 

Nikola Reckless, the military all-terrain vehicle 

that was driven on stage via remote control. 

“With virtually no sound and no heat signature, the 

Reckless provides new meaning to stealth and is defying 

all standards,” said Andrew Christian, Nikola Powersports 

vice president of business development and defense. 

“We believe all military vehicles will transform to 

battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells in the future.” 

As part of the evening, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey 

discussed Nikola’s contribution to Arizona’s growing 

economy, adding 2,000 new jobs at its Phoenix headquarters, 

planned manufacturing plant and hydrogen 

and fuel cell research and development center. 

Milton and Nikola Powersports President Michael 

Erickson highlighted how Nikola is transforming zero-emission 

recreational vehicles on land and water. 

“The technology and platforms we are developing 

are mutually beneficial helping us leverage speed 

to market and scale,” Erickson said. “With our powersports 

products, you have an experience that is 

safer with precise control and a near silent ride that 

heightens your senses.” 

Milton and Erickson then introduced the redesigned 

NZT. Attendees at the event will be able 

to ride in the NZT Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) on a 

closed course track at WestWorld on Day Two of 

Nikola World on April 17. 

Then, for the first time, Nikola World attendees 

saw the Nikola Water Adventure Vehicle (WAV) 

concept which has been teased for some time and 

is now a reality. Jordan Darling, vice president of 

Nikola Powersports and an industry pioneer in the 

electrification of personal watercraft, said “We at 

Nikola are creating the world’s first “wakeboard” 

architecture, which enables us to push the limits in 

design and propulsion.” 

“Nikola is bringing zero-emission sustainability 

and technology to the water,” Milton said. “With 

WAV, you can feel the rush of power and acceleration 

in your chest, with the sound of the water and 

breeze in your ears. It’s zero impact and pure fun,” 

Darling added. 

Nikola’s Executive Vice President of Hydrogen Jesse 

Schneider discussed Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell vision, 

which vision consists of the world’s first purpose-built 

fuel cell Class 8 truck, enabling more hydrogen storage, 

optimized placement of the powertrain, and a 

robust 70MPa hydrogen fueling network. 

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FEATURE 

Courtesy: NIKOLA 

Nikola Motor CEO and Founder Trevor Milton reveals the Nikola Two, a hydrogen-electric class 8 zeroemission 

commercial truck, at Nikola World 2019. 

“We recently opened our first hydrogen station at 

our Phoenix headquarters,” he said. “We are leading 

the way and working with industry and other OEMs to 

develop hydrogen standards to enable fueling in less 

than 15 minutes. The goal is safety and interoperability, 

so that anyone can fuel at our station. This is a big deal.” 

At the conclusion of the night, Milton reflected 

on the small, but mighty, team that started Nikola 

five years ago in his basement with an idea. 

“We now have five products in development that 

will change transportation for the better,” he said. 

He then unveiled “the most advanced commercial 

truck the world has ever seen, the Nikola Two.” 

The Nikola Two will be driven on the demonstration 

track on the second day of Nikola World. 

There are currently more than 13,000 Nikola 

trucks on order. The Nikola trucks feature up to 

1,000 horsepower and 2,000 ft-lbs of torque. Nikola 

recently announced a battery-electric vehicle option 

for the urban, short haul trucking market. 

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Boyle Transport.................................................24 

Central Marketing Transport.......................... 17 

Clark Transportation..........................................6 

Coal City.............................................................19 

Containerport....................................................21 

East West Express............................................ 2-3 

NuWay...................................................................7 

Payne...................................................................23 

P.I.&I. Motor Express........................................ 11 

Schneider.......................................................... 8-9 

Star Freight...........................................................5 

Turquoise............................................................15 

How to play: You must complete the Sudoku puzzle so that 

within each and every row, column and region the numbers 

one through nine are only written once. 

There are 9 rows in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. Every row 

must contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. There may 

not be any duplicate numbers in any row. In other words, there 

can not be any rows that are identical 

There are 9 columns in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. Like the 

Sudoku rule for rows, every column must also contain the 

numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Again, there may not be any 

duplicate numbers in any column. Each column will be unique 

as a result. 

A region is a 3x3 box like the one shown to the left. There are 9 

regions in a traditional Sudoku puzzle. 

Like the Sudoku requirements for rows and columns, every 

region must also contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 

9. Duplicate numbers are not permitted in any region. Each 

region will differ from the other regions. 

UPS Freight........................................................13 

22

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