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TALKING TCA
No Barriers
Knight-Swift driver Richard Boehrer soars
above challenges to drive big rig
By Kris Rutherford
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
38 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA MARCH/APRIL 2024