“I followed my childhood dream.”
Gary Martin, Professional Truck Driver and Independent Contractor
Gary Martin is an independent contractor from Galt, California. He started his trucking business, which he runs with his wife Paula, in 1982. They will be celebrating 40 years in business next year. He has been driving for FedEx Ground for the past 20 years.
As an independent contractor, Gary said what he does changes from day-to-day. “I wear multiple hats — boss, driver and mechanic,” Gary explained. Gary handles operations, hiring, and maintenance of their twelve trucks, and his wife handles human resources for their business.
Fascinated by trucks as a kid, Gary told TMAF, “Trucking was something I was drawn to. It’s something I always wanted to do, and I followed my childhood dream.”
When Gary was 16, he began his goal of getting into the trucking industry. During his summer vacation each year, he worked for his brother-in-law’s company in the Bay Area as a shipping and receiving clerk. After graduating high school, he went to work for them full time, and this is where he met Winston Landes, who owned his own small air freight P&D trucking company. After several months of talking to, and getting to know Mr. Landes, Gary talked him into giving him a job working on the dock loading trucks, and so Gary then officially got his start in the trucking industry. Always a go-getter, Gary taught himself how to drive a truck. “Every day after I had finished loading all the trucks, and cleaning up the dock, I would go in the yard and practice driving, and backing trailers into the docks.” Gary earned trust and confidence from his boss, and then one day when a load needed to be delivered to TWA Airlines, and no drivers were available, his boss asked him if he could take the trailer to the airport and deliver the load. “Be careful, and please don’t hit anything.” That was his start, and eventually, he was driving all around the Bay Area doing P&D work. When the company he worked for started a linehaul service, on Friday nights, after working all day, Gary would ride with the linehaul driver to Kettleman City, where they would switch trailers before returning to San Francisco. “I wanted all the experience I could get,” Gary said. After driving as a company driver for about a year and a half, Gary leased a truck from this company and began his own business as an independent contractor. Gary told TMAF, “I wanted to get my own truck and that way I would have control over the truck and its maintenance. As a business owner, I only have to answer to myself.”
Gary is very passionate about his career in trucking. He said, “Trucking is a highly rewarding career. It has been a great career choice for me and my family.”
Traveling is what Gary enjoys most about the trucking industry. He said, “I like being able to go travel and see new places.” As a truck driver, Gary has been to 48 states and Canada. While making his deliveries, Gary said, “I enjoy getting to go to and see the sights and explore big cities. Even though I grew up in, and live in a small town, I’m a big city guy at heart.” When he has downtime, Gary said he takes advantage of the opportunity to go sightsee. He said, “I’m a huge sports fan, so when I have a chance, I like to go and see games.” While traveling, Gary also enjoys meeting new people. He said, “I’ve met people everywhere. I have friends all over the country.”
One of his favorite routes was hauling submarines from Oakland, California to Pascagoula, Mississippi on the Gulf Coast, down to Key West, Florida, back to Oakland and then to Vancouver, British Columbia. His favorite time of the year to be on the road is springtime, “I’m always so happy to be done with winter.”
A big fan of music, Gary has over 1,500 songs on his Spotify that he likes to listen to while he drives. His playlist includes classic rock and country songs, but he also has a lot of pop culture songs — thanks to his three daughters who he likes to attend concerts with.
With a driving record of over 4.3 million accident-free miles, road safety is a top priority for Gary. He said, “Safety is the absolute top thing about me and how I run my business. It’s the whole reason I got into owning my own truck in the first place. I handle and oversee the maintenance and repairs, and ensure our trucks are equipped with all the latest safety technology.”
While behind the wheel, Gary said he always pays full attention to what is going on around him. He said, “When you’re driving down the road, you should always look all around you. You should also look out for potential things that can happen, and try to predict what other drivers are going to do, plan ahead and don’t follow too closely. Give yourself a good, safe following distance.” Gary shares these tips with new drivers while he is training them. He said, “I tell the drivers: If you’re courteous to other drivers by slowing down, letting them merge in front of you and leaving a safe following distance, the few seconds you may lose won’t really cost you that much time by the end of the trip. We don’t haul anything that is so critical that you need to drive unsafely. You never need to be in a rush.”
