If you met the affable James ‘Jim’ Tench, you wouldn’t realize that he’s had a gun pointed at him during a robbery at work. And when you get to know him, he may even tell you about the time lightning struck the fuel tanker he was driving.
He’s proof that driving a truck can be a dangerous job, but he chose to keep trucking. He has been at it for more than four decades.
Tench, 65, said that he was born to be a trucker – his father and grandfather were both truck drivers. He remembers playing with toy trucks at a young age. But his dad, who passed away when Tench was 14, didn’t want his son following him down the road.
Adhering to his dad’s wishes, Tench learnt a trade and became a pipe welder in his native England. But trucking was never far from his mind and Tench got his commercial driving licence at the age of 21.
He went back to welding after driving truck for some time. He ended up working in heavy vehicle repairs doing body and structural work. Seeking more variety, he did roadside repairs for a while.
“Some weekends, I’d fix the truck, and the driver might be out of hours, so I’d deliver the load,” he said. “I never lost the desire to drive.”
Tench’s “worst day at work” was in 1989 in England. He made it out alive after being threatened at gunpoint and handcuffed for hours as robbers targeted the cigarettes he was hauling.
Load hijacked at gunpoint
He was delivering to a warehouse at about 7 a.m. when three men pointed a gun at him and hijacked his truck and freight. They handcuffed him and pushed to the back of the cab while one of them drove the truck away.
Once out of the area, they put him into the back of a car that was following. First, they pushed him to they floor of the car and drove with their feet on him. Then, they bundled him into the trunk.
“I was frightened for my life. I just prayed that they were not going to do something silly,” he recalled.
After they were done removing the cigarettes, they untied him, pushed him into the back of the trailer and took off. Luckily, they didn’t lock the doors, so Tench kicked them open and get out.
Tench has operated flatdecks, driven freight in and out of ports, hauled heavy steel loads, and even delivered mail to U.S. troops stationed in the United Kingdom.
After two decades of trucking in the UK and Europe, Tench and his wife Amanda were looking to move to North America. A conversation with a co-worker while hauling fuel for Esso in England, led to an opportunity to do the same in Canada. The company provided the visas, and they made the move in 2006.
He delivered fuel to Fort McMurray in Alberta for a couple of years. About 17 years ago, he started with Pilot Flying J and has been with them ever since.
Danger was lurking on the highway about seven or eight years ago. After delivering fuel to Dawson Creek, B.C., Tench was hauling the empty tanker in Alberta during a spring thunderstorm.
Struck by lightning
“It was hailing like no business, and as it was starting to clear I heard a loud bang!” he said. He realized the big rig had been struck by lightning.
The electronics on the truck went dead but it was still running. Tench checked out the vehicle expecting to see char or burn marks but there was no visible damage.
“I’d delivered diesel, and when you are empty the trailer’s full of vapor,” he said. He informed the company, and his lead driver told him to go buy a lottery ticket.
Tench estimates he’s driven about 2.5 to 3 million miles in North America, plus the two decades of driving in the UK and Europe.
Stellar safety record
He’s never had a single accident or crash. Tench said that he keeps safe by concentrating on the job and not letting outside things distract him.
His safety record attracted attention, and the Alberta Motor Transport Association recently named him Driver of the Year.
Tench said that he is now retired and keeps himself busy doing things around the house as he likes to work with his hands. In the next breath he added, “I can’t walk away [from trucking]. I’m still young and active.”
He asked Pilot Flying J to keep him on part-time and they agreed. The call of the open road is still strong. “I absolutely love it!” he said with a big grin.