MTA Names Larry Severson "Driver of the Year"

Forty-three years of accident-free truck driving was rewarded January 31st when the Minnesota Trucking Association named Larry Severson as its 2004 Driver of the Year. Mr. Severson is an independent owner-operator who has contracted his truck with Dart Transit Company for 30 years. He has specialized in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area deliveries for the last 20 years.

Mr. Severson made the jump from company driver to owner operator in 1975 when he sold his car and motorcycle to pay for his first truck. He put it to work at Dart Transit Company and drove over-the-road for 10 years. He then switched to Twin City metro deliveries so that he could spend more time with his family. He has accumulated the equivalent of 4.2 million accident-free miles.

With so many years of city driving, Larrys safety record is quite an achievement, said Dart Safety Director Jim Tammes. Traffic congestion and tight dock deliveries make driving across town more hazardous than driving across country. Larry makes up to 10 metro deliveries a day. In my opinion, his perfect safety record is a pretty spectacular achievement, Tammes said.

Severson was announced as the MTA Driver of the Year at the associations annual awards banquet in St. Paul. Character is what you do when no one is looking, observed MTA president John Hausladen. Truck drivers do their jobs alone, without supervision. You cant perform at this level unless you consistently do the little things right. Severson has done them right for a long time.

As Driver of the Year, Larry received an impressive trophy, a $500 prize, and a monogrammed lettermans jacket. His wife, Linda, accompanied him to the podium where she received a dozen long-stemmed roses.

Beside 48-state, regional, and dedicated truckload operations, Dart provides local deliveries in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas and Houston, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia.