Safety/government affairs expert David Heller describes his journey so far with TCA: ‘Wow! What a ride!’

The trucking world may be familiar with David Heller, who serves as senior vice president of safety and government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). Recently he shared his story with us.

First of all, Heller says he never planned to enter the trucking industry. Even so, his passion and love for his unexpected career is evident.

Heller grew up in Danbury, Connecticut, a sleepy suburb of New York City. After high school, he moved on to Springfield College in Massachusetts. After studying there for two years, he transferred to Western Connecticut State University and earned a degree in business management.

“The farthest thing from my mind was the trucking industry,” Heller said, adding that he worked for JCPenney throughout his high school and college years, something that helped pay his college bills.

After graduation, the company asked Heller to become a management trainee. He says he jumped at the chance to have a job right after college.

“I was working out of White Plains, New York. One day my boss called me and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got good news. You’re getting promoted and transferred to Alexandria, Virginia,’” he recalled. “I said OK, even though I had never heard of Alexandria.”

Just one week later, Heller was packed and on his way to Virginia. He opened several new stores for JCPenney before realizing he needed a new challenge outside of retail.

That’s when he first heard the call of the trucking industry: He applied for a position with the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

“I ended up getting a job with the ATA as their manager of safety programs, which was my first foray into the truck safety world,” Heller said. “I worked on programs like the National Truck Driving Championships, things of that nature.

“Once you get into trucking in that mold, you stay in trucking,” he continued. “I realized it was a home.”

Seven years later — now married with a baby on the way — Heller decided it was time to broaden his career aspirations.

“There was a position open with TCA. I sat down with the president, Chris Burris at the time, and he offered me the position,” he said. “And thus started my illustrious career here at TCA, when I was hired as the director of safety.”

That was two decades ago, and Heller says a lot has changed.

In those early days, his primary responsibility was poring over posts in the Federal Register, staying up to date with regulation changes from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and related agencies — and then translating all that legal language into “truck speak.”

“As my career grew and TCA started to build more of a presence on Capitol Hill, my title changed from director of safety to director of safety and policy,” he said.

As the association focused its attention to shifting policies and stepped into the role of “the voice of truckload” on Capitol Hill, Heller’s responsibilities increased, along with the challenges. From director of safety and policy, his title shifted to vice president of government affairs and then to his current role as senior vice president of safety and government affairs.

“It’s been a great journey,” he says of his career with TCA. “I’ve worked with a lot of great leaders and a lot of great people in this industry.

“And I’ve been able to experience growth in my position in my life for the last 20 years,” he continued. “I can look back on everything now and say, ‘Wow! What a ride.’”

Heller is laser-focused on the biggest issues faced by the truckload industry, such as a shortage of truck parking, lawsuit abuse and many others, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Advanced Clean Trucks rule.

“This was a huge victory; there’s no doubt,” he said of this year’s overturning of some of the EPA’s goals. “They weren’t smart regulations. They put time frames on them that couldn’t be achieved; it was almost impossible to do so.

“So, in that matter, it was a great victory for our industry — and it’s a victory that TCA was actively involved in,” he said.

Looking ahead, Heller says he believes the admission of hair follicle testing is the next logical step for the FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.

“That was in the FAST Act in back 2015. Here it is 10 years later — and we still don’t have the ability to incorporate hair follicle testing as part of our DOT protocols, nor can we put the results into the Clearinghouse,” he said. “The time has come. The need is there.”

In addition, he says, TCA is working to preserve the independent contractor (IC) business model.

“It’s no secret that the Trump administration is a big fan of the independent contractor — and he should be. This is the backbone of our industry,” Heller said. “All of the large truckload carriers started with this business model: Somebody went out and bought one truck and started hauling freight with it.

“That’s how truckload carriers start. It’s reflective of the small business community that exists in this country,” he continued. “We as a nation should look to preserve that — and TCA is doing exactly that.”

Dana Guthrie

Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.