St. Peter resident Jacob Rosier hauled in one of the highest honors a commercial truck driver can receive.
On June 8, the trucker was named one of the best drivers in the state after earning a first place finish at the Minnesota Truck Driving Championships in Roseville.
The Truck Driving Championships are held each year as a competition of the best professional drivers in the state of Minnesota and challengers compete in nine different equipment classes. Competitors are tested in all aspects of commercial trucking in a three part test. The first part consists of a written knowledge exam, followed by a driving course in which truckers put their practical skills to use and finally a vehicle inspection where competitors search out deficiencies on the equipment placed by a qualified inspector In the latter category, deficiencies may range from a missing license plate to a loose fuel cap, all things drivers are expected to check for in pre-trip inspections
Rosier, an over-the-road driver employed with Fortune Transportation out of Windom, participated in the sleeper berth category, which consists of the largest trucks in the competition, and came out as the top professional driver in his class. As a result of his win, Rosier will soon be representing Minnesota in the National Truck Driving Championships in Aug. 20-24 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The victory was a tremendous honor for Rosier, who takes great pride in his skills as a truck driver, with over 1.3 million safe career miles on his record. Over the past eight years, Rosier has been putting his driving to the test in the Truck Driving Championships, taking home fourth place, third place and second place finishes, but it wasn’t until this year that the St. Peter resident received the competition’s top spot.
Rosier said participating in the championships has motivated him to be a better driver. To compete, participants must be accident free for the entire year prior, so Rosier takes particular care to drive defensively and remain calm and courteous on the road.
“What draws me to do it is taking that pride in knowing that you’re the role model as a professional,” said Rosier.
The competition has helped him shore up his driving skills. In his first year, Rosier said one of his earliest mistakes was driving too fast, which led to him losing a lot of points in the behind-the-wheel portion of the championships. Since then, Rosier has remained conscious of having the self-discipline to slow down, whether it’s on the course or in real life.
“In order to be a professional driver you have to keep your emotions in check, don’t let the emotions make a decision and always strive to be better and move forward,” said Rosier.
Rosier first got diesel in his veins when he started driving humvees in the military in 2008, and he soon moved up to even larger LMTVs. After leaving the military, Rosier took his newfound passion for driving big vehicles into his civilian life. He earned a class B license to start driving with the Saints bus service, but Rosier still yearned for something more. That’s whe he went to St. Cloud Tech, where he graduated top of his class, to earn his CDL.
The St. Peter resident since 2008 has been on the road ever since. He averages 3100 miles a week hauling loads from Austin, Minnesota to Boise, Idaho in his Freightliner Cascadia before making a return trip to New Ulm with a truckload of cheese for Kraft.
Spending five days a week out on the open road, trucking does come with plenty of challenges. The work often takes Rosier away from his wife Becky and their three children Elliada, age 10, Anastasia, age 2, and nine-month-old Jonathan.
However, the job also comes with adventure. No day is ever the same, and as Rosier likes to say, the great outdoors is his office window. In his journeys, Rosier has found beauty in hidden places like Silver Star, Montana. The town has a population of just 46 people, and doesn’t have so much as a gas station, but on his travels Rosier has found it to be a quiet spot where he can take in the splendor of nature.
Silver Star Montana is probably my favorite spot I have found. There’s a parking spot next to a creek next to the mountains there and it’s just absolutely gorgeous.”
Recently, he’s had the pleasure of taking his eldest daughter on a route to Salt Lake City. The journey took them through the cornfields of Nebraska, the large rock formations in Wyoming, the mountains of Montana and historical places like the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn.
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