Truckie Profiles

30 years in the job

When Big Rigs saw driver Keith Patten, he was waiting beside the Port Access Road in Townsville for a tyre to be replaced.

Initially I saw angst on his face as he checked out all the tyres on his Western Star 4800 towing two trailers.

However when I did ask Patten, 52, if I could take his pic for Big Rigs he was more than happy to oblige.

Indeed, he was a very friendly chappie who was enthusiastic about his employment in the road transport industry.

Patten has worked for Daryl Dickenson Transport based at Yatala for some time and was carrying steel and pilon casing to the far north from southern Queensland.

“I have been a truckie for 30 odd years and with this company for six months and they are good to work for,” he said.

Patten doesn’t reckon there is enough good rest areas for truckies in the land down under.

“I travelled through America but never worked there as a truckie, but the rest areas over there are generally much better and more frequent,” he said.

His worst road is the highway between Charters Towers and Clermont, which is echoed by many other drivers.

“No toilets except at the roadhouse along the way and if you have to pull off you are on dirt shoulders,” he said.

There is one rest area he doesn’t mind though as he told me. “It is at Waverley Hills in central Queensland and south of Marlborough,” he said.

His preferred roadhouse is at Charlton along the Warrego Highway in Queensland and his favourite food is crumbed steak, chips and vegetables.

Outside work Patten is a motorbike enthusiastic in a big way. “At home I have a Harley, a BSA and Triumph,” he said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send this to a friend