Despite being a truckie for the past eight years, Stephen Golinski still considers himself a rookie in the road transport industry.
Golinski, 50, has worked for Seymours Transport, which is based at Toogoolawah, for the past three years. I recently saw him beside his Western Star near Rockhampton.
“I mostly carry logs and my truck has broken down and is being repaired. It is a battery problem. Seymours is a good company to work for,” he said.
Golinski said the worst roads he travels on would have to be the ones between Taroom and Wondoan, and also from Theodore to Banana.
“They are very rough in places,” he said.
I spoke to Golinski by phone some days later and he was having a fatigue break at Taroom. “I have a load of timber from Dingo for Brisbane,” he said.
As for rest areas, Golinski said there was not enough overall for drivers but did nominate a few which met the required standards.
“The best one is at Banana which has five showers and others at Miles and Dalby are good,” he said.
The first truck Golinski drove was a N12 Volvo at Esk and his NRL team is the Brisbane Broncos which he hopes will charge up the ladder this season.
Married with two boys aged 27 and 29, Golinski said the most unusual thing that happened to him was when a differential housing broke in half on a Western Star. “It had to be towed away for repairs,” he said.
Outside work Golinski enjoys shooting feral pigs at one son’s property at Cunnamulla and is enjoying life to the fullest.
“I really love my job and life in general,” he said.
Now that he has reached the “Nifty Fifty” age, I asked Golinski what his hopes and aims were for 2022 and his answer was brief but to the point. “To keep on trucking and stay safe,” he said.