- Over 30 Years Experience
Dennis began his trucking career in 1975 and has driven throughout North America for various trucking companies. At one point during Dennis's career he was also an Owner Operator. After becoming a driver trainer for a large tanker company Dennis found his calling as an instructor. Dennis has various instructor certificates from the Ontario Safety League such as, Load Securement. Air Brake Endorsement Instructor with Signing Authority, Motor Vehicle Fleet Trainer, and Air Brake Adjustment Instructor. Dennis is also recognized through the Canada Safety Council as an Instructor. The Canadian Trucking Human Resource Council held a course for Earning Your Wheels Instructor Trainer Workshop that Dennis also successfully completed.
Dennis first introduced the Academy in 1998 with only one truck and two instructors. After years of success OTTA has become Durham Region, Northumberland, and the Kawartha’s largest truck training facility.
- Over 30 Years Experience
Jim began driving trucks professionally in 1976. Over his career he has worked with various commodities in van lines, flat decks, and tanker trucks. Throughout the majority of his career he carried chemical tankers across North America.
Jim is one of the original OTTA trainers; he has been with OTTA since the doors opened in 1998. Jim takes great pride in his expertise of teaching students the fundamentals of double clutching and progressive shifting on our two state-of-the-art simulators. We often have students that have graduated from OTTA return for visits and tell Jim what a great job he did teaching the mechanisms of an unsynchronized transmission, and how helpful it’s been in their new job.
- Almost 40 Years Experience
Big John began his passion for driving truck in 1969. John was employed with the Toronto Metro Police Service for 30 years as the rank of Sergeant. During John’s time with the force he participated in various courses with The Ontario Safety League, Instructional Techniques at The Ontario Police College, and In-Cab Driver Training, and Dangerous Goods at the Toronto Police College. John became a professional driving instructor with the Toronto Police and taught fellow Constables how to drive horse trailers, commercial vehicles, and buses. As a secondary profession John drove and instructed drivers how to drive coach-line buses.
Upon retirement from the force John went to the Ontario Safety League for direction on a second career. The Ontario Safety League immediately referred him to one of their instructors that was opening a truck training school. Dennis met John and immediately hired him as one of his original instructors. John holds all classes of licenses, and he currently teaches the majority of our in-class programs including our Air Brake Endorsement Course, as well as in-cab training.
- Over 50 years Experience
Steve acquired his love of trucks at a young age. In 1955 Steve started working with his dad at Kingston Road Lumber as a part time driver and has been driving trucks ever since. Steve was the first tractor-trailer driver for Canada Post in May of 1972. A plaque now hangs commemorating his service at Canada Post.
Steve worked at Canada Post Carriers for most of his trucking career. Steve was the first ever tractor trailer driver for Canada Post in May of 1972. A Plaque now hangs at Canada Post commemorating his years of service, and safe driving record.
Steve has been an instructor at OTTA for a good amount of years now and he loves sharing his long life passion of trucks with new recruits.
- Almost 40 Years Experience
Dave’s first job in the trucking industry was hauling gravel in a tandem dump truck with the notorious dual stick transmission. Back in the day this was a common but difficult transmission to operate. For the next two years Dave was a driver with T & T Trucking, hauling very dangerous chemicals throughout the United States.
In 1976 Dave began hauling fuel for ESSO in Regina, Saskatchewan. Dave drove for 4 years for ESSO Canada before going to Petro-Canada to haul their fuel for 26 years. While working at Petro-Canada Dave was a driver as well as a driver trainer.
Dave enjoys passing on his experiences as a fuel tank driver to the students at OTTA.
- Almost 40 Years Experience
James comes to OTTA as an experienced commercial transport driver, with experience on freight, flat deck, special commodities, oversized loads, tankers, dump, and pony.
During James career he has also owned his own transportation company hauling loads all over Northern Ontario, Western and Eastern Canada, and throughout the United States.
James teaches in-class courses as well as in-cab. James’s expertise is a valuable asset to both OTTA and its students.
- Over 30 Years Experience
George began driving professionally in 1978. He started driving straight truck with a “G” class license in the early 80’s. In the mid 80’s George obtained an “ABZ” license and in 2005 he became a certified instructor. He is certified in all aspects of driver training and has experience training students for A, B, C, and D licenses.
George has received a number of safe driving awards from the Ministry of Transportation. George has experience operating most vehicles including buses, straight trucks, fuel trucks, snow plows, heavy duty salters, boom trucks, hydro-seeders, most types of heavy equipment, and tractor trailers. He has hauled a variety of loads on van lines, flat bed, and reefer systems including lumber, steel, wire coils, paper, and dry goods, meat, and groceries. George has travelled extensively throughout Ontario, Quebec, and all but two states in the United States.
- Over 30 Years Experience
Ed is a certified fleet driver trainer with over 28 year’s experience. Ed has obtained many certificates from various associations within the trucking industry such as The Ontario Safety League, The Ontario Trucking Association, and The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario. Ed works as one of our simulator, and In-Class instructors teaching various courses including the Air Brake Endorsement course.
- Over 30 Years Experience
Stacey began driving professionally in 1980. During his career Stacey has driven a wide variety of equipment such as containers, van lines, gravel trucks, dump trucks, and trains. He has a wealth of experience to offer our new trainees and enjoys watching students learn what he loves so much, trucking.
- Over 45 Years Experience
Eric set his career in motion in 1963 driving tanker trucks for a local fuel company. Eric not being satisfied with local work and wanting to running the highways, he drove 40 ft and 48ft van lines hauling rolls of paper and cut stock between Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto. Thirteen years later, he seized the chance to drive “A Train” tanker trucks in Canada and the USA for an international medical and industrial gas company.
After a fulfilling 35 years of over the road, Eric accepted the position of Canadian Safety Compliance Manager for international transport company. During this segment of his career, he sat on the Ontario Trucking Association Safety & Compliance Council for eight years. He has instructor certificates in Driver Trainer, Defensive Driving, and Air Brake Endorsement. He has acquired certificates in Alcohol & Drug Testing, Highway Traffic Act, Federal Motor Carrier Regulations, Trucking Human Resources, and Business Management.
Rob’s trucking career started when he was 21 at Canada Dry moving vehicles in the yard as a shunter. After he proved that he was a good driver he began to start running his own runs for deliveries for Canada Dry.
Rob’s driving routes for the next 20 years took him across Canada and to the U.S. extensively. Rob worked in different industries that made him such a versified driver, industries such as car hauling, dump trucks, and flat deck driving carrying commodities such as lumber and steel.
In the past Rob has been a Health and Safety representative for the Teamsters Union and is trained in First Aid and CPR. Through this training Rob received a Civilian Citation for an Act of Bravery while rescuing a trapped motorist.
Paul comes to us with a variety of experience. Paul has many years in the Heavy Construction Industry working as a dump truck driver, and Heavy Equipment Operator. Paul also worked delivering the oversized loads of Modular homes often trying to maneuver through confined areas with an oversized load.
Before Paul retired as a professional driver he worked in the "JUST IN TIME" industry delivering auto parts to GM Canada. Over the years Paul has accumulated over 750,000 accident free driving miles.
Bob comes to OTTA with a wealth of experience not only as an owner operator but also as a long haul highway driver.
For the majority of Bob’s career as a professional driver he has been an owner operator. Bob has owned various types of gravel trucks and dump trucks, always running a pup trailer behind. Bob also worked for Canadian Tire Corporation Limited as a Corporate Highway Fleet Driver, traveling well over 3,000,000 miles.
Bob enjoys seeing his students succeed and become great truck drivers.