UpS drivers usher in father’s Day with friendly competition

Connor was a good driver right from the start and I’d like to think it’s because I used the same safety methods UPS taught me in my personal vehicle with my family,” Ceth said.

The Illinois State Trucking competition is an opportunity for professional truck drivers, both company and independent, to test their skills in a three-part competition that only partly includes driving.

“The driving portion is six obstacles on the course that they call problems, because we have to figure out get to the next one and get the points,” Ceth said. “They always set them up on angles, so you usually only do two or three miles per hour on the course so you aren’t bypassing something. The second category is a written test…The third category is called pre-trip, where they mock up defects – like they might hang a paperclip from the brake line or put a squiggle mark on a headlight or the frame and you have to find that when you do your timed pre-trip. I need to find 15 defects in six minutes.”

At a practice competition earlier in the year, Connor beat Ceth on the driving course, but ultimately Ceth placed higher by scoring more points in the other sections. Father placed first, but son was barely behind with only seven points less. ‘I think the competition may be in his blood,” Ceth laughed.

At state, drivers choose one of nine vehicle classes to compete in and first place from each class advances to the national competition in August. Not only is Ceth a former Illinois Grand Champion winner, he has competed at the national level two other times, a fact that Connor finds inspiring and intimidating.

‘We like to go head-to-head on things, but he’s an inspiration,’ Connor said.

The two are both enthusiastic and anxious to compete and compete against each other, but, according to Ceth, passing the torch to his son the weekend before Father’s Day would be fitting. “I’d be lying if I said I was not nervous,” Ceth laughed. ‘It’s a tough one. I want to go back-to-back as champion, but if I pass the baton on to Connor it will be bittersweet.”