Bobby H Hataway
As a young man of 14, Bob Hataway worked on the big rigs. His uncle had three trucks that he ran from east Texas to the west coast. It was Bob's job to service the units each week. He arrived early in the morning and taught himself how to drive by starting and stopping until he worked out the gear/rpm ratio and was able to smoothly shift gears. His love for trucks and the open road started as he longed for the time when he could go on the trucks instead of getting them serviced to go.
This took longer than he planned, as his parents had other ideas like finishing high school and college. He started his own company in 1968 manufacturing wooden pallets in Houston, TX; got married; and children began to come. His wife, Carol, also had other ideas about his going on the road. But at last he was able to satisfy everyone as his company grew and needed its own tractor and trailer.
He purchased his first unit in 1973, a COE International with a 335 Cummins engine, jake brake, chrome straight stacks (no mufflers) and a 13-speed transmission along with a 42' flatbed trailer. He would not let anyone, other than himself, drive even though he was the president of the company. As much as it was his pride and joy, he still remembers the day, when finally someone else did have to leave the yard behind the wheel. His responsibilities required him in the office as opposed to the road.
In 1974, Bob moved his pallet company to east Texas. The company continued to grow. He began to add reefer units that he used to pull loads for a local distributor between lumber hauls. Then things reversed. He began pulling more and more loads for the distributor than for himself and this brought on more tractors. Now he was having to contract out his lumber loads. Later as he moved into the transportation industry, he acquired 15 tractors and trailers with his own authority. An interesting side note, he bought out his uncle while acquiring the added tractor and trailers.
Bob's life took some interesting turns between 1974 and 1983. He completed the degree everyone wanted him to get. To accomplish this, he turned the reigns of the company over to his right hand man and went to school in Ft Worth while living in Hillsboro, TX. It was in Hillsboro that he first encountered the needs of the transportation industry first hand when Joe Traylor had an accident on I-35. See the History Page for the events that changed his life.
In 1984, firmly convinced that there was a need to help drivers, he left the leadership of his company and started TransAlive USA. Today, he oversees the activity of his volunteers who have worked in over 1100 cities in the 48 contigious states and Canada. He has initiated a Caring in Action=Safety Program, a First Death Notification Program, an AmCoach Program, and researches, scripts and records Safety Tips for Drivers. The safety tips are published in various transportation media outlets and over 500,000 copies are in print each month.
