Driver Lifestyles
A Woman At The Wheel
"The first Sprinter I had was a lemon," says Diane Benjamin of her difficulties with her first van. "The engine blew at 147,000 miles. I had problems with the EGR valves, problems with the injectors and all kinds of other troubles."
"When I got rid of it, it had 380,000 miles on it and the dealer gave me $10,000 for it. I'm glad I did now. My current van is a 2005 with the tall roof and long body. I have over 115,000 miles on this one and have had no problems with it yet."
She continues, "I had the first Sprinter from 2001-2005. When I was ready to get rid of the first one, I was checking out cube vans and it turned out that I can actually carry more weight in a Sprinter than one of those."
"When I pulled into Atlanta one day, I knew that I would have to put about $1,000 in repairs in the van. When the dealer offered me that $10,000 for it off the price of a new one, that made my mind up for me. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Sprinter. I hated it because the first one cost me so much money but I loved the roominess and the freight capacity."
"I'm on my fourth vehicle. I've had a pickup truck and three vans. My first van was a 1995 Chevy and when I sold that to get my first Sprinter, it had 650,000 miles on it. I sold it to my mechanic and it's still running with 800,000 miles on it."
As one can see, Diane, who hails from Loves Park, IL (Rockford area), expects high mileage from her vehicles.
She's been a Business Capacity Owner (BCO) with Landstar Express America for the last twelve years and was recently honored by Landstar System for reaching the million-mile mark. She says, "I was very surprised! The cargo van BCO's had never been given the million mile award before. It took about eleven years to rack up that mileage."
She wasn't done there.
Not long after that, she also won the National Safety Council Safe Driver of the Year award. She shared this honor with another Landstar driver who won the semi class (a 4 million mile driver) while Diane took the award for the Sprinter class, 10,000 lbs. and under.
Beginnings 
"I was always self-employed," says the veteran expediter. I built in-ground swimming pools among other things and for a few years, I had a shop where I worked on cars - I replaced heater cores and radiators, as well as handling the office."
"One day a man who had a local delivery service came into the shop. After talking to him, I tried that work for a year, until a neighbor who worked for Landstar told me that they were going to take on cargo vans. I've always loved driving, so I went right down there and got a job. I was one of the first!"
She explains the evolution of the company: "When I started, there were only nine drivers in the Landstar fleet. We were Landstar Expedited for the first year. Then, the company moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and bought Express America. Now they're in Jacksonville, FL."
"If we took a run to, let's say Florida, it meant a deadhead back. It was all one-way freight. When Landstar bought Express America, we started getting return loads and the company has definitely come a long way!"
"I love Landstar, I would never drive for another company. They're so fair, they're personable, they're just the best. I've talked to van drivers with other companies and they feel that they're just numbers to their companies."
The system
When asked if the Landstar system of independent agents instead of a centralized dispatch presents a learning curve, Diane says, "I've never worked in another system, but I can see how a new driver to the system would have to learn how it works. I understand that other carriers tell you where to layover, but with Landstar, we have complete freedom to go where we think is best."
Diane says, the major cities offer the most freight opportunities and as examples she lists, "Cincinnati, St. Louis, Atlanta, Rockford, Raleigh, Nashville and a number of others. From St. Louis east to Minneapolis to Florida."
She explains, "We call agents all over and there's no forced dispatch. For example, this morning I delivered in Louisville and I found there was no one sitting in Cincinnati, so I ran over there. A few hours later, I had a run to Ontario for the next morning."
Diane adds, "With the Landstar system, you get to know the agents and they get to know you and your run preferences. Some BCO's don't like the really long runs that take them a few days, but I really like the high-mileage loads. I love to go to California and we're starting to go there more often because we're getting runs out of there."
On the road
She says, "Landstar classifies the Sprinter as a "Super B" vehicle. I like to keep the full length of the van for cargo so I have a bunk that folds up against the wall. When I have a big load and I have to stop and get sleep, I get a motel room."
"I have an Onan generator installed underneath the van, just in front of the spare tire. The maximum weight I carry is 3,500 lbs, so that keeps me just under the 10,0000 lb. limit."
"I'll stay in rest areas, truck stops, Wal-Mart parking lots; it all depends on if I want to mingle with people or not. I enjoy meeting other expediters. If I'm in a truck stop and I see someone sitting in an expediter van, I'll walk over and talk to them. I like to hear their stories."
"I try to stay out for three and a half weeks unless I'm within 300 miles from home. Then I'll go home for the weekend. I have to confess that I do miss being at home because my family.
What keeps her in this business?
"I love the sightseeing, that's the biggest thing I think. I'd never been anywhere before this job, so I love seeing the U.S. It's so nice when I get a load to a place where I've never been. I've been in every state and, I think, most of the Canadian provinces, too."
"I like being my own boss and I love to drive. I guess I find it relaxing. I can be very involved in something at home and it's a joy to get a run and get back on the road. I think people are born to be drivers."
Diane says that she'll continue in this business until she reaches retirement age, or as she puts it, "Maybe I'll be driving forever!"