The next time you’re feeling like you’re having a bad day and wish that life could be easier, take a moment to remember Mike Dingler, a paraplegic truck driver from Belleville, Ontario.
Mike became paralyzed in his 20’s after an accident in his pickup truck. He was receiving $1000 per month in disability for a while, but let’s face it, that doesn’t cover all the bills. Besides, Mike doesn’t like to sit at home and do nothing. Not being an office job type (he says he likes being dirty) Mike, who once had a CDL-A, decided to see if he could get it renewed and get back on the road.
So he went online and found a 2004 Freightliner Century Class for sale and offered to trade his 2001 pickup truck for it. The owner accepted the offer and Mike had the truck customized, and took his road test.
With the help of his local MPP, Mike was able to get an exemption for the automatic transmission and landed a job with Musket Transportation. But Mike hit another road block when Musket lost the contract and he was let go.
But his determination soon landed him another job with ITS. Chris McMillan, Fields Operations Manager at ITS says, “Belleville has some really interesting corners and after the first hard right-hander at the bridge downtown, I knew that Mike would be a great addition to the ITS family.”
McMillan says that Dingler is doing great and isn’t treated any differently than other drivers. Mike hires a helper (his cousin) in the winter months to help with coupling/uncoupling the trailer and to run paperwork into facilities.
“Life is good,” Mike says. “I’m in a wheelchair, but I’m still alive, so life is good.”