WHO WE ARE

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The nearly 160,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.

WHAT WE DO

Since 1973, the Association has actively advocated the views of professional truckers through its interaction with state, provincial and federal government agencies, legislatures, the courts, other associations, and private businesses to advance an equitable environment for commercial drivers. OOIDA is active in all aspects of highway safety and transportation policy, and represents the positions of professional truckers on numerous committees and in various forums on the local, state, provincial, national and international levels. The Association participates in virtually every significant rulemaking affecting professional truckers, testifies at all major hearings on trucking issues, and participates in industry-wide organizations and conferences.

HISTORY

OOIDA was formed as a result of global trade and economic issues in the early 1970s. The Arab oil embargoes literally shut down the trucking industry and nearly crippled the nation.  The association’s founding members (which included OOIDA’s president, Jim Johnston) traveled to Washington, DC to present the problems of the trucking industry before lawmakers.  Fuel availability and pricing topped the list.

After a few weeks and many long meetings, the group left Washington very frustrated but none the less enlightened on what would need to be done. They understood that to accomplish anything in our nation’s capital, they would need to be better informed, funded and unified. In 1975, Jim Johnston was elected as president of the association, a position he jokes about by saying there wasn’t much competition because it involved “a lot of hard work, frustration and not much pay!” The first headquarters was located in the parking lot of a truck stop in Oak Grove, Mo. along Interstate 70, in a trailer chained to a light pole.

TODAY

Our national headquarters is still located on the outskirts of Kansas City, but now in Grain Valley, Mo.

All OOIDA officers and directors are now or have been professional truckers, and are elected from the membership, by the membership. The 22-member board defines OOIDA's position on all major trucking issues.

OTHER DIVISIONS

OOIDA publishes Land Line Magazine, the trade publication dedicated to keeping professional truckers informed of current legislation, trucking regulations, new products and services, and common interests.

OOIDA also produces Land Line Now for Sirius XM Satellite Radio 171. Land Line Now is the first daily news and information program specifically designed for the trucking industry.

Through its subsidiary, Owner-Operator Services, the Association offers a wide variety of benefit programs to help members reduce costs, and operate more safely and efficiently.