Matthew P. Lyle, of Lima, drives this 2016 Mack CHU613 Pinnacle for RWS Transportation of Pandora. The rig is powered by a Mack MP8 with an Eaton 13-speed transmission. The truck is nicknamed “The Green Hornet” in memory of Lyle’s grandfather, Clifford “Red” Haning, who owned a Brockway in the late 1950s and early 1960s of the same name. Lyle says his grandfather is the reason he became a truck driver.
Submitted photos | For The Lima News
LIMA – Ever since he could say the word “truck” as a youngster, Matthew Lyle knew he wanted to drive a semi truck.
Today, you’ll find the 35-year-old Perry Township man sitting behind the wheel of a 2016 Mack Pinnacle for RWS Transportation, located outside of Pandora.
Lyle has nicknamed the truck “The Green Hornet,” in memory of his grandfather, Clifford “Red” Haning, who hauled steel in the late 1950s and early 1960s using a Brockway semi, also nicknamed “The Green Hornet.”
“When I was 4 or 5 years old, my grandfather taught me how to talk on a CB radio. He gave me the handle ‘The Rubber Duck.’ I knew right then I wanted to be like Grandpa,” Lyle said.
Lyle has logged 2 million miles in the 17 years he’s been driving. The 2006 graduate of Perry High School obtained his commercial driver’s license through the construction equipment program at Apollo Career Center.
He’s transported everything from food items to household merchandise and from steel to logs.
“Driving a truck is not just a favorite lifestyle, it’s a way of life for me,” Lyle said. “It pays my bills and allows me to serve this great country by delivering one load of goods at a time.”
He calls himself an “old school truck driver.” You won’t find him wearing tennis shoes or flip-flops, like some of today’s drivers.
“I’ll be wearing cowboy boots, jeans, a work shirt and a cowboy hat,” he said. “They call drivers like us ‘the last of the cowboys.’ … I like that.”
He doesn’t do as much long-haul driving as he once did. He mostly delivers loads that have him returning at nights to his bride of nine years, Karla.
“I enjoyed long-haul driving. It gave me the chance to see some beautiful parts of the country, but it’s also nice to be back home at night,” he said.
Lyle has driven almost every kind of rig – Macks, Peterbuilts, Volvos, GMCs and Freightliners. The only two he hasn’t driven are a Kenworth and a Werner.
The truck he now drives is owned by the company, but Lyle says he treats it like he owns it.
“Without this truck, I don’t make a living. And I couldn’t work for a better boss than Bob Steele. He’s been truckin’ for 57 years,” he said.
Lyle says he cannot imagine doing any job other than truck driving.
“I love what I do,” Lyle said. “That’s just who I am.”
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