Truckie Simon Ordway deals with restrictions in four states, but he doesn’t complain

Truckies have kept us sustained and supplied during the pandemic, and one veteran has had more than 100 Covid tests –just to do his job.

You won’t catch truckie Simon Ordway complaining about the changing restrictions and mandates that have been imposed on workers in his industry throughout the pandemic.

“I’ve rolled with the punches because it’s a really serious thing,” he said.

“Why would you whinge about something you do to keep yourself and your family safe?”

Mr Ordway, who works for Trans Australian, drives weekly to and from Brisbane via Victoria and NSW, meaning he has had to comply with four sets of state rules.

At the height of the pandemic, when travel into South Australia was limited, he felt great responsibility to ensure he was taking every precaution.

“I felt a responsibility first and foremost to my family,” he said.

“I’ve got two little kids, my girlfriend’s got two littler kids … but also to the state, everybody doing the right thing.

“We were one of very few industries that were still able to move freely.”

The truck driver of 23 years estimated he has had more than 100 Covid tests, and said he made sure he was double vaccinated as soon as possible – before the jab became mandatory for interstate drivers.

He said he felt lucky to be an essential worker throughout the pandemic.

“It got really full-on there for a while but I got to keep working; I kept a wage coming in,” he said.

“Everybody needs supplies so the trucks kept rolling.”

Truck driver Simon Ordway is a Covid hero. Pic: Brenton Edwards

SA Road Transport Association executive officer Steve Shearer said trucks had crossed the state’s borders nearly two million times since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Drivers and their companies have done a fantastic job to not bring Covid into the state,” he said.

Mr Shearer said the jobs of drivers drastically changed at the beginning of the pandemic, with companies that supply supermarkets experiencing a huge increase in their workload.

“The drivers have really been the backbone of keeping the community supplied and sustained during Covid because there’s an incredible amount of freight that comes across the border every day and night,” he said.

“They went from their normal job to quite a bit more but on top of that they had to start complying with all of the border requirements.

“Our industry is extremely proud and I think the community should be very proud of them too.”