A.J. "Buster" Blalock, Vice President of Tidewater Transportation Co. of Charleston, has been elected chairman of the board the South Carolina Trucking Assn.

Blalock is a third generation trucking executive and says his focus will be to continue to lead the trucking industry with its highway safety and driver behavior initiatives.
Tidewater was one of the state's first intermodal haulers, carrying freight to and from railroads in the early days of the trucking industry. They were also among the pioneers in trucking containerized cargo at Charleston's ports.
"We must continue to press for improvements in highway safety because the trucking industry is growing and our roadways are crowded with impatient drivers," says Blalock. "We pushed for two important highway safety initiatives at the State House this past session, and both were stifled in the Senate. One would have imposed higher fines on speeding truck drivers, and the other would have put more responsibility for the safe maintenance of container chassis on the owners. We will be back."