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August 4, 1999 11:10 AM, EDT

Eb Peters is stepping down as president of the North Carolina Trucking Association after nearly 19 years of representing the state’s motor carriers.

“I’ve been here a long time and now it’s time to retire and do some of the things I want to do,” said Peters.

During his tenure, Peters guided the association through the murky waters of deregulation, fought numerous legislative battles and worked with state regulatory agencies to make sure trucking companies got a fair shake.

Charlie Diehl, a Wake Forest law graduate with association experience, will take over for Peters. Diehl will be just the third person to head the association.

Peters came to NCTA in the fall of 1981 from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, where he had been commissioner of motor vehicles. He joined trucking just as deregulation was shaking up the association’s traditional membership base.

“At one time we had a lot of the big companies that were founded here in North Carolina, like Carolina Freight, Pilot Freight and Thurston,” he said. “But deregulation came and most either merged or sold their operating rights and went out of business.”

Legislatively, Peters worked to create a permanent license plate for truck tractors and fought to ensure North Carolina carriers retained the ability to do their own annual federal motor vehicle inspections.

For the full story, see the August 2 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.