NYSMTA Announces Safety Award Winners

The New York State Motor Truck Association is pleased to announce the winners of several prestigious safety awards, given to Association members across the state who have ‘gone the extra mile” in setting and achieving safety benchmarks. 

The Fleet Safety Awards, Golden Wrench Awards and Driver of the Year Awards are bestowed upon companies and individuals whose dedication to keeping our nation’s roads as safe as possible is evident through their accident rates, safety initiatives, and safe driving records, as well as their efforts to promote highway safety among the public.  The winners of the awards were announced at the 2009 NYS Truck Safety and Education Conference in Albany, NY on April 1.

The Fleet Safety Award

For 2008, 34 companies received Fleet Safety Awards, for having an accident record of less than half the national average.  Twenty-five companies who applied had an accident-free year, with a total of nearly 18 million miles driven accident-free among them.  The Award is broken into two operation types: Long-haul and Pickup and Delivery; and three awards classes: Small (0-1,000,000 miles), Medium (1,000,001-5,000,000 miles) and Large (over 5,000,000 miles). 

Con-way Freight was named the Statewide Fleet Safety Award winner, based on the company’s safety policy, safety program, training procedures and additional safety criteria, with 8,974,387 miles driven in New York State in 2008 and only 1 accident.

2008 Fleet Safety Award Winners:

Pickup and Delivery’ Small Class

1st Place: Tripi Foods

2nd Place: Baker Commodities

3rd Place: E & V Energy, Inc.

Pickup and Delivery’ Medium Class

1st Place: Rite Aid of New York

2nd Place: Penn Traffic/ P&C Foods

Pickup and Delivery’ Large Class

1st Place: Con-way Freight

2nd Place: Byrne Dairy

Long-Haul’ Small Class

1st Place: R.S. Maher & Son, Inc.

2nd Place: C.T. Express, Inc.

3rd Place: George W. Burnett, Inc.

Long-Haul’ Medium Class

1st Place: Clinton’s Ditch Co-op Inc.

2nd Place: T&D Transportation, Inc.

3rd Place:  SLA Transport, Inc.

Long-Haul’ Large Class

1st Place: Wal-Mart Stores

2nd Place: Golub Corporation

3rd Place: Gypsum Express LTD.

The Golden Wrench Award

The Golden Wrench Award was designed to recognize excellence among heavy vehicle technicians.  The award recognizes the best technicians in New York State.  Up to two winners from each of five regions of the state may be selected as Golden Wrench Award winners, in addition to one statewide winner.  Among this year’s six regional winners, they have completed nearly 60 professional certifications and courses pertaining to heavy vehicle maintenance.

This year’s statewide Golden Wrench Award winner is Steven Smith from Golub Corp.  Steven has received his Certified Master Truck Designation from Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).  He has all eight Medium/Heavy Truck ASE certifications: Gasoline Engines, Diesel Engines, Drive Train, Brakes, Suspension & Steering, Electrical/Electronic Systems, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning and Preventive Maintenance Inspection.  He has also completed additional training in Freightliner New Electronic Systems, Service Link Diagnostics, New Systems and Serviceability, Service and Maintenance, Electrical Problem Solving and Eaton Autoshift Transmission. 

2008 Regional Golden Wrench Award Winners:

Reed D. Massaroni, Golub Corp.

David R. Markowski, Golub Corp.

Gregory A. Cushman, Wal-Mart  

Transportation

Robert Shafer, Wal-Mart Transportation

Edwin E. Schultz, Jr., Mohawk Truck

William Kirkpatrick, DeCarolis Truck Rental

The Driver of the Year Award

The Driver of the Year Award is presented to drivers with long, safe driving records, acts of courtesy or safety on the highway and a proven commitment to professional development through civic involvement.  Up to two regional winners from each of five regions may be selected, in addition to the statewide winner.  The six regional winners have logged a total of 13.85 million accident-free miles among them, over an average of nearly 32 years of driving each, and have been with their current employers an average of 17 years. 

The Statewide Driver of the Year for 2008 is Keith Suits, of Rite Aid.  Keith has driven 2.5 million accident-free miles over his 20 year career, the past 10 with Rite Aid.  He has reached thousands of younger drivers as well as the general public across New York State, through his participation in ‘Share the Road” and ‘No Zone” campaigns.  He has educated the public on the trucking industry and on the realities of sharing the road with large trucks.   In July, he came in first place at the Rite Aid National Championship, outscoring drivers from throughout the country.  Additionally, he participates in local charity events to benefit disadvantaged children and raise funds to combat cancer.

2008 Regional Driver of the Year Award Winners:

Central Regional Winners:

Stanley Pushlar, Earl T. Wadhams, Inc.

Shelby Otis, Wal-Mart Transportation

Eastern Regional Winners:

Bruce M. Goyette, ARG Trucking Corp.

Lester F. Ackermann, ABF Freight System, Inc.

Western Regional Winners:

James T. Gallagher, Roadway Express

Joseph T. Wolf, USF Holland