Honoring Our Drivers

There is no more fitting prelude to National Truck Driver Appreciation Week than American Trucking Associations’ annual National Truck Driving Championships.

This year in Orlando, Fla., NTDC produced another crop of deserving winners, fitting role models for the men and women who move America’s economy in their rigs every day of every year.

The new champion, Paul Phillips of Con-way Freight, bested 428 other contestants to become the 2011 Bendix Grand Champion of the 74th NTDC on Aug. 14, the crowning conclusion of a contest that began with programs in every state.

And Phillips is just the kind of driver that the industry is very pleased to recognize: He’s been a professional driver for 35 years, during which he’s logged 1.6 million miles. He’s been competing for this prize since 2004, when he entered his first state competition.

To qualify for the championship round this year, Phillips first won the individual straight truck competition.

In all, almost 5,000 drivers who collectively logged more than 595 million accident-free miles were part of the competitive process for the awards this year.

Phillips told our reporter that he first entered the NTDC process because “I wanted to see how good I could be.” After he was crowned, he added, “I’m just soaking it in right now. I haven’t realized what it means yet.”

The NTDC process, however, is really designed to cast the spotlight on the 3.2 million men and women who move some 9 billion tons of the nation’s freight while traveling a total of more than 400 billion miles a year, and not only the select crew that makes it into the final rounds of competition.

This year, we will celebrate the nation’s professional truck drivers Sept. 11-17, with various events around the country ranging from a pat on the back to awards and banquets.

The average Class 8 truck driver will log about 45,000 miles this year, while the average longhaul driver will more than double that total.

We encourage ATA’s members and Transport Topics’ readers to join in the celebration and honor their drivers during this special week.

Of course, one excellent way to reward your drivers — and professional truck drivers everywhere — is to be an active participant next year in the NTDC in Minneapolis.