Averitt Express recently held its companywide 2002 Driving and Tow Motor Championship at its service center in Cookeville, Tenn.

Participating in the one-day competition were 17 drivers and 10 dock associates from Averitt's network of more than 80 service centers throughout the Southeast.
At the end of the day of competition, the Grand Champion of the driving competition was Brent Hawks, a driver based out of Asheville, N.C. Second place went to Jerry Butts of Greenville, N.C., and third place was awarded to George Holland, from Charlotte, N.C.
Winner of the Tow Motor Championship was John Frye, based out of Nashville, followed Josh Jones of Jackson, Tenn., and Terrill Nicholson from Nashville, who finished third.
Designed to test driving skills and general safety knowledge, the driving competition included three phases: a personal interview, a pre-trip inspection and a driving skills test.
During the interview phase, drivers answered general questions about safe driving practices. The pre-trip inspection required drivers to demonstrate how they typically check their tractor-trailers for safety hazards before they depart for a trip.
For the skills test phase, drivers demonstrated safe driving techniques in making right-hand turns, parallel parking, alley docking, and also competed in a straight line obstacle course and a "stop line."
"This year's course was set up as a mirror opposite to last year's course so that past competitors would have no advantage over first-timers," said John Walton, Averitt's director of safety and compliance.
To qualify for the companywide driving competition, Averitt's drivers had to meet minimum qualifications based on following criteria: no moving violations in the past three years; preventable accident-free in 2001; minimum of five years safe driving with Averitt; and a written test on safety guidelines and procedures.
This year marked the first year for Averitt's tow motor competition, which featured some of the company's top dock associates. Like the driving competition, the 2002 Tow Motor Championship also involved a written test, interview, a pre-trip inspection and an obstacle course.
For the written test, dock associates answered questions about general dock safety, tow motor operation and proper freight handling. In the interview phase, associates were asked questions about handling tow motors safely under various situations. The obstacle course included: serpentine, dock bay, precision, straight load, pinwheel and rug pole obstacles.
To qualify for the Tow Motor Championship, associates had to meet minimum qualifications, including: a clean motor vehicle record for the past three years, no tow motor-related injuries or freight incidents in 2001, no avoidable injuries in 2001, and a minimum of five years of tow motor experience with Averitt.
"We want to express our appreciation to those associates who elected to participate in our 2002 Driving and Tow Motor Championships," said Walton. "Our fellow associates put forth this effort every day. They're on our docks and roadways in some of the toughest weather, road and traffic conditions, all the while providing one of the highest levels of service in the industry."
Established in 1971, Averitt Express is a provider of global freight transportation and logistics services. The company provides less-than-truckload, truckload, expedited (ground and air), international, dedicated and logistics services. Averitt operates more than 80 service centers and serves more than 50,000 direct points throughout the Southern United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.