The National Private Truck Council recognized fleet members who had continued to elevate safety performance during the group's Annual Education Management Conference and Exhibition.


"The purpose of the Safety Awards program is to recognize those member companies which strive to make private fleet safety a benchmark of their operations," said Gary Petty, NPTC CEO and president.

The NPTC/Bridgestone Firestone Fleet of the Year Awards are presented to those companies whose fleets experienced the lowest ratio of accidents per million miles for the past year. These awards are given for the entire fleet's vehicle accident frequency rate by fleet size and operational category. The winners for 2008 were:

Local Operation (fleets whose vehicles deliver in a local market regardless of size) winners:

First Place: Barnes & Noble Bookseller
Second Place: Sonoco Recycling
Third Place: Hospira Worldwide Inc.

Mixed Operations (Small Fleet - less than 50 vehicles) winners:

First Place: Metal Exchange Corp.
Second Place: George's Foods LLC
Third Place: Clinton's Ditch Coop Co. Inc.

Mixed Operations (Large Fleet - 50 vehicles or more) winners:

First Place: New South Express Inc.
Second Place: General Nutrition Centers
Third Place: Targa Midstream Services LP

Regional Operations (Small Fleet - less than 50 vehicles) winners:

First Place: Jerico Services Inc.
Second Place: Hospira Fleet Services LLC

Regional Operations (Large Fleet - 50 vehicles or more) winners:

First Place: Contract Transportation Systems
Second Place: Gwaltney Transportation Co. Inc.
Third Place: Smithfield Transportation Co. Inc.

Also recognized, were those fleets with outstanding and/or improved safety records based upon their crash rates. Winners of the Gold Seal, awarded to fleet experiencing zero crashes in 2007, include:

• ADM Trucking
• Barnes & Noble Bookseller
• BP Products North America
• Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
• Hittman Transport Services
• Jerico Services
• Moen Inc.
• Targa Midstream Services

Winners of the Silver Seal, presented to those companies whose fleets reduced their vehicle crash rates by 40 percent or more compared to the previous year, were:

• ADM Trucking
• BP Products North America
• Clinton's Ditch Coop Co.
• Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
• Frito-Lay
• Gwaltney Transportation Co.
• Marathon Petroleum Co.
• National Gypsum Energy
• Orgill
• Shaw Industries
• Sonoco Recycling
• South East Express
• Walgreen Oshkosh

The Bronze Seal recognition is presented to companies who have reduced their vehicle crash rates by 20 percent to 39 percent from the previous year. The winners are:

• ADM Trucking
• Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire
• BP Products North America
• Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.
• CVS/Caremark
• Frito-Lay
• Hannaford Trucking Co.
• Shaw Industries