Four truck drivers with a combined 15.8 million miles of safe driving were recently honored by the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and inducted into the NPTC/Bridgestone Firestone Driver Hall of Fame.
The drivers are from NPTC member companies and have met the minimum qualifications of 20 years, 2 million miles or 50,000 hours of driving without a preventable accident. Many of the drivers have far exceeded these qualifications and are known for having made significant contributions to their industry and their communities. Since its inception, 80 drivers have been installed in the Driver Hall of Fame.
This year's Hall of Fame inductees are:
Gene E. Reed
TFE Logistics Group
Reed has driven more than three million accident-free miles over 35 years – 27 of them with TFE. An average day on the job for Gene means 12-14 hours on the road, Monday through Friday, hauling automotive parts. Normally, that means 14 stops and 300 miles in his 2000 Mack CH 600 daycab. His lengthy safe-driving record does not come without some practice; Gene employs defensive driving techniques every day, teaches an advanced defensive driving course to new TFE employees and recertifies existing employees after a major accident.
Reed also spends his free time driving to help others in need, including the State of Indiana's Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross, and hauls toys for the Toys for Tots program. For his community service, Reed was awarded NPTC's Dodi Reagan Humanitarian Award in 2003.
John R. Tedford Sr.
BOC
BOC entrusts Tedford with hauling its precious cryogenic cargo more than 2,000 miles each week along the Gulf Coast states.
His normal route consists of two 260-mile trips per day in his International truck, driving from New Orleans area to the NASA facility in Stennis, Miss. He's also responsible for loading and unloading tons of liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon. He employs the Smith System in his daily routine. His three million-plus miles on the road have earned him the BOC 5-10-15-20-25-30 and 35-year safe driving awards from BOC. Tedford also has the honor of being chosen to be a Super Driver Trainer for the company. He travels the country and teaches at all company locations.
James H. Tolly
NCI Building Systems
Tolly learned to drive a tractor-trailer in the U.S. Army and hauled military machinery, ammunition and missiles. Now, for NCI, he runs metal building components through all 48 lower states. Most of his 3,200 weekly miles are from Texas to Georgia and Texas to Utah, averaging 635 miles each day, for a total of more than three million miles behind the wheel of his Freightliner. To better deal with driving challenges, he attends all of the company safety meetings, reads the DOT Safety Regulations book and uses the Internet to stay current on all the new information put out by industry associations.
Robert C. Wrenn
Gwaltney Transportation, a division of Smithfield
Wrenn began his transportation career with Gwaltney Foods in 1957 and has been with the company ever since. His first job was on the shipping dock, but then he got eager to make local runs. It was not long before he was taking all the loads of fresh and processed pork that he could, learning the company's routes and customers. Wrenn made deliveries in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.
After 40 years of long-haul driving, he is once again back to driving locally around the Richmond, Va., area. During his 49-year career, he has maintained a perfect driving record that spans more than six million miles. Wrenn was recently awarded the Virginia Professional Driver of the Year and Smithfield Transportation Company's Driver of the Year.
NPTC Inducts Four Drivers Into Hall of Fame
Four truck drivers with a combined 15.8 million miles of safe driving were recently honored by the National Private Truck Council (NPTC) and inducted into the NPTC/Bridgestone Firestone Driver Hall of Fame
More Safety & Compliance

HDT Honors the Best New Products of 2025 at TMC [Photos]
Heavy Duty Trucking's Top 20 Products awards recognize the best new products and technologies. Check out the award presentations at the 2026 Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting.
Read More →
Detroit Engines: Trusted Performance, Built for What's Next
The Detroit® Gen 6 engine platform proves that real progress doesn’t require a complete redesign. Built on 20 years of trusted technology, these engines are designed for efficiency, stronger performance, and greater reliability than before. And they do it all while complying with 2027 EPA standards on every mile.
Read More →
Aperia Expands Halo Platform with Steer-Tire Inflation System, Fifth-Wheel Integration
Aperia Technologies introduced a new automatic tire inflation system for steer axles and a partnership with Fontaine Fifth Wheel to integrate coupling status into its Halo Connect platform.
Read More →
Fleetworthy and HAAS Alert Expand Partnership Stopped Truck Protection Alerts
Fleetworthy and HAAS Alert expanded their partnership to deliver real-time digital alerts that warn motorists when commercial trucks are stopped roadside and notify truck drivers when approaching emergency responders.
Read More →
New Entrants, Chameleon Carriers, and Safety: Is It Too Easy to Start a Trucking Company?
More than 100,000 new trucking companies enter the industry each year, but regulators manage to audit only a fraction of them. That churn creates opportunities for inexperienced startups — and for “chameleon carriers” that shut down after safety violations and reappear under new identities. Read more from Deborah Lockridge in this commentary.
Read More →
Mack Introduces Mack Protect Collision Mitigation System for MD Series
Mack Trucks has expanded its proprietary Mack Protect collision mitigation platform to the Mack MD Series, bringing heavy-duty safety technology to medium-duty trucks operating in urban and regional environments.
Read More →
Smarter Maintenance Strategies to Keep Trucks Rolling
In today’s cost-conscious market, fleets are finding new ways to get more value from every truck on the road. See how smarter maintenance strategies can boost uptime, control costs and drive stronger long-term returns.
Read More →
Bison Transport, Mill Creek Motor Freight Win TCA Fleet Safety Awards Grand Prize
Two Canadian fleets earned the Grand Prize in the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2025 Fleet Safety Awards, recognizing the industry’s top safety performance based on accident frequency and safety programs.
Read More →
CVSA Issues New Inspection Guidance on ELD Tampering, False Logs
New guidance for commercial vehicle inspectors distinguishes between more traditional logbook violations and tampered ELD data that can result in mandatory 10-hour out-of-service orders.
Read More →
FMCSA Reinstates Field Warrior ELD to Registered Device List
One electronic logging device has been reinstated to the FMCSA's list of registered ELDs.
Read More →
