Eighteen companies have been selected as division winners in the Truckload Carriers Association's 35th Annual National Fleet Safety Awards. Sponsored by Great West Casualty Company, the awards recognize trucking companies that demonstrate a superior commitment to safety and accident reduction.

Fleets applying for the awards have completed the first of a two-step process. First, their accident frequency per million miles driven was calculated for each of six mileage-based divisions (listed below). The top three division winners were selected and have been audited by an independent expert to verify their accident frequency numbers.

"Safety has always been the top priority in this industry. TCA developed these awards 36 years ago to recognize the top performers," said Don Lacy, chairman of TCA's Safety & Security Division and director of safety for Prime, Inc., Springfield, Mo. "Receiving a National Fleet Safety Award has become a highly coveted badge of honor that recognizes and rewards companies for working tirelessly to improve their procedures in the safety arena."

All division winners are now eligible to compete for two grand prizes, one in the "less than 25 million annual miles" category and one in the "25 million or more annual miles" category. To win the grand prize, companies will be judged on their overall safety programs, both on- and off-highway, including employee driver/independent contractor selection procedures, training, supervision, accident investigation, inspection and maintenance of equipment, and outside activities including general highway safety.

As with the division winners, the two grand prize winning companies will be honored at an awards ceremony to be held during TCA's Annual Convention and then again during TCA's Safety & Security Division Annual Meeting.


Below are the names of the 2010 top divisional winners based on low accident frequency ratios per million miles.

Division I Winners (less than 5 million miles)
Art Pape Transfer, Inc., Dubuque, Iowa
Excargo Services Inc., Houston, Texas
Five Star Trucking Inc., Willoughby, Ohio

Division II Winners (5-14.99 million miles)
Brian Kurtz Trucking Ltd., Breslau, Ontario
Stagecoach Cartage & Dist. LP, El Paso, Texas
Diamond Transportation System, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin

Division III Winners (15-24.99 million miles)
MacKinnon Transport Inc., Guelph, Ontario
D&D Sexton Inc., Carthage, Missouri
Convoy Systems, L.L.C., Kansas City, Kansas

Division IV Winners (25-49.99 million miles)
Kennesaw Transportation, White, Georgia
Sunrise Express Inc., Grand Island, Nebraska
Transport Designs, Inc., Burnsville, Minnesota

Division V Winners (50-99.99 million miles)
Carter Express, Inc., Anderson, Indiana
Groupe Robert Inc., Boucherville, Québec
Hogan Transports, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri

Division VI Winners (100 million or more miles)
Bison Transport Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba
Gordon Trucking Inc., Pacific, Washington
Roehl Transport, Inc., Marshfield, Wisconsin