The Truckload Carriers Association on Wednesday, March 14, announced the grand prize winners of the 2006 National Fleet Safety Awards. Bison Transport of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, won in the category of companies operating more than 25 million miles annually, and Don Hummer Trucking of Oxford, Iowa, won in the category of companies operating less than 25 million miles annually.
TCA presented the awards to Rob Penner, vice president of operations of Bison Transport, and Don Hummer, president and chief executive officer of Don Hummer Trucking, at the annual Banquet and Awards Dinner Tuesday, March 13, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nev. The two were selected from among 18 division winners in the National Fleet Safety Division Awards announced in January. Both companies strive to meet stringent standards in their overall safety programs, on and off the highway, and were judged to be the best in their commitment to improving safety on our nation’s highways.
In terms of their safety program, Bison Transport says it lives by the philosophy “We Do What Is Right” and emphasizes that motto by placing its people high above the bottom line by doing everything in its power to provide them the tools they need, and the skills and training that they require. In other words, Bison Transport is safe and profitable in conjunction with their employees, not at the expense of them, according to the company. They say they do this, so at the end of the day, they have a safe fleet, delivering safe loads on safe public roadways.
Don Hummer Trucking says it believe that it is all the small, but critical, choices made every day that when taken as whole ensure the safe operation of their fleet; in other words, they live by the motto “Sweat The Small Stuff.” Many of their nondriving employees have experience as a driver or have close relationships with drivers, which Don Hummer says fosters an environment that is centered on the driver, often reinforcing the idea that without the drivers in the red trucks, what the rest of the company does, doesn’t really matter.
