Don LacyDon Lacy, longtime director of safety for Prime Inc., will retire from the company April 1, Prime announced Feb. 26.
Lacy has been with the company 25 years and became director of safety in 1996. He has worked in the trucking industry for 50 years.
Prime says he has spearheaded several safety and communications initiatives for the company’s 6,400 drivers, including creating the “Prime University” training center, establishing weekly safety meetings and downloadable podcasts and implementing technology (like rollover stability control, lane departure warnings and forward-looking radar) into the fleet’s equipment to boost safety.
“For many years, Prime was production-driven — how many miles we could drive,” Lacy says. “Today, the biggest drive is towards safety. It has become the most important part of the business. Everybody is part of the safety effort.”
Lacy has served on several safety boards, including the Professional Truck Driving Institute; Truckload Carriers Association Safety Group, Safety & Security Division and Independent Contractor Division; American Trucking Association Council of Safety Supervisors; Commercial Motor Vehicle Section National Safety Council, Oklahoma Motor Carriers and the Missouri Bus & Truck Association.
He’s also won numerous awards, including the 2011 Clair C. Casey Safety Professional of the Year Award from TCA, the 2010 Fleet Improvement Award from TCA, the 1978 Safety Man of the Year from the Missouri Bus and Truck Association and the 1977 Missouri Safety Director of the Year.
