Goodyear to Announce Highway Hero Award Winner During Mid-America Trucking Show

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will announce the winner of the 34th Goodyear Highway Hero Award on March 23 during the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Ky.

Established in 1983, the Goodyear Highway Hero Award honors professional truck drivers who put themselves in harm's way to help others.

"The Goodyear Highway Hero Award is the oldest and most prestigious honor of its kind," said Gary Medalis, marketing director, Goodyear. "Goodyear is proud to recognize truck drivers who risk their own lives to save others."

Finalists for the 34th Goodyear Highway Hero Award include a driver who rescued an unconscious motorist from a minivan that had flipped over, a driver who pulled a mother and her three children from a car that was upside-down in a creek bed, and a driver who stopped an out-of-control dump truck and administered first aid to its incapacitated driver.

Here are this year's Goodyear Highway Hero Award finalists and their remarkable stories:

Chris Baker, a driver from Chicopee, Mass. Baker was driving on a New Jersey highway when he spotted flickering lights ahead. Pulling closer to investigate, he found a minivan that had flipped over onto its side. Flames erupted from the vehicle's engine. Grabbing his fire extinguisher, he ran to the van and put out the fire. By then, the van's passenger had escaped and crawled to safety, but its unconscious driver remained inside, hanging from a seat belt. Working with a bystander, Baker unfastened the driver's seat belt, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him away from the van. Baker stayed by his side until rescue crews arrived. The man survived and did not suffer any significant injuries.

Tim Freiburger, a driver from Huntington, Ind. Freiburger was driving through Indiana when he saw a car lose control and drive into a creek, where it flipped and came to a stop, upside-down in standing water. Freiburger raced to the car, which contained a mother and her three children. He broke a window and pulled the children out of the car. After carrying them to the creek's bank, he returned to the car, ripped open its door, and rescued the mother. He stayed with the family until paramedics arrived. The family suffered only minor bruises as a result of the accident.

David Webb, a driver from Billings, Mont. Webb and his wife, Carol, were driving through Washington State when they observed a dump truck in the next lane swerve. Webb pulled up to the dump truck and noticed that its driver was slumped over the steering wheel. As the dump truck slowed, Webb parked his own truck and ran after the still-moving vehicle. Webb jumped onto the dump truck's running board, opened the door, reached in and applied the brakes, bringing the truck to a complete stop. As Carol called 911, Webb, working with a bystander, pulled the driver, who was not breathing, out of the truck and was performing CPR on him when help arrived. The driver was hospitalized and survived.

Trucking industry journalists are now evaluating the above finalists and will select the 34th Goodyear Highway Hero Award recipient.

The winner of the Goodyear Highway Hero Award will receive a special ring, a cash award and a congratulatory trophy. Each of the other finalists will receive a cash prize and other items.

"We look forward to honoring our Goodyear Highway Hero Award finalists for their courageous acts and naming this year's Goodyear Highway Hero during MATS," said Medalis.

TCA Launches Accreditation Program for Truckload Carriers

Driver iQ will be the exclusive sponsor of the certificate and certification program

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has launched an accreditation initiative for the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry. The program will create a community of individuals who are dedicated to their professional development within the truckload industry, help truckload carriers attract new people to their companies, and create career paths as a retention tool.

Driver iQ, providers of comprehensive and reliable background screening and driver monitoring services to the trucking industry, will be the exclusive sponsor of the certificate and certification programs. Lana Batts, Driver iQ’s co-president and a former president of TCA, will serve as the official spokesperson.

According to TCA Chairman Russell Stubbs, “Lana is a natural choice to speak on behalf of this program, as she has worked for more than 40 years in the trucking industry. She is highly respected and knows the industry inside and out. She also understands the value of providing professional development opportunities for non-driving staff. She will bring significant credibility and exposure to this program.”

Initially, three certificates are being offered. The Human Resources Certificate provides learners with training in three key subject areas: operations, recruitment and retention, and legal. The Recruitment Certificate focuses on the key subject areas of driver recruitment, workforce recruitment, and hiring legal challenges. The Retention Certificate provides training related to increasing driver retention and employee engagement. To earn a certificate, participants must earn 40 continuing education credits, which can come from a wide variety of opportunities offered by TCA (webinars, on-demand training, face-to-face meetings, etc.)

The Fleet Manager Certification Program is intended for fleet managers, driver managers, dispatchers, operations managers, customer service representatives, planners, front-line managers, or similar job functions, who have at least two years of experience in those roles. The program covers business, leadership and communication skills, how to set expectations for drivers, how to use structured coaching to improve performance, how to develop best practices and processes for running a high-performance operations department, and more.

Lana Batts said, “This is the first and only program of its type for this industry, and it’s exciting to be affiliated with it. The challenges we see carriers facing every day confirms that a focus on professional development is exactly what this industry needs to attract and maintain a skilled workforce.”

As part of its sponsorship agreement, Driver iQ will serve as the only non-carrier member associated with the certificate and certification offerings. It will sponsor five webinars to support the programs and will also serve as one of the host sponsors of TCA’s 2017 WorkForce Builders Conference (WFBCON).

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