The Virginia Trucking Association presented its 2019 Safety Awards on April 3rd during its Annual VTA Safety and Human Resources Conference, held at the UVA Inn at Darden in Charlottesville, VA. The safety awards are generously sponsored by Nansemond Insurance Agency of Suffolk, VA. J.D. Newman, Inc. of Elkwood, VA was presented the 2019 Grand Trophy for Fleet Safety in Virginia. This award is presented to the company that was judged to have had the state's most effective motor carrier safety program during 2018. J.D. Newman, Inc. won the award in their division with an DOT recordable accident frequency rate of 0 in Virginia and only 2 lost workday cases. Their dedication to safety proved to be very rewarding in 2018, resulting in 2.4 million accident free miles and 22 no-violation inspections. Andy Butler of J.D. Newman, Inc. in Elkwood, VA was named the Safety Professional of the year. This award is presented to the person responsible for directing or supervising safety activities of a VTA member trucking fleet who is of high moral character and who has devoted his/her career to the field of highway and industrial safety. Butler is a standout in everything he does. He wears many hats, primarily that of safety director, but ultimately he will be involved in all phases of personnel, equipment, customer matters and general operations. His professionalism, personality and intelligence allows him to handle any situation. The relationship he maintains with all employees is important to their comfort within the company. He is active in the community as well as the VTA, and he is also a new father. Steve Purks of King George, VA, a driver for Wal-mart Transportation in Mt. Crawford, VA, was named the 2019 Virginia Truck Driver of the Year. Purks has been a professional truck driver for over 27 years for his current employer and during that time has accumulated 3.1 million miles of safe driving without a preventable or non-preventable accident. He is a member of the accident review committee for his company along with helping to determine preventability in the company's collisions. He is active in several lodges and clubs. He has participated in the state truck driving championships and placed 3rd. His company has rewarded his 3 million miles of safe driving. Fleet Safety Awards were presented to the following companies having the lowest 2018 Virginia accident frequency rate in their class of competition:
Associated Asphalt Transport LLC-Roanoke, VA
Carmax Auto Superstores Inc. - Richmond, VA
Hatchett Transportation Inc. - Bassett, VA
Hilldrup Companies - Stafford, VA
Howell's Motor Freight, Inc. - Roanoke, VA
IDM Trucking Inc. - Weyers Cave, VA
J. W. Manning - Harrisonburg, VA
J.D. Newman, Inc. - Elkwood, VA
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. - Thomasville, NC Improvement Awards for the fleets which had the greatest percentage of improvement in their accident frequency over the previous contest year were won by Englander Transportation, Inc., Rustburg, VA, and Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corp, Providence Forge,VA. Fleet Safety Certificates were awarded to the following companies who had an improved safety records over the previous year: Atlantic Bulk Carrier Corp - Providence Forge,VA
CVS Transportation LLC - Southfield, MI
Englander Transportation, Inc - Rustburg, VA
FedEx Freight Inc - - Harrison, AR
Fleetmaster Express, Inc - Roanoke, VA
Hilldrup Companies - Stafford, VA
Howell's Motor Freight, Inc. - Roanoke, VA
IDM Trucking Inc - Weyers Cave, VA
J. W. Manning - Harrisonburg, VA
J.D.Newman, Inc.- Elkwood, VA
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. - Thomasville, NC
Pepsi Cola Bottling Co of Central VA - Charlottesville, VA
