PHILADELPHIA. Created seven years ago to recognize and reward fleet commitment to safety, two $25,000 Volvo Trucks Safety Awards were presented to Ruan Transportation Management Systems and Searcy Trucking Ltd. During the American Trucking Assns.’ Annual management conference.
Co-sponsored by Michelin Americas Truck Tires, the awards are given to one fleet that runs more than 20 million miles a year and one that runs less than 20 million miles. Winners are chosen based on their accident frequency rate and a commitment to safety demonstrated by fleet programs and investments. They are open to all U.S. and Canadian motor carriers operating at least five Class 8 trucks, at least one of which must be a Volvo.
Ruan Transportation, the over 20-million-mi. winner, has 3,900 trucks providing dedicated service for a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, medical supplies and waste. It has had a formal safety program since the 1940s, and in 2014 its drivers logged more than 246 million miles with an accident frequency rate of just 0.61 based on the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s definition of a recordable accident.
“We are honored and proud to be recognized with the Volvo safety award,” said Lisa Gonnerman, vice president of safety for Ruan Transportation Management Systems. “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our drivers and protecting the motoring public around us. We are driven to be safe, and our programs demonstrate our safety focus.”
Based in Winnepeg, Canada, Searcy Trucking is an 88-tractor open deck hauler that was founded in 1969 and is now a division of Bison Transport. As the Volvo Trucks winner in the under 20-million-mile category, it was recognized for a strong safety culture that, among other attributes, gives drivers the authority to get off the road when they determine weather or other conditions have made continuing unsafe. Searcy’s drivers logged more than 6.8 million miles in 2014 and had an accident frequency rate of just 0.58, according to Volvo.
“Safety has been a core value at Searcy Trucking for as long as we’ve been in the trucking business, and was a key factor in Bison’s interest in acquiring Searcy back in 2013,” said Norm Blagden, president,. “Searcy drivers are some of the best in the business. That, combined with a leading safety program, ensures our drivers return home safely at the end of each and every trip.”
