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A QUICK LOOK AT IMPORTANT TCA NEWS<br />
SMALL<br />
A QUICK LOOK AT<br />
IMPORTANT TCA NEWS<br />
TALK<br />
Best Fleets Contest<br />
Nominations will be accepted between September 4 and October 31 for the<br />
annual Best Fleets to Drive For contest, which was launched in the summer of<br />
2008 by CarriersEdge and the Truckload Carriers Association.<br />
The program identifies trends, shares best practices, and publicly recognizes<br />
the for-hire carriers providing the best workplaces for their drivers.<br />
Best Fleets to Drive For is open to any for-hire trucking company operating 10<br />
trucks or more in the U.S. or Canada. Fleets do not have to be members of TCA to<br />
participate and there’s no cost to participate.<br />
To be considered, fleets must be nominated by a driver or independent contractor<br />
currently working with them, then complete the evaluation process within<br />
prescribed timelines.<br />
There are four stages to the Best Fleets evaluation process:<br />
• Nomination. A driver or independent contractor nominates the fleet through<br />
this site. One nomination per company each year is sufficient.<br />
• Questionnaire. Company representatives complete and submit an online<br />
questionnaire, providing details on company programs and policies.<br />
• Interview. CarriersEdge staff conduct a follow-up interview to review the<br />
questionnaire and fill in additional information.<br />
• Driver survey. Drivers/contractors at the fleet complete an online survey, providing<br />
feedback on company programs and overall satisfaction.<br />
Once the questionnaire and interview stages are completed and a sufficient<br />
number of driver surveys are submitted, fleets may advance to the final round.<br />
In the final round, scores are assigned for the breadth and depth of programs being<br />
offered, driver satisfaction levels, and driver retention and safety performance.<br />
Fleets with the best overall scores are named Best Fleets for the year.<br />
After the evaluation and scoring process is complete, fleets are recognized in<br />
a variety of different ways:<br />
• Top 20 Best Fleets. The 20 fleets that have the best overall scores for the<br />
year.<br />
• Best Overall Fleet for Large Carriers and Best Overall Fleet for Small Carriers.<br />
These are the two fleets in the Top 20 that have the absolute best overall<br />
scores. One fleet is selected from the 10 largest carriers in the Top 20, the other<br />
from the 10 smallest. These fleets are presented with a trophy in recognition of<br />
their achievement.<br />
• Five Consecutive Years. Fleets that make the Top 20 for five consecutive<br />
years are recognized for their consistency and innovation.<br />
• Fleets to Watch. These are the five fleets each year that have innovative<br />
programs but didn’t make the Top 20.<br />
All fleets recognized in one of the categories above receive a distinct logo to<br />
identify themselves as winners or fleets to watch for the year. Each year’s Top 20<br />
will be presented on stage at the 2019 TCA Annual Convention in Las Vegas and<br />
the two overall winners unveiled.<br />
The Best Fleets evaluation process runs through the fall each year, with winners<br />
announced the following January.<br />
After nominations close, questionnaires are completed through October and<br />
November, interviews are conducted in November and early December, driver surveys<br />
are submitted by midnight New Year’s Eve, the Top 20 announced around the<br />
end of January and overall winners are announced at the convention each year.<br />
Drivers of the Year Contest<br />
Nominations are being accepted beginning September 17 for the annual Driver<br />
of the Year contests which seek to identify and honor the best men and women<br />
traveling the roads today, those who drive safely, give to their communities, protect<br />
the environment and enhance the image of trucking as they make us all proud to<br />
be a part of this great industry.<br />
Truckers News and Overdrive partner with the Truckload Carriers Association<br />
to conduct the contests. Sponsors are Cummins and Love’s Travel Stops & Country<br />
Stores.<br />
The overall goal of the contest is to recognize and pay tribute to the company<br />
drivers and owner-operators who provide reliable and safe truck transportation in<br />
moving the nation’s goods. Several finalists will be chosen for both divisions from<br />
which the grand prize winners will be selected. The grand prize winners will be<br />
recognized and honored as the outstanding company driver and owner-operator<br />
for 2018 based on his/her ability to operate in a safe manner on the public highways,<br />
efforts to enhance the public image of the trucking industry, and positive<br />
contributions to the community in which he/she lives. Owner-operators will also<br />
be judged on the ability to run a business.<br />
The company driver contest is open to any company driver employed by an<br />
over-the-road carrier who has safely driven one million consecutive, accident-free<br />
miles. A company driver must be nominated by the motor carrier by which he/she<br />
is currently employed and must have been employed by and driving for his/her<br />
current trucking company employer for the past three years.<br />
Fleet operators who own no more than five power units used in five-axle or<br />
more tractor-trailer combinations and who drive one of the power units as a fulltime<br />
occupation are eligible to enter this contest. An owner-operator who holds<br />
his/her own state or federal operating authority or who is incorporated under the<br />
laws of his/her or a trucking company’s domicile is also eligible for the contest.<br />
Stephen Richardson, the 2018 Company Driver of the Year, grew up in a trucking family. His<br />
father was a grocery delivery driver who enjoyed taking Stephen along with him during the<br />
summer.<br />
42 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | www.Truckload.org TCA 2018