Australia’s top truck drivers and industry representatives have been awarded for their commitment and professionalism during the National Trucking Industry
Australia’s top truck drivers and industry representatives have been awarded for their commitment and professionalism during the National Trucking Industry Awards.
The ceremony, held as part of the Australian Trucking Convention, recognised the work of five industry achievers.
Australian Trucking Association (ATA) Chairman Trevor Martyn says the quality of this year’s winners is outstanding.
Kevin Cartwright was awarded the National Professional Driver of the Year due to his impressive record that spans an incident-free 12 million kms in 44 years.
The National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year Award went to Helen Savage of Stockmaster, who has spent her 40 years as secretary raising awareness about the importance of trucking in the community.
Savage also organises workshop inductions and driver training in fatigue management for Stockmaster.
The Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Trucking Industry went to the late John Kelly, who was heavily involved in a number of safety initiatives such as TruckSafe and Truckplus.
He was responsible for developing and implementing driver training programs and worked with the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) to represent the industry during the development of the Safe T Cam.
Finally, the WA Freight Group took home the Training Excellence Award. The company, which recently became part of Silk Logistics, was recognised as playing a significant role in building qualified staff by way of having national training manager and a fulltime onsite trainer to develop and coordinate a training program.
Through this process, WA Freight Group has managed over 170 trainees and apprentices.
Peter Rocke was handed the Don Watson Memorial Award in recognition of his contribution to the trucking industry. Rocke went from modest beginnings as a truck driver to become the dominant waterfront carrier at the Port of Melbourne.
He then went on to acquire Coulson Transport as well as establish another transport business. His efforts were rewarded when he won the Decade of Dedication Award in 1998.
“Listening to the winners speak on the night provided a strong indication of why they won—they all have tremendous passion for our industry and an uncompromising commitment to its improvement,” Martyn says.