Safe Driver of Year, One of Roadway's Elite
Earlier in 1998 he was named Illinois Driver of the Year, and he also was one of 55 drivers recognized and rewarded by his company for a career total of 3 million accident-free miles (TT, 8-24-98, p. 7).
The award for state driver of the year was a repeat; he also had won in 1992. And he was nominated for the Goodyear Highway Hero Award in 1995 and 1996.
The secret to being the top driver in the country is not such a secret, said Mr. Sheriff, who has been with Roadway for 27 years and drives out of the Chicago Heights, Ill., terminal.
Akron, Ohio-based Roadway is the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carrier.
Contestants for the ATA award started out by winning at the company and state levels. At the national level, they were judged on their safety and accident records and their efforts to promote safety.
Mr. Sheriff has been a volunteer at the National Truck Driving Championships for 12 years and helps drivers prepare for the competition.
Last March, he was the first person to reach an accident scene where a tank truck had plowed into the back of a tractor-semitrailer that was leaving a weigh station. He assisted rescue workers until the injured tanker driver could be removed from his vehicle.
Mr. Sheriff said the examples he has set illustrate one thing: Safety is a 24-hour commitment.
“The only way to get safer is to think safety, practice safety and drive safely. You have to do it all the time,” he said.
If he had his way, all states would have a uniform speed limit for both trucks and automobiles. “When a truck is going only 55 miles per hour, but cars can do 65 and 70, it only takes a second for one of them to run up into the back of a truck.”
More than anything, he said, more rest area parking spaces are needed for trucks. On his regular run from Chicago to Memphis, Tenn., it’s a common sight to see trucks parked along the shoulder because of the shortage.
The National Driver of the Year Award, which was presented at the Safety Management Council’s annual meeting, included a trophy, a diamond lapel pin and a $1,500 cash award from Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. of Jacksonville, Fla.
