Salisbury Trucking Company Driver Takes Out National Professional Driver of the Year Award

Kevin Cartwright, a driver for Salisbury based trucking company, Whiteline Transport, has been named as the winner of the prestigious National Professional Driver of the Year Award for 2008.

Kevin was nominated for his 12 million accident free kms in 44 years, proving him to be an outstanding truck driver who is committed to doing the job safely.

Kevin currently works one of the toughest runs in the country – the Adelaide to Perth run. He has made the weekly return trip for over 23 years, incident free and has formed an excellent reputation with Whiteline’s contractors and customers.

During his 44 years as a driver, Kevin has seen the industry evolve and has recognised and accepted the need to embrace the many significant regulatory changes that have taken place.

In his acceptance speech Kevin thanked sponsors for presenting an award that recognised the work of drivers.

“Truck driving is a good life but a tough life (…) Before I retire, I would like to see some uniformity in the industry,” he said.

The National Professional Driver of the Year Award is part of the National Trucking Industry Awards, which are announced each year at the end of the Australian Trucking Convention. This year’s convention wrapped up today in Canberra.

ATA Chairman, Mr Trevor Martyn, said the awards are a crucial part of the industry’s calendar because they identify and reward the people who have contributed to taking the Australian trucking industry to a higher level of professionalism.

“The National Trucking Industry Awards form an important part of the trucking industry’s effort to promote the commitment and achievement of individuals and organisations within the industry,” Trevor said.

“Listening to the winners speak on the night provides a strong indication of why they won – they all have tremendous passion for our industry, and an uncompromising commitment to its improvement,” he said.

Other awards presented on the night included the National Trucking Industry Woman of the Year Award, which was awarded to Helen Savage from Stockmaster, the Training Excellence Award, won by WA Freight Group, and the Outstanding Contribution to the Trucking Industry Award, which was won by John Kelly (deceased).

Also awarded on the night was the Don Watson – ATA in Appreciation Memorial Award, which was presented to long-standing supporter of the ATA, Peter Rocke.