Reddaway professional drivers Jeff Payne, Dan Reese and John Van Buren earned first-place at their respective state truck driving safety competitions qualifying them to compete at the 2018 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC), the “Superbowl of Safety,” in Columbus, Ohio. Sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the event will be held August 15-18, 2018 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Jeff Payne earned first-place in the Twins class at the 2018 Utah state truck driving competition held June 1-2, 2018. This is his fourteenth trip to NTDC: “Driving is something I take great pride and pleasure in. I compete to improve my knowledge of the industry and improve my safety skills on the road. Keeping our highways safe is my priority,” said Payne.
Jeff has been driving professionally for 25-years, and 24 of those years were driving for Reddaway. He has remained accident-free his entire career. Jeff is Reddaway’s first ATA America’s Road Team Captain. He has earned a wealth of awards in state and national truck driving competitions since he began in 1995.
In 2014 he received the prestigious Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award. This award is based on driving record, skill, knowledge, attitude toward safety and personality by work history and performance at various NTDC skills tests and overall professionalism. A driver must have competed at seven or more NTDCs to be considered for this award.
Jeff won first-place in the Twins class at the 2011 NTDC and third-place three years later at the 2014 NTDC. He was selected as the Utah State Grand Champion in 2003 and 2011. Jeff earned the state Pre-Trip Award three times (most recently in 2016). He was presented with the National Vehicle Condition Award in 2014 recognizing his thorough understanding of equipment, extraordinary ability to inspect and evaluate a truck’s condition and his commitment to safety.
Dan Reese earned first-place in the 3-Axle class at this year’s Utah State Truck Driving Competition. He currently operates as a city driver out of our Salt Lake City, Utah facility.
He has been a professional driver for over twenty years and a Reddaway driver since 2013. This is his second year to participate at the Utah TDC.
He is a Reddaway driver trainer for new hires at our Salt Lake City facility, but he also travels to other Reddaway terminals to assist in driver training, sharing his wealth of knowledge.
John Van Buren earned first-place in the Straight Truck class at this year’s Oregon State Truck Driving Competition. He currently operates as a city driver out of our Medford, Oregon facility.
He has been a professional driver for over 28-years, and 25 of those years were driving for Reddaway. This is his eighth trip to the National Truck Driving Championships after winning an Oregon state championship.
John has served for 15-years as the Chairman of the Reddaway Safety Committee while operating out of our former Central Point, OR facility.
“Simply qualifying to participate at the National Truck Driving Competitions is a major achievement,” said Bob Stone, Reddaway President. “This event brings together the best from each state in each division. Jeff, Dan and John embody the talent, hard work and professionalism that defines a Reddaway driver. We are truly proud to have them represent Reddaway at the 2018 NTDC. I would like to congratulate and thank them, as well as all of our hard-working Reddaway professional drivers, for their strong focus on safety. Safe drivers make our nation’s highways safer for all of us.”
Drivers must remain accident-free the entire year prior to competition to qualify for their state truck driving events. Competitions consist of a driven portion, pre-trip inspection, and a written exam on subjects such as laws, regulations and vehicle maintenance.
The National Truck Driving Championships is more than a nationwide safety competition. The four-day event brings drivers and families together from coast-to-coast for an extraordinary experience filled with camaraderie and pride. Most of the drivers who attend say that it is the highlight of their career.
We wish this year’s NTDC competitors the best of luck.
Fans and supporters of Reddaway professional drivers are invited to follow their NTDC progress on Facebook.
