Reddaway is proud to announce that Jeff Payne, a professional driver from Utah, received the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award for best exemplifying what it means to be a professional truck driver. Jeff was also presented with the Vehicle Condition Award and won third place in the Twins Class last week at the 2014 National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) held in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award recognizes a driver judged to best exemplify the characteristics of a professional truck driver. The criteria is based on driving record, skill, knowledge, attitude toward safety, and personality as evidenced by work history and performance at various NTDC skills tests and overall professionalism. Contestants for the award must have competed at seven or more National Truck Driving Championships.
The Vehicle Condition Award recognizes the contestant who has proven throughout the competition that he or she has a thorough understanding of equipment, an extraordinary ability to inspect and evaluate a truck’s condition and a commitment to safety.
A resident of Cedar City, Utah, Jeff has been behind the wheel for 29 years and has spent the past 21 years driving for Reddaway. This year’s triumph marks Jeff’s record-setting thirteenth win at the Utah State Truck Driving Championships. Jeff has also achieved the milestone of safely driving for twenty years without an accident. In 2003 and 2011, he earned nationwide first place safe driving awards at the National Truck Driving Championships in the Twin Trailers category. He was named Utah State Grand Champion in 2003 and 2011. He was the Utah State Driver of the month in 2002. Jeff currently operates as a pickup and delivery driver out of the Reddaway St. George, Utah service center.
It is Jeff’s attitude towards his role as a truck driver that exemplifies the qualities driving his success. Jeff states: “I compete to improve my knowledge of the industry and improve my safety skills on the road. Keeping our highways safe is my priority. To be able to compete at the National Truck Driving Championships is a great honor and to be recognized this year with the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence award is a humbling experience.” Jeff Payne and his wife Rhonda have two children.
“The National Truck Driving Championships is the premier stage for truck safety in the country, reserved for only the very best professional drivers in the nation. It is an honor for one of our drivers to receive the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award and Vehicle Condition Award at this year’s National Truck Driving Championships. Jeff earned this prestigious award by representing the American trucking industry with professionalism, skill and safety,” said TJ O’Connor, president of Reddaway.
“In addition, I would also like to thank all of the YRC Worldwide drivers who competed at local, state or national level,” continued O’Connor. “All of you are safety champions. In order to qualify to compete, these drivers had to drive the entire year without an accident, and many of them have driven years without an accident. All of them are winners in the real competition-operating safely on our highways.”
