FORT SMITH, Ark., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ABF Freight System, Inc.(R) drivers John Hazlett and Kevin Scott Harris were named National Champions during the 2007 National Truck Driving Championships conducted August 21-25 in Minneapolis. Sponsored by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the national competition highlights the driving skills, industry knowledge and work ethic of professional truck drivers, along with their contribution to the safety of America's highways.
Hazlett, who operates from the ABF(R) service center in Vincentown, N.J., won the National Championship in the Three-Axle Class. Hazlett also won the Neill Darmstadter Professional Excellence Award, which recognizes the contestant who most exemplifies the best attributes of a professional truck driver. This is the third time Hazlett has won first place in the National Truck Driving Championships. He also placed first in 1994 and 2000. Pennsylvania Driver of the Year in 2002, Hazlett has twice won the Pennsylvania Grand Champion award and has won first place in the Pennsylvania State Driving Championship eight times. Hazlett joined ABF in 1986.
Harris, who operates from the ABF service center in Albany, N.Y., won the National Championship in the Five-Axle Class. Since joining ABF in 1985, Harris has achieved a record of distinction behind the wheel, including earning a safe driving award for zero preventable accidents each year he has driven for ABF. Harris also has earned a Silver Safe Driving Award for 30,000 hours driven consecutively without a preventable accident, and a 21 Year Safe Driving Certificate and Patch. A five-time winner of the New York State Driving Championships, Harris is a former America's Road Team Captain and was the ATA's National Driver of the Year in 2002.
"Thanks to the commitment and leadership of outstanding employees like John Hazlett and Scott Harris, ABF has a well-earned reputation as a trusted supply-chain partner," said Wes Kemp, ABF senior vice president of operations. "Everyone at ABF greatly appreciates the dedication and hard work they put into every endeavor. We are proud of the way they represent both ABF and the trucking industry at large."
Contestants at the National Trucking Championships were the state champions (in eight truck types) from all 50 states. Collectively, they have driven over a half-billion accident-free miles. In their respective classes, drivers tested their expertise in the driving skills they use daily. The competition course inside the Minneapolis Convention Center challenged their knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. The skills course tested drivers' ability to judge distances, maneuver tight spaces, reverse, park and position their vehicle exactly over scales, before barriers or around curves.
The ATA is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.
Established 1923, ABF is best-in-class for safety, security, technology and freight-handling. InformationWeek, CIO, InfoWorld, and BtoB magazines have cited ABF's strategic use of information technology as exemplary. ABF is the only five-time winner of the ATA President's Trophy for Safety and the only four-time winner of the Excellence in Security Award. ABF also is the only carrier to earn both the Excellence in Claims/Loss Prevention Award and the Excellence in Security Award in the same year, which ABF accomplished twice.
ABF provides guaranteed service for expedited or time-definite shipments via its TimeKeeper(R) service. Regional shipments are handled via the carrier's RPM Network, providing next-day and second-day shipping. The ABF system stretches throughout North America, with local service centers serving all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Guam and Puerto Rico. Globally, the carrier serves 250 ports in more than 130 countries.
ABF is the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation . Contact: Mr. Danny Loe, director of marketing & public relations Telephone: (479) 785-8803
