ABF driver wins national truck driver of the year award

Trade group the American Trucking Associations has named a 40-year veteran employee of ArcBest Corp., the parent of less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System Inc., as its National Truck Driver of the Year, the group said Sunday.

Presented at ATA's annual conference in Austin, Texas, the award went to David Boyer of Wytheville, Va., who has been a professional driver for 45 years.

Boyer may have to clear space on his trophy shelf for the prize, since he has been collected driving honors for years. According to ABF, Boyer was named the Virginia Truck Driver of the Year in 2018, and was honored with the Virginia Governor's Transportation Safety Award in 2016. He is an America's Road Team Captain (2012-2011) and twice has earned recognition as a member of the ABF Freight Road Team (2010-2011, 2008-2009). Boyer has also represented ABF Freight numerous times at the National Truck Driving Championships and Virginia State Truck Driving Championships, most recently competing in August in the twin trailers category, the company said.

Other drivers honored at the event included: Scott Woodrome, a professional driver with FedEx Freight from Middletown, Ohio, who won the Bendix Grand Champion of the 2018 National Truck Driving Championship; and Phillip Pinter, a technician with FedEx Freight from Ida, Mich., who won the 2018 National Technician Skills Competition - TMC SuperTech - Grand Champion.