WINNIPEG, Man. — A Bison Transport owner/operator has been selected as the Volvo-CTA National Driver of the Year.

Mark Tricco received the honour, having put together an accident-free 33-year driving career. Over that time Tricco has run three million miles, hauling everything from lumber, heavy machinery, general freight and refrigerated goods.

The national award is sponsored by Volvo Trucks Canada and the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

“He is a professional driver who can drive anything you put him in and do it perfectly,” says Don Strueber, president of Bison Transport. “His knowledge and experience as well as his compassion for others is what makes him truly a top professional driver.”

Garth Pitzel, Bison’s director of safety and driver development, added “Drivers like Mark are the main component in Bison Transport having achieved the reputation as being the ‘Safety Fleet in North America’ as named by the Truckload Carriers Association for the eighth time.”

Tricco has put in 2.5 million miles for Bison and is a member of its Driver Advisory Board, a group of drivers and management who meet to discuss opportunities to implement changes at the company.

Tricco is said to be a mentor and trainer to other drivers at Bison. He also has been known to help out at the scene of accidents, including a fatal crash he was among the first to arrive at. Tricco was among the first to help out at the accident scene and remained there for seven hours to assist police.

The CTA-Volvo Trucks Canada National Truck Driver of the Year is selected from among all of the year’s provincial Driver of the Year recipients.

“On behalf of CTA and the other provincial trucking associations, I am proud to honour such as courageous, dedicated professional as Canada’s top truck driver,” said CTA president David Bradley.