ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Manitoba truck driver is hoping to be the second trucker in a row to be named the top North American wheelman by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA).

Bison Transport’s Ralph Boles of Winnipeg is the lone Canuck nominated for the prestigious TCA Driver of the Year award this year.

He has driven more than 4.5 million accident-free truckload miles over the past 34 years. His awards include seven safe driving awards and two Driver of the Month awards from the Manitoba Trucking Association. He also sits on his company’s Driver Advisory Board and the Accident Review Committee and has just become an in-cab instructor for Bison’s new driver training program.

Last year, Doug Ladds of Guelph, Ont.-based MacKinnon Transport was crowned the grand prize winner of the 2007 Company Equipment Driver of the Year award.

The overall goal of the contest as well as a separate owner-operator award is to recognize and pay tribute to the outstanding company equipment and owner operator truck drivers who provide reliable and safe truck transportation in moving the nation’s goods.

The finalists and subsequent grand prize winners will be recognized and honored based on their performance record, ability to operate in a safe manner on the public highways, efforts to enhance the public image of the trucking industry, and positive contributions to the community in which they live.

The grand prize winner of the Company Equipment Driver of the Year contest will receive a Cummins engine-powered Dodge Ram pick-up truck. The TCA Owner Operator of the Year grand prize winner will receive a new International LoneStar tractor, with a Cummins ISX-550-horsepower engine, an Eaton transmission, and Goodyear G300 series Fuel Max tires.