TORONTO — Wayne Dixon, a driver with Muskoka Transport of Bracebridge, Ont., who has driven over 5.6 million collision-free kilometers during a 40-year professional career, has been named the Canadian Trucking Alliance/Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of the Year for 2005.

The award was presented at the Ontario Trucking Association Convention in Toronto.

Nominees for this award come from amongst provincial recipients of the Volvo Truck Driver of the Year honor.

Each year the award goes to a professional transport driver who has a collision-free driving record and is an exemplary truck driver both on and off the road.

Selection of this award takes place in Ottawa by a panel made up of national safety and law enforcement organizations including Transport Canada, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada, Canada Safety Council and the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

Dixon delivers freight between Barrie, Ont. and Michigan and New York. Over the years he has operated in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

“His professional approach to his job, his positive attitude and easy going personality make him a ‘cut above the rest’,” says Paul Hammond, president of Muskoka Transport.

ONTARIO’S BEST:

Mervin “Merv” Connolly, an owner-operator contracted to L. E. Walker Transport, was been named the Ontario Trucking Association/Volvo Trucks Canada Driver of the Year for 2005.

Connolly, with over five million collision-free kilometres to his credit in 38 years, was also presented with his award at the OTA convention.

Connolly, 55, has regular runs from Ontario to the U.S. out of St. Thomas, Ont. During the course of his driving career he has more than once lent a hand at roadside accident scenes.

In March of this year Connolly was awarded an Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner’s Citation for Lifesaving, for helping lift a vehicle off a trapped man and assisting a passenger who had been ejected from the vehicle following an accident along Hwy. 401 approaching Windsor.

“We are proud of all our drivers and extremely proud of Merv’s accomplishments. To have him receive (this award) is gratifying given our commitment to public safety. We thank him for his dedication to this industry and the public while on the road,” said Julie Tanguay, president of the company.

HIGHWAY HERO:

Speaking of heroes, Kevin Harris, a Kamloops, B.C., trucker who fought off flames and defied danger so that he could provide comfort to a dying fellow driver he had met only 10 minutes earlier, is the recipient of this year’s Bridgestone Firestone Canadian Truck Hero Award.

The award, which Bridgestone Firestone Canada has presented since 1956, is given to a Canadian trucker demonstrating courage, quick thinking and integrity in the face of emergency. In recognition of his achievement, Harris received a $3,000 cheque from the tiremaker, along with a commemorative trophy.

Harris was travelling along Highway 5A between Merritt and Kamloops last August, trailing Peter Mills, a Lamont, Alta., trucker. Mills’s truck suddenly veered out of control and rolled into a ditch, crushing the cab and pinning Mills’s arms and legs.

Rushing from his truck, Harris climbed into the crushed cab and valiantly attempted to rescue the gravely injured driver. While rescue efforts were futile, Harris remained at Mills’s side, putting a pillow behind his neck, wiping his face, holding his hand and trying to make him as comfortable as possible in the dire circumstances.

With fires igniting around him from dripping diesel fuel that threatened to engulf the entire truck at any moment, Harris used fire extinguishers from the two trucks to quell the flames, enabling him to stay with Mills. He was able to remain until Mills drew his last breath, at which point Harris left the cab, just before it was engulfed in flames.

“I thank God every day that man was there with him,” said Mills’s wife, Katrina. “I’m so happy that he was there, and that Pete wasn’t there by himself.”

In addition to presenting Harris with the prize money that accompanies the award, Bridgestone Firestone Canada is donating a matching amount in Kevin Harris’s name to a memorial trust fund that has been set up for Peter Mills in his hometown of Lamont, Alta.