Bendix announces sponsorship of grand champion award

As part of its continued strong support of commercial vehicle and highway safety, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC is the proud sponsor of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) Grand Champion Award. The company is also now a supporter of ATA’s High-Tech Educational Image Trailer.

The NTDC is an annual competition among professional truck drivers. Slated this year to take place Aug. 9 to 13 in Orlando, Fla., the competition consists of winners in eight classes of competition from 50 state trucking associations’ truck driving championships. Bendix is sponsoring the Bendix National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion Award which is given to the overall top driver at the event.

“It’s a true honor for Bendix to sponsor the National Truck Driving Championships Grand Champion Award. Technologies like full stability and collision mitigation help support, but don’t replace, the most critical aspect of highway safety – safe, alert, and conscientious drivers,” said Joe McAleese, president and CEO of Bendix. “Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Bendix, and I can think of no better way than the NTDC to help reinforce the importance of safe drivers, safe driving practices, and comprehensive driver training.”

Considered to be one of the commercial vehicle industry’s largest and most effective safety programs, the NTDC and the state championships are known to inspire tens of thousands of drivers to operate accident-free for the right to compete.

Each driver is judged on his or her driving and inspection skills, knowledge, and professionalism through a series of tests, including a written exam, pre-trip inspection test, and skills test. To be eligible, a driver must maintain employment with a motor carrier fleet for a continuous period of at least one year and remain accident-free, regardless of fault, for one year prior to NTDC.

The ATA Image Trailer – which highlights the importance of trucking, as well as truck safety and sustainability – has been traveling across the country for the past two years visiting state capitols, high schools, community events, government agencies, and more. The 53-foot custom drop deck show trailer – fully wrapped in an American flag-themed graphic – features a mobile conference room with seven projection screens, educational displays, and a truck driving simulator. The highly visible trailer is pulled by a Volvo VN780 tractor and driven by the America’s Road Team Captains, an elite group of professional truck drivers with millions of miles of accident-free driving.

The trailer, which is used as an educational tool by the ATA, the America’s Road Team Captains, and state trucking associations, boasts a host of Bendix safety technologies, including Bendix ESP, Bendix Wingman ACB – adaptive cruise control with braking, and Bendix ADB22X air disc brakes. For more information about Bendix safety technology, please visit www.bendix.com.