NSC Presents 2026 Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year Award

INDIANAPOLIS – The National Safety Council has announced the recipients of the annual 2026 Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year Award, given to professional drivers in recognition of their driving record, including miles and years without a preventable crash.

This year’s recipients are:

• Jerry Allen Jr., UPS, West North Central Region
• Walter Atkinson, Shaw Industries Inc., Mountain Region
• Claude Cook, Shaw Industries Inc., South Atlantic Region
• Helio DaSilva, UL Solutions, New England Region
• Marc Guerin, Landstar Inway Inc., Canadian Region
• Paul Houston, UPS, West South Central Region
• John Kilcoyne, UPS, Middle Atlantic Region
• Larry Marez, U.S. Postal Service, WestPac Region
• Richard McDonald, U.S. Postal Service, Southern Region
• Danny Peterson, UPS, East North Central Region
• James Sawyer, U.S. Postal Service, Atlantic Region
• James Thomas, U.S. Postal Service, Central Region
• Michael Willding, UPS, East South Central Region
• Bryan Woodard, Teichert Construction, Pacific Region

“The recipients of the Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver Award exemplify what it means to put safety first every day,” said Lorraine Martin, NSC CEO. “Through their years of safe driving and commitment to protecting themselves and others on the road, these honorees serve as a powerful reminder that our individual actions can help create safer journeys for us all.”

Launched in 2004, the award recognizes professional drivers who have demonstrated a career-long exceptional commitment to safe driving practices. For more information about the Joseph M. Kaplan Safe Driver of the Year Award, visit nsc.org/awards.

About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate – and has been for over 110 years. As a mission-based organization, we work to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury, focusing our efforts on the workplace and roadways. We create a culture of safety to not only keep people safer at work, but also beyond the workplace so they can live their fullest lives.

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