Goodyear accepting Highway Hero nominations through Nov. 29

Gary Medalis (left), marketing director at Goodyear, congratulates truck driver Frank Vieira, who was named Goodyear’s 2018 Highway Hero. (Photo courtesy Goodyear)

For more than three decades, Goodyear has honored truck drivers who go the extra mile to help others.

The tire company is asking the public’s help to find the next batch of truckers who are worthy of its annual Highway Hero Award, which recognizes truckers who risk their own safety for the public good. Goodyear is accepting nominations through Nov. 29.

The Goodyear Highway Hero Award was established in 1983 to recognize drivers who have put themselves in harm’s way to help others.

Past winners include a truck driver who rescued a law enforcement officer being strangled by a prisoner he was transporting, and a trucker who dived into a pond to pull a child from a sinking car.

Frank Vieira was presented the 2018 award during a ceremony in March at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. Vieira, a truck driver from Canada, helped save the life of a motorist who suffered a severe injury after crashing his vehicle into the back of a truck.

Goodyear will announce the 2019 recipient in March. The winner will receive a special ring, a cash award and a trophy. Each of the other finalists will also receive a cash prize.

To be considered for the Goodyear Highway Hero Award, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a full-time truck driver.
• Must reside in the United States or Canada.
• The heroic incident must have happened in the United States or Canada.
• Nominee’s truck must have had 12 wheels or more at the time of the incident
• Nominee was have been on the job or on the way to or from work in his or her truck at the time of the incident.
• Incident must have taken place between Nov. 16, 2017, and Nov. 16, 2018.

The winner will be selected by a panel of trucking media members.