Goodyear seeks Highway Hero nominations

Each year, Goodyear honors truck drivers who risk their own safety with its Highway Hero Award.

The company is asking the public’s help in finding this year’s batch of heroic truckers. Goodyear is accepting nominations through Nov. 29.

“As we join the trucking industry in celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, we recognize truck drivers and the role they play in keeping our economy and way of life rolling,” Gary Medalis, Goodyear marketing director, said in a news release. “But these professionals deliver more than just goods and services. They are often first responders to on-highway incidents, even before emergency crews arrive on the scene, taking decisive action to save lives.”

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 who was being strangled by a prisoner he was transporting and a trucker who drove 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 must 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.

“Goodyear is proud to be the company that recognizes truck drivers for their courage and selflessness,” Medalis said. “We look forward to hearing their heroic stories.”