Official rules

Official Rules

Only fleets operating at least five Class 8 tractor units in the United States or Canada are eligible. Only fleets operating with at least one Volvo tractor are eligible.

Each applicant must show accidents and mileage on the report form.

Frequency rates must be calculated by the applicant and will be verified by a judging panel.

Previous Volvo Safety Award winners are not eligible to win.

Awards

The program consists of awards in two divisions (one in each) and is based on driving records from calendar year 2010.

Division 1: 1-19.99 million miles traveled annually.

Division 2: 20 million miles and over traveled annually.

Each division winner will receive a plaque in recognition of their achievement and each division winner will receive a cash award of $25,000.

All awards will be paid directly to the company named in the entry application and not to any individuals submitting on behalf of the company.

Judging Criteria

Applications will be judged on their accident frequency rates and their efforts towards accident prevention.

The accident frequency will make up 60% of the overall judging weight. The efforts towards accident prevention will make up the remaining 40% of the overall judging weight.

Awards will be given to the highest scoring fleet in each division of competition based on a total combined score (accident frequency rate and accident prevention efforts).

Judges may use overall mileage traveled as a means to break tie scores.

Winners will be selected by a panel of impartial judges whose selections, in all instances, will be final.

Reporting of Mileage & Accidents (60%).

Individual accident ratios will not be made public.

The reporting of mileage and accidents shall be in conformity with “The American Standard Method of Reporting and Measuring Motor Vehicle Fleet Accident Experience” published by American National Standards Institute.

The Volvo Fleet Safety Award contest is based on driving records from calendar year 2009.

Mileage is the total number of miles operated by motor vehicles under their own power.

Miles operated on public roads and private property is included.

Odometer or recorded trip mileage are acceptable. Mileage computed by fuel consumption, hours of service, average speeds or any other means are not acceptable.

Accidents on private and public property must be reported, regardless of whether they are single or multiple vehicle accidents.

Any accidents involving injury, fatality or property damage of any amount must be reported. Who was injured, what property was damaged or to what extent, where the accident occurred or who was responsible is not a factor.

Accidents involving a properly parked vehicle of the applicant should not be reported.

A properly parked vehicle is one defined as completely stopped in a designated safe, legal space, with brakes set; wheels chocked, if needed; and doors closed if, when open, the doors extend beyond the vehicle limits.

The accident frequency rate of applicants shall be determined on the basis of the number of accidents per 1,000,000 vehicle miles determined by the following formula:

Number of accidents x 1,000,000 miles = Accident Frequency Rate/Total Mileage

The same formula applies to carriers reporting less than 1,000,000 or more than 1,000,000 miles. All applicable information must be recorded on the report form attached. In the event a applicant has had no accidents during the year, the words “no accident” must be inserted in the accident column of the report. NOTE: US DOT RECORDABLE ACCIDENT = An “accident” required to be recorded is defined in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 390.5 as: “An occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate commerce (as defined in 390.5) that results in:

• A fatality;
• Bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately received medical treatment away from the scene of the accident;
• One or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring the motor vehicle(s) to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other motor vehicle.

The definition of accident as defined above will be used for entrants from both the US and Canada. Each applicant shall make its company safety records available to contest judges for auditing purposes upon request. Additional Judging Criteria (40%).

Applicants will also be judged on accident prevention. Outline in a separate typed document any steps your company takes to prevent accidents. This includes but is not limited to safety classes, training courses, and incentive programs. Applicants are also encouraged to include any literature or manuals distributed to their drivers. A written letter from an associate in or related to the trucking industry (ie. driver, mechanic, customer, or peer at another transportation company) commenting on your company’s safety efforts should be included in your entry.

All entries must be returned no later than June 30, 2011.