UPS drivers honoured for road safety record

UPS Canada has honoured its drivers who have achieved 25 years or more of safe driving with a special badge to add to their uniform.



The drivers are part of UPS’s prestigious Circle of Honour, the company’s highest level of driving recognition. Drivers are added to the UPS Circle of Honour each year as they achieve the 25-year milestone.
In 2008 alone, 11 drivers were added to the list bringing the total to 24, with one driver who has been accident-free for 30 years. Last year, driver Kathy Cianci – UPS’s first female driver – became the first Canadian woman to be inducted into the Circle of Honour.


“I am proud and privileged to celebrate such accomplished drivers,” said Mike Tierney, president of UPS Canada. “UPS has been in Canada for 33 years, so reaching 25 years of safe driving means a lot of these drivers have been around since UPS’s early days in Canada.”


In 1975, Canada became the first country outside the United States to offer UPS services. At the time, drivers delivered packages in Checker cabs and four-door Chevy Impalas painted with UPS brown.
In 2008, the company has added a special badge to the UPS uniform to recognize Circle of Honour drivers. It’s the first and only time since the company’s 1996 Olympic sponsorship that the UPS uniform has displayed any additional logos.


“Road safety is a top priority at UPS,” said Tierney. “The Circle of Honour patch will be a daily reminder to our employees, customers and communities that UPS drivers are among the safest on the road and around the world. How many people can say they have driven accident-free for 25 years in their personal vehicles, let alone during a 25-year driving career?”


The company estimates that the UPS Canada Circle of Honour drivers have driven a total of more than 70 million kilometers. Worldwide, there are now 4,648 UPS Circle of Honour drivers.


All UPS drivers are taught safe driving methods from their first day of classroom training, including the company’s comprehensive safety course, Space and Visibility. The training continues throughout their career.


New UPS tractor-trailer drivers receive 80 hours of computer-based and on-the-road training before operating equipment. Before training tractor-trailer drivers, UPS managers complete an intensive three-week course at the UPS Driver Training School in South Holland, Ill., which the company claims is one of the toughest driving schools in America.


UPS package car drivers receive 40 hours of computer-based and on-the-road training before operating equipment, then have four safety ride evaluations during their first 22 days on the job.


In every UPS district where they work, new Circle of Honour members and their spouses are honoured during weekend ceremonies highlighting their achievement. All active drivers who have maintained an accident-free record are also invited to attend the ceremony along with their spouses.