R500,000 up for grabs in Hollard Highway Heroes competition

The Hollard Highway Heroes has been running since 2015 to promote safer driving practices and this year’s competition will include bus drivers for the first time.

Highway Heroes is all about improving road safety, says Paul Dangerfield, Hollard Trucking National Operations manager. The competition aims to identify and reward the best truck and bus drivers to promote safer driving practices and help address SA’s road safety crisis.

According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s 2021 State of Road Safety in SA report, there were 10,611 fatal crashes in 2021 — a 26.4% increase over 2020 and a 2% increase over 2019. There were 12,545 road fatalities in 2021 (the 2022 figures have not yet been released).

“The Hollard Highway Heroes competition has led to a big improvement in participating drivers’ road behaviour. Better driving, in turn, reduces risk and leads to safer roads. It also means lower fuel and maintenance costs, and fewer claims,” says Dangerfield.

He announced that this year, for the first time, the competition is open to drivers of all truck and bus fleets — not only those affiliated to Hollard.

“By including bus drivers in the competition, we want to have a greater positive influence on enhancing road safety in SA. But the broader mission is to go beyond trucking and buses to cut risk and reduce road-accident claims and tragic loss of life,” said Dangerfield.

Last year, Hollard Highway Heroes received 2,400 entries. This year the aim is to attract at least 5,000 truck drivers and a decent first cohort of bus drivers. Entries are open from March 1-May 31. After the first monitoring phase ends on July 31, 50 truck drivers and 20 bus drivers will progress to the second assessment phase from September 1 to October 15.

There are big cash prizes to be won, totalling R500,000. There is R50,000 for five category winners, R100,000 for the top bus driver and R150,000 for the overall winning truck driver. The victors will be crowned at a high-profile gala event at Emperors Palace, Ekurhuleni, on November 17.

“We’re deeply invested in entrenching safe driving practices, and creating shared value by making SA’s roads safer for all road users — whether you’re a fleet owner, broker, driver, community member or one of our sponsor partners in this initiative. Our message is: we are where you are,” said Dangerfield.

“We believe good drivers help us create better futures for all road users by delivering their cargo and passengers safely and responsibly, and by being an example to others.”