On August 18-22, more than 450 professional truck drivers from all 50 states will meet in Pittsburgh to put their safe-driving skills to the test in the National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC), known as “the Super Bowl of Safety.” Drivers earn the right to compete in this prestigious annual event by first winning titles in their respective vehicles classes at the state level.
Joe Mangiaracino, a driver for FedEx Freight based in St. Clair and a resident of Sullivan, will compete against his peers from across the country in the Three-Axle class. He qualified for the NTDC by taking the top spot in his class at the state competition earlier this year. Mangiaracino has accumulated more than 1,000,000 accident-free miles and has been a professional truck driver for 21 years.
Collectively, the 98 driver who comprise the FedEx team come from 42 states and have driven more than 96 million accident-free miles during their 1,880 years of professional driving.
The NTDC is an annual competition sponsored by the American Trucking Association to recognize industry leadership in safety and to promote professionalism among truck drivers.
“FedEx promotes safety among the drivers of all classes of vehicles,” said Douglas G. Duncan. president and CEO at FedEx Freight. “The achievements of our 98 national competitors represent the collective commitment of the many FedEx drivers and contractors who safely share the road with other motorists each and every day,”
Drivers will compete for national titles in nine vehicle classes and for the overall National Grand Champion title. The drivers accumulate points by demonstrating their driving skills and knowledge of the industry through a written exam, pre-trip vehicle inspection and a difficult driving course that tests their ability to judge distances, maneuver tight spaces, reverse park and position their vehicle exactly over scales, before barriers and around curves.