Fisher Auto Parts vice president of risk services Joe Rader was named the winner of the 2017 Fleet Safety award during a July 25 ceremony at the Fleet Safety Conference.

Rader has led a strategy that has increased fleet safety awareness throughout the company and across its fleet of 2,300 vehicles.

"We appreciate the award," Rader said. "This award, I will not accept for myself, but I will, in fact, accept it for the team and what goes into the everyday monitoring of driver behavior and trying to make a difference."

Rader significantly reduced the fleet’s incident rate in 2016, decreasing it by 6.7% over the previous year. The percentage of preventable accidents also saw a decrease year over year, dropping by 18%. He also pioneered the implementation of telematics throughout Fisher Auto Parts’ fleet by rolling out a telematics program between 2012 and 2016 that covered 92% of its fleet.

Meanwhile, his fleets average acceleration events per hour declined 92% and average deceleration events per hour declined 36%. Also, in 2016, Fisher Auto Parts added driver identification readers into its fleet, which increased driver accountability and resulted in safer driving habits.

The Fleet Safety award, which was first presented in 2012, is co-sponsored by Bobit Business Media, publisher of Automotive Fleet, and the American Automotive Leasing Association (AALA). It seeks to recognize candidates who have shown leadership, innovation, and measurable results in enhancing the safety of their employees, those travelling with them, as well as everyone else who shares the road with them.