Lytx, Inc. announced the winners of its 2015 "Driver of the Year" and "Coach of the Year" awards, which include a 58-year veteran driver, a master of harsh-weather driving, and a waste industry driver beloved by his customers.

Presented at the annual Lytx User Conference in San Diego, Calif., the awards honor the exceptional achievements of 16 drivers and coaches among the more than 1,400 clients using the Lytx DriveCam program to help improve the safety and efficiency of their drivers.

Lytx's expertise in safe driving behavior is backed by nearly 20 years spent analyzing driver performance data from more than 45 billion miles driven. This gives Lytx an unparalleled perspective from which to recognize the exemplary drivers and coaches who operate their vehicles in a highly safe and responsible manner, reduce the potential for collisions, and set new standards for safe commercial driving in the process.

Lytx is recognizing winners of the Driver of the Year award from DriveCam users across five commercial driving categories: Services, Government and Utilities; Transit/Motor Coach; For-Hire Trucking; Private Trucking; and Waste.

Services and Utilities

• First place winner Martin Parades of ARS Rescue Rooter has been working with the company for 25 years and driving as a journeyman plumber for almost every single one of them. He has been recognized internally for four consecutive years for his commitment to excellence, and he boasts an excellent safety record in all facets of his job including when driving.

• Second Place: Maria Rodriguez of LeFleur Transportation

• Third Place: Israel Peterson of Renzenberger Incorporated

Transit/Motor Coach

• First place winner William Fields of MV Transportation has been driving in a professional capacity for 58 years, dating back to 1957 when he was hired as the first African-American driver for Connect Transit in Connecticut, Ohio. He was named MV Transportation East area Driver of the Year in 2015 and was recognized twice in 2015 for his excellence in customer service. In addition to his longstanding commitment to the driving profession, Fields has 28 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and he serves as a deacon in his church.

• Second Place: Virginia Agcaoili of City of Fairfield

• Third Place: Alfred Vann of Greyhound

For-Hire Trucking

• First place winner Harold Johnson of Veriha Trucking, Inc. has been a company driver since 2009. During his tenure, he has had no preventable accidents or moving violations, recorded four violation-free roadside inspections, and attained a 100 percent on-time delivery rate. In 2015, Harold accumulated more than 97,500 miles driven. He received the Presidents Safe Driver Club award through the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Association for the past two years and ranks in the top for safety performance criteria.

• Second Place: Bobby Frye of Cargo Transporters

• Third Place: tied – Terry Anderson of Long Haul Trucking, Inc., Jeffrey Burke of Lily Transportation, Inc.

Private Trucking

• First place winner Aaron Perry of US Foods, Inc. operates out of a remote yard in Manassas, VA, an area that had one of the harshest winters on record and is not well equipped to handle excessive snowfall. In spite of the weather, Perry came in each and every day, prepared his truck for the road, and completed every trip without accidents or issues. He continues to bring all safety-related items to his immediate supervisors and takes pride in making sure all his customers get their deliveries in a safe and efficient manner.

• Second Place: Mark Adams of Reyes Holdings-Reinhart

• Third Place: Juan Lockett of Linde

Waste

• First place winner Ernie Strawn of Waste Connections is a 26-year veteran of the company, and he has the most positive customer feedback of any driver in the organization. Dispatchers, customer service representatives, and upper managers alike have praised his commitment to keep his driving, co-workers and communities safe.

• Second Place: Jim Bell of Progressive Waste

• Third Place: Jermaine Jackson of Waste Management

Lytx also presented the Coach of the Year award to Darrell Eads of WCA Waste. Eads was promoted to route manager with WCA Waste Corp. in October of 2014, with responsibility for the Residential Recycle line of business, which takes on many of the region's entry-level drivers. Eads is responsible for new hire orientation, on-road coaching and mentoring his new employees in service excellence, safety policies and DriveCam awareness.

Through his onboarding efforts, Eads successfully coached 82 DriveCam events with an average time of 1.5 days, which topped the chart for WCA's regional location in total events and average days.