News Summary

"Safety first, self second" is the golden rule for a local truck driver who recently won top honors for safety in his class.

Scott Woodrome, a Dayton-based delivery driver for FedEx National LTL, beat about 200 of Ohio's 4-axle truck drivers for first place — again — at the Ohio State Truck Driving Championship in June.

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It's all about safety for Middletown trucker Scott Woodrome, who will compete against champions from other states in Minneapolis in August.Click to enlarge

Woodrome, a Middletown resident, was last year's Ohio first-place winner for the same category. He'll go up against 49 other state winners at the nationals in Minneapolis Aug. 22-25, known by some drivers as the "Super Bowl" of safety.

As a truck driver qualifying for the competition by staying accident-free for one year, Woodrome puts safety before himself every day.

The 14-year professional stressed the importance for truckers and other drivers to look out for safety hazards on the road and have patience. Every day, truck drivers conduct pretrip checks to make sure all is well under the hood.

"You really have to make safety a priority over everything. It's almost putting safety first and you second," he said.

He urged drivers to remember that truckers can't see them if drivers can't see the truck's mirrors. He said that's why drivers should give trucks plenty of room on the roads.

The competition was held June 8-9 at The Ohio State University. Truck drivers' abilities were tested in various ways, Woodrome said, including personal interviews, a written test on knowledge of the trucking industry, a field test and a pre-trip inspection of a truck.

At the competition, drivers identified improper truck sign-age as well as any malfunctions test administrators set up.

Woodrome is one of about 3.2 million U.S. truck drivers, according to Department of Transportation statistics.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2525 or dwilson@coxohio.com.