Nehemia Nage and Sagie Govender have been recognised for their truck driving skills, receiving Hall of Fame certificates during TruckX 2015.

They were among about 80 nominees assessed in terms of service record, number of hours spent on the road, class of vehicle driven, amount of kilometres travelled and, importantly, the number of accident- and violation-free kilometres covered during the past 12 months.

Though he could not make it to the Joburg event, KwaZulu-Natal-based Sagie Govender said in a telephone interview that fatigue and cell phone use while behind the wheel were “widow makers.”

“Drivers must eat proper meals and take correct rest breaks. The government should institute a cut off for driving time – for instance, all trucks should be parked from 22h00 to 04h00 as most accidents take place during this time,” he opined.

“All new trucks use computer controlled electronics, so the speed should be locked to 80km/h so there are no defaults. And drivers must take care of their health and be continually educated about HIV,” he added.