Road Freight NSW has announced Damien Sapone from Lopez Brothers Transport as the winner of the Professional Driver of the Year Award at the 2025 Conference and Awards.
Damien has been a professional driver for two decades, starting in 2005, and has built a career defined by safety, reliability, and professionalism. His record speaks for itself—Damien has never received a driving penalty and has not been involved in any on-road incidents during his career.
Beyond his own performance, Damien is known for supporting his co-workers by sharing his knowledge and experience to help them achieve the same high standards. He has also been willing to step up and take on training responsibilities when needed, reflecting the best of what it means to be a professional driver.
Accepting the award, Damien expressed his gratitude, saying it was an honour simply to be nominated, let alone win. “To be up here in this award is amazing. Thank you very much,” he said.
The Professional Driver of the Year Award recognises individuals who embody excellence behind the wheel and make a lasting contribution to road safety and the transport industry. Damien’s achievement highlights the professionalism and dedication that keep Australia’s freight moving safely every day.
- From incident to fleet redesign: what City of Gold Coast can teach fleet practitioners
A serious workplace incident involving a City of Gold Coast tipper truck provides a powerful example of why fleet safety goes well beyond driver behaviour — and why fleet practitioners have an important role in designing, procuring and managing safer vehicles. The lessons from the incident, and the extensive work undertaken by the City of - Minor Bridge Strikes Are Creating a Major Bill
The most spectacular bridge strikes attract the headlines, but a new economic study suggests Australia’s biggest bridge-strike bill is being generated by much less dramatic incidents. HoustonKemp Economists estimates protection beam and signage strikes accounted for 79 per cent of Australia’s approximately 1,220 bridge-strike incidents in FY2025. Despite being the lowest severity category used in - Buying Telematics Won’t Make Your Fleet Safe
Telematics can tell a fleet manager where vehicles are, how they are being driven and where risks may be developing. But technology alone does not create a safe fleet. That is the view of Andrew Hutson, Director at Geosecure, who says the strongest fleet safety programs are built around organisational culture, leadership and a willingness - From compliance to coaching: how fleets can use driver data to change behaviour
Most drivers in Teletrac Navman’s survey already receive some form of performance feedback. The more useful question for fleet operators is how that feedback is delivered, and whether data is being used to develop drivers or simply record mistakes. Fleet safety technology can identify events quickly, but a dashboard does not decide what happens next. - Thousands of Truck Drivers Gain Life-Saving First Aid Skills
More than 4,000 truck drivers across Australia have completed the free Truckie First Aid online training program developed by NatRoad and St John Ambulance Australia. The milestone reflects growing industry participation in a program designed to give heavy vehicle drivers practical first aid skills for situations where they may be among the first people to









