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.
- Electric tipper brings safety rethink to construction fleets
Battery-electric trucks are starting to move beyond the trial phase and into the day-to-day work of Australian construction fleets, with Fleet Plant Hire and Vertu Group using TruckShowX 2026 to showcase a Sany electric tipper designed for real-world site conditions. Speaking at the event in the Hunter Valley, Chris West, Managing Director at Fleet Plant - Fleet Safety Award: Recognising Organisations That Treat Vehicles as a Workplace
Fleet News Group has announced the Safe Fleet Award as part of the 2026 Fleet News Group Awards program, recognising organisations that take a structured, organisation-wide approach to managing vehicle safety. This award is designed to highlight fleets that treat vehicles as a workplace — applying the same safety management systems, governance, and leadership commitment used in - Truck Parking: The Hidden Productivity Problem in the US
Truck parking rarely makes headlines, but it has become one of the most persistent operational challenges facing transport fleets. The issue is not unique to North America. In Australia, fleet operators and industry bodies have been raising similar concerns for years—particularly around safety, compliance, and productivity. Speaking earlier this year at Geotab Connect 2026 in Las - Why Fleet Safety is Moving Beyond Compliance – and Into Real-Time Intervention
By Charles Dawson, CEO, AutoSense Australia For a long time, fleet safety has been built around compliance. Logbooks, policies and procedures all have their place. But they’re designed to show rules are being followed, not whether risk is actually being managed in real time. That gap is becoming harder to ignore. A driver can be - Safety and Risk: Data Becomes the Compliance Currency in 2026
As regulatory expectations tighten and operating margins narrow, fleet safety is no longer just a compliance obligation — it is a commercial imperative. According to Craig Lee, Executive General Manager – On-Highway at Penske Australia & New Zealand, data is now the central currency of risk management. “It’s all about data, isn’t it? So it’s









