I recently had to throw out a favorite pair of sneakers; white Nike Air Max Solos my wife bought me for my birthday in 2024. If you’ve seen me at shows, you probably know I love fresh kicks—a nod to my old sports-writing days—so that was a particularly painful experience for me.

But there was simply too much blood on them to clean off.

You see, what happened was, I was sitting in my vehicle, feeling light-headed at a softball tournament in the Corpus Christi area, but my daughter’s game was about to start, so I opened the door, stepped out, grabbed my lawn chair from the back … and the next thing I knew I was on the ground, confused, and failing to stop the blood pouring from my right temple. Long story short, I ended up with a concussion, four blue stitches, and a too-familiar tale about an old guy falling down.

On the bright side, I gained the perfect hook for my safety-issue editorial, and new appreciation for the professionals who dedicate their lives to keeping us safe—just like the folks featured in the September/October issue of Bulk Transporter magazine. Maybe it’s my addled brain, but I’m reminded of the time I was on the same flight home as Lance Hagler, Trimac Transportation’s director of safety operations, when I awoke to find him and an attendant helping a kid who fainted behind me. Only this time, I had a front-row seat as emergency responders staunched the bleeding, alerted my family, and transported me to ER 24/7 Portland, where caregivers evaluated the damage, sewed me up, and put me back on my feet.

Their work is greatly appreciated, to be sure.

It’s also highly visible—in real life and in media—whereas the efforts of the people who endeavor to keep us upright every day often go unseen. But their quiet, relentless dedication is on full display inside the safety issue.

Usher Transport, NTTC’s Sutherland champion, is one of only two carriers in the 34-year history of the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care Partner program to complete accreditation in an accelerated one-year window. By reevaluating product safety from the driver’s perspective and combining standard-setting interviews with AI camera technology, Usher posted a 0.152 accident frequency over nearly 14 million miles last year, delivering almost 90,000 loads with only two DOT-recordable incidents—while also earning Chevron’s Bulk Lubricants Carrier of the Year award.

Over in the Harvison division, Heniff Transportation proved a tech-driven, highly accountable culture can scale seamlessly across a massive enterprise. As the only carrier trusted to handle Shell’s highly hazardous “black-banded” pyrolysis oil, Heniff’s drivers logged 113 million miles while posting a 0.160 accident frequency—leveraging custom scorecards, intelligent cameras, and aggressive DataQs tracking to protect their team.

Not to be outdone, private-fleet champ SWTO safely delivered 2.1 billion gallons of fuel across 25.5 million miles by building a Fleet Safety Center of Excellence, “competify-ing” safe driving, equipping trailers with pulsating brake lamp modules, inducting elite drivers into its Gold Oval Club—and ultimately whittling preventable crashes down to two.

My only challenge was assembling all this information while reeling from concussion-induced vertigo. One day, I drove up to the gas station for a sandwich and felt like my brain stayed behind every time I accelerated. At least now I know how my family routinely feels while riding in my Challenger. But please don’t feel too bad for me, dear reader.

I already purchased new shoes for Tank Truck Week 2026. BT