(Fort Smith, Arkansas, January 15, 2009) — ABF Freight System, Inc.^®, drivers Paul Gattin and Ben Saiz have been named Captains of the 2009-2010 America’s Road Team by the American Trucking Associations (ATA). Gattin is an ABF city driver from Benton, Ark., and Ben Saiz is an ABF road driver from Estancia, N.M.

Gattin, the 2005 Arkansas Driver of the Year, has a distinguished driving record that includes more than 36,000 hours of safe driving with no accidents. Similarly, Saiz has distinguished himself behind the wheel, driving nearly a million miles and more than 10 years without an accident.

“ABF is a strong supporter of ATA’s America’s Road Team program, and we are particularly proud that the Team has consistently included ABF drivers among its ranks,” said Wes Kemp, ABF president and chief operating officer. “Continuous pursuit of quality improvement, as seen in the accomplishments of these drivers, is part of ABF’s corporate culture. Ben and Paul are not only great assets to ABF, they’re equally valuable to the trucking industry at large. They serve as excellent role models and help ABF earn its reputation as one of the safest carriers in the country year after year.”

The newly selected America’s Road Team includes 18 captains with a collective 468 years of experience and over 30.7 million accident-free miles. The captains were selected from a group of 34 finalists who competed this week before a panel of judges from the trucking industry and related fields. The competition included a review of trucking industry expertise and a demonstration of their communication skills, combined with their community service and lifetime safety records.

While maintaining their jobs as full-time professional drivers, America's Road Team Captains travel the country speaking on behalf of the trucking industry to civic organizations and the news media. The Captains address transportation and safety issues in any forum at which they can reach the motoring public to share safe driving tips and offer advice on how to safely share the road with tractor-trailers.

The Road Team Captains also advocate safety to those within the industry by visiting service centers and truck stops, speaking with fellow drivers, driver training students, and corporate safety officers.  Also, since they have the insight afforded by first-hand knowledge, they often provide expert testimony on the issues of commercial driving directly to our public officials, at the national, state and local levels.