CAST Specialty Driver Tommy Cash Receives 2026 International Driver Excellence Award

CAST Specialty Transportation driver Tommy Cash has been named the 2026 CVSA International Driver Excellence Award recipient after logging more than 3.6 million crash-free miles.

CAST Specialty Transportation driver Tommy Cash has been named the recipient of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2026 International Driver Excellence Award, recognizing more than four decades of safe driving, professional leadership, and service to the trucking industry.

The annual award honors a commercial driver who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to highway safety, professionalism and excellence throughout their career.

Cash will be recognized during the CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, where he is scheduled to receive the award on Sept. 23.

More Than 3.6 Million Crash-Free Miles

According to CVSA, Cash has accumulated more than 3.6 million crash-free miles during his professional driving career while hauling a wide range of freight, including fuel, refrigerated products, flatbed freight and bulk commodities.

For the past 23 years, he has specialized in transporting legacy radioactive waste for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) program near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Cash is one of only 36 drivers in the United States authorized to transport transuranic radioactive waste from Department of Energy sites to the WIPP facility, a role that requires an extensive background review and an exceptional safety record.

Extensive Level VI Inspection Record

Transporting radioactive materials also means operating under one of the trucking industry’s most rigorous inspection programs.

During the past three years, Cash has completed more than 195 CVSA Level VI inspections. Those inspections are conducted before a shipment begins and require the driver, vehicle, and cargo to meet strict safety standards before being allowed on the road.

Cash estimates he has completed well over 1,000 Level VI inspections during his time working in the WIPP program.

Mentor and Leader Within the Industry

In addition to his driving responsibilities, Cash serves as a senior lead driver within the WIPP program, where he helps evaluate applicants, trains newly hired drivers, and mentors other professional drivers.

Mike Savage, director of safety for CAST Specialty Transportation, said Cash’s performance has helped raise expectations throughout the company.

“Tommy has set the bar so high that we’ve had to adapt hiring and training standards further to keep up with his superior performance,” Savage said.

CVSA President Maj. Erick McGuire of the Florida Highway Patrol also praised Cash’s long-standing commitment to safety and mentorship, saying his career reflects the highest standards of professionalism within the commercial motor vehicle industry.

A Career Built on Safety

Cash said he was honored to learn he had been selected for this year’s International Driver Excellence Award.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I was very happy, very pleased and, of course, very honored.”

When asked what advice he would offer other professional drivers, Cash emphasized the importance of maintaining awareness.

“Be aware not just of what’s right in front of your truck, but what’s ahead of your truck and what’s going on behind your truck too,” he said.

In addition to this latest recognition, Cash has previously been named CAST Specialty Transportation’s Driver of the Year and was recognized earlier this year as one of the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2026 Professional Drivers of the Year.