Tommy Cash: CVSA’s IDEA winner
Tommy Cash, a truck driver with CAST Specialty Transportation Inc., has been named the recipient of the 2026 International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA) by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
The IDEA recognizes an extraordinary commercial motor vehicle driver demonstrating an exceptional commitment to public safety, professionalism and excellence throughout their career.
“I was like, wow, this is fantastic,” said Cash about the moment he found out from his fleet’s safety staff that he was selected as this year’s IDEA recipient. “I couldn’t believe it. I was very happy, very pleased and, of course, very honored. That’s a big accomplishment.”
Throughout a decades-long career, Cash has hauled fuel, milk, refrigerated goods, flatbed loads and bulk commodities. For 23 years, though, he’s specialized in legacy radioactive waste — one of the nation’s most demanding and highly regulated transportation operations — for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) program near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
That’s the nation’s only repository for the disposal of transuranic waste generated by atomic energy defense activities.
Today, Cash is one of an elite core of 36 professional drivers in the U.S. entrusted with the responsibility of moving waste from DOE sites across the country to the WIPP facility for permanent disposal. Selection for this role requires an exceptional driving history and extremely rigorous background screening.
Cash’s commitment to safety is reflected also in an extraordinary inspection history.
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In just the past three years, he’s undergone more than 195 Level VI Inspections, a higher and stricter inspection standard and procedure due to the materials being transported. It’s conducted at the point of origin before the driver is permitted to start travel.
The vehicle, driver and cargo must all be free of defects to pass inspection and proceed on the route.
Cash serves as a senior lead driver and mentor within the WIPP program, road-testing driver applicants, training new hires and coaching fellow pros.
“In fact, 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,” said Mike Savage, director of safety for CAST Specialty Transportation Inc.
One key piece of advice Cash has for other professional drivers: Alway be attentive.
“Be aware not just of what’s right in front of your truck, but what’s ahead of your truck — further down the road — and what’s going on behind your truck, too.”
Outside his professional responsibilities, Cash commits to serving his community with support for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and he enjoys participating in the DOE’s WIPP outreach program, educating local communities and first responders about the safe transportation of radioactive waste.
Cash’s accomplishments have earned him numerous industry honors, including recognition as CAST Specialty Transportation’s Driver of the Year and, most recently, one of the Truckload Carriers Association’s 2026 Professional Drivers of the Year.
“Tommy’s clean inspections time after time greatly contribute to the company’s overall safety profile but, more importantly, it is a testament to his skill and expertise in trucking and a strong commitment to safety,” Savage added. “The motoring public is safer with a driver like Mr. Cash operating on American roadways. He truly has contributed greatly to trucking safety.”
Cash will attend CVSA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in September, where he’ll be honored with $5,000 and a crystal trophy at the awards luncheon on the 23rd.
If you or an owner-operator you know has persevered, thriving through freight-market difficulties and cost pressures in these last years, enter Overdrive’s Trucker of the Year competition here.
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North Carolina police recover $250K in stolen copper
Police officers in Kenly, North Carolina, last week busted a suspected cargo theft operation and recovered more than $250,000 in stolen copper wire.
On Aug. 14, the Kenly Police Department received information regarding a suspected cargo theft organization operating across multiple jurisdictions. KPD officers worked in conjunction with out-of-state agencies to investigate information received.
During the investigation, officers located a 53-foot J.B. Hunt trailer and determined that both the trailer and contents had been reported stolen.
Officers subsequently located the driver of the vehicle at a local truck stop. After a brief struggle, the subject was taken into custody. During the arrest, officers located a handgun concealed on the driver’s person.
As the investigation continued, officers applied for and were granted a search warrant for the trailer. During the execution of the search warrant, officers located approximately $258,000 worth of stolen copper wire.
The driver was ID’d as Florida man Jarrel Lamont Nightingale, 41. Nightingale was charged with:
- Felony Possession of Stolen Goods/Property
- Felony Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle
- Carrying a Concealed Gun
Nightingale was placed under a $20,000 secured bond.
This investigation remains ongoing as law enforcement continues working with partnering agencies regarding the suspected cargo theft operation.
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Truck bound to U.S. from Mexico caught with nearly 50 lbs. of cocaine
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility in Texas intercepted $634,000 worth of alleged cocaine concealed in a commercial tractor-trailer.
“Our CBP officers continue to successfully use their skills and expertise to intercept another load of hard narcotics,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
On Aug. 7, CBP officers encountered a tractor-trailer traveling from Reynosa, Mexico. The vehicle was referred to secondary for further inspection utilizing nonintrusive inspection equipment, which showed anomalies within the tractor.
Physical inspection of the vehicle resulted in extraction of 18 packages of alleged cocaine with a combined weight of 47.48 pounds (21.54 kg) concealed within the vehicle.
CBP Office of Field Operations seized the narcotics and vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents initiated a criminal investigation.
