From a pool of over 230,000 drivers, find out who are our winning drivers of 2025.
On Monday 17 March, over 350 people joined us at the Coventry Building Society Arena to hear the news we had all been waiting for… which drivers are officially the best in the business!
The Driver of the Year Awards recognise the exceptional performance and dedication of commercial drivers in the UK. The rigorous selection process combines advanced analysis of anonymised telematics data, collected from 230,000+ drivers over the year.
The data-led awards are complimented by our nomination categories where any company can nominate a driver they feel deserves recognition. By hearing real-life stories from up and down the country, from businesses of all sizes, we can shine a light on the invaluable contribution drivers make to the transport industry and the broader economy.
Our 2025 Winners: "Data Categories"
Congratulations to all those who nominated and to our runners up – an achievement in itself!
Meet all the shortlisted and winning drivers in our Data Categories:
Compliant Driver
Winner: Graham Pagett, Unipart Logistics
Runners up: Christopher Drury, Frontier and Kingsley Omoruyi, Hovis Ltd
Short Distance
Winner: Ted McLean, Aldi
Runner up: Catalin Lordache, Greggs and Neil Crossland, Energas Ltd
Medium Distance
Winner: Peter Gunthorpe, Maritime Transport Ltd
Runners up: Daniel Burns, Schenk UK Ltd and Michael Holland, Eddie Stobart Logistics
Long Distance
Winner: Alan Dodds, Schenk UK Ltd
Runner up: Mark Timothy Blow, Maritime Transport Limited and Vidas Miskinis, Maritime Transport Ltd
Our 2025 Winners: "Nomination Categories"
Meet all our shortlisted and winning drivers in our Nomination Categories:
Young Driver
This award promotes the importance of bringing young drivers into the industry. It recognises that there are some extremely talented individuals out there who deserve recognition for the great work that they are doing.
Winner: Josh Anderson, Bidfood Scotland
Runners up: Corey Goodison, Frasers Group and Joshua Sykes, Travis Perkins/Keyline
Most Improved
This award recognises the driver who has significantly improved their performance over the past 12 months to have a positive effect on the business.
Winner: Olegs Kovalko, Samworth Brothers Supply Chain
Runners up: Edgaras Kalpokas, John Lewis Partnership and Imants Licitis, Aldi
Extra Mile
This category celebrates those drivers who deliver an outstanding level of service that acts as an example to others within their organisations.
Winner: Stephen Dore, CCF
Runners up: Andrew Airens and Paul Hill, Co-op and Jamie Harrison, Polypipe
Driver Hero
This award recognises the driver who remains calm and decisive in an emergency, carrying out a heroic deed to help someone else.
Winner: Aleksandras Surpickis, Greggs
Runners up: Jessica Harris, Culina Logistics Limited and Raymond Ridgeway, KB Event
Lifetime Achievement
This award recognises those who are an ambassadors for their business and role models for their colleagues. They are loyal, reliable and consistent.
Winner: Derek Parry, Wincanton
Runners up: David Richards, Keyline Civils Specialist and Thomas Beekman, Co-op
Driver Excellence
This is an award for the company with the highest percentage of drivers in the final list of 1,000, determined through analysis of anonymised telematics data.
Winner: Tesco
Runners up: Fine Lady Bakeries and Greggs
And if that wasn’t enough! On Tuesday as part of the Microlise Transport Conference we revealed our Overall Driver of the Year…
Congratulations to Graham Paget, of Unipart Rail – our overall 2025 Driver of the Year!
The judges were bowled over by the complexity of his job. With difficult loads requiring such high levels of skill and execution, Graham continues to achieve and maintain high driving scores at all times. His manager, John Maguire, praised him, saying:
“If I had a workforce full of Grahams, I could retire! His work is legally compliant, while his actual paperwork is exemplary as are his electronic versions. He epitomises the modern, professional driver and is the archetypal high performer who never lets an issue pass to the next person, nor perhaps gets the recognition he deserves.”
Well indeed now – he has!
A night of celebration
The evening was a sparking black-tie occasion complete with a ‘blue carpet’ champagne reception, evening entertainment from comedian Ed Byrne and a decadent three course meal! Drivers and their guests were joined by company representatives, award sponsors and members of the press, all wanting to take in the celebration.
Microlise Group CEO, Nadeem Raza, said: “We could not have hoped for a better line-up for this year’s Driver of the Year awards. Our nominees are a testament to the tireless work of drivers up and down the country who keep goods and services moving.
“We are proud to support these often-unsung heroes and to shine a light on their vital work. The recognition of their excellence and the reward for their performance is thoroughly justified.”
Member of the judging panel, Richard Brennan, Managing Director of the Road Haulage Authority, said: “Having judged the awards for several years, I can confidently say that this year’s entries have reached even higher standards of excellence. Everyone who participated is truly a credit to their business, industry and themselves as professional drivers.”
We are immensely proud of all the drivers! And of course, the businesses they represent. Customers and operators all over the world are working hard to meet the demands of a busy industry, whilst always looking to make our roads safe for all.
We can’t wait to hear more amazing stories in 2026!