JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Landstar System, Inc. (Nasdaq: LSTR), a safety-first provider of transportation capacity, recognized 69 men and women for their outstanding safety records and professionalism behind the wheel at an awards banquet in Jacksonville, Florida, earlier this month.

The business capacity owners (BCOs) were honored for driving 3, 2 and 1 million consecutive miles without an accident or freight claim. Their combined total of 82 million accident-and-claim-free miles would cover the 3.9 million miles of public roads in the United States some 21 times over. It takes a truck operator roughly 10 years to travel 1 million miles.

Leading the class of 2003 Landstar Million Mile Safe Drivers are James DeLong of Carmi, Illinois, and Ray Dillard of Cadiz, Kentucky, who have each driven 3 million miles without so much as a fender bender. That's approximately 30 years on the job without a mistake. "Their performance on the road is nothing short of spectacular," said Landstar President and COO Henry Gerkens. "Especially when you take into account that they operate in an extremely dangerous environment filled with circumstances they do not control."

Nine BCOs reached the 2 million mile mark. They are: Melvin Cairns, Harrison, OH; Richard Carson, Barnhart, MO; Bernard Franks, Rockport, TX; Ray Goss, Stillwater, OK; Robert Howard, Morgantown, KY; James Meilahn, Ripon, WI; George Reese, Fitzgerald, GA; Billy Strong, Cookeville, TN; John Trapp, Waukesha, WI.

"Landstar's Million Mile Safe Drivers are concrete examples of highway safety in action," said Gerkens. "We should all be inspired to follow in their path."

The following BCOs achieved 1 million accident-and-claim-free miles: Joseph Baker, Dillwyn, VA; James Bloodworth, Pasadena, TX; Bobby Bratton, Dublin, VA; Earl Browder, Tabor City, NC; Richard Burns, Grand Junction, CO; Harvey Callicutt, Davidson, NC; William Christian, Fremont, NE; Norman Cisco, Argillite, KY; Gary Cole, Carbon Hill, AL; James Copper, Bucyrus, OH; Jeffrey Cox, Hillsboro, TN; John Ehrgott, Indianapolis, IN; Frederick Ellis, Dayton, OH; Ray Furlott, Milton, WI; Tommie Galneau, Colorado City, TX; Boyd Gdanitz, Elba, NE; Kenneth Goff, Doylestown, OH; Murray Hayward, Portland, OR; Beverly Heckford, Lebanon, VA; Steven Hubrig, Laredo, TX; Don Jeffers, Oneida, TN; Donald Kashner, Saginaw, MO; Raymond King, Jr., Newton Falls, OH; Philip LaCaze, Houston, TX; Lou Lockhart, Plattsmouth, NE; Jaimie Logan, Hartford, AL; Ronald Looney, Grundy, VA; Margaret Martin, Christiansburg, VA; Michael Mason, Pembroke, NH; Gary McDonald, Inwood, WV; Sidney McNeil, Pachuta, MS; George Mitter, Livonia, MI; Troy Murphy, Kenosha, WI; David Oprey, Waterford, Ontario; Stephen Pagel, Green Bay, WI; James Parker, Escondido, CA; Marvin Pepper, Forreston, IL; Joe Quinlan, Grand Blanc, MI; Robert Reifke, Pottstown, PA; Ronald Ronk, McVeytown, PA; John Savage, Scarborough, Ontario; Lee Scott, Hooper, UT; Gary Wayne Smith, London, KY; Steve Smith, Orlando, FL; George Stewart, Stony Plain, Alberta; David Studt, Leechburg, PA; David Sutherland, Douglassville, PA; Mark Suver, Crown City, OH; Elwood Swank, Cheraw, SC; Aniceto Tapia, Bakersfield, CA; Paul Todorovich, Myrtle Beach, SC; Stephen Volles, Marietta, NY; Timothy Walker, Newberry, MI; Lloyd Warner, Geneva, OH; Philip Wensko, Tarrant, AL; Stephen White, Baton Rouge, LA; Tillman Williams, Macon, GA; John Zawadzki, Switzerland, FL.

The addition of this year's class brings the total number of active Landstar BCOs who have earned the title of Million Mile Safe Driver to 412.

"Landstar Million Mile Safe Drivers set the standard for safety in this industry," said Gerkens. "We're honored to recognize each individual's accomplishment and contribution to making the roads safer for us all."

The awards banquet is part of Landstar's Annual Appreciation Days, a three-day open house with safety and technology seminars, a truck beauty contest and a safe truck driving championship.

Landstar System, Inc. is a non-asset-based provider of transportation capacity delivering safe, specialized transportation services to a broad range of customers throughout North America. The company identifies and fulfills shippers' needs through the coordination of individual businesses comprised of independent sales agents, business capacity owners, and other transportation capacity providers. The term, business capacity owner, refers to Landstar's independent contractors who operate a small business and provide the equipment necessary to haul freight.

Landstar's carrier group is comprised of Landstar Gemini, Inc., Landstar Inway, Inc., Landstar Ligon, Inc. and Landstar Ranger, Inc. and delivers excellence in complete over-the-road transportation services. Landstar's multimodal group is comprised of Landstar Express America, Inc. and Landstar Logistics, Inc., provides expedited, contract logistics and intermodal transportation services. All Landstar operating companies are certified to ISO 9001:2000 quality management system standards. Landstar System, Inc.'s common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the symbol LSTR.

The complete list of Landstar Million Mile Safe Drivers for 2003 is also available on Landstar's web site, www.landstar.com.

SOURCE Landstar System, Inc.