At RelayCon 2026, two Relay carriers sat down for a conversation about the safety tools and investments making a difference in their trucking business. They shared how they strive for safety excellence and what they’d like to see next from Amazon.
- Sukh Uppal: Sukh manages Denali Transport’s operations in central Canada, a fleet that is operating 200+ trucks. Denali hauls Amazon freight cross-border, and runs both inter-Canada, and international lanes.
- Elena Davidkov: Elena opened her own authority, GDM Service, with her husband in 2018, and they mostly run team loads out of Chicago. Elena is an owner-operator who’s been in the business for more than 30 years. She runs a small, family-run business wearing many hats: driver, safety leader, dispatcher, and bookkeeper.
What’s something you’d like to share about why you’re here?
Elena: I thought about all the other small carriers – and the other women in this room — our experience matters. Every year, I see more women on the road. More of us running companies, and it inspires me. I’m looking forward to sharing how safety keeps our business running reliably — and how it turns into revenue for us, every single month.
Sukh: It’s about paying it forward. I have always appreciated the people who have guided us. Safety can never be too expensive, and you might not be able to locate its results on a financial statement, but you’re always glad you made the investment. If I can share one idea that helps someone make their operation safer, it’s worth it.
Sukh, tell us how safety excellence became central to how you run your business.
Sukh: I drove for almost a decade before starting Denali and got to work with a lot of amazing companies. The ones that were doing the best had systems; they took safety seriously. So, when I started my own company, I said — we’re building it the right way from day one. Part of this was investing in dashcam technology to scale safely.
Elena, as a one-truck operation, how does safety excellence show up for you?
Elena: We invested in a road-facing camera and a new truck. We didn’t want to be in the position of rejecting a load because something broke down. The camera is protection. We are out there 5 days a week, and if anything happens on the road we can capture it and learn from it.
“For us, safety is the most important part of our business. At our size, if the truck stops, the business stops.”
Sukh, what did early investment in safety technology look like for your team?
Sukh: Buying the cameras—that was the easy part. In the first month, Samsara rated our fleet score at 39. To respect the privacy of the drivers, the mic is permanently shut off, and we are very careful about who in the company has access to the footage. I started reviewing the footage, and was surprised. I found the areas I wanted to focus on, and because it’s my job to manage the drivers, I sat with them, every week, one-on-one to go through the footage.
With the drivers’ participation – and a commitment to consistency - Samsara rated our fleet safety at 90 by the third month.
That shows real commitment. What has that meant for your business?
Sukh: We’ve grown 5x the size we were when we started using the cameras, and despite that, it’s easier to manage now than it was in the beginning. Our top performing safe drivers get recognized every single month, and we have seen a significant drop distracting driving incidents and near misses.
The best part is our drivers’ satisfaction. They feel more confident, better about themselves, and safer when their co-driver is behind the wheel.
“Even if we avoid one accident a year, you can’t calculate what that’s worth to a driver, their family, and anyone else involved.”
As an owner-operator, how does your road-facing camera support you when something happens on the road?
Elena: I’m an experienced, professional, driver, but I’m always looking to learn. I am always reviewing the footage, to get better. I even called Motive to ask them about the latest technology!
As a driver, and an owner – I do feel more confident because of the camera. One night, something came off a vehicle in front of me. a tire, a rim, I couldn’t tell. Being able to go back and see exactly what happened, that’s what makes me a sharper driver. I think every truck should have them.
Elena, tell us about your experience with Relay’s safety rewards program.
Elena: We’ve been in the program for about a year, and I signed up right away because we are so safety-oriented. It was easy to sign-up, and why not benefit from what we were already doing?
We earn four cents a mile based on the number of miles we drive. It feels like Amazon is saying: we see you’re doing this right, and we want to reward you for it.
Sukh, are Relay’s safety rewards something you’ve looked into?
Sukh: I just signed up. I learned Amazon just added Samsara to the program, and because we haul loads in the US, I was able to join. There was nothing new for us to install. It’s great when Amazon finds ways to reward carriers that are doing it right. We’ve been investing in safety for years, and it’s good to see that recognized.
What stands out to you about Amazon’s investments in safety technology?
Elena: I’ve seen improvement with the spring and winter weather alerts in Relay Navigation. Last winter, my husband and I were heading into the Rockies, and the alert gave me a heads-up that a blizzard was moving in. That warning is what gave me the information I needed exactly at the right time. I decided to pull over, stop somewhere safe, and wait it out, without stressing about the load.
Sukh: I agree with Elena. In Canada, weather isn’t just the road, it’s the cold. At windchill of minus 65, things break, brakes especially, and sometimes the truck physically can’t move. As Relay’s weather tools keep developing, I’d love to see extreme cold treated as its own kind of weather event.
“For these 7 or 8 years we’ve hauled Amazon loads, I really have seen that Amazon listens and makes sure tools get better. When something isn’t working, they clean it up, I’ve seen it happen, over and over. But that only works if we speak up.”
What else can you tell us about your experience with Relay Navigation?
Elena: The system understands there can be more than one route. The tool consistently gets it right when there is construction or closed roads. It’s not perfect, but I trust it to give me truck-only routes and provide the right routes around a facility. Especially when it’s in a residential area. That matters because a lot of problems start with one wrong turn.
What’s one thing every carrier should hear before they leave today?
Sukh: Human life is more important than any contract or load, and every time I’ve made the hard call or put in the work to scale, safely - it’s paid off. With enforcement getting stricter across the industry, I see it helping every carrier who’s made the same choice.
Because of our investment in safety excellence, I trust that we’re compliant, and that puts us in a better position than we’ve ever been. So, don’t wait until something goes wrong to take it seriously. Invest in safety early. It’s the one investment I’ve never regretted — and it’s carried us the whole way.
Elena: At first, I didn’t haul with Amazon, and I was disappointed with other load services. The linehaul pickup and delivery was chaotic. Communication was poor, and I often didn’t have any idea on some of facilities we’d have to load for. A friend of mine had a trucking business and was hauling Amazon loads. She told me that everything I was looking for, I could find it with Amazon.
My advice: There’s more opportunity with Relay every year if you show up, continue to prioritize safety first, provide your feedback, and keep taking the time to learn.
“Since we signed up for Relay in 2018, I have found more support, safe, clean facilities I can count on, a willingness to listen, and recognition for doing the safe thing.”
Join a safety-first culture with Amazon Relay
Relay wants carriers that are striving for safety excellence every day and seeing positive results. Start your Relay application on desktop or our app on iOS or Android to join Amazon’s freight network. But first, check out Relay’s carrier requirements to make sure hauling for Amazon is the right fit for your business.
Curious what you could earn? Use the safety rewards calculator below to see your potential earnings based on your fleet size and miles.
Amazon Relay safety rewards calculator
Calculate your company's potential collision-free mileage reward, up to 400,000 miles.
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Disclaimer: Amazon does not tender loads through any third-party load boards. Any Amazon loads posted on third-party load boards will only be tendered directly to approved and onboarded carriers via the Relay web portal or Relay mobile app. If you are interested in hauling loads for Amazon, sign up and book directly on relay.amazon.com. For more about our efforts against fraud and cargo theft, see our trustworthy transportation page.
