While skimming the news this morning the Charleston semi truck accident attorneys found an amazing story, thanks to Fox News, which tells the tale of a veteran United Parcel Service (UPS) truck driver who has safely driven his brown truck more than 4 million miles. As the article notes, this distance is the equivalent to six round trips to the moon, a truly astonishing statistic to befit an extremely admirable milestone.
The driver, Ronald Sowder, or “Big Dog,” as his fellow drivers affectionately call him reached the milestone mark of 4 million miles this past January in his 49th year as a driver for UPS. An amazing achievement only one other driver has equaled in the company’s 100-year history. Overall the drivers at UPS are among the safest on the road, and according to the company, average less than one truck accident per million miles traveled.
This year Sowder was inducted into the famed “Circle of Honor,” an elite group of UPS drivers who have been accident-free for 25 years or more. Sowder credits his impeccably clean record to cautious driving and says, “You have to be a defensive driver. You have to be able to compensate for other people’s mistakes and expect the unexpected. You can’t drive too close. I don’t like to be in a pack.”
In addition to his general rule of being a defensive driver, Sowder also has three keys to safe driving. The first is “stay alert,” oftentimes drivers can be easily distracted, simply maintaining focus on the road and vehicles around you can prevent serious auto accidents. Second, Sowder says to “keep a positive attitude on the road,” similar to not being alert and focused, being negative while on the road can cause a driver’s mind to stray and lose concentration. And thirdly, “exercise your skills,” while Sowder is a professionally trained driver, all of us can exercise proper judgment and be safe on the road.
Since our Charleston work injury lawyers on the topic, let’s discuss briefly the danger semi trucks and tractor trailers pose to everyday drivers, because not all truckers are as mindful as Mr. Sowder. Because of the large weight contrast between large semis and everyday passenger vehicles (minivans, sedans, compacts, etc.), the damage and danger of injury is heightened in accidents involving the monsters of the road.