Trucker surpasses 5 million safe miles
12/22/07
Coshocton Tribune, OH
PLAIN CITY - Even though he has seen some horrific accidents through the years, Glenn Reed has remained accident-free for more than five million miles. Reed, a Coshocton resident and driver for Bulk Transit Corporation of Plain City, was honored for his safety and travel record with a special awards ceremony on Friday. Ronald DeWolf, president and owner of Bulk Transit, presented Reed with his award.
It's a fancy plaque with a gold-looking belt buckle and what looks like a credit card, and a letter of appreciation," Reed said. "A lot of people were there. For this 77-year-old man, I'm tickled pink." Eddie Burch, director of safety at Bulk Transit, said as of June 30, Reed has recorded 5,393,882 miles and counting.
"He's one of 209 drivers we have, and for anybody to reach five million miles plus is almost unheard of," he said. "Three to four percent of the driving population will never see that. This is monumental. I love Glenn to death; he's a wonderful person."
Born and raised in Coshocton County, Reed has been involved with the trucking business since 1947. He began by pulling end dump trailers for C.B. Little Company at the Blue Crystal Strip mines when he was 16 years old.
Upon returning to the United States after serving four years overseas with the Army, Reed returned to the trucking business to work for several companies such as White Freight Lines.
"It was the only thing to do for kids growing up back in those days in this area," he said. "It's time-consuming, but it makes the time go by fast."
One memorable event during Reed's career was when he was asked to be involved in a television commercial and magazine photo spread for J.B. Hunt in 1989.
His journey forced him to travel a treacherous road in Arizona.
"I had to go down a gravel road and around five old wooden bridges on the way out to the Vermilion Cliffs Monument and Marble Cliffs in the Grand Canyon for the commercial shoot, and five of them on the way back," Reed said. "I literally went through the water going around the bridges because they wouldn't hold the weight of my truck and trailer. It was scary. There was nowhere to turn around in spots, and it made me question myself as to why I was there, but I went on until I saw the shoot site."
Reed's career is still going strong, as he said he plans to continue driving as long as possible. "I always joke with the other drivers," he said. "They always ask me, 'when are you going to quit?' And I say 'when I'm old enough.'"
http://www.coshoctontribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071222/NEWS01/712220303/1002
Trucker surpasses 5 million safe miles
Discussion in 'Truckers News' started by Cybergal, Dec 22, 2007.
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I love stories like this.
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This is really cool.
5 million miles, I can't even count that high.lol
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Imagine the technology and comfort change he's seen since driving in 1947. I had a great Uncle who told me that back in the 40's that most drivers didn't have sleepers and surely didn't stay in hotels. He said some truck stops had "Bunk Rooms" with multiple bunks, or private bedrooms that were just big enough for a single bed and a small bathroom area. He said one common practice was to carry a large peice of plywood to lay across the seats, with a bed roll and pillow to sleep on. It all stayed behind the seats. He said a company he worked for had nothing but daycab type trucks. He drove and lived in it on the road for 6 months. He ate from roadside vegetable stands and an occassional hot meal. He said truckers would carry a rifle or shotgun out west, and shoot wild game on the roadsides. He said he would always carry a cooking pot, some seasoning and Crisco shortening to cook with. Several truckers would meet up at rest areas or roadsides, clean a rabbit and a few birds or a duck. They would all cook and eat together, bed down and rollout early. Wow, can you imagine. Guys like Mr. 5 Million mentioned here, and old skool truckers from back then have my total respect.
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