Truck driver honored for logging 4 million accident-free miles

Statistically speaking, auto accidents are a near certainty for every driver at some point. The average American drives 12,000 miles each year and is involved in three or four accidents annually. Commercial drivers have an even larger statistical probability of being involved in a car or truck accident, because they often travel hundreds of miles each day.

But it is important to remember that statistics don’t always decide a given driver’s fate. We can all choose to drive safely and defensively, no matter how many miles we log behind the wheel. As proof of this, a man who has been delivering products for Wal-Mart for more than 30 years was recently honored for an achievement which few have ever matched. He has managed to drive more than 4 million miles without a truck accident.

The man’s name is Warren Greeno. Wal-Mart has about 7,200 drivers in its fleet, and Greeno is the first driver in the company’s history to log that many accident-free miles (about 81 drivers have logged 3 million miles). As a reward for his accomplishment, he was recently given a new big rig. It is red and will have his name and record painted on the side.

Greeno and other long-distance truck drivers put in about 500 miles each day. At the rate that most Americans drive (12,000 miles per year), it would take 333 years of driving to log 4 million miles. In light of this, his safety record over a 31-year period is especially impressive.

Statistically speaking, every drive we take is an accident waiting to happen. But statistics don’t have to define our experience behind the wheel. As this celebrated truck driver has demonstrated, accident-free driving is possible.

Source: Las Vegas Guardian Express, “Wal-Mart Trucker Warren Greeno Honored for 4 Million Miles Accident-Free,” Lisa Nance, Sept. 23, 2013