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Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009

Gray truck driver has safety in numbers with recent milestone

BYRON – Attention to detail, being aware of what’s going on around you and not getting in a rush are the keys to safe driving, Ken Truman says.

He should know.

The truck driver from Gray recently logged his two-millionth mile without an accident for Con-Way Freight Co.

Oh, and a little divine intervention from time to time helps.

“I’ve got a good co-pilot. I’ve had some close calls, situations where the Lord had to be looking out for me,” Truman said.

Two million miles without an accident is an industry milestone, said Bob Petrancosta, vice president for safety for Con-Way.

“We’ve got 1,200 drivers now, and we’ve had a lot more over the last 25 years. He’s only the 88th in our history to reach the two-million mark,” Petrancosta said. “To put it into perspective, that’s the same as nine trips to the moon. ...”

With a lot more traffic.

Truman began his accident-free streak in 1988 when he began driving for Con-Way.

He grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., then moved with his family to Middle Georgia soon after graduating from high school in 1977. He worked for a while as a mechanic, then began driving trucks.

“I drove for several different companies. I was an over-the-road driver for a while, but that’s tough on a man with a young family. You leave and may not get back home for a week or more, just depending on where the next load needs to go.

“I heard about Con-Way in 1987 and put in an application. I had heard they were focused on safety – not all companies are – and you were home every day after your shift.”

Now he is a line-haul driver, taking a load nightly from the Con-Way terminal in Byron to another regional hub, then bringing another one back to Byron. “He mostly makes our run to Greenville (S.C., a 500-mile round trip), but he also makes the run to Atlanta or to Tallahassee, Fla., some nights,” said Robert Gresham, the freight operations supervisor at the Byron terminal.

“He’s a good man and good driver,” Gresham added. “It’s very rare to do what he’s done, especially with the number of cars on the highway now. The odds are stacked against you. Just managing not to bump another truck in the freight yards – and that counts against you – is tough.”

TYPICAL DAY

A typical work day for Truman begins about 6:30 p.m. when he reports to the Byron terminal.

He catches up on paperwork, finds out where he’s headed that night, checks the weather report and gets his personal gear ready. Then he’s out the door to check his truck and be sure the trailers are loaded. He usually pulls two trailers, the lead one, with the most weight, and then a piggy-back hooked to the rear of the first trailer. He hooks up and checks to be sure all the tires, wheels, lights, brakes and hitches are working properly and are connected correctly.

By 8 or 8:30 p.m., he’s usually on the road, heading up the interstate. Once he arrives at his destination, he drops his trailers and takes a break to eat. If he is in Greenville or Atlanta, he works the loading dock until time to hook up his return loads and head home, arriving between 8 and 9 a.m.

He normally makes four or five trips a week.

“A big part to safe truck driving is getting enough rest,” he said. “Staying awake is the toughest thing. You have to take breaks, and you have to get your rest when you are off to stay alert when you are driving.” Truman emphasized the importance of driving at speeds safe for the conditions and traffic, and of watching out all around.

“These big trucks take at least twice as long to stop as a car. You have to be looking way ahead and be aware of what is happening and give yourself space to be able to react to whatever might happen.

“And because it can be hard to see things right up near you, you have to constantly be scanning your mirrors to keep track of all the other cars around you.”

Truman said he’s learned a lot by watching other drivers – both good and bad.

“You see things on the road and you think, what in the world are they thinking. All the lane switching and speeding up and slowing down is dangerous for them and everyone else on the road. I try to pick a lane and speed and keep steady right there.

“We have these trucks governed to run 62 mph. We used to run 65. But we save a lot on fuel going just those few miles slower, and it only adds about 10 minutes to our trip times. Too many people, truck drivers and car drivers, are in too big of a hurry. Drive a steady, safe pace, and you’ll get there almost as quick and without all the danger.”

CLOSE CALLS

Truman has had some close calls over the years, however. One he remembers most vividly happened a few years ago on the north side of Atlanta on a return trip from Greenville.

“It was winter and there was some light snow and ice on the road. I was only going about 35, heading into Spaghetti Junction on I-85. A taxicab came zipping by me, and I thought, ‘he’s going too fast for these conditions.’ ”

He lost sight of the cab as it went around a curve. When Truman came around, there it was, blocking his lane after spinning into the guard wall.

“Even going 35, there was no way I could stop in time. But then I hit a patch of ice, and the whole rig – truck and both trailers – just slid over a lane, all in a straight line, and then I got traction and drove right on past. I thought to myself, ‘I can’t believe this.’ Usually you slide and those trailers go all different directions, pivoting on those different connections. No doubt to me who was driving then.”

Truman said that despite his confidence and experience, he became a bit nervous as he approached the 2-million-mile mark.

“I was the same way when I got near one million. You don’t think about it much until you get to a milestone. You don’t want to get close and then get careless and mess up. But I made it, so now it’s back to normal.”

Truman says he’s even given a bit of thought to making it to three million miles.

“I don’t know if I’ll keep driving that long. It took about nine years to get this last million. But three million would sure be nice. I heard of a guy that made five million one time, but he must have been a baby when he started driving and lived to be 100.”